Very noisy phone line

It all started about 3 days ago when we had a small power cut, for about 5 seconds. I noticed a very bad crackling noise on the phone . I phoned the help line ( in India or somewhere else) ,he told me to open the main Bt box and connect the phone. I did this and it was sort of better, a very faint noise in the background...but a lot better.
When I put the main box back together the crackling came back. I have an extension which runs up to the office. I have never had a problem like this before. I have checked and re-wired both extension boxes, I have also put in new  in-line filters at both ends. The crackling noise is still there. The broadband is working fine, both phones are working ok. I did notice that when I opened the main BT box, the terminals were off colour and the copper connectors were slightly bent. I don't know how old the main box is?
Has anybody and ideas please before I phone BT again and get  some answers, or possible a replacement main box.
Thanking anybody.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Don't rule out a problem with BT's network, even if the problem appears to be within your house.
I've had an open fault on my land-line since the beginning of June - unusable because of noise and lousy broadband reliability.
I've had about 10 OpenReach engineers come out and each one repeats the same tests - and it appears the OpenReach fault management system provides no continuity as not one had any idea of the previous visits.  They've variously blamed:
My router
My filter
My ISP (not BT)
My extension wiring (non-existent)
The master socket (replaced)
The line jack (removed)
the pair back to the exchange (swapped)
No fix yet, and this is the first Internet connectivity I've had for 6 days.  Last night I discovered that my next door neighbour has exactly the same problems as me.  I'd change supplier if OpenReach didn't have a monopoly in my street.  Oh, and I'd gladly pay the £99 call-out if they'd fix the fault but they won't even commit to a diagnosis.  I now don't admit engineers into my premises without knowing exactly what they intend to do in advance.
I'm paying for a phone service, and separately for broadband and I can't use either.  Don't give up!

Similar Messages

  • Very noisy phone line and always engaged

    Hi all,
    My phone line has been very very very noisy that it is now impossible to hear someone over the phone.
    Since we have a wireless phone, thought I would disconnect all electric appliances around the cordless phone like the TV, WAP, DVD Player but the noise still exists in the extension and also in the master socket.
    I bought a corded phone to test it today and the noise still exist and now for some reason when rining my landline number from a mobile it says its engaged and when definitely is not!
    I am at a lost here.
    I have ran the bt line checker many times and it keeps on saying that it has not got any faults and the fault is after the demarcation point which I think is not.
    Can anyone else offer any advice? perhaps how to "reset" the line so it is not engaged anymore, any advice would be good.
    AE

    angeloedades wrote:
    Thanks Somerled.
    Im pretty reluctant to report it as a fault since I have been reading some of the posts here and it seems that BT will hunt you down in any way possible for teh £127.99.
    I guess I will have to do this carefully to make sure that I have done all my tests.
    Is there anything else that I should do before I report it?
    Also I can't seem to make any incoming and outgoing calls now!
    Thanks for the advice though.
    AE
    Thats why you need to record the noise your self and as said ask the op to recordd it and to agree that they can hear it plus get afew people to witness the noise
    If any post helps tick the star box on the left
    Just cause Im paranoid dont mean they are not out to get me

  • Broadband drops out & noisy phone lines.

    Hi,
    Not sure whether this needs to be posted here or in the phone section as both areas are effected. 
    My property is pretty old and the internal phone sockets/wiring is also quite dated. I've always had issues with my phone lines being very noisy to the point where i have simply done away with having a house phone (not ideal). 
    I use my internet for many hours every day - its an essential part of my life and income. I had a new internal socket fitted about 2 or 3 years back exclusively for my internet use to help improve the connection which had been fine until recently. 
    I had new windows fitted which required the socket to be moved & ever since then my connection has been unreliable and drops out.
    Ive reported the fault on the line earlier today and am waiting to hear back off BT but thought i'd post here in the mean time. 
    I use a Belkin router and have spoken to them but they were unable to help. After running a few tests they said it was most likel a phone line fault. I have also tried a different router and experienced exactly the same issues. 
    How do i go about identifying the fault & getting it fixed? With it likely being an internal fault, is it likely to cost me money? What are the terms & conditions with this type of problem?
    Also, how would i go about getting new sockets installed in my house so i could get a working house phone? How much is this likely to cost?
    Thanks for any advice. 

    was the new socket you had fitted like this    if so any extension sockets in your home should be connected to the back of the bottom half of the socket NTE5.  It may be that moving the socket has moved some of the wires and they are loose.
    BT are responsible for the wiring up to the first socket in your where the cable comes in from outside.  if the problem is found to be your internal wiring after the master socket then you will be charged at least £130
    If you like a post, or want to say thanks for a helpful answer, please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side of the post.
    If someone answers your question correctly please let other members know by clicking on ’Mark as Accepted Solution’.

