Trying to get NBN fixed

[plumtreed]

It is impossible to describe how poor Telstra support really is.....If you have a problem they have established systems that lead you around from robots to real people in India who try to solve your problem in Oz......as if!  

You are also offered a way to solve things online which ultimately end up with the phone number that takes you back to India. In any event, the nice people in India admitted that they couldn't solve the problem so they made an appointment for a technician to visit in 3 days time......well he didn't show up so nothing is fixed.

This is NBN, F to the Node......so it probably will never be fixed by Telstra but likely by NBN.....anyhow I'm stumped....anybody know a number to contact about getting things fixed by real people? 

[Jupiter]

The only number you can call is 1800 834 273. Telstra has no control over the NBN Co technicians, so if they fail to turn up, all you can do is ask for them to be rebooked.

[plumtreed]

Hey, I buy this service from a company called Telstra and they collect money from me for this........to me they are the people who should bring it up to an acceptable standard....but thanks for your message

[Jupiter]

Telstra don't own the infrastructure anymore. It's all owned by NBN Co, so Telstra can't touch it.

If you don't agree with it, you will have to take it up with your federal MP. But as both sides of politics ran with the idea, you won't get very far.

[plumtreed]

Turns out that NBN checked things and their part is ok so they they don't have to do any more........don't even have to let me know that they won't be keeping the appointment

Called the only 'number' and met a really nice guy from the Phillipines this time...... and despite having a good laugh and conspiring to get him to OZ....we are no further ahead and have no plans on how to proceed with fixing Telstra/NBN.

[ProfessorPhone]

You could lodge a complaint if you feel you have exhausted lower level processes.
Below is the link
https://say.telstra.com.au/customer/general/forms/Email-Complaint

[Jupiter]

Or you could describe the problem that you are having (including the type of connection).
If you can post the stats from the Broadband/advanced tab on your modem as well. We might be able to figure out what is happening and give you some advice on how to proceed.

[cf4]

If you have an intermittent fault the symptoms being short drop out of connection it is very likely that when NBN checked the link there was no fault. It sometimes takes several attempts to convince NBN Co to send a Technician in these situations and it usually turns out to be a faulty Termination in one of the pits, connecting pillar or the node.
The link stats of the modem will give a good indication if it is a cable problem these are located at Advanced > Diagnostics > xDSL. Any link retrain counts would indicate a line problem.

If the problem is a speed problem could you post the Link DSL Status which in the Technicolor modem is located at Advanced > Broadband > DSL Link Status

[plumtreed]

Thanks.......have done that

[plumtreed]

......initially we would see the modem lights flashing a variety of colours and no internet, also the periodic loss of the landline. Now, after being in touch with 'Faults' the slow speed seems to be the only major complaint.
We have a Telstra Gateway Smart Modem and are usually running WIFI on 2 PCs
NBN people have declared that it is a Telstra fault......nothing from the helpers at Telstra.

[Jupiter]

What speeds are you getting, and if you plug a PC into the modem using an ethernet cable do the speeds improve?

[plumtreed]

.....Ping @13, Down @5.30 Up @8.45 when I use ethernet the speed increases marginally.

I have had very good results for a time, down @ approx 30-40 MPS but this drops off periodically.......suggesting that perhaps all is good from the node in............a desktop is in the office via ethernet while laptops and notebooks are almost always used in the same room.....distance no more than 3Ms

[Jupiter]

Periodical disconnection usually indicates a faulty termination at the node, or somewhere between the node and your premises.

Can you log in to your modem and paste the Broadband Connection stats here (connection type, speeds, signal to noise ratio, errors, etc)?

[plumtreed]

I'll pass on some info but I'm not inclined to publish the rest cos it probably isn't essential....

Connection Information
Status IPv4 connected
IPv6 connected
Uptime 00:36:55
Data Transfered 46.27 MB(Sent)
68.85 MB(Received)
IPv4 Address
Primary DNS
Secondary DNS
IPv6 Address

[plumtreed]

..........in checking, 'Guests' show up with different network keys and I was wondering what that means?

[cf4]

The guest networks should have different network keys to prevent guests from accessing your home network and gaining access to personal documents on your devices. For security people connected to the guest network only have access to the internet and can't see devices on your home network.

It looks like you have the Arcadyan version of the Gen 2 Smart modem. On the Technicolor version off the modem the Advanced > Broadband > DSL Link status is similar to image below.

There have been a few report of the Arcadyan modem connected to FTTN or ADSL achieving good speed result when first installed but after the first firmware update the drop outs are fixed but speed drops back. Is this the problem you have at first speed was good but now it is poor, or do you get intermittent periods of good speed followed by periods of low speed?

