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⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

AliA
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎13-08-2018

⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Morning all,

Hopefully you can help - we've had this connection for almost two years, across two ADSL providers and with 2-3 engineering visits and the connection is still unstable. Several times a day when we are home, the connection will just drop to the router (it's not WiFi interference and the issue happens whether or not the router is in the test socket so I'm pretty confident it isn't in our property).

Uploads in particular will grind the connection to a halt (see my post history) but it will even happen intermittently when we don't have any major upload traffic.

I've changed our router to a Draytek to see if I can get a bit more stability / info. It seems that after the drop, the router keeps trying to handshake and getting no response, cycling through FULL INITIAL > HANDSHAKING > READY states.

 

EveryDamnDay.PNG

It is hard to test / demonstrate the issue as happens to randomly and only lasts 1-2 minutes before recovering (although when you are watching Netflix,or trying to push some code up, that is a long dramatic pause). Also is a bit maddening that I can't run backup software on the laptop when I'm home to prevent taking out the connection, or send someone a large file without switching to 4G.

Talking to some of the engineers who have visited in the past, their theory is that the issue is with the connection from the street cabinet to the exchange - apparently it hasn't been upgraded in a while and there aren't enough customers on that box to justify the work.

Ideally I want to avoid waiting in for another engineering visit to the apartment - at this point there can surely be not much more they can test on our side - is there anything you can do from your side to bring a bit more stability to the line?

Thanks

 

Moderator's note by Dick (Strat): Post released from Spam Filter.

10 REPLIES 10
BD
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 1,359
Fixes: 86
Registered: ‎24-04-2017

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Hi @AliA, I'm sorry to hear you're having connection issues and the problem has been persisting for some time. Upon checking into your connection from this side the drops we can see certainly highlight there's something wrong somewhere shown by the graph below:
image15658907136913

When testing your connection there does currently look to be a banding on your profile with our suppliers and download speeds look to be currently capped at 3-6Mbps highlighted below. Caps such as these are often placed by the automated line management if drops or errors are occurring and a reduce restricted speed is thought to help with the drops. Even with the speeds capped I can still see evidence that there's been errors effecting your connection which falls in line with what a previous engineer advised you that he thinks there's a problem on the line. 

Profile Info: WBC 3M - 6M Medium delay (INP 2) 6dB Downstream, UC Medium delay (INP 2) 6dB Upstream (ADSL2+)



xDSL Status Test Summary
Sync Status: Circuit In Sync
General Information
NTE Status:   NTE Power Status: PowerOn Bypass Status:  
 
  Upstream DSL Link Information Downstream DSL Link Information
Loop Loss: 16.6 27.1
SNR Margin: 13.0 10.3
Errored Seconds: 0 0
HEC Errors: 0  
Cell Count: 700766 12716449
Speed: 888 6648
 
Maximum Stable Rate (KBPS): 6240 Fault Threshold Rate (KBPS): 4992
Mean Time Between Retrains (Seconds): 672 Mean Time Between Errors Upstream (Seconds): 138
Indicative Line Quality: C Mean Time Between Errors Downstream (Seconds): 229
Custom Thresholds
MTBR_RED: MTBE_RED:
MTBR_GREEN: MTBE_GREEN:



Moving forwards then I'm not going to send you own domain checks as you've confirmed the drops still persist with another router and also whilst in the test socket. One thing I do want to try our side is first of all to remove the speed cap but at the same time bump your targetted signal to noise ratio from the 6dB to 9dB in hopes that this may drown out what ever is causing the errors on the line and the intermittent drops stop.

By the time this post comes through my amendment to your profile and signal settings should have completed and I'd advise monitoring your side for further drops moving forwards.
Ultimately, given how much the connection has been dropping however I have my doubts that the drops could be remedied completely by the signal strength and feel an engineer coming out to investigate what ever is causing the errors further may be the best move from here. Although I appreciate having to wait in for an engineer to come and investigate may not be ideal I'm afraid as our testing isn't highlighting an external issue it may be an engineer that needs access to the property. This is mainly so when engineers locate and try to resolve the issue even if external to the property they can then carry out testing from your side to see if it has helped etc...

Let us know how the connection is looking this evening and if the drops persist.

nicjordan
Newbie
Posts: 1
Registered: ‎16-08-2019

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

I seem to be having the same/similar problem.

We are within 500m of the exchange so we cant get Fibre.

 

I wrote a script to log the internet access and this is one hours worth:-

 

