topic Re: Internet keeps dropping in Full Fibre

Internet keeps dropping

rcarslake89 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:34:04 GMT

My modem keeps losing internet, the light goes from blue to orange and the openreach box that my fibre cable is attached to loses all but the power light.. happens multiple times a day and has now being doing so for 2 days, please help

Re: Internet keeps dropping

ExForce9 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:47:03 GMT

@rcarslake89

You could try running Plusnet's automated broadband fault detection bot by sending a text as described below.

If it initially doesn't find any issue, keep responding to the keyword prompts to escalate the tests, and eventually you get to talk to a support technician, assuming you get that far before the 7:30pm cut-off time.

https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/

Re: Internet keeps dropping

pvmb — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:51:59 GMT

@rcarslake89

Err... You haven't got a "modem", because: "the openreach box that my fibre cable is attached to loses all but the power light." So you must be on full fibre (FTTP).

Sounds possibly like a faulty ONT to me - otherwise I would have thought that, as well as it's power light, it would have kept the 'LAN' light on from the router connection. Have you for starters tried powering the ONT OFF and then ON again - to use a traditional method. 😊

Re: Internet keeps dropping

rcarslake89 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:53:04 GMT

Wish it was that easy.. I don't have a SIM card lol

Re: Internet keeps dropping

jab1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:54:24 GMT

@rcarslake89 Does the left-hand LOS/ALARM light show red at any time?

Re: Internet keeps dropping

rcarslake89 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:56:03 GMT

I don't know what half of that means, but yes I'm full fibre and yes I have powered it off, I left it off for maybe 30 ISH minutes earlier while doing housework

Re: Internet keeps dropping

rcarslake89 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:56:35 GMT

Not that I'm aware of

Re: Internet keeps dropping

ExForce9 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 18:00:38 GMT

@rcarslake89

Are you able to phone Plusnet at all ?

if so call Plusnet on 0330 1239 123 before 8pm when the lines close

Re: Internet keeps dropping

jab1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 18:01:35 GMT

@rcarslake89 It helps if you tag the person you are replying to.

If the LOS/ALARM light does not illuminate, you need Openreach to investigate. If you don't have a phone of any form, borrow one and call Plusnet Support.

Re: Internet keeps dropping

pvmb — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 18:08:23 GMT

...So my money is still on a faulty ONT. Ultimately, a job for Openreach!

For my Adtran SDX 611 ONT it says:

LAN

Off - No Ethernet connectivity

Green - Ethernet connectivity present, no activity

Green flashing - Ethernet connectivity present, activity detected

Though ONTs do have differing designs.

Re: Internet keeps dropping

ExForce9 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 18:17:46 GMT

@rcarslake89

There used to be a way to report faults online using faults.plus.net

but for me that doesn't start the fault finding dialogue that I once used,

instead it loops back to advising report the fault by either text or call (as advised previously)

You might still want to try that link on the off chance it does something useful for you.

The only other thing I can think of, is for you to follow Plusnet's full fibre troubleshooting guide -

How to fix Full Fibre broadband problems

Re: Internet keeps dropping

rcarslake89 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 20:19:29 GMT

I just noticed that it one of the lights was flashing red shortly after internet dropped

Re: Internet keeps dropping

jab1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 20:29:48 GMT

@rcarslake89 I know the phonelines are now closed, but have you reported the fault to Plusnet? If you don't, nothing will happen, as the 'Help Team' (a) rarely visit the forum and (b) haven't a clue what you are talking about, IF they even read the posts.

Re: Internet keeps dropping

krusty — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:14:57 GMT

@rcarslake89 wrote:
I don't know what half of that means, but yes I'm full fibre and yes I have powered it off, I left it off for maybe 30 ISH minutes earlier while doing housework

Please do not power off the ont except extreme reasons, as the olt at the headend exchange has to jiggle up to 29 other uses ont.

In normal day to day running there is zero reason to turn off the ont.

Re: Internet keeps dropping

ExForce9 — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:39:07 GMT

@krusty says who ?

I have been reading broadband forums for more than 20 years and never seen the advise you posted.

I asked AI if there was any truth in your statement, and it said (what I thought) -

Openreach (and the ISPs that use their full-fibre network) do not discourage a single power cycle, and there is no meaningful upstream consequence from doing one. A factory reset is also commonly suggested as a next step on many ONT models, though it needs a bit more care.

Power cycle (reboot)

This is a standard first-line troubleshooting action when ONT LEDs show problems (e.g. LOS red, PON off/flashing abnormally, Power red, etc.):

Official Openreach guidance and major ISPs (BT, Zen, Plusnet, Cuckoo, others) explicitly recommend turning the ONT off and on again (unplug the power lead for 15–60+ seconds, or use a short press of the reset button where present).
It temporarily drops the optical registration/session, but the ONT simply re-registers with the OLT in the exchange in the normal way. There is no lasting “upstream” impact, no risk of locking out the line, and no network-side penalty for a normal single cycle.
Rapid/repeated cycling during the registration window can sometimes prolong the time to sync (the ONT has to complete optical detection + PON handshake + registration), so the usual advice is to wait a couple of minutes fully powered off, then leave it alone for several minutes after powering back on. That is a local timing consideration, not an upstream problem.

Factory reset

Many ISP troubleshooting pages (including for Openreach Huawei and Nokia ONTs) instruct customers to hold the pinhole reset for 10–15 seconds if a simple reboot does not clear the LED fault. On typical Openreach ONTs this returns the device to factory defaults but preserves the key authentication identifiers (LOID/SLID etc.) that Openreach uses, so the ONT can still authenticate to the network.

A few notes of caution appear in some documentation (especially older BT Business material): holding the button too long could in theory put the unit into a state that needs remote re-provisioning, and one source suggests only using the reset button when advised. In practice, however, the overwhelming guidance from retail ISP help pages is that customers can and should try the factory reset themselves when LEDs indicate a local ONT issue.

Bottom line

A single, properly performed power cycle is actively encouraged and has no upstream side-effects beyond a short re-registration.
A factory reset (where the hardware supports a pinhole and the ISP docs describe it) is also a normal customer step and does not damage the wider Openreach network.
If the LEDs remain in a fault state after these steps (especially persistent LOS or failure to achieve solid green PON), the issue is almost certainly outside the ONT itself (fibre path, splitter, exchange-side, or a failed ONT that needs replacement) and needs an ISP ticket / Openreach engineer.

In short: do the power cycle. If that fails and the model has a proper reset procedure documented by your ISP, try the factory reset. Neither action is discouraged by Openreach for the reasons you asked about.

Re: Internet keeps dropping

krusty — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:43:04 GMT

@ExForce9 what you have said backs up what i've said. When you power off the ont, the configuration in the pon changes. But the point is that you should not be doing it regularly.

you should not be powering off the ont on a regular basis.

Re: Internet keeps dropping

rcarslake89 — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:54:08 GMT

I now have a engineer coming out today, I made the post in hope there was a quick fix I could do like resetting something etc.. thanks to all those that weighed in, appreciated