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December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

Afran
Rising Star
Posts: 77
Thanks: 4
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎17-09-2013

December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

I've already rang Plusnet to report this issue, would just like some more insight on this --
I've not had any disconnects since being with plusnet for a couple of months now, the guy on the phone confirmed I've had a stable connection with no drops for 33 days until this issue began to occur; as of 2am today I've been experiencing constant disconnects and was even unable to connect for over an hour (this thread has taken me a few connections to copy/paste into notepad before finally being able to actually post)
The guy on the phone said it was due to noise on the line; because when speaking to him we both heard a static sound down the phone, this would be logical, however the noise wouldn't have changed over the past couple of months so why would it suddenly become an issue? Just curious because as a result an engineer has been arranged to adjust the noise level on the line later in the week.
Any info appreciated and if anyone else has experienced the same issue this night let me know Smiley
8 REPLIES 8
Townman
Superuser
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Posts: 22,839
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Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

Hi Afran,
The telephone line which connects your home to the exchange a lots of joints in it - junction box on your property / over head cabe to post / post to underground cable /  underground cable segments / local distribution cabinet / exchange side cable segments.
Any of those joints 'going bad' due to wet weather or disturbance from work on other's lines could cause noise on your line.  Lines having aluminium are even more susceptible to such problems.  Water leakage or condensation can happen at any time.  Be prepared for the possibility that the fault might be difficult to locate, as if it is not present when the engineer visits, they cannot fx it.  Also if the fault is found underground or overhead (not at the cabinet or your premises) different engineering resources might be required.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Afran
Rising Star
Posts: 77
Thanks: 4
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎17-09-2013

Re: December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

Hi Townman,
Appreciate the swift reply and I have an update on the situation;
I found out that having the phone connected to the same filter instantly disconnects the internet and makes it unusable until I disconnect the phone as such I've had a stable connection for the past 5-6 hours, it did just disconnect again however in a similar fashion (instant disconnection, unable to connect for roughly five minutes after disconnecting, ethernet/broadband lights flickering on router, internet light turned off or red) so as a result I've replaced the filter and will see if the same issue occurs again and report back my findings, I've also cancelled the appointment with the BT engineer just to ensure it's not a problem on my end before adjusting the noise levels.
Any suggestions in the meantime? Smiley
Edit: Internet is also running slow (speedtest shows 16ms - 10.20mbps down - 0.70 up as opposed to the usual 13ms - 18mbps down - 1.1 up)
Afran
Rising Star
Posts: 77
Thanks: 4
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎17-09-2013

Re: December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

Righto so another update -
As of the most recent disconnect the slow speeds have been consistent of 10down 0.70 up as opposed to the usual 18down 1.1up which sounds like you've increased the SNR margin resulting in the lower speeds as a temporary workaround until the engineer arrives to adjust the noise level? At least that is my assumption.
At this point I have tested all I can and as such have rebooked the appointment with the BT engineer.
Townman
Superuser
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Re: December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

SNRM adjustment is automatic and performed by the BT exchange equipment (DLM) in response to what it sees as an unstable line (disconnections) arising from what ever cause.
You are potentially now in a downward spiral!  Any more disconnections (certainly within the next 24 hours) could cause the DLM to make further (negative) adjustments.  A stable line for 3+ days might result in an improvement.  This might need PN to do a SNRM reset to put the line back into the 10 day training mode.
I do not know enough about this space - I cannot advise if plugging in the phone causing the disconnection problem points to an internal problem (your phone / filter / wiring) or to an external line problem.  You'll have to wait for advice from someone else or the DCT on Monday.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Afran
Rising Star
Posts: 77
Thanks: 4
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎17-09-2013

Re: December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

Ah I see, would indeed sound like that's what's happening. Hopefully it's resolved by the engineer who's coming on Friday, the connection is beyond dire at the moment and as a streamer I'm unable to stream at all really with pings spiking anywhere from 30ms to 700ms
Afran
Rising Star
Posts: 77
Thanks: 4
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎17-09-2013

Re: December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

So, the engineer came a day early (not complaining!) and found that the fault was outside, somewhere along the line he said it had corroded over the years likely due to a small cut in the past which lead to the excessive noise I was experiencing on the line and that has since been dealt with. I'm now running at 13mbps down and 1mbps up so it has already improved, I believe I should expect to be back up to what I was before within roughly a week?
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

Hi, definitely hoping so - it should improve. Might be worth resyncing once a day around midday to help the profile improve though.
Townman
Superuser
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Posts: 22,839
Thanks: 9,487
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Re: December 7th 2013 - Unstable connection

That resynch should be done in a controlled manner so that the DLM does not think the line is on the blink.
Log into the router, drop the PPP session, wait a few minutes, then power down the router.  Leave it off for 15 minutes (ensures all sessions die) and then start it up again.  Note you might need to manually reconenct the PPP session through the router browser interface.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.