[abthomp]

Brilliant isn't it?

You have a contractual agreement with Telstra under which they charge you for providing certain services and when they don't provide them they simply say "Not our problem, you need to contact NBNCo."

The fact that you have no contractual agreement with NBNCo just gets laughed off.

It's a huge rort and unfortunately typical of anything that Canberra gets its hand on.

[plumtreed]

Sorry, I just don't know what I am doing.......but here is the result.

I went to the garage and dug up the old modem box which says I have a technicolor d3a0230

The 'symptoms' are as you describe.......worked well for a time, a long time, then went bad.

Up

DSL Uptime

7 hours 52 minutes 17 seconds

DSL Type

VDSL2

DSL Mode

Fast

Maximum Line rate

13.03 Mbps 6.91 Mbps

Line Rate

13.36 Mbps 5.8 Mbps

Data Transferred

265.5 MBytes 561.04 MBytes

Output Power

8.8 dBm 12 dBm

Line Attenuation

9.6, 41.7, 60.7 dB 21.3, 56.2, 74.3 dB

Noise Margin

6.7 dB 7.7 dB

[plumtreed]

I have to agree.........I guess I have to find another carrier who will start from scratch.....a new modem and probably a cheaper rate.....with a bit of luck a decent download rate!

[Jupiter]

Do you have other phone sockets?
Your stats look a bit like mine did when I first migrated to NBN.
If you do, get them disconnected from your main socket as they could be causing interference. Just doing that, gave my speeds a massive boost.

[cf4]

Those stats definitely indicate the speed problem is with the NBN link or the modem and not Telstra's network. The maximum link speed depends on the physical properties of the link and the capabilities of the port you are connected to in the Node and the modem.

Judging by the attenuation of the link the maximum speed should be about 40 Mbps down and 15 up. It would be interesting to see if the line stats vary with time this would indicate a faulty termination that is causing an intermittent fault. The advanced > broadband  > DSL diagnostics would also indicate if there might be a problem with the line.

[plumtreed]

Hi jupiter,

I appreciate your help but we only have the one landline connected.

[plumtreed]

Thanks for the feedback cf4, we have an underground box just outside the house where the Telstra connections are located .......is this the 'node'?

[plumtreed]

Here are the DSL diagnostics which seem to confirm very poor speeds.....

Modem Time
0days, 01:24:30
Current Day Start
Wed May 15 2019 08:31:58 AM, 01:23:59 ago
Showtime
0days, 01:18:49
DSL Standard
VDSL2
Max Bandwidth Down
7.06Mbps
Max Bandwidth Up
13.4Mbps

[Jupiter]

No. That is a connection pit. The Node is normally a green cabinet (about 1.2m wide, 60cm deep, 1.2-1.5m tall).

[Jupiter]

Yes, I only had one landline connected, but from the primary socket I also had wiring going to a socket in the kitche and a back to base alarm system. Even though I didn't have a phone plugged in to any of them, the wiring itself was causing interference.

[plumtreed]

Thanks Jupiter..........but we have no other connections on the phone line.

Appreciate your description of the node........I'll have look for it next time I take a walk.

[cf4]

If you scroll down on the diagnostics page there is s list of error stats that will indicate if there is a line fault. The speed has varied which is a good indication off a intermittent line fault. You were getting 30 Mbps before so I don't agree with @Jupiter  that it is house wiring.

NBN co should send out a Technician to investigate as your link speed is well below there guaranteed minimum.

[Jupiter]

@cf4 I agree that it is most likely a problem somewhere between the node and the house.

But it is not unheard of that a degrading connection within the house or someone buying a new piece of electronic equipment causing interference with the existing wiring. In any case, had they had extra outlets, they really should be disconnected.

When the NBN Co technician comes, make sure that they test your connection both at the Maddison Box on the outside of your house, and from the socket that your modem is connected to. Especially if they say that it it OK from the outside.

[plumtreed]

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate all that you have suggested but I called 'faults' again and after a lot of testing they have decided that the modem is faulty and should be replaced.

A new modem is coming and hopefully should do the job. Makes sense cos things were going pretty well until recently which suggests something had deteriorated.

.....and so it goes

[RandomAussie]

Not that this will help you at all...   

My only complaint about Telstra is their ridiculous excuse for technical support call centers.

How they can get away with people who barely speak or understand English supporting an Australian core service is completely beyond me.

Your real problem is you have fiber to the node which is by far the worst version of NBN so if you want to be angry at anyone, be angry at Tony Abbot and his communications minister Malcolm Turncoat (Turnbull) as they are the people who broke Australia NBN.

