land line telephone and virginmedia connection help requested

[devonwoody]

Yesterday my landline telephone with virgin would not connect or receive telephone calls. I was forced to call virgin (on my mobile) and they took my telephone, answer phone and an alarm emergency hospital call system into another room where my windows 10 is installed and rewired the router and desktop computer installed to enable my land line to now operate.
I now am forced to leave computer connected 24/7 and to see recorded telephone messages in another room and we normally live in the living room, a great inconvenience.
Anybody got any advice or ideas to get round the system. The virgin engineer said he could not fit an extension lead to make a more suitable location from the router or other means.
request from 85 year old member devonwoody

 

[Alex H]

Send a complaint here - Virgin Media O2 Director of Customer Services

Ms Rachel Barrass
Email	[email protected]

 

[Spectric]

Why any issues, is it copper to the house or full fibre to the house? If copper then it should not be a big problem.

One question though, is it an analogue phone or VOIP (voice over internet protocol ) that Virgin is providing?

 

[Richard_C]

Were you on copper wire phone service? The overall UK plan is to switch off copper wire phones and for it all to be voip/fibre by the end of 2025. I wonder if your exchange has been changed already or if Virgin are progressively moving people over.

Try to find out why the land-line suddenly stopped.

If it is the case that you are now voip only. you are entirely dependent on electricity for everything except your mobile. Old copper wire phones carry 50v low current down one wire so it still works in power cuts. In the brave new world, power cut = router off = no phone, unless you have a backup power pack for your router.

That is a potential problem for people with personal alarms. Not much you can do I'm afraid, it is possible that your alarm provider will know more.

Is your computer a laptop or big-box desktop? If its a laptop you should be able to connect wirelessly from where you choose, if it's desktop you should be able to run an ethernet cable to the router even if you can't move the router. Sounds like the engineer wasn't as helpful as they might have been.

 

[johna.clements]

The decision by the government to allow the telephone system to be dependent on the local power supply does not make sense to me.

It is very common for smaller overhead power cables to be taken out by trees in storms.

 

[fenhayman]

Have Virgin media two weeks ago landline was dead. An hour's wait before mobile was answered and then 2 days before engineer called. Explained that no copper wire systems were being repaired,now to be replaced by fibre. Changed set top box and fitted new cables.
Now waiting for 3rd engineers visit, main TV not working .
Am close to telling virgin to stick it. But are Sky or BT any better?
Both over 80 so not too tech savvy.

 

[XTiffy]

I am sure that has been suggested that you are now on Voip. i.e. through your broadband.
One way to get the signal to another room is to use "power line" units. Basically a unit is plugged into a mains socket near the router and then connected with an ethernet cable to the Router, another unit is plugged into a mains socket in the other room and you either connect via WiFi or an ethernet cable. This the system I use as the phone connection and router are downstairs and my office is upstairs. These are usually sold as a set and are quite reasonable in price (Currys etc). The brand I have used for some years is TP Link. Saves running cables (either mains or ethernet) between rooms. The only stipulation is that each unit must be on the same electrical circuit, which is unlikely unless you live in a mansion!

 

[XTiffy]

Fenhayman,
My brother had just the same hassle in Colchester, Essex area a few months ago with BT. They unilaterally declared he was going over to Voip, with the result that he lost all services for weeks. As the copper wires belong to BT, this no doubt will be a familiar story up and down the country.

 

[ajs]

Were you on copper wire phone service? The overall UK plan is to switch off copper wire phones and for it all to be voip/fibre by the end of 2025. I wonder if your exchange has been changed already or if Virgin are progressively moving people over.

Not quite. POTS - traditional analog phone lines - is being phased out but the copper lines are staying for the time being at least. Expect it to take decades for that to go out in the sticks.

Your point about power requirements is valid though and symptomatic of a wider loss of resilience in the name of modernisation. The switch off of analog radio is another that comes to mind, and while many of the issues there are similar that's a whole different rant.

 

[Dibs-h]

Yesterday my landline telephone with virgin would not connect or receive telephone calls. I was forced to call virgin (on my mobile) and they took my telephone, answer phone and an alarm emergency hospital call system into another room where my windows 10 is installed and rewired the router and desktop computer installed to enable my land line to now operate.
I now am forced to leave computer connected 24/7 and to see recorded telephone messages in another room and we normally live in the living room, a great inconvenience.
Anybody got any advice or ideas to get round the system. The virgin engineer said he could not fit an extension lead to make a more suitable location from the router or other means.
request from 85 year old member devonwoody

I believe the PSTN (old fashioned phone system) is being phased out (certainly) in the UK.

Virgin, like many ISP - provide standard RJ11 sockets on the back of the router. On the Virgin one, there will likely be 2. One each for a line - usually one is active (Line 1).

@devonwoody - Your telephone, answering machine & emergency alarm: how to they connect to the router? Look at the back of the Virgin router and you will see 2 phone (RJ11) connections. I think 1 of them (Line 1) will have a cable into it. Where does the other end go? It will go to your (analogue) devices (phone, answering machine etc.) - how do they connect to this cable?

