Hi
I have experienced network errors for over a month. I am still being charged for a service that doesn't work correctly while spending many hours independently attempting to resolve issues including investing money on replacement equipment.
Please see the history of events.
During the weekend of the 2nd June my Talktalk connection became unstable preventing several devices to become either intermittent or to stop working.
During the week of Monday 3rd of June I made several calls to the talktalk helpline for which I was asked to conduct various routine tests on my equipment but this did not resolve issues. By the second call it was clear that the operator was reading from a script rather than understanding my issue. This is because I was asked to conduct the same tests of which they insisted I repeated.
Talktalk technical then arranged for an Open reach technician to visit the property and check the line, however a fault could not be located. This technician even swapped the cables in the external street box.
On Monday 10th June I made two phone calls to talktalk technical. The first technician, by changing my ‘data sandwich’, a term unknown to the I.T. industry, was able to establish a connection with my xbox allowing it to function correctly. Later that day, due to other connection issues, I called another technician. However this second technician was unable to resolve my other connection issues and even managed to lose my Xbox internet connection
My router has been relocated and devices connected using only the power, phone & Lan cables. Cables have been tested and a new talktalk router & extender purchased from Amazon at a cost of about £120, but this has still not solved the problem. I’m assuming my replacement router is not faulty.
I have been conducting basic tests from my location which indicate that I have a connection speed of around 50 mbps, no complaints there. Overall quality initially varied between 62% & 92%. Average ping 44 ms with a best of 14 ms and a bad of 149 ms, occasionally the high ping reached over 1000 ms. On Wednesday June 12 overall quality improved to 98% with an average ping, best of 37ms, worst 78ms. Jitter 13ms.
The following services did not work; youtube, google cast devices such as speakers. Youtube, when connected to talktalk, sometimes worked wirelessly via the mobile phone. Gmail was still slow or intermittent.
My wife works from home on a VPN and experiences a complete freeze or lockout following about three minutes online. My wife did successfully connect to a free unsecured wifi that was transmitting from a hotel close to home. She now connects successfully by tethering to the EE network via her Android Mobile Phone.
Sites or equipment that no longer work properly:
Microsoft xbox
Google cast devices
‘Some’ Google sites
Google email is slow and occasionally is not displaying the email icon or some photos.
Youtube TV via ethernet cable.
GB tv & radio news site. The work windows PC, even when using an ethernet cable.
Facebook displayed some photos only, suggesting that some site permissions may have been blocked. Apparently this can be because Facebook displays photos from different servers.
A new Chromebook connects only occasionally and the connection is slow.
Internet radio.
N.B. All of the above successfully connect through my Android phone when tethering via the EE mobile network.
Sites that connect via Talktalk:
UK catchup tv via ethernet cable & WiFi.
Uk based L.B.C radio via WiFi.
Some Google sites
Youtube on phone via WiFi.
Information received indicates the line is working, approx speed 50Mbs and the connection is now stable. Smart TV displays a ‘network error’ when attempting to access Youtube.
Week ending 16th June, Talktalk agreed to send a new router which arrived on Wednesday 19th June. Following connection I was receiving the same network error on what appear to be the above blocked sites. I understand that a technician will now visit the property to investigate further on a date to be arranged.
A Talktalk manager called on 20th June to arrange a home visit by a Talktalk technician on Friday 28th June. The technician arrived on site and confirmed that I do have access to some sites but not others.
Talktalk then booked another Openreach engineer to visit the property on Saturday 29th June. Tests indicate that the line is working but it was clear that some sites were either slow or blocked.
On July 3rd a Talktalk technician called and requested that following a procedure by talktalk the router should be turned off for 30 minutes the following morning. Unfortunately this did not resolve issues.
On July 4th a technician called to discuss my ongoing issues including the apparent blocking of directly entered domain names, I.e. www. xxxx.com / .org and .co.uk sites. Access to these sites was occasionally accessible only when conducting a Google search instead of the domain name.
On the weekend of 7th July some domain names became accessible. Google cast devices, microsoft xbox & the work VPN connection still didn’t work via the router but did connect when tethering to the EE phone mast.
Monday 8th July I waited for a phone call that was confirmed by a talktalk text to take place between 12:00 - 14:00, but no call was received. A Talktalk call was received on 8th July at 15:56. The call was accepted but then cancelled by talktalk.
I received another text informing me I will be contacted again on the 9th July between 12:00 - 14:00, so another two hours of wasted waiting time.
An associate at media city with an interest in this matter informs me that my connection issue is due to ‘internet throttling’, which can cause some sites to be either slowed down or even denied. Similar to a water reservoir with a network of pipes and valves. But some valves are partly closed slowing the flow and others shut preventing flow. This practice can be used to limit the volume of data transfer. I have never been told that I am using too much data.
Or could this just be a system software protection fault between my router and internet servers?
July 9th, day 37, received another technical call that did not resolve ongoing issues.
Due to the cost and time spent attempting to resolve this issue, I, as a Talktalk customer for many years, asked to be released from my remaining contract of 7 months. The answer was NO!
The technician called me on 10th & 11th July carried out a few ping tests the informed me it's me not them. What all 5 + devices. I'm even sending this via the ee network. Something strange is certainly going on.
Good Luck 👍
