Using extension phones after switch to fibre

[ConstantReader]

A Virgin engineer recently visited us to connect our landline phone to our hub. That was OK. Our main phone is working normally.

But our various extension phones no longer work. I phoned Virgin, but I was told that extension phones cannot be used after the landline is plugged into the hub. I find this hard to believe.Was this advice correct? And, if not, is there anything we can do about it?

Thanks in advance for any help.

CR

[goslow]

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@ConstantReader wrote:

A Virgin engineer recently visited us to connect our landline phone to our hub. That was OK. Our main phone is working normally.

But our various extension phones no longer work. I phoned Virgin, but I was told that extension phones cannot be used after the landline is plugged into the hub. I find this hard to believe.Was this advice correct? And, if not, is there anything we can do about it?

Thanks in advance for any help.

CR

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Ask VM (via the VM forum team on here) to modify your home phone wiring so you can use your existing landline extension sockets via the phone connection from the VM hub.

VM should offer to do this free of charge for you as part of the switchover process.

Make sure they make modifications to your phone wiring so you can keep each piece of equipment in the same place (rather than the offer which sometimes crops up on here to move the hub to a different location)

Refer here

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/landline/switchover

Do I need to book a technician visit?

You’ll need to book a free technician visit if...

• You rely on your landline for accessibility needs or don’t have a mobile to make an emergency call – we’ll provide you with an Emergency Back Up Line so you’re always able to call emergency services.
• You’ve got connected devices such as a burglar alarm linked to a control centre, use a telecare device, or have other phones connected to extension sockets. You’ll need to contact your provider and let them know about the switch if you have any of these to make sure they’re compatible with a fibre service.
• The Hub and your home phone can’t be placed near each other.

[Carley_S]

Hi @ConstantReader 

Welcome to the community forums. 

Sorry to hear that your extension landlines are not currently working. I can see that you have spoken to our team already have steps in place to have this resolved for you. 

Please let us know if you are having any further issues or have any questions at all. We'll be here to help on the community forums if needed :). 

[jem101 · Accepted solution]

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@ConstantReader wrote:

....Snip

I phoned Virgin, but I was told that extension phones cannot be used after the landline is plugged into the hub. I find this hard to believe.Was this advice correct?

...Snip

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No it wasn't correct, you were basically misinformed; to put it lightly, or, and let's be honest here; outright lied to - yet another example of VM's offshore (and probably the world's cheapest and least competent) customer service staff employing the usual 'I don't know the answer to this, not having had any training in it, so I'll just make something up, anything will do to get the customer off the line'. They chalk up another 'successfully closed call to make the stats look a bit better - and, if you were too call back, it'll be someone else's problem.

I can't help but notice that the above post from a VM staff member, failed to make any mention of, or apology for, the failure of their CS people to properly advise you - possibly hoping it'll just be forgotten and you'll just be grateful to have your extension phones working again!

Something, you might want to bear in mind when wondering if you want to continue being a VM customer.

[ConstantReader]

Thank you all for your very helpful replies. Yes, I have now booked an engineer visit.

I must say that this has been a most unsatisfactory experience. I had to sit around for five hours waiting for the first visit, and now I have the prospect of having to do that again. Meantime I can't use the extension in the bedroom, which is important in case of emergencies. And all this for little or no benefit to me.

Ah well. There's a lesson in there somewhere.

[ConstantReader]

Jem101, I agree with you 100 percent. Many thanks for confirming what I already suspected.

CR

[Paulina_Z]

Hi @ConstantReader,

Thank you for coming back to us. Glad to hear that you've been able to have a technician appointment arranged to have this issue resolved.

You can manage your appointment on your online account and see what time slot you have booked for your visit.

Please let us know what we can do to help going forward. We're here if you need us.

Thank you.

[ConstantReader]

Thanks for that, Paulina. The appointment is for later this month. Afterwards I will report back here with the outcome - mainly for the benefit of anyone else with the same problem.

CR

[Paulina_Z]

Hi @ConstantReader,

That's no problem at all. Looking forward to your update.

Let us know if there's anything else we can do to help in the meantime.

Thank you! 🙂

[normherm1]

Hi

Like many people, we have been unable to use our landline extensions since the switch to fibre. Also, really inconveniently, the landline has been moved to another room to be near the hub.

Hoe do we get a landline back in the kitchen, plus extensions in other rooms? The engineer who connected landline to hub was totally clueless and had no answers apart from 'your extensions won't work now'!We now have a landline totally misplaced next to the hub in the sitting room!

You should have realised these problems were going to surface before unrolling this stupid 'update'.

Hope you can offer some realistic solutions!

NH