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[zaphron65]

Hi there, sorry if this is in the wrong place.

I have just signed up to VDSL Vodafone broadband and i am not impressed one bit, i was lied to three times before taking out the contract and one of the lies was that they said i could use my own router, i have a Draytek vigor that i would like to use but have now just been told they do not provide the information to connect a third party router (ridiculous).

My last ISP was with sky and it was a simple packet capture with wireshark that enabled me to get the details i needed to use the Draytek. I have tried this with the Vodafone router to no avail. Is there a way anybody has found to work around this issue so i can just use the Draytek which i paid alot of money for. Frankly i find it disgusting why they dont even let you use your own router especially when that router costs just over £200 which is miles better than the thing they send out.

Any help would be very muchly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Ronski]

They do provide the username and password, you just need to get through to the right person, I've seen it mentioned a few times on here.

[kitz]

You need to get through to Tech Support in Glasgow, would should be able to help.

If you've only recently got connected with them then you should also be under their 30 day satisfaction guarantee.

PS - Glasgow hours are something like 9-5 so make sure you ring during the day.

[psychopomp1]

It appears they have now stopped giving out router usernames & passwords after senior managers got hold of the fact they were being handed out like confetti by junior support staff. However there's no harm in repeatedly trying, one good tactic is to ask them "Is it against your t&c's to hand out this info?" to which they will definitely reply "yes". Then whilst you have their t&c's open on your pc, ask them where exactly in the t&c's does it state that users cannot user their own router or that VF cannot hand out user login credentials. With a bit of luck you'll have them stumped and they should be able to give you the login details then - but make it very clear to them that you will not be asking for support on a non-Vodafone router.

Good luck!! 

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/index.htm
(Consumer >> Broadband & Home Phone >> Broadband & Home Phone terms and conditions)

[highpriest]

It appears they have now stopped giving out router usernames & passwords after senior managers got hold of the fact they were being handed out like confetti by junior support staff.

Any steps to encourage nefarious practices like making customers happy must be stamped out immediately!

[ejs]

4.5. Regardless of whether we need to access your home to install a new line or if we’re taking over an existing line, we’ll send you the necessary Broadband Equipment which you’ll need to connect in order to access the Vodafone Broadband and Home Phone Services. You agree to follow any instructions provided to you by us in order to set up and connect the Broadband Equipment.

Does that mean you have to use their router?

[kitz]

So they are back tracking? 

[psychopomp1]

Does that mean you have to use their router?

That's a very wishy-washy statement by VF and IMHO doesn't clearly state that that you MUST use their router and that any use of non-Vodafone equipment is forbidden.

[psychopomp1]

So they are back tracking? 

It appears so. I'm surprised that as of yet no one has managed to 'hack' into the VF router like the Sky router(s) were done.

[kitz]

@zaphron65 -  Have you got any further with this?

[j0hn]

I'm guessing it's pot luck who you get on the phone, as I was successful Thursday afternoon in obtaining login details for my mum. She wanted to continue using her HG612 + Linksys EA6300 combo and asked my advise a few weeks ago regarding switching to Vodafone as it was about half the cost of her BT bill.

Seeing this thread a few days ago had me a little worried that I'd told her she would be ok to keep using this setup. She called me Wednesday to advise that her switch had gone through but I wasn't free to call them till the next day. Initially I was met with a blank response with the customer service rep not knowing what a username and password was for, but repeating the line that she had to use their modem. I requested to be put through to tech support and was transferred seconds later. Within a couple mins I had her login details, absolutely no fuss at all.

I felt a little rude as I started off with a rant saying how we were very annoyed as we were promised we could use our own modem and that's the only reason we chose Vodafone. The chap politely interrupted me mid rant saying not a problem, hold 1 minute. A minute later he gave me the details needed. I must say I was pretty impressed. The call was answered almost immediately, as was the transfer to the tech support team.

Unfortunately despite my exchange having Vodafone LLU (it is the main exchange, no head-end), every single phone number/postcode I've tried in my area only shows as ADSL being available from Vodafone. Do they need to add something extra in the exchange to offer fibre also?
https://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/ESDAL

[psychopomp1]

j0hn, good to know that you managed to get login details first time around...however as you rightly state its down to pot luck. I think when people call them up they've got to accept that they might have to deal with a pig headed script reader whose vocabulary might include a lot of "'compu'er says no" (ala Carol Beer from Little Britain) and the only way forward might be to call again and hope for a more sympathetic/understanding agent.

As to why Vodafone FTTC isn't available at your address even though they've LLU'd your exchange where your fibre terminates at, some possible explanations:

1) Your FTTC cabinet might be full so with many ISPs you cannot place an order until a port becomes free again - even if you are already on a vdsl2 service. What does the BT checker say for your tel number / address ? (note: address option is down at present)
https://www.dslchecker.bt.com/

2) Vodafone may not have yet connected the Openreach VDSL2 fibre links to their MSAN equipment at the exchange using a special cable. LLU operators normally do this within a few weeks of an exchange going live for FTTC connections, however it can take many months or they may even decide not to offer FTTC services if they feel they won't be getting a good return on their investment. I'm sure the cable they use at the exchange is not a 7dayshop 99p jobbie 

3) Vodafone's database may not be up to date wrt FTTC services at your address/exchange footprint. You would need to speak to VF level 2 tech support, definitely not their sales staff in order to find out more.

EDIT: It appears other current FTTC users are having the same issue so once BT/Openreach update their availability checker, VF database should update accordingly.
http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/general/4508643-address-checker.html#Post4508688

[j0hn]

My cabinets full, but has a waiters list. I've checked many other addresses where the cab is accepting orders and it's the exact same.

The dsl checker thing you linked to, that's unrelated, but very new. I was using the address checker just yesterday, now it's gone. They have added what cabinet you use to https://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/when-can-i-get-fibre.aspx so looks like they want people to use that site instead. So now you need a BT number to use the DSL checker site, which has a much better layout and more detail. Postcode results shows my street can't get fibre and is generally much worse than the old address checker.

[psychopomp1]

My cabinets full, but has a waiters list. I've checked many other addresses where the cab is accepting orders and it's the exact same.

My FTTC cab is also full and I tried to do a dummy order on VF's website and I'm not getting any Vodafone FTTC packages despite VF LLU being available. It might be worth speaking to their sales team to see if they can put you on the waiting list for FTTC otherwise you just need to check the Openreach 'when can I get fibre' page on a frequent basis.

[j0hn]

It's not related to waiting lists. I've tried addresses where the cabinet is taking orders. I've now found addresses on my exchange they offer fibre to. It's like every 2nd street I try says yes, the next street over says no, despite all being open for orders. No idea what they are using to check availability but it definitely isn't OpenReachs database. I'm going to give them a call.