Joined: 19 Mar 2008Posts: 7Location: Central Scotland
Hi , I'm new to this site and joined while looking into which ISP to use (BT contract about to expire). The Orange Home Max offer seemed too good to miss (or too good to be true?) and offers my household an annual saving of around £300 (although whether MrsFudged will let me move this to the CD/Book budget remains to be seen )
In the end I've decided to go with Orange, depsite all the bad press. Here are my reasons...
That £300 saving...means a lot to us as a family.
About 80% of reviews I read for ANY ISP were bad...people tend to use online reviews to vent their frustration rather than sing praises from the rooftops.
Most of the connection problems seem to be concerned with the switch to LLU. Our exchange is a long way from that changeover.
Our exchange also serves a realtively small community, so I don't think allocation of resources is such a big issue.
Other problems seem to be concerned with using Customer (lack of) Services. Orange do seem to be particularly bad on this front - close to meltdown it would seem. The optimist in me thinks that a) they'll have no choice but to get their act together (I'm wondering about the introduction of Service Level Agreements?) and b)I'm a bit of a tech-head so Customer Services would only be used as a last resort.
The most important thing I did, though, was talk to people. I asked all my friends who live locally which ISP they were with and how they felt about it. Orange came out looking no worse than the others - and a lot better than a few. So, from what I can tell, Orange seem to be providing the service they offer in my area.
Here's what I plan to do...
I've signed up to Orange and I'll try to faithfully post ALL my experiences on here.
I'll add a post below with progress so far.
_________________ Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.
Terry Pratchett
Joined: 19 Mar 2008Posts: 7Location: Central Scotland
I called to register on Saturday 22nd March.
The morning before I made the call I noticed some Orange Leaflets in Woolworths - these offered £40 in vouchers if you used the number on the leaflet to sign up! It'll be interesting to see if they materialise.
When I called I asked lots of careful questions about what service they'll provide, how long I can expect to wait for each aspect of the service (Home Max) and basically got all the assurances I asked for. No surprise there, but I least I have these assurances on record (oh yes, I intend to record EVERY call)
I was told Broadband would be activated within 10 working days - allowing for the Bank Holiday Weekend, this means it should be activated by Monday 7th April. The Home Phone will take loonger - up to 28 days.I was also told that there would be no loss of 'phoine service at all in the changeover persiod.
One mistake the guy on the 'phone made was when he said I should be able to connect whenever I receive my Livebox. I can't see how this would work, BT have to hand over control of the Broadband service to them I think.
Yesterday (27th March) my Livebox arrived, so that's an impressive start. Sending a parcel isn't rocket science though so we'll see what happens next. The letter with the Livebox confirmed my user details and said I would get an e-mail when the service is activated on my line. As ny BT service is still active I'm not going to risk changing anything until I get that e-mail.
So that's the story so far - next installment soon I hope
_________________ Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.
Terry Pratchett
Joined: 19 Mar 2008Posts: 7Location: Central Scotland
I wouldn't be at all surprised!
So far, so good though. The connection's up and running. First speed test showed a respectable 3Mb(ish) but I didn't get a chance to add put that onb my stat's here. Tonight it's a far less promising 1.2Mb so I hope that improves.
With BT it varied between 1Mb (peak time) and 6Mb
You're right Borednow - the changeover was with a MAC code and, with typical optimism, I haven't factored CS/TS calls into my saving predictions....but I'll make sure i do in the final calcs!
BTW - does anyone know how I change my ISP in my profile?
_________________ Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.
Terry Pratchett
Site AdminJoined: 07 Apr 2006Posts: 784Location: United Kingdom
Hello fudged
Welcome to OranegProblems.co.uk and thank you for taking the time to report on your experiences while signing up with Orange! I am sure this post will create a lot of interest...
In response to your question regarding changing your ISP in your priofile, you will need to set up a new profile - this is so that you can keep previous speed data as well as add your new speed data... We understand that the system is a tad cumbersome at present but we are working to integrate it more fully in the near future.
Enter the speed and profile data - using the appropriate ISP and speed
Submit the data
You will then have another profile set up (profile 2) which will display below your first profile - you can add speed data to this profile as you would have done for profile 1.
Joined: 19 Mar 2008Posts: 7Location: Central Scotland
Still no change real change in connection speeds. According to Livebox system info, though, my attainable is 8416kbps and actual rates are Downstream 7712, Upstream 448 - it's been down around 2000/200 for the last few days.
_________________ Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.
Terry Pratchett
Still no change real change in connection speeds. According to Livebox system info, though, my attainable is 8416kbps and actual rates are Downstream 7712, Upstream 448 - it's been down around 2000/200 for the last few days.
If the system's going through training again then it may upto 10 days for things to settle out.
Try running a BT speedtest though and see what the profile shows as, this will be helpful.
Joined: 19 Mar 2008Posts: 7Location: Central Scotland
Well, the speed has picked up at last. I hadn't posted any other results as it was fairly constant, but tonight I got a result of 5336/378 - certainly an improvement andmore or less matches anything I ever got with BT.
Over the weekend I've setup wireless connections for the family - a laptop, a PSP and a Nintendo DS... all went without a hitch and are working nicely.
The 'phone's due to switch over tomorrow (15th) so I'm hoping that goes without a hitch.
Another wee bonus - I signed up via the leaflet I happened to find in Woolworths - this promised £40 of Woolies vouchers for signing up and they arrived last week
This is all going so nicely I'll be fair disappointed when it all goes pear-shaped, if the predictions come true
Watch this space
_________________ Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.
Terry Pratchett
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