One day in the life of a substandard router...

[markdotjames]

firstly let me just say its been 5 weeks now since i was promised a call back from Vodafone broadband team and the complaints department, I will post each week every where I can until they do

only one positive thing here is i DO NOT have any problems with the actual speed, consistentsy or quality of the broadband itself.

The router on the other hand is a whole world of ##~##.

My setup:

Vodafone Connect (VC) - 192.168.0.1, everything turned off except DHCP for 4 addresses. (DMZ set to 192.168.0.11 - NOT WORKING)

TP Link Archer C9 (TP) - 192.168.0.11 (Dirty), 192.168.1.1 (Clean), doing everything else.

All is good inside the house now, wifi is strong, consistent and have no problems, My Philips hue wont connect to the world and the VC router will not correctly route DMZ.

In theory i set the TP ip as the DMZ in the VC router which basically means " Anything not explicetly routed is sent to this address " does it work - not even close.

the only way i can get my IP cameras working is for the VC to route the port to the TP then the TP routes the port to the IP Camera.

Now i need to know if its my router or a common problem?

any help appreciated.

Mark

[Nabs]

I'd be willing to be it's a common problem @markdotjames

The Issue with Philips Hue has it's own (ever growing) thread running, there are some suggested workarounds but none of them seems to be reliable. Vodafone acknowledged the problem but no idea when they plan on fixing it.

I've seen other people reporting issues with DMZ and port forwarding not working as it should, though it's been going on for some time and with each firmware update they seem to fix something whilst breaking something else.

[markdotjames]

I try to be positive in most things in life but when the managers of a company have no respect for you as a customer then honestly nothing is ever going to get done about your problems, my next course of action is seek advice elsewhere.

Background:

Had so many problems call into Vodafone and promised a call back from a manager 17 feb 2017

Contacted them again today and here is the transcript:

Charlie: 
so you never got the manager call back you were promised on 17th feb?

Mark: thanks
Mark: nope
Charlie: 
that's unacceptable, really sorry about that, just give me a few mins please Mark.  

Mark: ok
Charlie: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Mark: ok
Charlie: 
Thanks for waiting there, I was just hunting down the manager who was meant to be calling, I actually know him and he has never missed a call back before, just spoken with him and he's really shocked this has happened, he's been very busy, not that's any excuse.
He is now more than aware and said he will 100% call you today and asked me to apologise for him. So please wait for his call, it will be between now and no later than 4.30.

Highlights:

Charlie:

so you never got the manager call back you were promised on 17th feb?

Charlie:

that's unacceptable, really sorry about that, just give me a few mins please Mark.  

Charlie:

Thanks for waiting there, I was just hunting down the manager who was meant to be calling, I actually know him and he has never missed a call back before, just spoken with him and he's really shocked this has happened, he's been very busy, not that's any excuse.
He is now more than aware and said he will 100% call you today and asked me to apologise for him. So please wait for his call, it will be between now and no later than 4.30.

So please wait for his call, it will be between now and no later than 4.30.

Guess what !!!! - Nothing

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi,

Something I say is.... "Things can sometimes go wrong which I'm sure many accept, but then it's ultimately down to how it's put right that then counts ,and instills confidence back into the product and service. Communication is Key. "

Inexcusable !

Is this in connection to the Broadband Issues you've experienced. 

The forum has Vodafone Tech Teams. They read all posts so perhaps let them catch up with yours and try and assist you. 

[markdotjames]

To be honest i have resolved most of the problems myself now, only DMZ and philips hue not working and I am sure once DMZ is working the rest will follow, I fully understand that things go wrong and I am also a firm believer in " its how you fix it" that stands you out, its the lack of respect and to be honest being lied too that gets me the most.

[paulcormack]

That is absolutely ridiculous.   They have absolutely no shame with the lies as well.   There goal is to get rid of you as quickly as possible and they will say anything to that end.  Next time you contact them it will be unlikely to be them..

I'm just speechless.  They obviously are more than aware of the issues cause of the amount they are investing in new CSR positions over the next few years but seriously what is the point of having an extra 2000 staff if the staff are just a bunch of liars ?

Good luck to you I do hope you get a reoslution.

[Tash]

@markdotjames Apologies for the delay in reaching your post.

I'm glad to hear that the issues you were experiencing with your broadband are now resolved, however I'm sorry to hear of the customer service that you received during this time.

If you'd like us to feed this back to the relevant departments so we can ensure that this doesn't happen again in the future, please contact us through the details I've sent to you over private message.

[markdotjames]

As mush as i appreciate your trying to help, your not, my issues are NOT resolved, your manager has LIED to me twice, you do not respect me as a customer and your ductomer service is disgraceful, on two occasions i have been toldi would receive a call from a manager 100%.... a manager !!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry for the rant but i can assure you that you have no idea how angry you company makes me feel.

just take a few minutes and digest this statement - YOUR managers cannot even be bothered to call me back ..... TWICE !!!!

[lyonsj400]

Hey Mark dot James, exact same issues here. VF router is a pile of ##~##. VF won't allow use of own router. I put a complaint in. Repeated promises to be called back. It's just a myth. Got a letter through the post that I need to contact the ombudsman as my complaint has still not been resolved after three months. That's exactly what I'm doing. By the way, when I talk to the lying customer services, I turn on my phone's loudspeaker and use my laptop to record the call. All of this is going to the ombudsman.

What VF really need is to be fined another couple of million, sack a few ##~## managers who make ##~## decisions, then things wil be much better.

[markdotjames]

I will just post here and on social media every day counting the hours a manager has not bothered calling me back, its the least i can do for such a great company, btw social media is a great way to let others know of the great service we have been receiving

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