  • Noisy phone line

    About a week ago my phone line became very noisy and my internet connection kept dropping. After contacting BT they tested the line and said no faults found and blamed the fault on a line filter and promptly sent me 2 new ones.
    Since fitting these the noise has got worse and have now started to get disconnected during phone calls.
    I have done the quiet line test normally and through the test socket but still get bad noise, anyone got any ideas before I end up paying for an engineer to come and look.
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    Hi akirk,
    Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting. I can look into this for you. Drop me an email with the details. You'll find the "contact us" form in the about me section of my profile. Once I have the details we'll take it from there.
    Cheers
    David
    BTCare Community Mod
    If we have asked you to email us with your details, please make sure you are logged in to the forum, otherwise you will not be able to see our ‘Contact Us’ link within our profiles.
    We are sorry but we are unable to deal with service/account queries via the private message(PM) function so please don't PM your account info, we need to deal with this via our email account :-)

  • Noisy Phone Line - initially

    Hi All,
    I have a rather interesting problem that I'm wondering if anybody has experienced, or may know the cause. For a couple of weeks now I have had an issue where the phone line is very noisy when first used; i.e. I'll pick it up and it will be popping and crackling and hissing with gay abandon however, during the call the line will slowly improve until after 10 minutes or so it is clear as a bell.
    This also has a knock on effect on the broadband - if the telephone has not been used for a while the BB speeds will drop. I first noticed the problem as my BB speed had dropped to sub 1Mb from its usual 4.5-5Mb. When checking the line I heard it popping and crackling away although after time this cleared and when I checked the BB speed again it was back to normal (or close to it). Then the next morning BB speed was down again, next afternoon it was even worse.
    I have tried everything I can to rule out something internal - replace all micro filters, replaced RJ11 cable to router - even replaced the router. Used both a corded and cordless phone and the result is the same. I've now removed the faceplate from the master socket and I'm running everything off that but the problem still remains. The only thing that seems to improve it is to make a call of some length and then the line quality and BB speed improves - for a while.
    Any advice anyone can offer will be gratefully received. I would call for an engineer, but I'm worried that if I've used the phone before he turns up everything will seem OK and I'll get hit with a £100 bill.
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    UPDATE:
    So, I made an appointment last Wednesday (14th August) for an engineer to visit and I was told that somebody would be here today before 17:00.
    I take the day off and wait in all day for nobody to turn up. I contact 151 to see what is happening only to be told that no appointment had been made! So I have had to waste a day off, and will have to waste yet another day on Wednesday, waiting for an engineer again.
    Is there a number in this country that I can call in order to make a complaint? Can I seek reimbursement of £99 from BT for wasted time (the same amount they would have charged me if I couldn't be bothered waiting in for them)?
    The only plus is that now I have been on the phone for 30 minutes dealing with this the quality of the line has improved and the BB speed has gone back to normal again... However this wont last and by tomorrow things will be back to normal again.
    I have to say BT's customer service is **bleep** poor and if I had another choice for service provider I would switch immediately, however as there is no other choice in my area I am stuck with BT!
    I will update again on Wednesday when (IF!) an engineer is sent.

  • Please help, noisy phone line think its a high res...

