DSL tests failing some months, passing others

eth0_

I'm astounded at this. Eircom told me yesterday that "Some months your line will test ok for DSL other months it will fail". Why is this? I've never had this in the UK and i've never heard of this phenomenon anywhere else. I can understand it if you have ten phones on your line one month that it might fail, but take my situation, the line has been passing since RADSL was launched, i'm under 3km from the exchange (in terms of the length of my phone line), the line is excellent quality, my neighbours on either side are passing the pre-qual test, I know several others in my street who HAVE dsl....What is going on?

Can anyone give me a reason why this test is so crap and erratic? DSL is not *THAT* sensitive! It looks to me like if there's even a bit of rain on the phone lines the night your exchange tests it's lines, it's a FAIL! And someone on another thread mentioned that their line test consistently fails - and they _have_ dsl!

bk

Originally posted by eth0_
And someone on another thread mentioned that their line test consistently fails - and they _have_ dsl!

Yes, that is me, the line test is far more sensetive then what DSL actually needs IMHO.

In the UK BT are thinking of getting ride of the line test all together and instead let people get the modems, try connecting and if it doesn't work they can just return the modem. They figure most people in the UK will work just fine.

eth0_

Originally posted by bk
Yes, that is me, the line test is far more sensetive then what DSL actually needs IMHO.

In the UK BT are thinking of getting ride of the line test all together and instead let people get the modems, try connecting and if it doesn't work they can just return the modem. They figure most people in the UK will work just fine.

That'd never happen here
I'm just going to wait until I move house in July and get Esat business, making sure to give the whole line to data so Eircom don't get another CENT off me.

eth0_

Just got a call from a very young sounding guy in Eircom who deals with Comreg complaints.
All he could say was 'sorry, your line fails, nothing we can do' over and over. I explained how it's been passing since day 1, it's just in the past month it's been failing - 'sorry, nothing we can do'. They can't even see (never mind TELL YOU) why it fails. What a joke :-/

viking

It looks to me like if there's even a bit of rain on the phone lines the night your exchange tests it's lines, it's a FAIL!

Bingo! There's the reason your test results are so erratic.

V.

eth0_

Originally posted by viking
Bingo! There's the reason your test results are so erratic.

V.

It could be
But it was tested (on the automated system on April 19, then again on May 20 and presumably again today before the eircom n00b rang me

Jilm

Also, Eircom aren't investing as much as they should in the upkeep of their network.

So, I have ADSL now, however 6-12 months down the track it could just stop working due to Eircom's deteriorating network, bless 'em.

Furp

This happened to me my line passed on the Navan exchange since DSL was introduced, I went to order BB last month and it failed, I couldn't believe it had previously passed every time I checked.

However this month my line passed so I ordered with IOLBB ESAT on the 4 month trial offer.

AFAIK each line is tested once a month at some unspecified time if your line pass's or fails it is sent to the Eircom database as either a pass or fail, all the DSL providers get a copy or access to Eircom's test databases.

therefore if your line fails on the particular day they do the test it is put into the central databases as failing for that entire month until the next test is carried out.

What I would like to know is if say by chance you where on the phone, i.e. internet, voice call, whatever when eircoms system did the test would it fail it?

eth0_

Originally posted by Furp

What I would like to know is if say by chance you where on the phone, i.e. internet, voice call, whatever when eircoms system did the test would it fail it?

POSSIBLY. Voltage is one of the things measured, and I remember when I lived in Belfast and had DSL, every time our phone rang the DSL would knock off and you'd have to wait for it to re-sync with the exchange. Turned out that the phone ringer had too high a REN rating for the line (it was one of those email phones). So i'd imagine if you happened to receive a call at the same time your phone rang, the test might fail.

But i've had my line tested three times this month and it's failed every time. I'm just going to wait til I get my own place in July and get Esat business dsl :-)

bk

Originally posted by eth0_
But i've had my line tested three times this month and it's failed every time.

This really means you have had only one test.

Eircom carry out the test only once a month and store the result in a database. If you ring them up and ask if your line passed, they only look up the database, they DO NOT re-run the test.

They may tell you that they re-run the test, but trust me they are lying. The only way to get the line test properly re-run, is if you get onto an engineer in your exchange and ask him really nicely. The people on the phone support cannot re-run the test.

gibo_ie

eht0 is corrent in saying that if your line is busy at the time of line test (monthly) your line will almost definatley fail. This info comes direct from an engineer.

They will not test it again even if you ask nice until the next monthly test!!

eth0_

But...a guy in Netsource had the line re-tested, there is a team who deal with OLO's and apparently they had the test run again, and also the eircom guy said comreg required them to run the test AGAIN before calling me?

The Clown Man

A mate of mine whose line was constantly failing managed to blag his way into getting the sales guy to send an engineer out anyway. He lied the whole way through the escapade and managed to get the line installed. He is now surfing away with not one problem since it was installed 8 months ago. So much for the "line suitability test."

I find it incredible that they would turn away good business over something that has obviously not been looked at very closely. They are the ones that should be worried that so many lines are failing but they seem oblivious to the loss of so many sources of revenue. Is there anyone in that company that actually cares about what is happening? No?

Turner

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That would be me

I would call it a little white lie, sure how could the mod of broadband be the mod if he didnt have broadband

Ya when talking to eircom lie lie lie lie lie, as thats what their company motto seems to be. That or make things up.

Chief.

Scruff

and what might that white lie have been so that we can all use it?;)

Eircom carry out the test only once a month and store the result in a database.

When they are doing the line test does your phone need to be pluged in to the socket or will it work it you have your modem pluged in and your 'puter off?

Originally posted by bk
Yes, that is me, the line test is far more sensetive then what DSL actually needs IMHO.

In the UK BT are thinking of getting ride of the line test all together and instead let people get the modems, try connecting and if it doesn't work they can just return the modem. They figure most people in the UK will work just fine.

So if you have a mate in your area who has dsl, can you just get him to come round to your place and plug in his modem to see if he can connect or is there some work that needs to be done to your specific line at the exchange?

Ripwave

Originally posted by Scruff
So if you have a mate in your area who has dsl, can you just get him to come round to your place and plug in his modem to see if he can connect or is there some work that needs to be done to your specific line at the exchange?

There very definitely has to be work done at the exchange - your line must be connected to the DSL equipmet in the exchange.

bk

Originally posted by Scruff

When they are doing the line test does your phone need to be pluged in to the socket or will it work it you have your modem pluged in and your 'puter off?

You don't need to unplug anything when the line test is being carried out. However you stand a better chance of passing if as little equipment as possible (phones, modems, fax, etc.) are unplugged when doing the test.

So if you have a mate in your area who has dsl, can you just get him to come round to your place and plug in his modem to see if he can connect or is there some work that needs to be done to your specific line at the exchange?

When you get BB, Eircom activate your line on the DSLAM in the exchange, so no using your friends modem won't work.

shinzon

make life a lot easier if eircom would just tell us when the automated tests are run, I never understood the big secret about this anyways, but ho hum this topic has been discussed to death.

On a related note, i received a flyer through the post yesterday, it was from a firm that specialises in repairing dodgy telephone wiring, not Eircoms wiring but the internal crappy stuff thats in most houses these days.

Now im thinking of giving this guy a bell and seeing whats what with the wiring inside the house and asking him to see if its worth repairing it to increase the chances of me getting DSL.

Should i trust Eircom and get this guy up as they say its the internal wiring thats causing the noise on the line or should i just forget it

Shin