VOIP switchover

[allmat]

In early May 2022 I got a call from VM on my landline to explain that it was necessary to switch my cable phone to a VOIP service. She advised that an engineer would need to do this. After some discussion a visit was arranged for the morning of Wednesday 22 June. On 18 May I got a text to my mobile from +44 7984 369306 “Hi, it's Virgin Media. You'll be switched to our fibrehome phone service on 05 July. We will send an adapter in the post to connect your phone to your Hub so you can make and receive phone calls over our fibre network.”.  Followed almost immediately by an email conveying the same message except that it reads “On 05 July your current home phone service will stop working and be switched over to our fibre network. We will send you an adapter in the post which you’ll need to use to connect your home phone to your WiFi Hub so you can make and receive phone calls over our fibre network.”.  Which does tend to imply that an engineer will not be taking up some part of the morning of 22 June after all. The email also makes the interesting point that “In the unlikely event there’s a power cut or a fibre network disruption, you won’t be able to make or receive calls and most connected devices (such as a burglar alarm linked to a control centre, a telecare device, or other phones connected to extension sockets) will be affected.”.  As on the same day this message arrived my internet service became intermittent I wondered how in future without a POTS landline would l I call 151 from my Virgin phone to hear the reassuring recorded message that there’s a complicated problem your engineers are doing their best to resolve? I sent a letter to the Sunderland address on 18 May. Some while later an RJ11 to BT phone adapter arrived in the post, and I got an undated boilerplate reply to my letter allocating a reference C-2305221742 and assuring me that someone would be in touch soon.  But of course they haven’t. So I still don’t know whether to expect an engineer on 22 June, or how to find out what’s gone wrong with my internet when my internet-connection stops working and my phone is connected via VOIP. Perhaps this message might prompt someone at VM to get in touch.

[Carley_S]

Hi allmat

Welcome back to the community. 

Sorry to hear of your concerns over your homephone switch over. The older copper line that is used for home phones is becoming obsolete. The Government have requested that all internet providers switch customers landline phones to the newer voice system, which we refer to as 21CV (21 century voice). Landlines will now use the internet to make and receive calls. This set up will not support internet connectivity, it will only be for the landline service. You can find more information and FAQ's on how this might affect you and your devices from our website here. I will also attached the link to the webpage Future of Voice here. 

The engineer will still be booked in for 22nd June, as this is when we will fully migrate your phoneline over to the new system. You should be able to see your appointments on the first page via your online account. 

Checking our systems I cannot see any issues that would cause any broadband issues. Is your intermittency over a wired connection or are you just experiencing issues over WiFi?  

[allmat]

Hello Carley

Thanks for the prompt response.  My internet connection is generally very stable, but on 18 May there was an issue that caused the service to become unavailable. At that point I rang 151 to report the problem, only to hear a recorded message that it was already being worked on.  But once the real landline service ends how will I do that?

What's the significance of "The Hub and phone can’t be placed near each other." statement on your website page https://www.virginmedia.com/help/landline/switchover?

The original call to arrange a technician didn't explain why I needed one. Could you explain please?  I notice from the same webpage the statement that "for phone extensions to continue to work, you will need to arrange a tech visit to do some home wiring changes." I have a simple two-way adapter connected to your phone cable, supplying two handsets; one about 4 metres away, the other about 15-20 metres away. Is that a problem?

There's a statement on your switchover webpage "The only cable that should be connected to the RJ45 sockets is your adaptor and the phone line inserted into the adaptor. RJ45 sockets are smaller than an Ethernet cable and will only work for the telephone line. The adaptor needs to be plugged into the first RJ45 socket (see photo below)" They're not RJ45s, but RJ11s. The RJ45 ethernet sockets are the other four!

Regards

DickMathews

[Carley_S]

Thanks for taking the time to post about your concerns with the home phone switchover. We recognise that some people will have some concerns but this is something that is happening with all providers and not just Virgin Media.
In the unlikely event there’s a power cut or a broadband fault, you won’t be able to make or receive calls and most devices that are connected to your phone line (like care alarms) will be affected until the power or network’s back. Due to this, for those without a mobile phone or who may be vulnerable, we do provide a back up system. You can read more on this here: https://www.virginmedia.com/help/home-phone/virginphone#emergencybackupline
In terms of why you needed the engineer, this would be because we were unable to resolve this remotely. Whilst we're not able to provide a 100% fault free service, we do aim to fix faults as soon as possible. Where an engineer is needed, we do offer the next available appointment. Can you confirm things are working now?

You can view everything you need to know about the switch over here: https://www.virginmedia.com/help/home-phone/virginphone/switchover. We'll feed back your comments regarding the incorrect information to the relevant teams and if this is incorrect, they will get things amended and updated.

[allmat]

Hi

The internet's working fine.  The engineer planned visit has nothing to do with the temporary internet outage - it was set up by VM in preparation for the switchover without any explanation as to why it was needed.  I'm perfectly capable of plugging an adapter into the back of my router and connecting my existing twin socket BT connector into it providing that's all that's necessary to enable both of my existing telephone handsets (on 5 and fifteen metre extension leads) to function as previously. But if the engineer needs to do something else would you please explain?

And my point about fault reporting is still valid - VM's 'dial 150' and 'dial 151' shortcuts won't work if there's an internet outage, so how is a fault (perhaps with the TV service) to be reported?

[Gareth_L]

Hello Allmat. 

Thanks for the reply. 

The engineer will be needed to make sure the existing extensions are working as they were before the switchover.

Gareth_L

[allmat]

Thanks.  That's helpful insofar as it goes, but the original VM caller who insisted I needed an engineer could not be aware that two handsets are connected to the existing copper line, nor did she ask - so what instigated the call?

[Gareth_L]

Hi allmat.

What call are you referring to?

Gareth_L

[allmat]

Right at the beginning of this thread I explained that in early May I received a call on my landline from a VM agent to advise that my POTS transfer would be taking place in the near future. Following a discussion about dates that visit was (and still is) arranged for 22 June. But I still don't know why.

[Gareth_L]

Ah sorry allmat, 

Our current telephone exchanges are getting a bit old now so we are rolling out VOIP area by area, This is to improve the service and stop as many faults happening.

Also if we do have a fault its lot easier and quicker to fix.

Gareth_L