    HI,
    Just moved in and phone line / bt broadband was activated a week ago.  Phone master socket is OpenReach branded.
    I have the BT supplied broadband filter fitted directly to the test socket (just the adsl router and a single phone connected).
    Using the 17070 quiet line test , i have varying volumes on hissing and noise on the phone. This varies between loud and intrusive (difficult to hear callers) to fairly quiet.  This seemed to be better during the cold weather over last weekend, but is worse again this morning.
    I can also hear adsl connection noise when the router was connecting, depsite being through the adsl filters. This lead me to find threads related to High resistance faults whcih I think may apply to me.
    BT online fault test shows no fault found.
    Adsl Stats:
    I was supplied with a home hub 3A
    Connection Information
    Line state: Connected
    Connection time: 0 days, 21:29:11
    Downstream: 3.625 Mbps
    Upstream: 448 Kbps
    ADSL Settings
    VPI/VCI: 0/38
    Type: PPPoA
    Modulation: G.992.1 Annex A
    Latency type: Interleaved
    Noise margin (Down/Up): 10.6 dB / 15.0 dB
    Line attenuation (Down/Up): 32.2 dB / 16.0 dB
    Output power (Down/Up): 19.9 dBm / 12.4 dBm
    FEC Events (Down/Up): 2941 / 325
    CRC Events (Down/Up): 12 / 45
    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    HEC Events (Down/Up): 79 / 30
    Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 8 / 22
    1. Product name: BT Home Hub
    2. Serial number: 
    3. Firmware version: Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.57.1.3 (Type A) Last updated Unknown
    4. Board version: BT Home Hub 3.0A
    5. ADSL uptime: 0 days, 21:31:21
    6. Bandwidth: 448 / 3712
    7. Data sent/received: 0.3 / 2.7
    8. Broadband username: [email protected]
    9. BT FON: Yes
    10. Wireless network/SSID: BTHub3-KC3K
    11. Wireless connections: Enabled, (802.11 b/g/n (Recommended)) 20 MHz
    12. Wireless security: WPA and WPA2
    13. Wireless channel: Automatic / 1
    14. Firewall: Default
    15. MAC Address: 
    16. VPI/VCI: 0 / 38
    17. Line profile: Interleaved
    18. Software variant: -
    19. Boot loader: -
    The home hub doesn't seem too good at keeping the sync, speed drops regularly and it maintains a high SNR.
    My previous router was a Thomson Speedtouch 780, which provides a higher sync and much better stability. Presumably this is due to the broadcom chipset (would a home hub 3b also be better?)
    Speedtouch stats from this morning:
    speedtouch 4/12/12 08:45
    DSL Connection
    Link Information
    Uptime: 1 day, 10:39:46
    Modulation: G.992.1 annex A
    Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 5.120
    Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 24,94 / 119,27
    Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12,0 / 19,5
    Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 15,5 / 31,0
    SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 19,0 / 9,0
    Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / TSTC
    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Link (Remote): 0
    Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 158.090
    CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 68
    HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 62
    speedtouch 04/12/12 09:30
    DSL Connection
    Link Information
    Uptime: 1 day, 11:25:26
    Modulation: G.992.1 annex A
    Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 5.120
    Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 28,90 / 129,91
    Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12,0 / 19,5
    Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 15,5 / 31,0
    SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 19,0 / 4,5
    Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / TSTC
    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Link (Remote): 0
    Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 171.051
    CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 68
    HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 62
    As your can see theres a wide range in the SNR figures, although the speedtouch is much better at holding the sync and not dropping the speed.
    Given the line attenuation at 31db, I would have expected a higher sync rate. The estimated line length of ~2.2km from kitz.co.uk seems to be about right.
    Any advice appreciated, including how to report this fault to the right people.
    Thanks
    Jon

