topic Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day) in My Router

Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 13:36:30 GMT

We have bought two Cubot Note 20 phones and we found they tend to disconnect from my Plusnet router (I have fibre).

With the following details I hope you can help me solve this problem.

The first day the signal was strong, but then the days after it gets weak (and most of the time stays so) and then both phones get disconnected most of the time.

Interestingly, whenever the two phones disconnect and reconnect they always do it at the same time, a sign that clearly indicates the router is causing this: after allowing connection of the two phones the very first time, then the router tends to reject them.

I tried to reset the router and, unfortunately, the issue occurs again and with the same pattern: at first the connection of the phones is powerful and stable, but then they tend to disconnect easily and continuously.

Both before and after resetting the router, however, I noticed that in the morning and afternoon the connection is a bit more stable, while in the evening it tends to be very bad. So maybe it also depends on how many people are using the internet service although no other devices were connected to our router. It seem as if Plusnet tends to discard additional connections when they need to provide more power for the large number of people connected at certain times of the day.

We also had this problem with our previous two phones (both Cubot Note 7) and we returned them. However, we didn't have this problem with the phones we had earlier (Cubot Note S), so it might be the connection between the new phones and the router...

Given the inconvenience of then having to reinstall all the apps after resetting the phones, I would only do the factory reset of both phones (in addition to resetting the router) if it is certain that this would fix the problem.

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

Baldrick1 — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:14:11 GMT

@brainarm Welcome to the forum.

This is a problem with the wireless connection between you hub and phones. It is nothing to do with how much traffic is being passed over the Internet. Plusnet do not discard connections at any time.

Which Plusnet hub have you got and what version of firmware is it running?

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Sat, 26 Mar 2022 19:32:26 GMT

Thanks for your reply. I have Plusnet Hub One, but I don't know how to check the firmware.

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

adam945 — Sun, 27 Mar 2022 09:47:55 GMT

Good morning @brainarm, thanks a lot for getting in touch and I'm really sorry to hear that you're having issues connecting your phones to the router.

It might be worth logging into your Hub Manager and splitting the SSID's, giving you the option to troubleshoot both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands on your Hub one. If you're unsure on how to do this, give me a nudge and I'll do it for you.

Also, I've checked the line for potential issues, and have found this:

It looks like you're turning your router off every evening. This does no favours to your internet connection, and can result in the line being banded by Openreach. If you can, please refrain from doing this.

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 12:43:33 GMT

Thanks Adam for your kind help. I am not an expert, so I would certainly need some instructions on how to split the SSIDs. I have just logged into the Hub Manager and, from there, I am unsure about where to go to do so.

Regarding turning the wifi OFF, you are correct. We switch it off to avoid to be exposed to electromagnetic fields when this is not necessary and also to save energy. Are you saying that doing this is going to reduce the speed of my broadband in the long run? I haven't noticed any flaw so far due to this, though.

Thanks for all

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 12:47:07 GMT

I have found the firmware and the other information.

Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.289.1.3 | Last updated 14/12/21

Thanks

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

bmc — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 13:22:16 GMT

@brainarm

Assuming you are on FTTC and not pure fibre (both can and are referred to as Fibre).

For FTTC (VDSL) the line likes stability. If you switch on & off regularly it can confuse the automated systems which monitor things and lead to a reduction in speed as it tries to bring stability back to the line.

For WiFi, you can switch it on & off via the Router Management page assuming you have a wired connection to do so.

Brian

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

Baldrick1 — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 15:26:27 GMT

@brainarm

With all the electromagnetic fields around these days I fear that switching off your Hub wireless will, unless you live way out in the country with no other wireless devices, mobile phone reception, remote control devices etc. and preferably no mains electricity, have virtually no affect on your exposure due to the radiation from other sources.

I have never actually measured it but by doing the 'warmth' test, that is, feel how hot the hub gets, switch off the wireless (that's assumimg that you leave the hub on and just switch off the wireless transmission), and try again you will find virtually no difference in the running cost. Virtually all the energy used by a Hub is dissipated as heat.

The following should help with separating the bands or switching the wireless off when not needed.

