I must apologise to the bloggers who follow me and those I follow: my computer has been out of action now for nearly two weeks, during which time I had no option but to delete all the emails that poured in daily. I find it impossible to work on a phone (I gave up on the IPad last trip when it insisted on me signing in every time I opened it up) not just because my eyesight is bad, but because I find it such an inconvenience, enough to take all pleasure away from reading and writing.
It all started when my WiFi went down and after hours trying to get online and waiting for more hours on the ‘phone (COVID is a great excuse for companies these days not to answer the phones) I was informed by my server, BT, that it was the router that was at fault but that they would send me a new – and better – one immediately. I believed them, fool that I am.
Three days later I tried phoning them without success. After nearly 3 hours I decided that life was too short to hand around like this and that I would just await the router’s arrival in a state of reasonable calmness. A week later I got a ‘phone call from a charming young man at BT who was querying what sort of SIM card I had ordered. Moi? SIM card? Sorry, Madam, it must have been a mix-up. So I explained at length what had happened, he promised to get a router off to me asap but, as the weekend was upon us it wouldn’t now be sent until Monday.
It arrived late on Tuesday. After unpacking it from its box I nearly lost hope and called for an engineer but I had come so far so decided to just get on with it and install it myself. I managed it, WiFi on, computer up-and-running again, me unbearably smug at my technical prowess, but then … no TV. I had done something wrong. I re-read all the instructions, then decided to give it up and read a book instead.
Yesterday dawned fair and I started the next stage late afternoon as I had appointments in the morning. I managed to get the TV working again but although I could get all the paying channels and Catch-UP, I couldn’t get live TV. I should mention that at the same time I was disengaging my You View box for return to BT as I’m giving this up. After a telephone consultation with my tech-savvy friend, he decided I had detached the aerial from the You View Box – which I had – and after I’d put all the wires back in their right places, by 10 pm last night I had a fully functioning WiFi, Computer and TV.
It’s still working today.
As I said above, I had to just delete everyone’s blogs as they came through but I’ll have a quick shuftie at recent postings and catch up eventually but I won’t add any comments. For anyone wondering why I haven’t been commenting, you now know why.
One surprisingly good outcome is that without any prompting from me, BT has offered a substantial credit which should take care of my bill for the next two months. I’m quite mollified now.
I look forward to re-joining the blogosphere at the weekend. Right now I have to attend to the emails!
MARI'S TRAVELS WITH HER CAMERA 
Good for you. I had a horrible time getting everything connected after my move in September (during lockdown (of course). I hooked it up exactly the same as it had been in the previous apartment – but the TV wouldn’t connect. After hours – mostly on hold – it still didn’t work so I gave up. Amazingly enough it worked fine the next day, so they must have finally checked & realized the problem was with them and they fixed it.
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It does try your patience though, doesn’t it?!
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Ugh, horrific! But good for you sorting it out (and getting a credit)!
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Looking at it now that it’s all over I can laugh, but at the time it was dreadful. But mistakes can happen even in well-run firms and the generous credit went a long way to soothing an otherwise irate woman!
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Thanks for reminding me why we never even considered using BT as our ISP despite their continual bombardment of offer letters. We signed up with Zen years ago and when the router packs up every few years, as they all do, we just buy a new one from Argos and that’s that.
That aside, I know how frustrating these equipment failures can be and the feelings of relief when it’s all working again. What were once novelty toys (PC, Internet, smartphone…) have now become essential services along with gas, electricty and water. Cause us problems they may do but we can’t live without them.
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I’ve been very lucky with BT since I went with them in 2013, so much so that although I know I can get a better deal, financially speaking, elsewhere I’m reluctant to move. So, I have to forgive them this hiccup although it did make me pause for a bit and have a quick think. Their offer of a large credit I must say, went a long way to making things better!
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Aagh what a nightmare..I hate it when technical things go wrong and you’re on the phone for hours and nobody understands. And when you finally fix it what a sense of achievement. Well done
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It certainly has not been a good year for me with regard to technology – and I’m including cameras in that (dropped, lost and etc.) Still, we keep on, keeping on. Nice to know you’re still there in my corner!
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Not sure why I’ve ‘liked’ this! You don’t have much luck here lately, but welcome back, hon. Full marks for perseverance 🙂 🙂
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