To my amazement I just found out that Vodacom has decided to lock all the business owners that has a BC Lite Package and I assume other package out of their router, stating that the router is only leased and belongs to vodacom.
Latest firmware updates was done automatically and they change the username and password to all existing clients and you can forget about getting a password to that router, so setting the router up can be done via their portal, which if you are lucky would be setup correctly the first time I'm still waiting for them to do mine 2 days later and couple failed attempts
So what does this mean, it means, you have a device in your house connected to the internet on a capped package eg 40GB a month which you have no control over and no way of getting any control.
They add to the contract the word leased next to the device. which i reckon just about nobody really sees or even reads and that gives them full control over the router, so in theory you are leasing that router from them for 24months now what happens after that 24 months who knows never told me when contract is up I have to bring that router back.
So this is an extremely frustrating situation they create, you won't have a portal as a new customer so you will have to get one created so let me introduce you to the customer service so you know what you in for.
You are most likely to call them because it says nicely in big letters business Support which is what you need right now, then you will start answering questions to their machine, which can't really keep track of what you answered because it's simply too stupid, so you gonna end up entering the cell number in of the device most likely twice for some reason, then they gonna tell you they experiencing high call volumes and you might consider alternative methods of contacting them or contacting them later, so far this week not once during any of my calls did they not have high call volumes, the good news is that a lot of these calls do get cut of and never make it to the call operator, so you need to pray and pray hard.
Once you're finally thru to an operator which at average should take about 10mins the operator will tell you it's the wrong department and put you thru to the correct department or in my case i end up at customer service and then get told it's a business contract i need to call the number I just called, anyways add another couple minutes to that waiting time and your finally thru to an operator, which will then inform you that sorry you need to add a request in via email before they can create that portal for you. So this is where you will be glad you read this rofl.
Anyway expect to wait a couple hours before that service request is answer and you are completely screwed if you don't answer, because all they do then is add to that request that they did phone you and there was no answer so god forbid you're in the bathroom or on a call cause then you stuck and can forget about getting help that day, you have to reply to their comment and wait possible a day before you get that call again, miss that and simply repeat process and believe me their system for help is flawed because you're gonna miss some calls. i ended up strapping my cell to my body and simply walk with it everywhere i go, so that i can catch that call that would help me.
So eventually someone helps you and creates your portal access, he will tell you the email will arrive in 30mins and then you can log in and everything will work, do not believe that, they are all clueless at vodacom so don't let him hang up on you, because the first thing he will do is clear the ticket as resolved and then you are screwed again, let him give you that password and username and log in with it or let him wait 30mins with you it's better than having to wait days for vodacom. In my case i said thanks for the help man and waited for email email came, I logged into my account and was met with a blank canvas of nothing, in fact i had a log in and that user was also cleared and I could not even see my data useage anymore. So I went back to step one, 2 days later still trying and believe me when i wrote this i still have no portal or access to the router the router was just sitting there, absolutely good for nothing.
Also if you need port forwarding then the steps above is what you will have t go thru plus maybe add a couple more days because most support ppl working at vodacom have no idea what port forwarding is or why someone would wanna use that
What some have suggested was to simply add an additional router to your setup and that would solve your problem and you can setup that router and don't have to touch the vodacom router, so if you fancy spending some extra cash do this.
but in the end if you are a new customer thinking of vodacom and just happens to read this, if you don;t have a problem with waiting and struggling go for it, else run so far away from vodacom as you can, they have no idea how to treat a business client or what type of needs business clients might have your simply a number at vodacom and nothing else, and they are already controlling you thru the 24 month contract so yeah control your router i guees just adds to their measure of control they want and need.
I have no idea how the firewall will work and whether it will block my gaming and if I can add exception to the firewall via the portal, so for me as a business owner Vodacom is not catering for my needs, they do not care about me as a client all they care about is that they get their money at the end of the month so that they can boost about their profits, they sell you a fancy idea and then try to control it I was impress with the BC Lite Package, speeds where ok and for a brief moment I was finally happy after just getting rid of Telkom, but i guess living in South Africa you will always have crap service providers, with non existent service and a tendency to control things.