    I'm suspecting that I will be getting billed for the last engineer visit ( as he couldn't find a fault and therefore said it must be my equipment). I can't afford to pay one fee let alone 2 if I report it again with the same result.
    However since the visit, the occurrences of the intermittent noise on the line have been fewer and further between. This morning however, after listening to a 1571 message I heard more noise so I did a quiet line test to see. Initially the line was quiet, but then I heard some quit noise and then a ringing sound (like when you dial a number and it rings remotely) as if I had made a call. The "BT Quiet line message" cut in but I could still here the ringing underneath. I waited to see if I would be able to hear if someone answered but the ringing stopped after a while and I couldn't here a voice so I don't know if they answered or it rung off.
    Is it possible my line is picking up the ring tone from another line?
    Also, when the engineer arrived he initially said his test had shown a fault and that water must have got in somewhere. However when he removed my filter/phone/router from the test socket, his tests then showed no fault. Is it possible the fault only shows up when the adsl is active.  Back when the line was first active I could the router negotiating (even thorough 2 filters) although this doesn't happen now.
    Moving on to the adsl side of things, Currently my stats are:
    DSL Connection
    Link Information
    Uptime: 0 days, 11:48:54
    Modulation: G.992.1 annex A
    Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 5.440
    Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 9,61 / 39,04
    Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12,0 / 19,5
    Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 15,5 / 31,0
    SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 20,0 / 5,0
    Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / TSTC
    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    Loss of Link (Remote): 0
    Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
    FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 1.384
    CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 0
    HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 0
    Interleaved.
    With the BT Home hub (3a) the connection would drop peridocally, so I'm using my Thomson 780wl which hold the connection better and also shows less FEC errors than the HH.
    I think the connection speed and the interlacing are poor given the line attenuation. The line length is about 2 - 2.5km,  underground from the village to the exchange, overground to the house. No cabinets directly connected to exchange.
    I've been monitoring signal to noise ratio and have noticed something odd:
    This happens every day, in the same pattern.  Its not interference from any internal wiring or appliances or heating etc. I understand that noise changes over time but this is a 5+ DB drop is this normal?
    Any advice?

  • Noisy phone line, here we go again......

    Hi, all,
    I'm new here, so please be gentle!
    We've been going round and round on this one for over a year, wonder if anyone has any new suggestions....
    Basically, we have an intermittent crackle on our land line. Been going on for ages now.
    We've had all sockets rewired and replaced, external cables changed, and the cable pair back to the pillar swapped.
    Thing is, despite 4 or 5 visits, an engineer has never heard the noise. I've been onto faults and explained this to the nice lady in Bangalore, and all they can do is send an engineer, depite the fact it's obviously nothing local.
    We had the same issue when we were with Virgin for phone service, which suggests to me (an old IT engineer) that the issue must be between the pillar and the exchange, but what do I know?
    Apart from looking for coreallations with weather, time of day, phase of the moon and sunspot activity, I don't see anything else I can do to avoid some poor engineer arriving, running a quiet line test and leaving again.
    Any suggestions?
    Thanks, Phil

    all you can do is persist with engineers until it is resolved
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  • Yet again, noisy phone line, and broadband slowed ...

    We've had this problem a few times now, and are looking for tips on how to get it sorted once and for all. I am convinced that it is caused by a dodgy connection somewhere external to our house, and it seems to happen more frequently in wet weather. We've done all the troubleshooting as recommended by BT, and are happy that it is not our side of the master socket. I have booked an engineer (June 4th - earliest available appointment), but last time I did that, by the time the appointment came around, the fault had rectified itself again (the weather had improved, so presumably things had dried out).
    Any suggestions gratefully accepted!

    If you are happy everything is ok at the test socket there is nothing else you can do other than wait for the engineers visit
    If you want to say thanks for a helpful answer,please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side If the reply answers your question then please mark as ’Mark as Accepted Solution’

  • Iphone 3g no longer takes the phone line

    I have an iPhone 3gs 16g white that I bought used and therefore no longer under warranty. Last night he started to get very little phone line and even in places where before now took up the message "service unavailable" how can I fix this? Thanks in advance

    The problem is not as if I insert the sim in another phone takes very well. I will try to reset and restore. Have you also had this problem or know of someone who had it and solved it this way?

  • Very slow connection after phone line repair

    I had my phone line repaired yesterday with new cabling and new BT box for phone and computer.My phone is fine, but the hub for my broadband does not appear to be ok.  the phone symbol on the hub did not light up at all  this morning, and after restarting the hub and going back to default settings it is now glowing orange only.  It was ok yesterday after being fixed. Very slow connection now. Should i keep  everything on  to see if it will right itself, or re-start yet again?
    I have been looking on BT's options for fixing but can't seem to find anything. the connections in my area are fine so it can't be an outside fault

    Which home hub do you have? Did you recently re-contract or change your package, as that will affect your hub phone.
    As for the speed issue, it should get better if you leave it alone.
    See Why has my speed dropped
    There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
    BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

  • Very slow connection speed, after phone line probl...