13:00:48.19 Internet is up
13:01:48.23 Internet is up
13:02:48.27 Internet is up
13:03:48.48 Internet is up
13:04:48.42 Internet is up
13:05:48.24 Internet is up
13:06:48.32 Internet is up
13:07:48.26 Internet is up
13:08:48.25 Internet is up
13:10:08.59 down
13:10:21.90 Internet is up
13:11:33.09 down
13:12:01.59 down
13:12:20.09 down
13:12:39.09 down
13:12:58.09 down
13:13:17.09 down
13:13:36.09 down
13:14:00.09 down
13:14:19.09 down
13:14:38.09 down
13:14:57.09 down
13:15:15.44 Internet is up
13:16:29.33 Internet is up
13:17:37.12 Internet is up
13:18:39.39 Internet is up
13:19:51.26 Internet is up
13:21:03.09 down
13:21:22.09 down
13:21:46.09 down
13:22:05.09 down
13:22:24.09 down
13:22:43.09 down
13:23:02.09 down
13:23:21.09 down
13:23:45.09 down
13:24:04.09 down
13:24:23.09 down
13:24:42.09 down
13:25:01.09 down
13:25:24.59 down
13:25:47.59 down
13:26:06.09 down
13:26:25.09 down
13:26:44.09 down
13:27:03.09 down
13:27:22.09 down
13:27:46.09 down
13:28:05.09 down
13:28:24.09 down
13:28:43.09 down
13:29:02.09 down
13:29:21.09 down
13:29:45.09 down
13:30:04.09 down
13:30:23.09 down
13:30:42.09 down
13:31:01.09 down
13:31:20.09 down
13:31:48.59 down
13:32:07.09 down
13:32:26.09 down
13:32:45.08 down
13:33:04.09 down
13:33:21.59 Internet is up
13:34:37.09 down
13:34:56.09 down
13:35:14.59 down
13:35:33.09 down
13:35:56.09 down
13:36:13.31 Internet is up
13:37:23.40 Internet is up
13:38:39.08 down
13:38:58.08 down
13:39:14.82 Internet is up
13:40:14.29 Internet is up
13:41:14.27 Internet is up
13:42:14.29 Internet is up
13:43:14.31 Internet is up
13:44:14.25 Internet is up
13:45:14.26 Internet is up
13:46:14.26 Internet is up
13:47:14.22 Internet is up
13:48:14.30 Internet is up
13:49:14.26 Internet is up
13:50:14.40 Internet is up
13:51:14.35 Internet is up
13:52:14.21 Internet is up
13:53:14.20 Internet is up
13:54:14.28 Internet is up
13:55:14.22 Internet is up
13:56:14.23 Internet is up
13:57:14.21 Internet is up
13:58:14.30 Internet is up
13:59:22.68 Internet is up

 

sometime we are 'UP' for hours at a time/.

AliA
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎13-08-2018

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Sorry for the delay getting back @BD - thanks very much for looking into it, and for the thorough explanation.

That SNR bump sounds great - I'll keep an eye on the performance and see if things stay a little more stable.

You are right - we may eventually need to do another visit to truly get to the bottom of things but fingers crossed this lets us limp on a little longer!

If I do want to let you know about how it is going, what is the best way to do so? Should I just reply to this thread, DM you or start another thread referencing this one?

LaurenB
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 2,577
Thanks: 508
Fixes: 131
Registered: ‎07-12-2017

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Hi @nicjordan, I'm sorry for the issues that you're having. I've tested your line and no faults have been detected, checking your RADIUS log we aren't seeing any drops over the last 2 days (see below). Are the logs you've provided from today?

 

 

I can see you've previously mentioned that an engineer recommended an SNR of 9dB, so I've placed an order to amend this for you (it's currently at 6) but if the issue then continues we'll need an engineer visit, I've updated the ticket so if the issue persists please reply on the ticket here with your availability and if you drop us a message on here once done, we'll pick it up. Are you currently connected to the test socket? If not I'd recommend doing so and leaving it this way for the time being.

 

 

Hi @AliA, the best way would be to add a comment to this thread and we'll pick it up Smiley

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Lauren Barry
 Plusnet Help Team
AliA
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎13-08-2018

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Hey again lovely support people.

 

We are still running into problems. I can't think of anything else I can do so I may have to concede to getting an engineer around to have a look.

 

Can you see the drops on your side too?

SammyM
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 1,901
Thanks: 411
Fixes: 93
Registered: ‎22-01-2018

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Hello @AliA,

 

I am sorry to hear this is still occurring, I have checked the connection and it is definitely is showing as dropping on this side. I have tested the line and its not picking up an external fault, however it is showing errors on the line. The type of errors showing usually indicate failing hardware, Can you advise if you have tried your connection in the test socket to rule out internal wiring?

 

If not please can you setup your connection shown in the manner here and report a fault here if there is no improvement. Once you have done this please get back to us via this thread and we will pick this up for you. 

 

 

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Sammy M - Sheffield Team
 Plusnet Help Team
AliA
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎13-08-2018

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

After the last set of changes, and returning to PlusNet kit, left plugged into the test socket, things seemed to get pretty stable - no major disconnects or speed drops etc which was brilliant.

We were away on holiday however and left the router off for two weeks; Having returned to a much less stable connection again, I was wondering if our device not being connected for that period has reset the SNR modifications and any other changes you'd previously made?

If that is the case (which I hope it is!), would it be possible to reinstate those?

Beyhive
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 722
Fixes: 44
Registered: ‎25-02-2019

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Hi @AliA,

 

I have placed an order to up your signal strength which should complete in the next hour. If you then turn the router off and then on again in a hour or later the connection should be back to normal for you.

 

Let us know how it goes.

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Faris
 Plusnet Help Team
AliA
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎13-08-2018

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Brilliant - thanks @Beyhive Smiley - I think it might be behaving a bit better now.

Appreciate the speedy response!

EmilyD
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 2,032
Thanks: 357
Fixes: 117
Registered: ‎26-03-2018

Re: ⚡ Intermittent drops still happening

Hi @AliA,

 

It's great to hear that things look to be working better following the setting changes that @Beyhive has made. Please don't hesitate to get back in touch if you experience any further problems with your connection.

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Emily D
 Plusnet Help Team