There is nothing useful on this web site.
Even though the internet is the source of all truth, the only truth here is that everything else is a lie.
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
All art is quite useless.- Oscar Wilde
I have spent most of the weekend attempting to configure this KPN modem so my home web server works. I have managed to activate the English menus and found the right place to switch on the required port, but it does not seem to work.
I have searched on the internet. Almost everything I find is in Dutch, so I can't be sure, but I'm left with the impression others have this problem and are anxious for an answer.
I phone KPN technical assistance again for help. Since my home phone works now, KPN customer service is only €6/hour, a 91% discount from before. This is almost soothing.
The technician guides me through the same steps as I have already tried. I tell him that it did not work. He tells me it worked for him. I point out his application, bitTorrent, is different from mine, a web server.
His switch might work, but mine does not. And since I have another internet provider to test against (Ziggo), and that everything works with Ziggo, I have come to the conclusion that the problem lies with KPN.
He suggests I look up the information on the internet. I have done that, I reply, but most of the pages are in Dutch, so I am having difficulty figuring it all out. So he does his own search on Google, and finds a page that seems to address the problem but it is all in English. Let's work together I suggest. Tell me what you found.
Soon we are each looking at the exact same page. I read the message and explain to my technical support guy that the basic message is the software switch does not work on the KPN modem.
We say our goodbyes after he agrees to transfer me to someone who might be able to cancel the service. Here we go again.
I speak to another two people, explaining to each one in turn what does not work which, in turn, explains why I want to cancel.
The last gentleman I speak to offers to pay for a technician to come and remedy my problem. I agree to this. There is a catch. The tech guys are third party contractors. I have to pay them for their visit then apply for a credit from KPN on my bill. I have been given a phone number to make the arrangements myself.
I agree to this. I phone the tech support company.
The tech support company is great. In order to not waste any time, I describe the problem in detail, which they immediately understand. They say they will call back, which they do, twice within 30 minutes. The first time was to say they were attempting to get a second opinion on the matter.
The final answer was the configuration I wanted is possible but complicated. The bad news is that the next time KPN decides to download a software update to their modems, everything is reset and the previous method of setting the switch may not work anymore. So we would have to start all over again.
I had downloaded new software myself from KPN and I can confirm that when this happens, you start over from scratch.
Bottom line - it ain't worth it. They recommended I stay with Ziggo. This analysis was spot on and did not cost me a dime. It was a ray of sunshine.
I call KPN back once again, paying to let them know how I saved them money. They agreed to cancel my internet, and switch my phone to a simple analog line. To make things better, they even offered a €50 credit.
They schedule a technician for visit on October 26th, which is the soonest one is available. They inform me that I will have to return the modem, but there is no rush, anytime within the next 3 weeks would be fine. I inform them that my current phone does not work without this modem, and it's going to take longer than that for KPN to get the analog line installed.
They accept this line of reasoning and agree to let me keep the modem for longer. Things are getting better.
Next: Deliverance