Post Installation Problems - Please Help!

uknutz · 02-02-2006, 13:01

Hi,

I am at the end of my teather, and desperately need help. Here is the story.

Had all 3 services installed on Tuesday. All cabling was already there so no problems. Engineer left. TV worked as did phone. Have SACM and set top box. SACM SYNC light stays lit but Ready light flashes quickly. Stays like this for 5 minutes then Ready light goes out and Sync light flashes quickly. This then repeats never ending.

Phone tech support and NTL issues me with a PID and not a PIN as they had me registered as having STB not SACM. That then gets sorted and I get a PIN. No change in modem status. Phone tech support again, "err, well, your modem is not registered on your account. Give me your mac address and I will get this done. Should take up to 24 hrs. OK, give him the mac address. 24 hrs later, still the same. Phone tech support, no note of my call, no mac address, no SACM registered to my account. This time, the guy goes through the reboot blah blah, hmmm there must be a fault. I will arrange an engineer. Oh sorry I can't, there is no modem on your account. What you mac address I will raise a ticket to get it put on there then an engineer will call you back. OK. No call back, no modem registered to my account. Call back to CS to see if they can sort something out. Oh your account is setup but you are not provisioned. Hang on 10 minutes I will see what I can do. (waits on hold for 10 mins) Right your account is all setup, blah blah here is a new account number??? (8 digit number different to my original PIN and my original account number). This is now beyond me so I need to put you through to technical support. (Another 10 mins hold) Ah there seems to be a fault in your area and has been for last few days. I question this as my mum has NTL BB 300 yards away and hers is fine. Definately a fault in your area, should be fixed by 4pm today.

So there is my experience so far. Do the flashing lights in the sequence described mean anything to you guys. When i looked at the SACM status it said some error receiving DCHP?? (I am in office again now, I was meant to working from home if I had a net connection, so can't read exact message). Are tech support just fobbing me off with a load of s**t. Please help before I tell them to take the whole bloody lot out again, and I go back to BT/SKY/ADSL.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

Jim.

Russ · 02-02-2006, 13:11

Welcome to the site

Sorry to hear about all this, if you PM me your full name, address and account number, I'll get someone from ntl to look in to this today.

uknutz · 02-02-2006, 13:21

PM sent.

Thank you.
Jim.

SmileyMan · 05-02-2006, 18:29

Quote:

SACM SYNC light stays lit but Ready light flashes quickly

If memory serves me correct this means modem is trying to get IP and DCHP info from NTL servers, When does not lock on its mostly a signal problem (Too high and too low), Did the installer check the signal levels? (Connected a signal tester to cable)

uknutz · 08-02-2006, 17:04

Problem solved.

I would like to thank Russ D from the forums, and and the fantastic lady from NTL (I don't know if I can mention her name) from the bottom of my heart, without whom I would have thrown the whole bloody lot out of the window. She was courteous, helpful, and the only reason why I didn't cancel the whole service. If only every NTL employee had the same manner, it would be a pleasure to contact them.

Anyway.......

NTL had me on the system as connecting through STB (I have a SACM) and the SACM hardware was not registered on the system, hence why it would not receive an IP from the DCHP server. As soon the the hardware MAC was finally put on my account, connection was instant and I have no problems since.

You would have though the CS or technical support would have known / told me this in the first place, rather than the bulls**t they kept telling me, but all's well that ends well, and I am now a happy bunny.

Regards
Jim.