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Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

rob_frobisher
Hooked
Posts: 7
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎28-08-2020

Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

I am suffering with frequent and seemingly increasingly long drops in connectivity from my Plusnet ADSL connection. With working from home, this is starting to have quite a dramatic impact on my job and at this point I am willing to do anything to fix it. Unfortunately I am on a 'direct to exchange' line so changing to Fiber is frustratingly not an option.

The connection can be fine for several days at a time, then seemingly with no environmental changes, the connection can be very unstable. This means that the connection will come in and out for a period of several hours - resetting the router has no effect on this. Over the past few weeks (usually when I need to attend a crucial meeting) the periods of no connection have been increasing in length...I have been trying to find a pattern in the loss of signal, but so far have not found one. One thing is that if the connection is lost, it seems to enter a phase where it will continuity dropout. It never seems to happen that the connection is only lost once.

I have tried the usual remedies of rebooting the router (I am using a Netgear D6300), checking the cabling, trying the master socket etc - nothing thus far has fixed it.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
 
Is it worth purchasing a new router, DSL cable, filter or even 'Plusnet pro'? Are there any further tests I can do from my end to determine where the problem might be?

7 REPLIES 7
jab1
Legend
Posts: 16,815
Thanks: 5,339
Fixes: 248
Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

@rob_frobisher  Welcome to the forums. Plusnet staff support, like the phone service, is still severely restricted. If you would like help from the community, a good starting point is to have a look at This post and supply as much detail from it as possible.

It would also be a good idea to carry out a 'Quiet Line Test' - dial 17070 from a (preferably corded) phone and select option 2 - there should be no discernable noise. If there is, report a phone fault first, as without a clear phone connection, your broadband will not perform correctly.

If you reply to this topic with as much detail as possible, there are plenty of experienced members who can advise on possible remedies.

John
rob_frobisher
Hooked
Posts: 7
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎28-08-2020

Re: Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

Hi @jab1 thank you very much for your reply. I unfortunately do not actual own a landline phone to be able to test the line by dialing.


I have looked at the post you sent thank you - however my speed is usually ok (for ADSL), it is more the drops in connection causing the issues.

jab1
Legend
Posts: 16,815
Thanks: 5,339
Fixes: 248
Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

@rob_frobisher A landline phone handset is an essential tool for determining whether your problems are caused by phone line or other issues. If the phone side has an issue then that has to be sorted before we look at other possibilities, and in fact, sorting any potential phone problem can sometimes eliminate broadband issues, as the phone can adversely affect the BB side. A corded handset can be obtained from the likes of Argos for ~£5.00.

It would be a good idea to complete the other tests  referred to in that link, and post as much of the detail as possible - it may enable other members of the community to offer suggested remedies, or advise on the need to raise a formal fault report.

John
rob_frobisher
Hooked
Posts: 7
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎28-08-2020

Re: Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

To keep this thread going - Plusnet acknowledged there was a fault and sent out an Openreach engineer. He replaced the socket with one with an integrated ADSL filter and actually swapped me onto a different physical line to the exchange (I live in an apartment building with some spare lines it seems). Then on Sunday night, I received a call from a Plusnet team member saying they were still unhappy with the amount of errors they were seeing and would send a second engineer around. They were supposed to arrive today, but claimed I was out, so it has been rescheduled for Thursday now.

Overall pretty impressed with Plusnet customer service - especially during these challenging times.

semiartificial
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎03-01-2019

Re: Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

Rather than post a new thread, I'll join this one, if that’s ok?

i have similar issues, also badly affecting work, i.e. multiple connection drops during the day when using my laptop

Perhaps the difference is that I don’t experience any ‘good periods'.

This was a problem (with Sky) before I joined PlusNet, and the positive noises that PlusNet made about fixing it were a major reason why I switched.

I've had multiple conversations with support and have tried changing channel, connecting to the test socket, splitting into 2.4/5 (and reverting back). I've tried to see if there is any correlation with weather (no).  Lots of pinhole and button resets of course.

I've even tried increasing the broadband capacity to the max possible on my line, as PlusNet suggested there may be too much competition for bandwidth, though the connection drops even when there is minimal other demand in the house.

i've just tried the 17070 quiet line test - seems ok. I was suspecting this may be an issue (the house is over 100 years old, we've been in it 20 years and I've no idea how old the line is)

There is no speed issue, the issue is the drops, which tend to be for a few seconds at most. I'm not aware of anything in the house that could be triggering them (as PlusNet has suggested).

PlusNet are not seeing a problem, and so when I suggested an Openreach visit, they said this would probably be chargeable. Perhaps I just have to do that?

 

rob_frobisher
Hooked
Posts: 7
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎28-08-2020

Re: Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

My line has at least remained connected since the visit from the OR engeineer so it is worth considering.

semiartificial
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎03-01-2019

Re: Endless seemingly random intermittent drops in connectivity

I spoke again with PlusNet, usual process ... checked and said no issues appearing, must be your Wi-Fi.

I said I was currently using  TP-Link Powerline adapters, not Wi-Fi, and had three disconnects in the previous two hours.

He said that those are also 'not guaranteed' (which I was expecting) and that I need to test with a direct connection to the hub.  

So, I'm now working stood up in the Utility room, laptop on a cupboard, to see how that goes.  

I'm hoping I get disconnects, as I'm unsure what to do next if I don’t.