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Frequent disconnections

richardhead
Grafter
Posts: 37
Registered: ‎14-08-2014

Frequent disconnections

Good morning,
Since two weeks ago i have had constant disconnections from the internet. I use my own router (billion ipac 7800n) and at first i noticed that the snr downstream was dropping down to zero, so i replaced my old filters with these http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/products/1652-adsl-nation-xf-1e/ .
My snr instantly increased back to where it should be when i received them earlier this week, however the disconnections have started happening again, but the snr is fine. I have used the first test socket and it has made no difference. I have also restored the router to a clean state, to no avail.
The router is two years old but i am unable to test another router as i do not have one handy, so i am unsure if this is the problem or if it is my phone line.
If you could advise me and get my internet working properly again i would be very grateful.
Many thanks Paul
29 REPLIES 29
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Frequent disconnections

Could you try installing "RouterStats v6.8k"
This program will allow you to generate graphs of your connections performance, including variations in your lines noise margin.
Having a picture of what is happening will help with diagnosing the problem.
I know that on that website it doesn't mention the "Billion 7800N" in the supported routers section, but does get mentioned in the "lite" version of the software.  However if you install the full version I mentioned, there IS a "Billion7800N.ini" file which you can select to get you started.  I know this works because I've done it - although it was more than a year ago since I set it up and offhand I don't remember the steps required to select it, but it wasn't at all difficult.
Wink
richardhead
Grafter
Posts: 37
Registered: ‎14-08-2014

Re: Frequent disconnections

thanks for the quick reply mate i really appreciate your help. I am currently at my partners but will be home later. Is this some kind of tool that measures snr fluctuation then?. I am wondering whether it is the router, but as i say unless plusnet sends me one out to test i am unsure as i don't have one to hand.
I will test it later thank you very much!. Sorry i forgot to ask, do i need to save the output to a text file?. Thanks again!
richardhead
Grafter
Posts: 37
Registered: ‎14-08-2014

Re: Frequent disconnections

Just had an update from my mum (who is at home at this moment in time). It is getting worse and the disconnections are a lot more frequent. The snr earlier was 2.0 but is now 0.4 decibels, and that is even after a reboot.
It can't be the filters as it was doing it with the previous ones and these ones are brand new. The only thing i would like like to add is that we've had a new street light light put in outside our house. Would this affect the connection do you think?.
Thank you Smiley
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Frequent disconnections

If you can associate the time the light comes on with the connection drops you could imply the light is a source of the problem. Is it a new LED type.
BTW this is some info on getting the 7800n working with the full version of Routerstats....http://vwlowen.m3ezw.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=318
I used it on mine with success.
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Frequent disconnections

Quote from: richardhead
Is this some kind of tool that measures snr fluctuation then?.

Yes, and plots graphs of the SNR against time, so you can figure out what else around you changed when the SNR dips.

Quote from: richardhead
I am wondering whether it is the router

From what you have said so far I doubt it,  Billion 7800 series are very reliable (unless recently hit by lightning), it is much more likely to be your phone line or some nearby source of interference.

Quote from: richardhead
unless plusnet sends me one out to test i am unsure as i don't have one to hand.

Get some SNR graphs first before worrying about that.

Quote from: richardhead
do i need to save the output to a text file?

To do what ?,  the program produces nice graphs which you can save or capture with a screensave.
richardhead
Grafter
Posts: 37
Registered: ‎14-08-2014

Re: Frequent disconnections

Quote from: Strat
If you can associate the time the light comes on with the connection drops you could imply the light is a source of the problem. Is it a new LED type.
BTW this is some info on getting the 7800n working with the full version of Routerstats....http://vwlowen.m3ezw.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=318
I used it on mine with success.

Well it is disconnecting even though the light is not on so it probably isn't that. I will give this a go when i get home and see how i get on.
Quote from: purleigh

Quote from: richardhead
do i need to save the output to a text file?

To do what ?,  the program produces nice graphs which you can save or capture with a screensave.

Ok i just wanted to be sure as i noticed in the options that it mentioned that it could save to a text file.
I will keep you updated.
richardhead
Grafter
Posts: 37
Registered: ‎14-08-2014

Re: Frequent disconnections

Hello again, i came back yesterday and i used the internet for a few hours using routerstats and the snr stayed pretty consistent at around 5.8 - 6.5 db and i haven't had any disconnects.
However i noticed when i left the house early this morning that out sky satellite cable had been chewed by a fox and the bare wires were exposed to the elements. 
My mum has a sky box in the living room but this is not attached to the phone line and filter as she doesn't want it online, however my brother has a box in his room and this is filtered in the phone in the hallway.
Could the fact that my brothers box being attached to the phone line and the dish cable being exposed cause the disconnections we've had?.
I will run routerstats today and monitor the line to see how things go.
Regards paul
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Frequent disconnections

If the disconnections start again could you try unplugging your brother's Sky box to see what happens to the SNR at that point? It'd be good to rule that out anyway without the damaged Sky cable outside.
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
richardhead
Grafter
Posts: 37
Registered: ‎14-08-2014

Re: Frequent disconnections

Ok so far I have been running my connection for the past few days without the sky boxes plugged in.
Although generally we haven't had any problems, we still had a disconnection at 9:30pm last night.
My snr was about 7db and dropped to 5 db on Monday (in the evening), and has been about 8db today and has been steady so far, although my speed has decreased by about 2Mb.
On Sunday the disconnects were quite frequent. I'm not sure if there is a line issue or not as i have tried everything else. I will keep monitoring and see it how it goes.


Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Frequent disconnections

Your line is actually banded at the moment, so you won't get a sync of more than 6Mb. This is to try and increase the stability on the service.
Do you remember when you unplugged the Sky box? We can possibly look at the historic mean time between errors on the line to see if this decreased at the point the box was unplugged.
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
richardhead
Grafter
Posts: 37
Registered: ‎14-08-2014

Re: Frequent disconnections

Is that some sort of line management then because of the reboots?.  I unplugged my brothers sky box, which was the only thing connected other than the phone upstairs and downstairs, on Monday in the evening.
As i say we only had the one random disconnect around half nine (so far) last night, whereas Sunday was a complete nightmare.
Thanks for your help Chris!!
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Frequent disconnections

Yep, the banding is added by the DLM equipment.
Those timescales fit with the pattern of disconnections, this is from Sunday afternoon onwards:

and this is Sunday daytime:
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
richardhead
Grafter
Posts: 37
Registered: ‎14-08-2014

Re: Frequent disconnections

That's really strange your graph for today suggests that there was a disconnection at around 2am, however in my router stats it tells me the up-time has been 16 hours and 27 minutes. That really doesn't make sense, as that means according to my router it happened around. Actually my maths is wrong it was 2am, sorry i've been getting up at 5am i'm not with it lol.
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Frequent disconnections

16 hours and 27 minutes ago would be around 2am. I see you noticed it at the same time as me!
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.