    My catalogue of problems starts about a month ago. The phone line developed heavy interference and my Broadband connection kept dropping. This was diagnosed as being a fault with my HH 1.5. BT duly sent me a replacement HH3 which arrived about 3 days later. I installed the new hub, changed all the wiring and the filters for the new kit that came with the hub only to discover that the interference on the phone line was now even worse. It was so bad that at times you could not even hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, so an engineer visit was arranged.
    A week later a BT engineer came and checked the line, sure enough there was a second problem and all the wiring from my house to the nearest telephone pole had to be replaced.
    These problems had had a catastrophic effect on my connection speed and profile (I was getting about 500 kbps both up and down stream), so I dutifully reset the hub after the engineer had finished and waited for the line to stabilise.
    14 days later and the upload speed had doubled, but the download speed is still unchanged at 570 kbps, about half the current upload speed. The line was a bit temperamental for the first few days but I have been able to maintain a solid connection for the last 4 days, current stats are as follows:
    ADSL Line Status
    Connection Information
    Line state:
    Connected
    Connection time:
    4 days, 04:42:16
    Downstream:
    574.3 Kbps
    Upstream:
    1.184 Mbps
    ADSL Settings
    VPI/VCI:
    0/38
    Type:
    PPPoA
    Modulation:
    G.992.5 Annex A
    Latency type:
    Interleaved
    Noise margin (Down/Up):
    29.9 dB / 5.6 dB
    Line attenuation (Down/Up):
    19.6 dB / 12.8 dB
    Output power (Down/Up):
    18.3 dBm / 12.4 dBm
    FEC Events (Down/Up):
    279 / 615
    CRC Events (Down/Up):
    0 / 94
    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    Loss of Power (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    HEC Events (Down/Up):
    0 / 156
    Error Seconds (Local/Remote):
    0 / 42
    There is only one active socket in the house, and the hub has been running from the test socket for the last week.
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    The Hub is connected to the test socket. Disconnecting the ADSL feed to the hub has had no real effect (The upload speed increased marginaly but still no change to the download speed). Reran speedtest too, the new stats are:
    FAQ
    1. Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
    Download  Speed
    0.44 Mbps
    0 Mbps
    0.5 Mbps
    Max Achievable Speed
     Download speedachieved during the test was - 0.44 Mbps
     For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 0.1 Mbps-0.5 Mbps.
     IP Profile for your line is - 0.51 Mbps
    2. Upstream Test: -provides background information.
    Upload Speed
    0.94 Mbps
    0 Mbps
    0.83 Mbps
    Max Achievable Speed
    Upload speed achieved during the test was - 0.94Mbps
     Additional Information:
     Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 0.83 Mbps
    ADSL Line Status
    Connection Information
    Line state:
    Connected
    Connection time:
    0 days, 00:02:29
    Downstream:
    574.3 Kbps
    Upstream:
    1.2 Mbps
    ADSL Settings
    VPI/VCI:
    0/38
    Type:
    PPPoA
    Modulation:
    G.992.5 Annex A
    Latency type:
    Interleaved
    Noise margin (Down/Up):
    29.9 dB / 5.9 dB
    Line attenuation (Down/Up):
    19.5 dB / 12.7 dB
    Output power (Down/Up):
    18.3 dBm / 12.4 dBm
    FEC Events (Down/Up):
    0 / 0
    CRC Events (Down/Up):
    0 / 0
    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    Loss of Power (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    HEC Events (Down/Up):
    0 / 0
    Error Seconds (Local/Remote):
    6 / 63