A solution is straightforward - I've done it for a few people but just need to know what you have with a view of re-using as much as possible.

 

[artie]

Years ago, I "ported" my landline number It only costs 7-£8 per month.

Now all my calls go directly to my mobile, I even have an app on the phone and if I use it the callee sees my landline number and thinks I'm calling from home no matter where I am.

unlimited calls to uk landlines and mobiles included.

It has solved a lot of problems.

 

[Richard_C]

Not quite. POTS - traditional analog phone lines - is being phased out but the copper lines are staying

The switch off of analog radio is another that comes to mind, and while many of the issues there are similar that's a whole different rant.

Indeed. The great irony is that the contingency planning for possible programmed power cuts this winter tells people to listen to FM radio for information, presumably because local DAB relays might not work and most domestic DAB receivers are mains operated because battery usage is so high.

(I know its POTS going but that gets into detail the OP might not need. Copper was shorthand)

Wandering off topic now... A good rant never hurt.

Thinking back to the 3 day week power cuts, local pub had candles, beer on hand pump, a till that took real money and bar staff who could add up at great speed. The local store could weigh out your veg on a spring dial scale, take cash and did stock control by looking at the shelves and phoning the wholesaler. This will be a whole lot different, nothing will work. 99% of retail will have to close, staff will lose wages, pubs can't function, the slightly romantic 'in it together' memories are false, it will be horrid. I wonder if things like electric door locks on common entrances to flats will work, car park barriers, things like that. How many will be locked in, out or stuck far from home. We have dependency on electricity supply but no contingency. In our village, when POTS goes if there is a power cut and someone needs ambulance or fire brigade they will have to find a fit neighbour to run up the hill until they get a mobile signal.

Most of the population know nothing about what is happening and will only find out when their phone stops working. Another concern.

 

[baldkev]

The engineers are paid per call out, whether its a 30 second visit or 4 hours, so often they get you 'working' and dissappear as quick as 20 quid in your fuel tank.
We had one recently on a house refurb I'm doing. It was so irritating watching this guy tryinv to get out of doing his job that i basically told him not to bother, I'll do it.
He must have felt bad then, so he left a load of cable and connectors and did a runner.

 

[devonwoody]

Why any issues, is it copper to the house or full fibre to the house? If copper then it should not be a big problem.

One question though, is it an analogue phone or VOIP (voice over internet protocol ) that Virgin is providing?

I do not know but it is fibre full

 

[devonwoody]

I do not know analogue or fibre

 

[devonwoody]

The engineers are paid per call out, whether its a 30 second visit or 4 hours, so often they get you 'working' and dissappear as quick as 20 quid in your fuel tank.
We had one recently on a house refurb I'm doing. It was so irritating watching this guy tryinv to get out of doing his job that i basically told him not to bother, I'll do it.
He must have felt bad then, so he left a load of cable and connectors and did a runner.

 

[devonwoody]

I do not understand all the replies, the sales people that supplied and constructed my present windows 10 set up I think will now have to be approached and assistance requested.
Thanks for your informations and support, I will report back asap. John Devonwoody.

 

[starfish]

I do not understand all the replies, the sales people that supplied and constructed my present windows 10 set up I think will now have to be approached and assistance requested.
Thanks for your informations and support, I will report back asap. John Devonwoody.

should be simple.

assuming you have one of the following hubs - Virgin Media Hub 3, Hub 4 & Hub 5 | Hub Swaps & Upgrades

There is a port on the back of the router - it may have an adaptor so you can plug a phone into. The adaptor allows you plug a standard phone into it. You can plug a telephone extension cable into this to get it to a different location

 

[Davyc]

@devonwoody . Hi John. My 85 yr old in laws had the same problem a few weeks ago with virgin.
Sounds to me like you are on full fibre.
Cant help with your fall alarm but maybe the providers of said alarm would be the first port of call for help. As for your landlines, what the virgin engineer did for them was take their main phone with built in answering machine and plugged it into the virgin hub using an adaptor. The other two handsets are radio phones which connect wirelessley with the main phone so they have a handset in the sitting room and one in the bedroom. These just plug in to your normal 240 v sockets, rechargeable things....he can also use any handset to listen to messages on the answering machine but we have not set that up...I don't know why you need to have a computer on the go all the time because my lot don't, everything works off a small adaptor plugged into the back of the hub. Don't know if this helps you in any ways. I know how hard it is to get any help from virgin customer service.
All the best to you.
Ps. Thier phones must be at least 10 years old....

 

[Jamesc]

I have a VIrgin Business acount and my router has a donlge that will automatically switch over to the mobile phone network if there is a problem.
This wouldn't overcome the problem of no power but as a vulnerable user I think it would be worth requesting this. The engineer who installed my system said that he was doing a lot of installs like that for vulnerable users and care homes.