BT Anytime Upgrade Client Page

[Dimebag]

I've just spent half an hour on the phone to my dad trying to help him out.

Every time the internet loads the BT Anytime client update package screen comes up. My dad follows the instructions but every single time the message comes up "the browser security settings disallow this active x control to be run please check settings and try again".

My dad wasnt using the default security settings, he was actually using something more leniant as some of the active x options were on prompt and not disable for unassigned controls.

I ended up making him totally turn off all security for the browser, putting it on low and enabling at a custom level every single active x option just so this might would. He shut down the window and reloaded it... would it work? Would it fuck.

So not being next to this actual pc makes it harder... are there any suggestions of what to do? (And this doesnt involve tell them to get adsl hahahahhaha).

How many people using windows XP at the default security settings will fall into this trap? How many customers are BT going to utterly screw over this time? Or is this simply a case of my parents being stupid? (For once it doesnt actually seem this way). Or even more likely, are microsoft totally shit?

Suggestions plz.

 

[~YuckFou~]

Did you try the trusted sites option in security settings?

 

[granny]

Get him to phone BT Anytime customer support? If they have such a thing? Or is it one of those special BT-fuck-you-up-the-arse 2365783p/minute numbers?

 

[Dimebag]

The technical support number where they actually know anything about anything is about 50p a minute i think.

Its disgusting really.

I'm really not sure what to do about this situation, i have to give my dad an answer soon.

I might suggest the trusted site thing, but tbh i think i'll get him to change all ie privs, reboot, and then dialup and try again...

Fucking BT

I told them to get adsl ages ago.

Thanks for comments and suggestions. Maybe i'll ring up dad and says "heres what you do, ring BT, cancell your account and sign up with nildram/pipex"

Dime

 

[nath]

Isn't anytime one of those subcription things? and they still charge 50p/m for tech support?

That's fucking absurd :/

 

[Will]

Its amazing how much shorter the waiting time is at 50p/minute though.

 

[Pippa666]

Had loads of trouble when I used to hv the Anytime package with BT, there response was 'Sorry, we dont offer a fault free service'

pathetic!!!!!

 

[Will]

Well, working on the other side (not BT), it is impossible to offer a fault-free service, especially at residential rates. The trick really is to phrase it better so the customer doesn't realise it.

If you offer an 0800 technical support number, you get complaints because there is a 2 hour wait. OFTEL disapprove of 2 hour waits.

Option A - Hire more staff, cutting your margins until you go broke.

Option B - offer 50p/min, people get through straight away, you have a far fewer calls, and a source of income from the calls to offset against staffing.

That is the way life is when people want the cheapest deal.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

What other side is that then Will....Hope you dont mean ntl.

These people have managed to find the great middle ground in your argument. Their technical help is only charged at local rates (1p a min), however you can guarentee a wait of at least 50mins before getting to talk to the jumped up phone jockey.

I have only had the patience to hold on twice, just got my phone bill and there is £5's worth of phone calls to the tech line....and still they have not given me a reason or fixed the tremendous ping spikes I've been having for over a month.

How hard is it to get a decent dsl connection in this country

 

[Will]

Originally posted by Johnny Bravo
What other side is that then Will....Hope you dont mean ntl.

The other other side (Telewest).

Yeah, NTL managed the worst of both worlds there. When Telewest offered free tech support, it was a nightmare for everyone, two hour waits were the norm, which leads to very unmotivated staff. Every call begins with a shouting at for how long they have been waiting, which slows things down even more. As soon as the rates went to 50p/minute (Cable modems are still free for now *cough*), everyone suddenly discovered how to fix things for themselves.

Of course, the piece of advice at the start explaining about the tech support website (do NTL have one of these?) might have helped too. Its easier to just speak to someone when its free, when you have to play, you make a little effort first.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Oh yeah of course ntl have a wonderful tach support web site...full of great FAQ's like "have you plugged your PC in?" or "Does your house have an electricity supply?"

They supply email address' but of the course the great thing about email is it is so easy to ignore...hence I have yet to get a reply to any that I have sent.

TBH its obviously a contention issue as the pings are fine during week days, but unusable evenings and weekends (I mean who would want to use the internet then anyway ).

You have a very vaild point about paying for tech support and if by paying 50p/min I got straight through and had my problem fixed I would be happy to pay...however there should be a clause that allows you to reclaim the cost of the call should you get nowhere with having your problem rectified as per usual with ntl.

In fact I think a return to BT and a nildram account is very soon to be on the cards...I'm just not looking forward to the hassle of changing email address' for every internet account I have..worse than moving home if ya ask me

 

[~YuckFou~]

Zen.
Good service (mostly) and local rate tech support although only during office hours. Their webby is updated very quickly with any tech issues though.
They have answered my emails too

 

[Will]

Originally posted by Johnny Bravo
I'm just not looking forward to the hassle of changing email address' for every internet account I have..worse than moving home if ya ask me

Get yourself a domain, then you can forward your emails to anywhere you want, and don't need to worry about changing address ever again. Only £20 for your own .co.uk (well, thats how much I would charge you).

 

[~YuckFou~]

Get a UK2 dialup and domain, you would be really cool then

 

[granny]

Originally posted by Johnny Bravo TBH its obviously a contention issue as the pings are fine during week days, but unusable evenings and weekends (I mean who would want to use the internet then anyway ).[/B]

....which is kind of exactly what anyone expects from ADSL yeah? 50:1 contention, always touted as such, always expected it to be potentially pants for gaming for that very reason. Tobe totally honest if you want the best connection for online gaming you're better off with ISDN if you can't get a cable modem. At least in the early days of ADSL not every exchange was stuffed with punters so the 50:1 ratio wasn't often a problem, nowadays it's endemic I'd have thought.

 

[Gumbo]

I have ISDN running at 64k not 128k, an to be quite honest it's fine for a lot of games and shite for others.

One thing however, it's consistent, no huge jumps or drops in the ping.

Mind you it's more expensive than Cable or ADSL is.

It'll be quite funny if ISDN becomes the norm for gamers for those reasons you outlined. I'll have been ahead of the game all along.

 

[Will]

My cable modem is just fine, but NTL have have hit their contention ratio in a lot of places. If you are in one of those, I recommend changing provider. NTL don't have the cash to sort anything out for a while.

 

[mank!]

Originally posted by Will.
My cable modem is just fine, but NTL have have hit their contention ratio in a lot of places. If you are in one of those, I recommend changing provider. NTL don't have the cash to sort anything out for a while.

I thought in most places you didn't get a choice between ntl or telewest, because only one company covered the area.

I know that this area is ntl only (except BT, but I can't get ADSL). I live in a village and as such am pretty lucky to get a cable modem, and as I'm not so much of an online gamer as I was awhile ago, I've not noticed if pings have got worse. Web browsing is impossible some nights though, but that's down to the local Oxford web caches. Something I finally managed to bypass by using a cache in Northampton or something.

 

[Will]

Originally posted by mank!


I thought in most places you didn't get a choice between ntl or telewest, because only one company covered the area.

Correct. So if NTL sucks, go to BT via another ISP.