Friday, April 04, 2025
After waking up yesterday I checked my router in case my broadband had restarted overnight. Still red, so no.
But I also had a text message from BT's Diagnostic Bot.
"We wanted you to know that the fault you reported to us is now fixed. Please turn your router off and on, and your service should be fully restored."
Ho-bloody-rah.
I turned it off and on and waited. I was hoping to see a blue ring to confirm everything was up and running again but instead I got red. I turned it off and on a few times as you do, just in case, but nothing connected.
Which was odd because the BT Service Status Checker now thought everything was now fixed.
Yesterday there'd been a red error message saying "sorry we can't provide a fix date at the moment". But this looked like they had fixed it and it still wasn't working. Sigh, I thought, maybe it's not them it's me.
I re-reported the fault and they sent me another text message.
"We can see that the line from our network to your home is working so let's take a look at the connection in your home. The good news is that these issues can often be fixed quickly and easily with a few simple checks. You can check find assistance on our website at [link] to guide you through what to look for. Let's see if that fixes the problem."
This was their list of things to try.
1. Use the BT Broadband troubleshooter
I tried that, but it only told me I no longer had a problem.
2. Make a call on your landline
I can't do that because you transitioned me to VOIP a few years ago telling me it'd all be great, damn you.
3. Restart your Hub
Way ahead of you there mate.
4. Check the lights on your hub
Yes I know what the colours mean thanks.
5. Power cycle your modem
Not relevant here.
6. Try your test socket
I transferred my laptop, phone and Hub to the socket just inside my front door and tried plugging it in there. If this worked then the fault was within my flat. But it didn't work, the fault was elsewhere.
I now had no broadband but BT didn't think I had a problem, This was even less ideal.
By now a fair amount of time had gone past so I checked the BT Service Status Checker again. Oh hang on.
There really was a fault, nothing had been fixed and they didn't know how long it might take to solve. I was back to square one.
Life without broadband remains awkward but not impossible. I have a smartphone. I can watch live TV and listed to unstreamed radio. I can tether 4G to my laptop via my mobile and get online that way, although I worry Windows may do a massive update in the background and screw my data. I can buy things in shops. I've reread some good books. At least two people have offered me their sofas and a wi-fi connection elsewhere, for which thanks.
But I have no idea how long this is going to last - it could be only a few more hours or it could be another fortnight. Also trying to contact BT is easy but speaking to a human is hard. Every path through their customer service telephone portal seems to lead to a text message or a website and them ringing off, thinking their job is done. "We're working on it" is all very well, but by Day Six you really want to know more than that.
Thank you for your many thoughts and suggestions, which generally fall into one of these ten categories...
i) offering up useful advice
ii) advising me to do something I'm already doing
iii) mitigation I have no intention of pursuing
iv) a suggestion someone else has already suggested
v) explaining how best to complain
vi) recounting how it all went wrong for you
vii) telling me I'm foolish for not having done something
viii) detailing a separate problem you have
ix) claiming BT are the spawn of the devil
x) frenetic spleen
Generally the nearer to the top of that classification the more useful, and the nearer to the bottom the more I roll my eyes. Aim high, ladies and gentlemen.
In the meantime blogging is doable but harder than usual. I can write stuff no problem, but anything that relies on photos is difficult, anything that needs multiple hyperlinks is tricky and anything that requires in-depth research is particularly hard. I will not be telling you about my trips to Roxeth, Pages Wood or Keston Mark any time soon, if ever.
Commentswise I also note that collectively you're far more interested in my broadband woes than say buses through the Silvertown Tunnel, so why struggle to write 1500 words about the suburbs when corporate failure is an easier target?
Do please bear with me during this difficult period. Full refunds are available if you don't think you're getting the service you deserve.
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