Forum Discussion

Ginger1's avatar
Ginger1
Tuning in
2 years ago

No phones compatible with our VM Hub

None of the phones we have tried are compatible with the Hub. The ones we have tried are all modern (some almost new). Even the emergency back-up phone installed by the VM technician will NOT connect. Any ideas if there is a way of telling which phones will work with the Hub as we have been told to buy a new phone?

We have no mobile signal in the house so according to the VM website we should not have been migrated. We now have no mobile and no landline, just an emergency phone at the top of our roof which is impractical to reach.

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    9 months ago

    Am I right in understanding that your issue of no phone line has been going on continuously since 4/9/23? If so that is staggering (even by VM's low standards of support).

    Your Binatone B100 phone is a 'modern' phone and is as simple as you can get. I use one myself for basic landline testing because it is so simple.

    If you have used three of your own phones plus the VM FW500 backup phone and can't get the landline to work then it is pretty unlikely you have a phone handset problem.

    I hope you have kept good records of all VM's bungling antics with your phone switchover fault because you will be eligible for compensation

    https://www.virginmedia.com/help/billing-and-payments/automatic-compensation

    which was £9.33 per day in the last financial year so from 4/9/23 to date that will be something of the order of £2425.80 that VM owes you

    I think if my phone been cut off for that long I would be complaining to anyone who would listen! As this appears to be a bungled telephone switchover (which has been a recent hot topic in the news) I would suggest seeking advice from OFCOM and also your local MP!

  • Ilyas_Y's avatar
    Ilyas_Y
    Forum Team
    2 years ago

    Hey Ginger 👋🏼 Sorry to hear about the issues with the handsets you are having. 😞

    May I ask what model handsets you are using?
    Are you able to reboot the VM hub? Can you take out the adapter and put it back in?
    Is the telephone symbol appearing on the hub?

    Let us know.

    Kind regards,
    Ilyas.

  • Ginger1's avatar
    Ginger1
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    Hi, The VM supplied phone is Motorola FW500. The others were "Binatone B100", "Greemarc CL100V" and BT Duet 210. None of which get a dial tone. The hub has been rebooted many times since we were cut-off a few weeks ago. The Technician this morning went through all off this again and did a factory reset. The phone light comes on red then changes to green.

    I was told this morning we may get a call back but we have no phone! The VM website is clear that if we have no mobile signal we should not be migrated.

  • Ginger1's avatar
    Ginger1
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    FYI.

    Broadband in this area is very intermittent and can sometimes be off for an hour in the middle of the day. This is a long standing problem and they used to come out to try and fix it. Looking at the hub logs it is full of critical errors.

    • Ilyas_Y's avatar
      Ilyas_Y
      Forum Team
      2 years ago

      Thanks for the reply Ginger1 on the forums.

      It looks like we will need to take this further.
      I will send a private message.

      Kind regards,
      Ilyas.

  • Ilyas_Y's avatar
    Ilyas_Y
    Forum Team
    2 years ago

    Thanks for speaking with us today Ginger1 on the forums. 👋🏼

    I'm glad we have made arrangements to try and get this issue sorted with the telephone line.
    As advised - let us know how it goes with the new equipment and whether or not it works on the delivery day.

    If you need anything else - we'll be here to assist.

    Kind regards,
    Ilyas.

    • Ginger1's avatar
      Ginger1
      Tuning in
      2 years ago

      Hi,

      It is now 6 weeks since our house phones were cut off, just wondering if VM had an sort of update on what the solution will be.

      We have had the new cable modem but it is a lot worse than the old one. Finally  we though we had the phone connected today as a friend tried to get it working but shortly afterwards just strange tones from the phone. After the phone was plugged in not only did the phone not work but the internet speed dropped to old dial up and has not recovered even when the phone was unplugged again. Multiple reboots tried. We are only trying to use the VM supplied phone. By slow I mean you watch an email loading but that was sometimes normal for us but not all the time.

      Is it possible to switch the previous hub to at least get the internet working as it no longer seems to work as I guess no longer authorised.

      The phone is still not accessible as it is not in the house. 

  • Ginger1's avatar
    Ginger1
    Tuning in
    9 months ago

    Still looking at the VM information on landline switch and it still says we should not have been switched if there was no mobile signal. We still have our non working landline stuck in the roof of the house. It used to be in the house. Below is VM info.

    Will the Emergency Backup Line work in my home?

    When making calls to emergency services, the Emergency Backup Line connects to any available mobile network, which means the device will work wherever there’s mobile coverage.

    However, in areas where there’s no mobile coverage, our Emergency Backup Line won’t work. We want to make sure that you’re always safe and can contact emergency services which is why we won’t offer our fibre phone line to customers who live in areas without mobile coverage.

    • Sabrina_B's avatar
      Sabrina_B
      Forum Team
      9 months ago

      Hi Ginger1 👋.

      Thanks for reaching out to us, apologies you are still having issues with your landline. Could you please join me in a private message so that we can look a little further into this. Please look out for the envelope on the top right of your web browser or if you are using a mobile device, it will be located under your profile icon.
       

      Thanks.
       

      Sabrina

  • Ginger1's avatar
    Ginger1
    Tuning in
    9 months ago

    Thanks Sabrina,

    I have replied but this was more to update others with similar problems as I keep being sort this on private chats and might be useful to others.

    Also a reach out to the community to see if anyone else had managed to get similar problems solved since Ofcom got involved and the rollout was halted but now restarted. Or do we each need to go to Ofcom.

    • Matthew_ML's avatar
      Matthew_ML
      Forum Team
      9 months ago

      Hey Ginger1, thank you for reaching out and I can see you are currently in DM with my colleague please do send them a message if you wish for any more support on the matter.

