Aim of this article
This article provides troubleshooting advice for customers who have no connection to the Internet so are unable to browse the Web, access E-mail and reach any other Internet services. Before conducting these diagnostics we advise restarting your computer and Broadband equipment to eliminate the possibility of a temporary issue affecting your connection.
You should also check our Service Alerts page and BT Outage Checker for any fault or maintenance outage which may be affecting your connection.
Important Notes for customers migrated to 21CN
We have identified in some cases routers experience problems reconnecting following a migration to 21CN requiring a factory reset of the router. If you experience problems establishing a connection after your migration please skip to Step 5 and follow the instructions provided.
You should also ensure your router firmware is up-to-date, particularly if you have ordered a regrade to ADSL2+ after your migration to the 21CN platform.
Step 1:
Locate your Broadband ADSL router/modem. The device will have lights that indicate the current state of your connection. Ensure the light labelled as one of the options below is lit solidly (not flashing or off):
Line / ADSL / i / Broadband
If the light is lit solidly proceed to Step 2, otherwise perform the following diagnostics:
- Ensure your equipment is set up as illustrated in our ADSL Broadband setup guide*1.
- Unplug your Broadband/ADSL Router from the power socket for 30 seconds and then plug back in. Wait for one minute and then check the status of the light.
- Disconnect all other telephone devices - including telephone handsets, fax machines and digital set-top boxes.
If the light is still flashing or off after following these steps then test from the BT test socket. Instructions for doing this may be found here:
If problems persist in the BT Master test socket please contact Technical Support.
NOTE:
*1 - This step should be carried out even if the service has worked in a different configuration previously. Best performance and reliability is gained by connecting to the BT master socket and ensuring telephone devices on extension sockets are correctly filtered.
Step 2:
Ensure your Broadband ADSL router/modem is configured correctly. You will need your Zen username and password which were provided in the Technical Details e-mail we sent you. These details may also be found in the Zen Customer Portal, a guide to locating them can be found here:
Zen ADSL Technical Details in the Zen Customer Portal
The following guide provides details of how to configure your Broadband ADSL equipment:
Zen ADSL Broadband Setup Guide
Connecting to the BT Master Socket will eliminate the majority of causes of connection problems.
Once you have ensured the settings are correct check whether you can access the Internet. If the connection is still not working proceed to Step 3.
Step 3:
Replace your username in the Broadband router with the following username:
bt_test_user@startup_domain
and attempt to connect. If the router reports it is able to obtain a connection try entering your own username again. If you still can not connect proceed to Step 4.
Step 4:
Unplug your Broadband router's plug from the power socket for 30 minutes and then plug it back in. Wait for at least two minutes and then check whether the router has connected and whether you can access the Internet. If the connection is still not working proceed to Step 5.
Step 5:
Perform a factory reset of your router. Specific instructions for doing this will be found in the manual for your router. The following article provides generic advice for factory resetting a Broadband Router/modem:
Once done ensure you enter your connection settings as detailed in Step 2.
Check for access to the Internet. If the connection still fails please contact Technical Support for further advice. Details for contacting Technical Support can be found by clicking the 'Contact Us' link.