Full fibre order - is an engineer coming?

[#1]

Hi all.

I'm in the process of moving house and have submitted my order for Plusnet's Full Fibre.

When the order was submitted, it was indicated that all was good and nothing needed doing.  The order page also advises, "...you don't need an engineer to visit your home".  Yet Openreach are contacting me to say an engineer will be.  But will they actually be and why?

I've already been given an appointment slot and told if I'm not present I'll be charged.  Is this just system stuff or for real?

Many thanks, Jonty.

[#2]

@jontysoper is there a working ONT at the property ?

During the order process, if the system thinks there is already an ONT present, Openreach will attempt to remotely check the ONT. If the checks pass, then a remote activation can proceed, if not then an engineer visit will be required.

The ONT check can fail if :

1) Its not powered. Quite likely if the property is empty.

2) its been taken by the previous occupants when they moved. Recent ONTs have a warning on them that they are not to be taken when moving out. Problem is that earlier ONTs don't and so if the previous occupant had the fibre installed, they think the ONT is theirs! and since its just plugged into both the fibre and power, they take it with them!

In reality its of no use to them, it wont work anywhere else, its assigned (by serial no) to the property.

[#3]

@jontysoper 

Use the Address version of the following Checker, enter the post code of your new property and select the address from the drop down menu.

Full fibre shows up as WBC FTTP in the left hand column.

What would be helpful to know is the narrative about FTTP below the results window. It'll tell you if an ONT is present.

Brian

[#4]

Hi @MisterW and @bmc

Thanks for the responses - it's much appreciated.

The property is indeed empty at the moment although power is (or was) on.  There's a few gizmos in the hallway but I cannot tell 100% if one of them is an ONT.  Here's a cropped image but the quality of the original wasn't great:

Not sure if the top right is the ONT?  But regardless, and given the context, an engineer visit seems like a valid event to be taking place.

@bmc , Brian, I'm not able to see a link in your reply but if you can review then I'm happy to dig and report back.

Jonty.

[#5]

@jontysoper 

Sorry about that, I appear to have forgotten to paste the link into my reply.

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Brian

Edit : The ONT will look something like this - https://support.aa.net.uk/Openreach_FTTP_ONT

[#6]

@bmc , many thanks.  This is what is reported back:

Whilst FTTP is already plumbed-in, I do wonder if the ONT is off or faulty.  I think my original photo shows the ONT top right (given the bit of green I can see) but there are no obvious lights (not that I can see).

To be honest, I was initially concerned about arranging to be at the property for the engineer visit only to find it wasn't going to happen anyway.  But this does seem all in context so I'll see what I can do.

Regards,

Jonty.

[#7]

@jontysoper certainly the top right is about the right size and shape for an ONT. However there doesnt appear to be any fibre connection to it. There would typically be a fibre connection plugged into the green connector and going out through the wall via an adjacent hole.

many thanks.  This is what is reported back:

what is more useful is the narrative below the results, they will say whether an ONT is installed and what type of connection , overhaed or underground

[#8]

Good morning.

Duh, sorry, I forgot about the narrative part:

It all seems positive regarding the ONT but happy for Openreach to come along and check.  I've not yet moved in and the house is empty, so I've asked the estate agent what we can do - else I'll defer Openreach if necessary.

Jonty.

[#9]

@jontysoper thanks for that, well the 'system' thinks you have an ONT.

ONT exists with active service.

The slightly odd thing is that it still appears the service is active ? . When did the previous occupants move out? looks like their service hasn't cancelled yet.

Given that , the order was probably placed as a 'working service takeover' but then the ONT test failed as its not powered. I suspect that the only way to progress is for the Openreach engineer to confirm the ONT is present and working, then the order should complete within a couple of days.

[#10]

@jontysoper 

Thanks for the information.

As stated, the system thinks you have an ONT installed which is probably why you were told initially no visit was required.

However, looking at the picture I can't see a power cord for the ONT. I strongly suspect when OR did a test of the ONT as part of the order they got a fault report (due to it not being powered up) hence the need for a visit.

I would suggest the easiest way to get things sorted is to be there when OR visit.

Brian

[#11]

Hi @MisterW 

The property was previously being rented but the owner is now selling.  Not sure if the active service is the former renter's or the owner's, but I've informed the seller that I've got the ball rolling as we're soon to conclude.

Thanks to you, @MisterW and @bmc for your help with this.  Very helpful, just what I needed and I'm grateful.

Jonty.

[#12]

Just to follow-up on this.

Yesterday I had an Openreach engineer visit the property.  The ONT had its power missing so was easily remedied.  Whilst the engineer was onsite he tidied up (removed) the plethora of old and redundant boxes and cabling.

Ergo, the ONT had missing power hence the need for an Openreach visit.

[#13]

Sounds similar.

When I moved here

I got the ONT powered up (with all its correct lights lit), tidied up the previous Virgin network cabling (part of the reason why the ONT was powered down). But the Plusnet router failed to connect. Possibly because the ONT had been off-air for a few years.

A BT (third-party) engineer visited after a couple of weeks. I saw the circuit become 'live' after the first circuit 'rebuild' that was enacted, but there was then a subsequent/second circuit rebuild; obivously the first fix wasn't "good enough". As far as I could ascertain, his mobile phone call was to BT and Plusnet were not involved.