How to get my landline working again (post FTTP installation)?

[teuchter_61]

Hi there

As per the subject line above; I have had no landline service since having my broadband upgraded to fibre optic on 11th January, I have honestly lost count of how many calls I have made to Vodafone's customer service (sic) department - and every time I do call them, I have to retell the entire story from the very beginning and listen to their cast-iron promises that they will get the problem solved 'within an hour/two hours/24 hours' (delete as appropriate) - which of course never happens.

Should be noted here that I have been with Vodafone for almost a year and have not had any problems with them whatsoever until now. Also - I am disabled and mostly at home, so rely heavily on my landline to connect with doctors/nurses/specialists etc - unfortunately, my mobile signal (Vodafone) is not the best in my area.)

Ironically, the fibre broadband is working like a dream: guaranteed 100 Mbps and average test speed so far of 108 Mbps.

Would appreciate any advice anyone is able to give re the landline.

Cheers,

Teuchter

[broaderband]

This made the difference for me - thanks.   I used your link to start a chat and explained I'd had the FTTP upgrade and everything was working except the landline.  CityFibre (installer) had left me a short phone adapter cable but advised it might not be enabled for a few days.  4 weeks later, still no dial tone.   I also mentioned that the "Phone" light on the front of the router was not lit, and as seen online (this thread in fact) I understood this to mean the landline had not been fully provisioned at the VF end.  Chat agent  understood, looked into it, and configured it.  5 minutes later he asked was the light on now (it was) and when I tested it, got the dial tone and all is good.  Didn't even require a router reboot.  Hopefully this helps someone else.  My experience with VF cust service (over many years now) has been dreadful, but on this occasion I couldn't fault them.  

[Bushy]

Reading this thread confirms my own understanding, completely refuted by a VF support agent this morning.
We were emailed with an offer for a FTTP upgrade at £3 more than we were paying for FTTC.  I contacted support to check that this included the landline and that our existing landline number would be transferred to VOIP.  The date for the upgrade was given as Tuesday 17th January.  Openreach came in to do the cabling and the broadband was up and running while they were still hear. I contacted support the following day because the landline was still not working. After various checks to confirm that the phone was correctly connected the agent decided that they couldn't do anything because the upgrade was not showing as complete on their system.

I then got an email to say the upgrade was taking place yesterday (19th). This morning the order was showing as complete, the landline was still not working.  So I contacted support again. The agent insisted that I needed a VOIP adaptor and that the phone wouldn't work without it, so I have to wait until one is sent to me. 
The phone LED on the router is not lit. I can't dial out and am now doubly concerned because when I ring the number it responds as unrecognised - until today it was 'we cannot connect you'. 

[Jayach]

If the phone LED on the router isn't lit, it hasn't been setup correctly. The VoIP adapter is nothing of the sort, is just a adapter that connects the RJ11 sockets on the router to the BT plug on the phone. (assuming you have the THG3000 router, not the new Ultra hub)

[Bushy]

Thank you. Yes its the THG3000. I had guessed that there was nothing much in the VOIP Adaptor and this thread confirmed that. The Openreach installer said that the Phone LED would light when digital voice was enabled but the conversation with VF agent Kirti was:

Kirti: I see you had a conversation with Gaurav previously and I have also read that so Just to confirm you are connecting RJ11 cable to the back side of the router using voip adaptor ?
You: There is no VOIP adaptor as I am using an RJ11 - RJ11 cable
You: Exactly as https://cdn.sp-selfservice.com/spagents/media/a2eedac2-8744-4899-818c-b9d6042f0657.png
Kirti: I see the setup is incorrect due to which your landline is not working , let me share you the right step so that we can get it working.
Kirti: The right step is you need to connect RJ11 cable to the VoIP adaptor and VoIP adaptor has to be connected to the back side of the router either in TEL 1 or TEL2 and as you don't have the VoIP adaptor I am arranging this for you for free of cost which you will receive with in 1- 3 working days and kindly make sure once you receive it please set it up in this way only and then landline will be working absolutely fine.
You: and if it doesn't ... ?
Kirti: I am sure it will work absolutely fine Robert if it doesn't you can simply chat back to us and we will pass this case to our next level team for further investigation..

[Bushy]

 Kirti: and this is a right setup Robert, This is how a landline works in fiber connection .
You: My understanding is that if the telephone service is connected that the LED light on the router would show
Kirti: Setup is incorrect due to this the LED lights are not showing once the setup is correct it will be working for you 

[Jayach]

My belief (from previous posts on here) is that the light will be present when the VoIP is setup correctly, irrespective of whether the phone is connected or not.

Obviously when you receive the adapter you can try that, but I doubt it will help.

Please do let us know how it goes.

[Bushy]

VOIP adaptor arrived today - at least they can send bits out quickly. Had to go and find the BS 6312 lead that I'd taken off the phone. As expected still nothing, no LED, no dial tone, couldn't dial out and got 'unable to connect you' when attempting to dial in.
Back onto chat - used the quick link this time so got straight through to a person.
He went through the rigmarole of confirming that the phone was connected via the VOIP adaptor then actually accessed the router. He said initially that it wasn't showing as being online, although I was chatting to him via broadband, so I had to reset it. He said it needed some updates after which the LED came on and the phone worked for incoming and outgoing calls. Just to prove a point I have connected it using the RJ11 - RJ11 cable and it still works both ways. 
Surely the first thing they should ask if it is a VOIP problem is "is the the 'Phone' LED lit".

I've submitted a complaint.

[ritz]

Sorry if this is an old thread. I have the same problem, FTTP activated last week, phone LED not lit. The chat agent was adamant they could fix it for me remotely first. When all reboots, restarts, and factory resets failed, he was 100% sure he could resolve it by supplying the 'correct' VoIP adapter (which is not a VoIP adapter, btw). Long story short, adapter is here and connected to a Gigaset DECT, phone LED is not lit and back to square one. 

Second chat with the humanoid robots revealed a 'potential fault' for which a Level 2 VF engineer will call me to arrange a visit to resolve the problem (sic).

Note, this is not an Openreach engineer, I'm on FTTP. They said they are sending a real VF engineer in flesh to fix the problem!

[Jayach]

---

@ritz wrote:

Second chat with the humanoid robots revealed a 'potential fault' for which a Level 2 VF engineer will call me to arrange a visit to resolve the problem (sic).

Note, this is not an Openreach engineer, I'm on FTTP. They said they are sending a real VF engineer in flesh to fix the problem!

---

There is absolutely nothing that can be done "on site" to cure that problem.

Goodness knows who you may get (if indeed you do get someone)

It will take them no more than a few minutes to correct your setup, once you can find someone capable of doing it.

Without the PHONE led lit, it will never work.

[ritz]

I'm aware of this, thanks @Jayach . I am curious though to meet the engineer, if they ever go down that way. I personally doubt it, there has to be some logic that will prevail in the end.

I think this chat team does more harm to the company that it does any good, to be honest. Their advice is rarely useful nor does it rely on any form of logic. They must be following flowcharts for X problem resolution which are failing them badly. Like all communication does with VF, normally.