Help does a new router actually exist?

[Edd24]

I have been a customer of talk talks for a few years now. Firstly being on one of the lesser packages and then upgrading to the fiber 250 package last year. Since being a customer I have had a very patchy service experiencing multiple drops and periods of very low speed. This continued once I upgraded and I have raised these issues on  four separate occasions over the years which has resulted in numerous engineer visits and many, many hours wasted on the phone with talk talk trying to get to the bottom of the problem, to no avail. I recently experienced a terrible period of service over a few days which prompted me to try to get my issue finally rectified. I went through the usual process and an engineer was tasked and did visit. This engineer stated that my current router the WiFi hub was now old and talk talk have just brought a new router out which when installed will remedy the fault. My router has always been the type which also required the open reach modem to run. The engineer said because I am now on the fiber 250 the old style of router can not handle the quicker speeds hence why you need the new style of router and told me the new router does not need the modem to run . Unfortunately the engineer did not have any in his van so told me he would report this issue his end and told me to contact talktalk to prompt them to arrange delivery. I subsequently gave talk talk a few days and then contacted them and much to my annoyance the engineer had lied according to talk talk and said there was no mention of me needing a new router at all and he had written that he could not find a fault and everything was fine. The call handler was very reluctant to assist and made me, yet again, jump through all the usual tedious hoops before finally passing me through to the hardware team, which she only did because I had given up at this point and asked to be put through to someone who could advise me on how to cancel my contract.
Once put through the next rep quickly agreed to send out the new style of router so I agreed to this and try it when it arrived. 
Unfortunately I took delivery of the router but it was the same old style so now I'm at a complete loss.

So I just wondered if anyone in the community, has had a similar experience and also does anyone know if talk talk has even brought out a  new style of router that doesn't need the openreach modem. If so is it identical to the old style in appearance? I have checked the label on the back of both routers and they both appear to be identical (same serial, model etc). I know I should phone talktalk again but I don't think I can take the stress again hence me trying my luck on here first. Anybody please help! 

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Edd24

How's the connection/speed been since your last post?

Thanks

Debbie

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi,

Ok thank you 🙂

Thanks

[Edd24]

Don't know but I will check this as well!

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning,

Ok thank you and we'll await to hear back. If you reboot the router when the speed drops does it immediately increase again?

Thanks

[Edd24]

It has been slowing in WiFi but I have tested at night wired when the problem has occured and it was also slow then. The next time it happens I will check via my ethernet connection and report back!

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning,

I'm sorry to hear this. I've re-run the line test now which is clear. The sync speed looks very consistent and the connection also looks stable for 10 days. Can I just confirm, does the speed also slow down if you connect wired? What speeds are you currently seeing? If this is solely related to the wireless speeds then we can offer some more advice.

Thanks

[Edd24]

Slight improvement but still slowdowns at night and a few drops

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning,

Can I just confirm, is your connection still unstable since the replacement router has been connected?

Thanks

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Edd24

Do you still need help with this?

Thanks

Debbie

[Edd24]

That's a shame, not really getting the service Im paying for, and I see it as Talk talk aren't fullfining thier side of the contract. Maybe this might be one for the ombudsman man to get me out of the contract and maybe some compensation aswell!

When will I hear back from talk talk re. The test in my line/ hardware now the new router is installed?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Sorry, no, intermittent connection wouldn't qualify

Chris

[Edd24]

Do you know what constitutes a "total loss of service would continuing drops over the period of 48 hrs qualify?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks 🙂

Regarding compensation please see - (1) About your auto compensation credit - TalkTalk Help & Support

Thanks

Chris

[Edd24]

Due to work family etc. I have just now plugged the new router in and is confirmed as working which I received on Saturday. 

The amber flashing light was on the old router and on the previous one before that (I'm on my third). To be honest I have never really paid much attention to the modem as I was told by the original engineer who installed it to just leave it alone so it's in a shelf below the router, out of sight. But for clarification see the attached pic for the layout of its l.e.d.s.

I will now pay attention to the modem as well during a fault. Could anyone also explain the talk talk refund policy. I have only just been made aware of it would I qualify and how do I go about requesting one?

 

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Edd,

Just to confirm, is the flashing light on the modem or the router?

Chris

[Skynet_TX]

Hi @Edd24,

When you say the amber light flashes, I assume you are talking about the TalkTalk router, but have you noticed if the lights on the other box (the Openreach modem) do anything different when you are having issues.

It would be best to leave the TalkTalk router connected for now, as the support team here can only provide support for a TalkTalk supplied router, so it is easier for them to run diagnostics etc. with your current router connected. However if they did ultimately suspect the router may be at fault then they may well suggest trying an alternative router to see if that resolves the issue. But if the lights on the Openreach modem are doing something different when you lose connection then it is more likely there is an issue with the line, and an alternative router is not likely to help.

[Edd24]

Sorry for delay yes at time it will flash amber. But my engineer did mention that it wasnt always doing flashing amber when there.is a drop/fault.

I haven't plugged the new router in yet should I do this or is someone still testing my line etc.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Have you noticed if the light changes on the modem when the connection drops?

Chris

[Edd24]

Still not great 😭

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Edd,

Thanks for updating your profile.

The wifi hub has been out for a few years but it's still a current model that supply to both our FTTC and FTTP customers. How has the connection been over the last few days?

Chris