  • Crackly phone line and broadband disconnecting

    For a month or two i have been having problems with our phone line and broadband connection. The phone line is extremely noisy (interferance) and when you make a call or recieve a call the broadband disconnects. I have tried different filters, routers and wires but no good. I have conducted a quiet line test and the result was i could hear nothing on the line. When i unplug the hub and just have the phone connected to the socket the noise on the phone has gone and their is no problem, connecting the hub make the noise come back. As a result of all this my broadband speeds are very low.
    Here is my hub stats and a bt whole sale speed test.
    ADSL Line Status
    Connection Information
    Line state:
    Connected
    Connection time:
    0 days, 00:36:05
    Downstream:
    6.75 Mbps
    Upstream:
    448 Kbps
    ADSL Settings
    VPI/VCI:
    0/38
    Type:
    PPPoA
    Modulation:
    G.992.1 Annex A
    Latency type:
    Interleaved
    Noise margin (Down/Up):
    19.7 dB / 22.0 dB
    Line attenuation (Down/Up):
    7.0 dB / 3.0 dB
    Output power (Down/Up):
    13.9 dBm / 12.2 dBm
    FEC Events (Down/Up):
    7077 / 0
    CRC Events (Down/Up):
    12 / 0
    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    Loss of Power (Local/Remote):
    0 / 0
    HEC Events (Down/Up):
    19 / 0
    Error Seconds (Local/Remote):
    131 / 114
    Hide details
    Download  Speed
    0.81 Mbps
    0 Mbps
    2 Mbps
    Max Achievable Speed
     Download speedachieved during the test was - 0.81 Mbps
     For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 0.4 Mbps-2 Mbps.
     Additional Information:
     Your DSL Connection Rate :6.91 Mbps(DOWN-STREAM), 0.45 Mbps(UP-STREAM)
     IP Profile for your line is - 1.25 Mbps
    My dsl connection rate can get as high as 7.9 Mbps
    Any advice would be helpful thank you
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    your drops in connection have at one point reconnected with a far lower speed than normal resulting in the low ip profile.  if you stay conencted 24/7 for 3/5 days the profile will correct itself for your current connection speed
    I would as john46 suggested connected to test socket with a new filter and see if that helps
    If you like a post, or want to say thanks for a helpful answer, please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side of the post.
    If someone answers your question correctly please let other members know by clicking on ’Mark as Accepted Solution’.

  • Phone/line fault escalated but to where? Need an ...

    I have had problems with a very noisy line for quite a long time.  I cannot hear the noise but callers complain that it is very bad, so much so that I often have to contact them by mobile.  It affects approx 50% of calls.
    I have had 5 engineer visits since May and the most recent two engineers  have said the problem does not lie within the house but must be exchange or cabling or something else externally.  When I describe the problem they say that everything points to external.
    Two weeks ago I had a call from an Openreach person from North of England (I am in Fife, Scotland) who said he had seen the history of my problems.  He asked lots of questions, said he was sure it was a line or exchange problem, he was going to escalate to another team, and with the right people on to in, that within two weeks it should all be resolved.  
    I have just check the fault number that can be checked online and see that the fault says Closed on 12th August.  In fact, the problem seems to have been worse over the past few weeks and is certainly not fixed.
    Where can I phone/chat to/contact somebody to find out what is happening?  If I phone Faults I get India, and have to start the detail right from the beginning and I am asked to do all the tests that have already been done multiple times.  Does anyone know who the team would be where such a fault would be escalated?
    I am beginning to give up hope.
    Anniemac

    Hi anniemac,
    Please use the 'contact the mods' link in my forum profile under the 'about me' section to send in your details and we'll be happy to help. You can find the link by clicking on my username.
    Thanks
    Neil
    BTCare Community Mod
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  • Crackling Phone Line - BT Say It's Internal Wiring...

    I am pretty peeved with BT at the moment, to say the least, with two problems which I'm sure have to be related in some way. Firstly, for some time now our phone line has become more and more crackly, sometimes to the point where it is so noisy that the person at the other end can't be heard. I have reported it twice to BT recently as a fault (with a 20 minute hold each time) and each time the person in the call centre in India (presumably?) has tested the line and assured me that there is no line fault, so any fault which exists must be internal, therefore giving them the right to charge £99 for an Engineer's visit. That kind of highway robbery puts **bleep** Turpin to shame! We have not touched any of the internal wiring or sockets or fitted any new equipment before or after the crackling started so it's hard to see how it can be an internal fault. To confuse things further, when we disconnect our router (which is plugged into the master socket via a filtered faceplate) the crackling stops! Now our broadband speed has never been brilliant, but before the crackling we could achieve 3Mbps reasonably consistently, with pretty good stability. Since the crackling however, we are often down at a pitiful 300kbps with frequent dropouts, so now we have poor telephony and poor broadband. This is supposed to be the 21st century, but you wouldn't think so. My call centre friends are adamant there is no line fault but I just can't see how it could be anything else? Is there any way that I can bypass the call centre system and get this investigated properly, efficiently and fairly? I've seen some broadly similar posts which seem to have resulted in a satisfactory resolution, and that is all that I am looking to achieve, without any more stress or grey hairs! Please help!!

