Query re new fibre hub

[Matilda001]

I have just received an email telling me my landline will be disconnected shortly and I have to change to the fibre network.  This is the first I have heard about this so I called Customer Services who really couldn't answer any questions and told me I would need to book an engineer to come up to my house. 

All I want to know is how the new phone fibre network is connected if you have a second phone line upstairs in your house.  Will that require new cabelling through the ceiling or will the second extension be wireless?  No one could answer that for me and I have to wait nearly 2 weeks for an engineer to come out to answer this question, then that only gives me another 2 weeks to decide if I want to keep the landline or go elsewhere.  Can anyone help with what is involved in installing the new fibre network when there is a second landline upstairs...Thanks....

[Tudor]

When you day it’s a second connection upstairs, do you have 1 or 2 phone numbers?

[Matilda001]

It's one phone number, with an extension upstairs as well as downstairs.

[goslow · Accepted solution]

You are not likely to get a reply from the VM forum team here in 'Tech Chatter'. A forum VIP or moderator may move your post to 'Home Phone' where it should get a reply from a VM staff member.

VM can modify your phone wiring to keep extension sockets working after switchover and keep existing equipment in the same place. VM should do this free of charge as part of the switchover. Phone wiring modifications are best done post-switchover to allow the old incoming phone line from the street to be disconnected from the old telephone master socket.

Alternatively, but at your expense, use a cordless phone arrangement. Plug the cordless base station into the VM hub and use cordless satellite phones around the home as required.

My standard cut/paste answer to telephone extension socket questions is ...

Ask VM (via the VM forum team on here, when they reply to this topic) 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.

[Matilda001]

Many thanks for your response.  I only got en email about this today so had no idea what it involved.  Turn out the staff members I spoke to didn't know either and just kept repeating the same scripted phrases.  I was told the existing phone points would be disabled and that my phone line would go directly into the new router (that would need to involve a very very long extension lead or are you meant to keep your phone at your tv).  So I have no idea how the upstairs phone would be connected.  So many questions about this yet the reps that I spoke to didn't really have a clue.  My broadband regularly goes down, so would that mean customersI would have to rely on a 'stand by device' to make a phone call.  When something like this is being forced on customers, you would think they would at least have staff trained in answering questions related to this.  Hopefully this gets moved to the correct forum and they can pick up on the points I have raised, (I haven't been on here  for a while and this was the first forum I saw and was still trying to recover from my hour long call to VM trying to get some sense..lol)   

I appreciate your response goslow and hopefully I will get some clarity on this issue.

[Sappermajor]

A Mod here arranged a technician visit.

The Hub is close to the incoming socket so the technician just connected an extension cable from the Hub to the existing terminal box and connected the cable to the master socket to the extension avoiding any cable rerouting.

[Carley_S]

Hi @Matilda001 

Welcome back to the community forums. 

Sorry to hear of your concerns with the home phone switch over and that you have not been able to get the support when contacting us over the phone. 

The technician will work to see if they can rewire to keep the set up the same as you have it currently. 

Does your internet go down at the router or just over WiFi? The phone connected into the sockets will use the broadband at the router rather than over the WiFi network, so any WiFi interference or coverage issues would not affect phones set up this way. 

The EBUL (emergency back up battery) allows customer that are experiencing a total loss of service at the router to be able to make emergency 999 calls only. This is for customers that are vulnerable or without a mobile phone. 

Please keep us updated and 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 :). 
 

[Matilda001]

Thank you for the response.   During one of the conversations I had with one of your colleagues, I was advised that the 'emergency' device that kicks in if the internet is down would mean that the phone line would not be affected in any way as that is what the emergency device is for, from what you have said above that information given to me by your colleague is incorrect and 999 calls only can be made if the internet goes down. I am even more confused now, I just hope your engineer can explain in non technical terms what this upgrade entails.   I appreciate you taking the time to respond, and hopefully this will all go smoothly and with minimal disruption. 

[Zach_R]

Hi @Matilda001, 

The EBUL allows vulnerable customers to continue having access to emergency calls (calls to 999 and 112) during a power cut or network outage. You will not be able to make non-emergency calls with it as that's not the purpose of the device.

Any devices connected to the landline, such as care alarms, security alarms, etc. operate by dialling a non-emergency number. This means that they will not work over an EBUL, and so if you have any of these devices you should make contact with the supplier of said device(s) to be provided with a suitable back up unit if they have one.

Thanks,
 

[Matilda001]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.  An engineer is coming tomorrow, so hopefully this will all be sorted by then.