I recently had full-fibre broadband installed in the UK. It worked for a couple of hours, then stopped, and the PON light on the fibre equipment is no longer illuminated. When I opened the box where the incoming cable connects, I found that the fibre-optic cable had completely come out. The provider cannot send an engineer until at least Friday. Is there anything safe or sensible I can do myself, or does the connection need professional repair?
4 Answers
Fibre ends are extremely delicate and even tiny scratches, dust, or an imperfect cut can stop the optical signal. A normal blade or improvised connector won’t work, so waiting for the provider is the safest option.
Don’t try to repair it yourself. Fibre needs a precisely cleaved, clean end and the correct equipment to reconnect properly. Contact the provider and leave the cable alone until an engineer can replace or terminate it.
Since the service failed shortly after installation, ask for the repair to be treated as an installation fault and request a credit or refund for the outage. Don’t pull, bend, or clean the exposed fibre in the meantime.
This looks like an installation problem rather than something you should fix. There should normally be some slack or a loop of spare fibre so normal movement doesn’t pull the cable out. Ask the provider to inspect the installation and repair it properly.
I’ve already reported it. The installation was pretty poor—the installer spent ages struggling with the connection, so I’m not surprised it failed.