Hope this helps someone further down the line
Latest firmware updates was done automatically and they change the username and password to all existing clients and you can forget about getting a password to that router, so setting the router up can be done via their portal, which if you are lucky would be setup correctly the first time I'm still waiting for them to do mine 2 days later and couple failed attempts
So what does this mean, it means, you have a device in your house connected to the internet on a capped package eg 40GB a month which you have no control over and no way of getting any control.
They add to the contract the word leased next to the device. which i reckon just about nobody really sees or even reads and that gives them full control over the router, so in theory you are leasing that router from them for 24months now what happens after that 24 months who knows never told me when contract is up I have to bring that router back.
So this is an extremely frustrating situation they create, you won't have a portal as a new customer so you will have to get one created so let me introduce you to the customer service so you know what you in for.
You are most likely to call them because it says nicely in big letters business Support which is what you need right now, then you will start answering questions to their machine, which can't really keep track of what you answered because it's simply too stupid, so you gonna end up entering the cell number in of the device most likely twice for some reason, then they gonna tell you they experiencing high call volumes and you might consider alternative methods of contacting them or contacting them later, so far this week not once during any of my calls did they not have high call volumes, the good news is that a lot of these calls do get cut of and never make it to the call operator, so you need to pray and pray hard.
Once you're finally thru to an operator which at average should take about 10mins the operator will tell you it's the wrong department and put you thru to the correct department or in my case i end up at customer service and then get told it's a business contract i need to call the number I just called, anyways add another couple minutes to that waiting time and your finally thru to an operator, which will then inform you that sorry you need to add a request in via email before they can create that portal for you. So this is where you will be glad you read this rofl.
Anyway expect to wait a couple hours before that service request is answer and you are completely screwed if you don't answer, because all they do then is add to that request that they did phone you and there was no answer so god forbid you're in the bathroom or on a call cause then you stuck and can forget about getting help that day, you have to reply to their comment and wait possible a day before you get that call again, miss that and simply repeat process and believe me their system for help is flawed because you're gonna miss some calls. i ended up strapping my cell to my body and simply walk with it everywhere i go, so that i can catch that call that would help me.
So eventually someone helps you and creates your portal access, he will tell you the email will arrive in 30mins and then you can log in and everything will work, do not believe that, they are all clueless at vodacom so don't let him hang up on you, because the first thing he will do is clear the ticket as resolved and then you are screwed again, let him give you that password and username and log in with it or let him wait 30mins with you it's better than having to wait days for vodacom. In my case i said thanks for the help man and waited for email email came, I logged into my account and was met with a blank canvas of nothing, in fact i had a log in and that user was also cleared and I could not even see my data useage anymore. So I went back to step one, 2 days later still trying and believe me when i wrote this i still have no portal or access to the router the router was just sitting there, absolutely good for nothing.
Also if you need port forwarding then the steps above is what you will have t go thru plus maybe add a couple more days because most support ppl working at vodacom have no idea what port forwarding is or why someone would wanna use that
What some have suggested was to simply add an additional router to your setup and that would solve your problem and you can setup that router and don't have to touch the vodacom router, so if you fancy spending some extra cash do this.
but in the end if you are a new customer thinking of vodacom and just happens to read this, if you don;t have a problem with waiting and struggling go for it, else run so far away from vodacom as you can, they have no idea how to treat a business client or what type of needs business clients might have your simply a number at vodacom and nothing else, and they are already controlling you thru the 24 month contract so yeah control your router i guees just adds to their measure of control they want and need.
I have no idea how the firewall will work and whether it will block my gaming and if I can add exception to the firewall via the portal, so for me as a business owner Vodacom is not catering for my needs, they do not care about me as a client all they care about is that they get their money at the end of the month so that they can boost about their profits, they sell you a fancy idea and then try to control it I was impress with the BC Lite Package, speeds where ok and for a brief moment I was finally happy after just getting rid of Telkom, but i guess living in South Africa you will always have crap service providers, with non existent service and a tendency to control things.
Hope this helps someone further down the line