    • goslow's avatar
      goslow
      Alessandro Volta
      9 months ago

      Am I right in understanding that your issue of no phone line has been going on continuously since 4/9/23? If so that is staggering (even by VM's low standards of support).

      Your Binatone B100 phone is a 'modern' phone and is as simple as you can get. I use one myself for basic landline testing because it is so simple.

      If you have used three of your own phones plus the VM FW500 backup phone and can't get the landline to work then it is pretty unlikely you have a phone handset problem.

      I hope you have kept good records of all VM's bungling antics with your phone switchover fault because you will be eligible for compensation

      https://www.virginmedia.com/help/billing-and-payments/automatic-compensation

      which was £9.33 per day in the last financial year so from 4/9/23 to date that will be something of the order of £2425.80 that VM owes you

      I think if my phone been cut off for that long I would be complaining to anyone who would listen! As this appears to be a bungled telephone switchover (which has been a recent hot topic in the news) I would suggest seeking advice from OFCOM and also your local MP!

      • Ginger1's avatar
        Ginger1
        Tuning in
        3 months ago

        Thank You, Its been a long fight and still seem to be getting no where on getting it fixed. Been told we have no way of having the old line put back in place and so far no way no way of having the phone line put back in the house just in the roof. The roof is mad for disabled mother in law or our daughter. Virgin have now offered compensation but no solution. I will check out and try and find the main topic as I was told it was just us. Graham

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    9 months ago

    A few hints to try...

    1) Login to the Hub menu at http://192.168.0.1/  Check Telephone is ( Enabled )

    2) Make sure the RJ11 to BT Socket adaptor is connected to Hub port TEL 1   ( no other port will work )

    3) Only use a BT style of telephone with the original factory supplied cables.


    The connection to TEL 1 looks like this :

  • Ginger1's avatar
    Ginger1
    Tuning in
    5 months ago

    Just to update the community

    We still have no landline and have been cut off for over a year. Now they are saying it is too late to get our landline repaired as they have removed the equipment. Anybody else stuck in this loss of phoneline mess. We are still being charged for a line that does not work for over a year. Copy and paste below is our last response.

    Re: No phones compatible with our VM Hub

    Thank you for your reply, I am unable to support your complaint by email, but I can provide my final review over the community

     

    I have chased the Manual review by the Auto Compensation team however this will not change the resolutions already offered.

     

    1) We book another appointment and complete the re-wire within your home for the landline services. 

    2) We cancel your services with 30 day disconnection notice and you can go to an alternative provider. 

     

    We have made you aware that we are unable to revert your service to the old copper line, this no longer is an option in your area.

     

    We have also given advise about the EBUL system that works as a backup line, I do understand that you have stated you have limited mobile signal in your house. I am not sure who your mobile provider is, but our coverage checker shows O2 has 4G Good indoor and outdoor mobile signal at your house. 

     

    This coverage would give you the ability to make and receive calls in the event of a power outage I do appreciate that this can vary depending on the property but will always remain open to you.

     

    I can see that you have declined to offer to re-wire your house to reposition the equipment, but this offer also remains open and will ensure you have a working Land line powered by our router (VOIP)

     

    Once I have received the review back from out Auto compensation team if you remain unhappy with the resolution offered all I will need is the resolution you are seeking and if we are unable to agree on a resolution we will be at deadlock, and I will send over details on how to have your complaint taken to independent adjudication.

     

    If I have missed something you feel is relevant to your complaint, I would be happy to answer those questions over the community.

  • Ginger1's avatar
    Ginger1
    Tuning in
    3 months ago

    Just to update anyone else who has been cut-off by the transition to internet/hub connected phones. We are still waiting for a solution. Looks like there is only the EBULv3 available even if you have an unreliable phone signal. So our landline has been stuck in the roof where we can't get to it for over a year. Anyone else going through this?

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    3 months ago

    Certainly one of the more interesting and unusual accounts related on here. I imagine the exact details of everything are more involved than as they appear in this topic. I'm not aware of any particular general topic on here regarding switchover issues and OFCOM.

    If VM has provided you with a deadlock letter, you have 12 months in which to take that to the ombudsman. But the ombudsman can't compel VM to install a landline for you nor go back to a conventional landline arrangement AFAIK. The ombudsman could assess the compensation offered if that is unsatisfactory to you.

    VM's offer above seems to have covered the options that I am aware of (including an option to cancel services and a technical option to rewire). There is a clause in the compensation scheme which may limit compensation if the customer 'prevents the service issue from being resolved'. I imagine VM may possibly cite the offer to rewire the connection as part of that if it seeks to limit compensation.

    If you move to another provider though it is highly unlikely you will get a conventional landline installed. It will very likely be some variation of a phone-via-router connection in some form or other.

    The fact this has dragged on for so long seems very unusual.

    Has VM ever managed to provide a working landline connection via the VM hub (even if the hub is not in a suitable location)?

    VM's rewiring options generally seem to involve moving the hub as a first choice but they should also offer reconnecting existing telephone extension sockets in the home so the hub did not have to move if the hub location is a sticking point. That, however, also might involve some rewiring of the extension sockets.

    You should probably contact OFCOM in regards to what extent VM has to go to in order to provide an emergency connection. The EBUL phone is their default offering but, if it does not work in your home, then it won't be much use. I wonder if there is some means of connecting an external aerial to the EBUL unit to place the aerial outside, via an aerial extension cable, and the EBUL inside in an accessible location or some kind of mobile signal booster. An alternative battery backup for the VM hub may be of limited use when a power cut extends to a wider area as the connection may still not work.

    You should perhaps speak to OFCOM to establish what the limits of the provider's obligations are for emergency backup when the local mobile signal is poor.