Splitting Bands.

Open a web browser and enter 192.168.1.254 in the address bar at the top of the page. If you have a separate search field provided by the likes of Google then do not use this. This will give you access to your hub settings
Select Advanced Settings and enter your Hub admin password when prompted (unless you've changed it, you'll find the default password on the settings card)
Select Wireless.
Choose 5GHz tab.
Change 'Sync with 2.4Ghz' to No.
Change the name of the 'Wireless SSID' by adding -5Ghz
Save the changes.

This will disconnect the 5GHz band from your devices and use just the 2.4GHz one. See how well that performs.

If your device is dual band then go to your wireless device and select Wireless Network, or whatever it’s called on your device. Here you will see both the original SSID and the new one with -5GHz added to the SSID. Select this (the two use the same password) and see if it works any better. Use the best.

The 5GHz band is faster at short distances but whilst the 2.4GHz band gets quite congested it is usable at a longer distance.

Switching Bands Off

To switch a band off Navigate to the same Advanced Settings/Wireless page and select the 2.4 or 5GHz tab and change Wireless Network Enable to No. then Save.

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 15:28:15 GMT

Thanks Bmc.

How can I know whether I am with fibre or FTTC?

And, if I have understood well, you are telling me that there is a way to switch off the wifi without turning off the router. If I got this right, could you, please, let me know how?
I am connected via wifi, but I can use ethernet as well.

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

Baldrick1 — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 15:36:23 GMT

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Fibre

@brainarm

You are on FTTC, Plusnet do not have a full fibre product at the moment. Also see my post above.

Ethernet will always give better performance than Wireless - with no emissions!

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 15:37:41 GMT

Great support, thanks a lot Baldrick!

I am now going to try this. Finger crossed

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 15:58:37 GMT

Signal is now excellent on both mobiles. Thanks a lot to both of you, guys!
Just wondering whether I'll be able to get the fibre original speed again if I keep the router on? And if so, from when?

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:02:28 GMT

@bmc wrote:

@brainarm

For WiFi, you can switch it on & off via the Router Management page assuming you have a wired connection to do so.

Sorry for this probably silly question, but for the avoidance of doubt, when you say "wired connection", do you mean that after switching the WIFI off from my PC I can re-enable the connecttion only if I connect the router to the PC via cable. Right?

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

Baldrick1 — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:45:53 GMT

@brainarm

It’s not quite that bad. If you switch off both bands then you lose the capability to connect to it wirelessly to re-enable it. You have two options, Either connect to it using an Ethernet cable, which is the easy option. The other way to do it is to factory reset the hub by pushing a paperclip or similar in the reset hole. Keep the switch closed for 20-30 seconds. The hub will then reset itself. This can take several minutes.

I would not recommend switching off both bands unless you are just using Ethernet.

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 17:10:34 GMT

After one hour with good signal, unfortunately, both mobiles got disconnected for some minutes. Now they are connected again, but I am wondering whether there is a more complex issue here or maybe that was just normal (an occasional line drop)... I'll keep an eye

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

Baldrick1 — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 20:09:27 GMT

@brainarm

That is not normal. Are the lights on the hub changing when the signal drops?

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

bmc — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 12:24:05 GMT

@brainarm

As stated by @Baldrick1 you need to either use a wired connection or Factory Reset to start using WIFi again if you turn it off.

You spoke about getting back to the speeds you had previously. When checking your speed you should always use a wired connection to eliminate any WiFi glitches. It's the wired speed that PlusNet would check if they consider there may be a fault.

You can check what you should be receiving using this link

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Brian

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 21:50:42 GMT

I have been monitoring the connection on my mobile and it seems to be fine. The router never flashes or its led changes colour. I guess the problem was probably due to the distance from the router with these new settings. I'll keep an eye on this.

Thanks

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

brainarm — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 21:48:35 GMT

Thanks for all

Re: Fibre broadband. Router cuts mobile connection (at certain times of the day)

adam945 — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 07:50:21 GMT

Thanks a lot for getting back to us @brianarm and I'm glad to hear that things are looking better now. If you have any further issues at all, please don't hesitate to get in touch.