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Am I daft for considering the Livebox?


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I've just seen FT's new offer of 8 méga ADSL, TV + unlimited calls in France for 29,90€, and I'm considering taking them up on it....is that crazy?

We've been with Wanadoo (now Orange) ADSL by modem  for 3 1/2 years and have been extremely happy with them, and I need the internet/phone daily for work, so I couldn't possibly go without internet for the two weeks to up to two months it can take to switch over.   We will also be getting a new laptop, so we will need wifi, and they are offering installation of the Livebox for 1€, which reassures me a bit.

I know the others offer better deals (free calls elsewhere in the world, more channels, etc), but what I need is reliability, and everyone I know back home has skype, so I rarely make calls outside of France anyways.   Plus, with the others, if the internet goes down, the phone line goes as well, and then I'd really be screwed.  At least with FT, I'd keep my line and plus they have actual stores where you can stop by and avoid paying 32 cents per minute to the helpline.

Any thoughts on this?

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That's what I'm worried about - though I've also heard that they've managed to fix most of the problems with the Livebox and that the new ones are much more reliable.  Plus, I waited in line for 45 min yesterday, and the majority of people that were there had their Livebox with them and I'd say about 90% of their problems were due to user error and not following the instructions when setting it up (ie. plugging things in when they weren't supposed to, trying to set up wifi when it was already enabled, etc).  The guy at FT told me that out of all the Liveboxes, only 3% of the problems are actual problems with the Livebox - the rest are user error, problems with the line, etc.

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I can only tell you of my experience. I signed up with FT for ADSL as soon as it was available here about 18 months ago. I had a lot of hassle initially installing the Livebox which boiled down to a faulty box. Once the new box was installed I had no further problems with it, although we did once have a problem with the line, which turned out to be a fault at the exchange.

My job requires fast internet access seven days a week. I can't imagine the misery of being tied to a dial-up connection again or of not having the freedom of wireless access throughout the house.

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[quote user="samdebretagne"]That's what I'm worried about - though I've also heard that they've managed to fix most of the problems with the Livebox and that the new ones are much more reliable.   The guy at FT told me that out of all the Liveboxes, only 3% of the problems are actual problems with the Livebox - the rest are user error, problems with the line, etc. [/quote]

Hi Sam

I had great misgivings about the Livebox too. It didn't seem to help when in a short queue at the FT shop to make enquiries about the reliability of the Livebox, the guy in front of me had brought his box back. Having spoken to the staff they said that earlier Liveboxes were less reliable but now most of the problems were user-related in some way. So I went ahead and, almost 4 months later the Livebox is still working fine - fingers crossed!

Sue [:)]

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Well I feel I can comment on this and give you a somewhat different view.  We have had a Livebox for about 2 years, we set it up with no problems and the first 12 months were great.  We then had all manor of problems with the WiFi part just not working and the livebox making a crunching electrical sound and then crashing.  We then experienced a daily drop out of connection (but this turned out to be something to do with work they were doing locally for about 6 months).  Anyway Wanadoo / FT / Orange refused to replace the Livebox unless they took me through an extensive diagnostic even though it had functioned perfectly for 12 months.  In the end I purchased a wireless router and plugged it into my Livebox and that solved my problems, but still I pay 3 euros a month for it.  I think the rest of it works fine but I am not sure.  Not sure if this helps.

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Livebox must be bad if so many customers return them.

Saying it is user error in 97% of cases just shows what a bad piece of un-user-friendly kit it is.

I have been helping many pals get online with live box for over a year now and every time it takes way too long and does not provide a reliable software solution.

I recommend people buy a Netgear ADSL modem/router starting at 43Euro or any other modem/router rather than live box

Plug it in, enter password and ID then windows does the rest.

No need for all that orange software which just sucks

Live box takes on average 1 hour to install and crashes often

Windows sees a generic router in 13 milliseconds!

I am happy with Orange ADSL but forget their hardware and customer support

wow what a good way to make money, sell everone a complex box that is unreliable then charge 50 cents/minute call service

Rant rant

I hate live box

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I have to aggree with BigJim. I was an IT person in the UK and have been asked many times to help people out over here. I have the same experiences withhte livebox and the Orange software as he does.

If you want then get a livebox and see what problems you have, you can always return it later and buy a decent Netgear modem/router if and when the livebox plays up.

Orange is a normal ISP which, in my experience, is quite reliable without thier software and livebox. having said that there are some people who have had no problems (none that I know of though).

