Cable Forum - View Single Post - New Cable Modem Activation

dineleeeee · 25-07-2008, 14:21

Installation woes below. Long story warning:

I moved into my new flat on 1st July, but didn't get round to ordering virgin media XL broadband until Wed 16th July as the previous tenants left their old cable modem behind (which had 4mbit internet when I tested it with my laptop). I borrowed this internet as I thought asking virgin media to change anything would just cause me grief (which has happened in the past as they seem incapable of changing anything account related and getting it right). The friendly man on the end of the phone registered my account, gave me some discounts and said the Quick Start kit would arrive on Friday.

Friday 18th July - The Quick Start kit arrives, and I plug in the wireless router and new cable modem. I then attempt to phone up and activate the new cable modem. It doesn't activate. The person on the end of the phone says when they try to activate the modem they get an Error 101 back. They refer the fault on to their technical support department who will ring me back as they're experiencing high call volumes.

Saturday 19th July - I get a phone call while I'm out the house from the technical support department saying they've fixed the fault and can I confirm that the modem is connected. I can't because I'm not in the flat. When I do get back home I find it's still not activated.

Tuesday 22nd July - Virgin Media blacklists and disables the old 4mbit cable modem that was in the flat when I moved in. I ring again and get told, yes it's an error 101 and it's been logged with the IT support department as that's who the fault should have been logged with as it's nothing related to the technical support department. I'm also told that IT support don't work over the weekend and have a high number of support tickets so will get my fault resolved by 8am Wednesday at the latest.

Wednesday 23rd July - Modem still not active. I ring up again and am told that it's being dealt with and I will be activated soon. I ask about compensation and am told I'll get a months free internet credited to my account and won't be charged for anything until it's actually connected.

Friday 25th July - My housemate rings up instead of me (as she's named on the account) and eventually after restarting the modem (which doesn't fix the problem), being put on hold and transferred to 4 different people, has been told a technician will come round between 8-12 or 12-4 tomorrow to solve the problem.

Has anyone else here had issues getting their new cable modem activated? A friend of mine who ordered their broadband after I ordered has had it activated already (but only after threatening to cancel his order with virgin media. He also got 6 months of free M cable tv added to his package).

I can't understand why they're having issues doing something as simple as activating a new modem that they've sent out to a customer. All I can think is the cable modem is faulty (unlikely as I've logged into it's web interface status page and seen it do everything except get a DHCP lease from virgin media's servers) or they've made a mistake at their end which is preventing a DHCP lease being given to my modem.

Technical details that might help:
I live in BS8 (Clifton area of Bristol) on ex-telewest coax. The old 4mbit modem that was left behind by previous tenants was a Scientific Atlanta 2100. The new modem they've posted to me is an Ambit 256.

25-07-2008, 14:21	#1
dineleeeee Inactive Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bristol Services: (Telewest) 20mbit XL Broadband Posts: 6	New Cable Modem Activation - Error 101 Installation woes below. Long story warning: I moved into my new flat on 1st July, but didn't get round to ordering virgin media XL broadband until Wed 16th July as the previous tenants left their old cable modem behind (which had 4mbit internet when I tested it with my laptop). I borrowed this internet as I thought asking virgin media to change anything would just cause me grief (which has happened in the past as they seem incapable of changing anything account related and getting it right). The friendly man on the end of the phone registered my account, gave me some discounts and said the Quick Start kit would arrive on Friday. Friday 18th July - The Quick Start kit arrives, and I plug in the wireless router and new cable modem. I then attempt to phone up and activate the new cable modem. It doesn't activate. The person on the end of the phone says when they try to activate the modem they get an Error 101 back. They refer the fault on to their technical support department who will ring me back as they're experiencing high call volumes. Saturday 19th July - I get a phone call while I'm out the house from the technical support department saying they've fixed the fault and can I confirm that the modem is connected. I can't because I'm not in the flat. When I do get back home I find it's still not activated. Tuesday 22nd July - Virgin Media blacklists and disables the old 4mbit cable modem that was in the flat when I moved in. I ring again and get told, yes it's an error 101 and it's been logged with the IT support department as that's who the fault should have been logged with as it's nothing related to the technical support department. I'm also told that IT support don't work over the weekend and have a high number of support tickets so will get my fault resolved by 8am Wednesday at the latest. Wednesday 23rd July - Modem still not active. I ring up again and am told that it's being dealt with and I will be activated soon. I ask about compensation and am told I'll get a months free internet credited to my account and won't be charged for anything until it's actually connected. Friday 25th July - My housemate rings up instead of me (as she's named on the account) and eventually after restarting the modem (which doesn't fix the problem), being put on hold and transferred to 4 different people, has been told a technician will come round between 8-12 or 12-4 tomorrow to solve the problem. Has anyone else here had issues getting their new cable modem activated? A friend of mine who ordered their broadband after I ordered has had it activated already (but only after threatening to cancel his order with virgin media. He also got 6 months of free M cable tv added to his package). I can't understand why they're having issues doing something as simple as activating a new modem that they've sent out to a customer. All I can think is the cable modem is faulty (unlikely as I've logged into it's web interface status page and seen it do everything except get a DHCP lease from virgin media's servers) or they've made a mistake at their end which is preventing a DHCP lease being given to my modem. Technical details that might help: I live in BS8 (Clifton area of Bristol) on ex-telewest coax. The old 4mbit modem that was left behind by previous tenants was a Scientific Atlanta 2100. The new modem they've posted to me is an Ambit 256.