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DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

markg14045
Dabbler
Posts: 15
Registered: ‎27-01-2015

DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

Posting on here as a last resort as Plusnet have not responded to my ticket since last Thursday despite been consistently down.
BT had a line card failure in Sheffield around 2 weeks ago which we believed to be initially causing me problems with disconnects (I'm based on Leeds connected to Crossgates exchange), however this just seemed to "settle down" till last Thursday.
Since then my router will authenticate with Plusnets radius servers and have internet connectivity for about 3 minutes 50ish seconds and then just drops, it does this continuously all day every day.
Idle timeout value makes no difference can be set between 10 seconds and 86400 on one of my routers doesn't matter what it's set to makes no difference. (Yet Plusnet engineer reported on Thursday he thinks it's an idle timeout problem)
Have tried another router (Linksys X3500) and it exhibits the exact same behavior.
It's getting rather frustrating now as I've provided them with all they've asked for every step, have been without usable connectivity for coming close to half a month now.
Is anyone else experiencing anything similar, if so I'd love to hear what you've heard from Plusnet or what they have done to rectify it.


27 REPLIES 27
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
Plusnet Staff
Posts: 2,188
Thanks: 48
Fixes: 18
Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

Hi and welcome to the forums.
Most connections that we see are one minute and one second long. "User Request" is shown in our RADIUS but it's known to be wrong quite often. As you've already tried alternative equipment, I'm going to bounce this to BTw straight away for you. I'll update your ticket in a few moments.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
Plusnet Staff
Posts: 2,188
Thanks: 48
Fixes: 18
Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

I didn't ask in my first post, but are you losing PPP or synch?
The disconnections were previously 4 minutes but now down to 1 minute.
The idle timeout was suggested but this shouldn't happen as the connection wasn't idle. Am I right in assuming the routers log in automatically and you don't have third party connection software?
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
markg14045
Dabbler
Posts: 15
Registered: ‎27-01-2015

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

Do not use any third party connection software.
Dialing Method : On Demand (this is current setting)
Other options are : Auto and : Manual
No it's the equivalent of always on, the router doesn't have a specific "Always on" setting.
And it's Sync, the status on the router shows the sync and "internet" status light drop.
I appreciate your help so far but this probably isn't a BT issue, we are authenticating a session back to your radius servers and I do have internet connectivity for a few minutes.
They are going to look at this and say it's working, I do agree though that the fact it's losing sync might indicate a BT problem.

adie:quote
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
Plusnet Staff
Posts: 2,188
Thanks: 48
Fixes: 18
Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

I don't think this can be anything on the Plusnet side to be honest. I must admit, when I saw your issue the first thing I thought was router settings.
Having read more into it, you've obviously made a load of changes and tried alternative equipment which brings us back to the recent BT problems. I've got some tools at our side which I'm going to look at. Before I do that though, can you confirm if bt_test@startup_domain (password test) connects, and if so does that remain connected. The only web site you can visit is http://www.bt.net/digitaldemo but that's not important, I just want to know if the connection lasts.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
markg14045
Dabbler
Posts: 15
Registered: ‎27-01-2015

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

Can only test this later on tonight, doing a network migration would you believe.
What I will say is randomly during one of the connections last week it was synched/PPP but I could not browse to the internet, it was landing at a BT page saying something along the lines of
"You might see this page if your ISP is having issues or if you are using the bt_test account"
Only saw this once but thought it was worth mentioning. Also it's 100% not idle timeout, doesn't matter if I change it from 10 seconds to 86400 was still dropping after 3 minutes 50 seconds, now 1 minute approx.
adie:quote
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
Plusnet Staff
Posts: 2,188
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Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

That's a green screen that you are seeing and is usually a stale session or a DNS issue. I don't think you've got a stale session, but just to be on the safe side I'm going to do a session kill anyway. I don't expect to see any changes but if we do it can only be a bonus.
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 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
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Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

Well that failed...back to the drawing board....
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 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
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Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

Interestingly I've found one of our customers on the same exchange which had a very similar problem to yours very recently....That fault appeared to fix itself. I'm doing a little bit more digging.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
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Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

I've spoken to BT about this and believe I've made progress. I've asked them to do some work which should be done within the next two days.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
markg14045
Dabbler
Posts: 15
Registered: ‎27-01-2015

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

I really appreciate your help so far, not sure it seems to be pulling teeth when raising a ticket with support, yet you and others respond almost instantly on the forum.
Could you inform me what "works" BT are due to do in the next few days?
BT have performed a few PEW in the last few days affecting my area code, so I want to have some clarity of what they are doing rather than it just been put down to "fixing itself"
adie:quote
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
Plusnet Staff
Posts: 2,188
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Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

Yes, I just needed you to raise a ticket for accountability.
Right, I've tested your line and apparently at 0856 this morning, a "Lift and Shift" was performed. This puts you on different equipment at the exchange. Now, I suspect that this is the time that the notes were filtered across to BTw. There was a big change in your stats at around 2.30 this morning, when the connection just went off altogether. Of course, this could be you switching your router off!
As you are currently out of sync, I don't know if the problem has changed, or if you are off. Therefore I need to confirm this for me. If the problems remains the same, please let me know and we'll arrange an engineer to come to your premises. If you've lost sync, a change has been made at the exchange for the worse (and an engineer will be required at your premises). On the other hand, everything might be working.
I'll let you know about engineer slots should it be required.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
markg14045
Dabbler
Posts: 15
Registered: ‎27-01-2015

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

I didn't knowingly turn it off at 2.30 unless i was sleep walking Smiley
Ok thanks for this I'll be home at 18.30ish tonight so will be able to test then.
I didn't check the router this morning but it should still have been powered on.
If an engineer is required I will need it to be a weekend appt.
Will update tonight when I've power cycled the router which I hope will allow it to sync again.
plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
Plusnet Staff
Posts: 2,188
Thanks: 48
Fixes: 18
Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

I suspect you wouldn't have switched it off, but always need to check.
I also suspect the work went through in the middle of the night, or it's a massive coincidence. Either way, I'd like to try to get confirmation so I can advise what to do next. If the BT did indeed make it worse, I can try to get them to escalate and go back to the exchange. It might be quicker just to get an engineer out for you though. I haven't checked your area to see if weekends are available, because they can be rare.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
markg14045
Dabbler
Posts: 15
Registered: ‎27-01-2015

Re: DSL Sync for 4 minutes then drops

Lifts and shifts are usually performed early hours of the morning from my experience so I don't think it's a coincidence.
Weekends should be available, BT are here most of the time as the rest of the estate is still been built.