When my local minister was trying to convince me to vote liberals i told him his party broke my internet and i will never forgive them and he couldn't come up with anything to say after that.

[cf4]

@RandomAussie 

FTTN is not the worst type of NBN. People have Fixed radio NBN would be very happy to have a FTTN service and Fixed Radio was part of the NBN plan under labour.

@plumtreed 

I hope the new modem fixes your problem but it is more likely to a line fault. A line fault can also gradually develop over a period of time. At least Telstra has admitted there is a problem and if the modem doesn’t fix the speed issue will be able to convince NBN to send a Technician.

[RandomAussie]

Yes, you are correct. But i was referring to suburbia NBN not rural and failed to mention it

[plumtreed]

.....exactly, and if the modem doesn't work we push from there!

[343GuiltySpark]

If the modem isn't the issue your ticket will get sent to NBN co to investigate further.

[plumtreed]

I was in touch with 2 Indians and 1 filipino in my efforts to get things fixed.....all spoke English very well except the Indians when we were discussing cricket and their favourite team.........all were good natured and pleasant.....and tried very hard to fix things.
The fttn worked fine for a few years.......I'm not a gun computer expert but I was happy with it.
....politically I see Labor biting off too much when they initiated the NBN and Liberals finishing off in an affordable way.
........for now, I would just like a reasonable NBN speed

[RandomAussie]

Maybe their call centers have improved. i never have to call Telstra anymore since getting FTTP. I've never had an internet outage that didn't end up being my own hardware needing a restart or a pre-warned maintenance.

I work in the industry and have to restrain myself from groaning when a potential client wants me to fix their FTTN. Its nearly always out of the bounds of anything i can fix.

I just thank who ever chose my area to be the 2nd NBN roll-out zone.

[plumtreed]

Seriously, things were going well here until this recent upset;(

We have had some warnings about Telstra making improvements during the night but nothing seemed to change. Then we hit a wall and things started to crawl.

I thought the overseas faults people were good and really happy to chat......there are a lot of opportunities while tests are in progress.

I'm envious of you FTTP install.......but i'm hopeful we will get back on track!

My complaint is related to the difficulty in getting the 'repair' process started.....there is nothing worse than that insulting, idiotic Robot lady at the start!

[abthomp]

Sounds to me like you've come to the point where the next logical step is a complaint to the Ombudsman.

[plumtreed]

Not yet.....I will see how the new modem goes and then follow up about the condition of the line.

The biggest problem I encountered was cracking through a form of defensive barrier to talk to a real person in order to get a repair solution.

[plumtreed]

Well nothing yet.....but I guess I am being naive to expect the promised quick service!

..........playing with 'deadslow' NBN, landline not available & dropping out, no internet at all at times.

.....all this moves me towards other smaller & more efficient, to say nothing about cheaper, providers.

[plumtreed]

In an attempt to find the missing modem, I 'chatted' with Chennie to discover that the modem has been requisitioned on my behalf but he couldn't say anything more than that.......he referred me to the case manager and gave me a phone number.......which, when Rita Robot answered, she suggested the faults line was too busy so it would be best if I didn't wait

[TommyR]

Hi Plumtreed. 

Sorry to hear that. 
 

If you can provide me with your complaint reference number beginning with "SR 1-",  I would be happy to chase this up for you, reach out to your complaint case manager on your behalf to have them contact you so we can get your complaint resolved. 

Regards - 

[plumtreed]

....your help would be greatly appreciated.......the complaint # SR 1-2031257123815

Oddly, Saturday, late, about 11PM things started to go well with apparent reasonable download times......but this morning we have an 'orange' light on internet?

Look forward to anything you can do, thanks

[Iain_T]

Thanks for these details plumtreed. I've passed this onto your case manager to call and see what can be done for you. You may wish to call 133 933 to have this looked into sooner as these callbacks will be made during business hours. 

[plumtreed]

Thanks for your help.......just want a reliable system including a landline, day in day out, ......which is normal & what I pay for

[plumtreed]

......starting at about 11pm Sat to 3pm Sun I had v/good speeds averaging near 30mps and thought things may be fixed.....but not now, back to normal AFU with no landline for a long period. How can things be so bad?

[plumtreed]

..........that phone just starts with Rita Robot..........who starts at the beginning again.....I guess I have had enough of all this ________!

[IvanS]

Hi @plumtreed,

If you haven't heard back from your Complaint Case Manager by Wednesday please let us know. 

[plumtreed]

.......anybody home?

End of business day Tuesday......no contact yet & no modem either!