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Not sure about the TV as I don't have that option, but you can get very cheap calls with a router via skype and they are free to other skype users all over the world. Skype was free to all French landlines upto 31 Dec 06, but I think it is now about 2 cents a munute.

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[quote user="Bob T"]Not sure about the TV as I don't have that option, but you can get very cheap calls with a router via skype and they are free to other skype users all over the world. Skype was free to all French landlines upto 31 Dec 06, but I think it is now about 2 cents a munute.
[/quote]

Voip cheap and Voip buster are both 1.5c per minute in France and to the UK, I use VoipCheap because it is half the cost of the other one (and a lot less than SKYPE) for calls to UK mobiles.  Many countries including the USA, Germany, Australia and New Zealand are free (if you buy credit) the choice of which VOIP provider you use is really dictated by to whom your calls are to the most.

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I already use skype to call family and friends, and don't really make that many calls abroad.  When I do, I use Telerabais.  I do, however, make lots of calls in France for my work, so the free calls offered with the livebox definitely interest me. 

And up til Dec 31, I did use skype to call French landlines, but never found the quality to be that great, especially for business calls.

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I am not with orange but I am sure that VOIP telephonie and TV are only available if you have the Livebox, same as all the other providers and their modem/routers.

By the way, regarding the offer you mention 29.99 €- have you found out if it is applicable to your line by putting in your tel number on the orange site, not all the offers are available to everyone in every area... just a thought.

Danny

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We have used Livebox for a couple of years now and apart from a failure after a few months where the box was replaced we have had no problems with it. As for phone calls we have Skype, but it is a pain if you have to have your PC switched on every time you want to make a call. We use Phonexpat and they have been very good. France calls are 0.9 centime/min and U.K. 3 centime/min. They are also expanding their PC ISP coverage and if it's in your area they will give you a boat load of goodies for 20€ a month. Nowt to do with me, I'm just a very satisfied customer. They speak English, so if you have a problem it is much more simple!!! You can also use it if you have a power cut, because it just uses your normal phone!  http://www.phonexpat.com/ . If you do go that way then PM me and that way both you and I can get 240 free mins to a country of our choice [:D]...

As for the Wanadooo/Orange software. You can kick it into touch and still use your Livebox just as if it was any other router....I did that as soon as I found out you could. It's a Bl00dy pain!!!

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[quote user="Jonzjob"]

As for the Wanadooo/Orange software. You can kick it into touch and still use your Livebox just as if it was any other router....I did that as soon as I found out you could. It's a Bl00dy pain!!!

[/quote]

How did you do that?

Can you use livebox via usb and still control it loke a normal router?

What is the ip address of LB and how do you configure it?

Tell me your secrets!

Jim

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I've been using a Livebox satisfactorily for almost a year (albeit there have been a few drop-outs in the past few months which I suspect are down to the hardware rather than the line). Anyway, I wouldn't (and didn't) go near the Orange (Wanadoo as was) software.

I believe that the vast majority of the problems result from the flaky software and the even flakier usb key.

They have a page which runs you through how to hook up machines with integrated WiFi (a PC with a WiFi card stuck in is pretty much the same, depending on the quality of the software with your card). This link may get you there (or it may be restricted to subscribers):

http://www.orange.fr/bin/frame.cgi?u=http%3A//assistance.orange.fr/1101.php

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[quote user="bigjimbishop"][quote user="Jonzjob"]


As for the Wanadooo/Orange software. You can kick it into touch and still use your Livebox just as if it was any other router....I did that as soon as I found out you could. It's a Bl00dy pain!!!

[/quote]

How did you do that?
Can you use livebox via usb and still control it loke a normal router?
What is the ip address of LB and how do you configure it?

Tell me your secrets!

Jim
[/quote]

Jim, there are quite a few places on line on how to set up the live box without using the Orange CD. See this for example or this or this one for lots of livebox stuff

Danny

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Also have a look at this forum site. It's in England so is a bit easier to understand, for me anyway, but I am getting there!! (Edit) It would be better if I posted the bloomin site too  http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=freeserve&Number=2653620&page=6&view=expanded&sb=3&o=0&fpart=

If you already have the wanadoo/Orange software on your system then it's as easy as going to 'Add/Remove Progs' on your control and remove the programme.

If you have to reload the livebox at any time it's easy enough to do manually using the link above and having your wanadoo names and password handy. Must be easy if I can do it???[:D]

We don't use the TV connector on the livebox so I changed it to the 2nd ethernet connector and I run our laptop on it. I find it quicker that the wifi connection and I still have that option when the sun warms up again and I sit under our platan trees [8-|][B]. The change is done via the configuration pages on the livebox...

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