    Have you tried a known working corded telephone in the test point of your main socket as shown here.
    When the call centre run a line test it very rarely can detect a noisy line fault.
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  • At a loss with phone line

    Firstly I am stating for the record that I have a problem with my phone line. My broadband issues are just a by-product of the phone line fault.
    This problem has been going on for several years, although, 2 months ago i made some progress.
    The problem with my phone line occurs during extreme weather conditions, heavy rain or winds and as a result of it not being a permanent feature of my phone line. Over the past year, it has got a lot worse (broadband constantly dropping, struggling to be heard when on the phone), and after a lot of arguing with BT an engineer came out. Now bare in mind that the BT line tests came back as perfect and not a problem. engineer took one look at the cable coming in to the house and it crumbled in his hand. He also mentioned that he was picking something "odd" up on the line, but couldn't be sure what it was and seeing as the broadband connected that he would leave it.
    Since the engineers visit, I have had an OK phone line, just a bit quiet, until 2 weeks ago. When we had all that rain. The crackles came back that evening, causing crackles and white noise down the phone line. It lasted an hour or so, but enough time to turn my 2Mbps bras profile into a 130k profile. 3 days later and we recover (even though some intermittent crackles persist). The very next day and we're downloading at 2.5Mbps, the phone rings and the crackles are back. 
    The next day I ring up and complain and receive the whole dialogue about changing me £120 if the engineer comes out and can't find a fault. Funnily enough, the crackles (being intermittent) are not crackling at the time the engineer turns up, however, he states "The is more noise on the line than there should be" and "I'm going to pass it over to the underground team and see if they can find where the fault is". At this point I am now feeling hopeful that finally the fault might be found....
    Half an hour ago I have heard nothing, I decide to phone up and see if there is any news... No fault found and expect a bill for £120 is the response, from a very nice Indian lady who did seem to struggle with understanding me or at least hearing me. i protested and asked how could the engineer tell me one story and for me to then be told that a line test shows no fault and that I have to pay!
    Where it currently stands, is that I have insisted that the problem still exists and I have been told it will be resolved between 24-48hours.
    I will of course wait and see what BT come back with tomorrow, but I am at a loss of what more I can do. I work from home and having an equivalent to ISDN when I pay for broadband because the phone line keeps having a fit is getting a bit of a hassle. If the BRAS IP profile did not take 3days to recover after a bad storm, then I could cope, but I'm now been on a 130k connection for over a week now and am looking at having to pay 3120 just because I am trying to do something about it.
    If I turned round to my customers and said I'd look at their issue, but if I couldn't see anything I'd be charging them £120, they'd move else where.
    Any advice as to how I can take this forward?
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    I thought I had better post an update and I am pleased to say that it seems it has a potentially positive outcome.
    First of all the lady I spoke to on Friday got back to me yesterday to say that yet again OpenReach had investigated my issue "outside the property" and claimed to have "fixed the problem". While I am sceptical that they actually did anything (surely the broadband should have disconnected, if they fixed anything like replacing a cable, but as I am not a telcom's engineer I have not authority to make judgement), the lady implied that I had a case to dispute any charge if it ended up on my bill.
    The second was a response from a forum moderator who says that after reading my posts, my email and my fault reports, they say that it sounds like this is being caused by "a high resistance fault on your line. These can be very had to get to the bottom of unless the engineer is testing the line when condition are bad" and while notes that the fault has been closed (conversation yesterday with lady from BT), they suspect that if the line does have this type of fault, then it is highly unlikely that the fault has actually been fixed and I should contact them back as soon as the noise starts up again. Oh, and they have requested no charges be applied for the visit on Thursday.
    So, fingers crossed... It does seem to highlight quite a variance in the quality of customer service that you get from BT. Plus, no matter how frustrated you get, you should persevere, as there are some good people that seem willing to help and will be on your side.  

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