Frequent disconnections - BT Home Hub 5

[#1]

Home broadband is provided by PlusNet on ADSL, connected to a BT Home Hub 5 (very like a PlusNet Hub One?) but in recent weeks there have been frequent but unpredictable disconnections. What's wrong? Please, PlusNet, fix this to work reliably.

I have verified that my phone line's not noisy (dial 17070 option 2 - Quiet Line Test). The router is connected with a single phone cable to the master socket, the sort with a built-in microfilter (labelled Master Socket 5C, openreach MK4). The hub reports a block of messages similar to this (Troubleshooting - Event log - WAN view).

13:40:57, 24 Feb.	(1122391.240000) ATM over DSL is down after 0 minutes uptime
13:40:57, 24 Feb.	(1122391.240000) ETHoA is down after 0 minutes uptime
13:40:53, 24 Feb.	(1122386.770000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request]
13:40:52, 24 Feb.	(1122386.300000) PPP LCP Send Configuration Request
13:40:49, 24 Feb.	(1122383.310000) PPP LCP Receive Configuration ACK
13:40:49, 24 Feb.	(1122383.300000) PPP LCP Send Configuration Request
13:40:49, 24 Feb.	(1122383.290000) PPP LCP Receive Configuration Reject
13:40:49, 24 Feb.	(1122383.120000) PPP LCP Send Configuration Request
13:40:36, 24 Feb.	(1122370.510000) ETHoA is up -​ VPI: 0, VCI: 35 Down Rate=21823Kbps, Up Rate=1027Kbps; SNR Margin Down=3.2dB, Up=7.7dB
13:40:36, 24 Feb.	(1122370.510000) ATM over DSL is up
13:39:39, 24 Feb.	(1122313.610000) ATM over DSL is down after 36 minutes uptime
13:39:39, 24 Feb.	(1122313.610000) ETHoA is down after 36 minutes uptime
13:39:39, 24 Feb.	(1122313.590000) PPPoA is down after 36 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN ATM over DSL -​ Down)]
13:39:36, 24 Feb.	(1122310.260000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request]

That shows a disconnection after just 36 minutes. The time varies from 0 minutes to a few days, but we have had six seven disconnections recorded in the log since 09:20 this morning. Each starts with a PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request] record. Here are the maybe-relevant parts of the Troubleshooting - Helpdesk information from the router.

1. Product name:	BT Home Hub
3. Firmware version:	Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.264 (Type A) Last updated 05/03/19
4. Board version:	BT Hub 5A
5. DSL uptime:	0 days, 00:09:19
6. Data rate:	979 / 13745
7. Maximum data rate:	984 / 20784
8. Noise margin:	7.4 / 22.6
9. Line attenuation:	8.9 / 16.7
10. Signal attenuation:	8.9 / 14.8
11. Data sent/received:	126.9 MB / 1.3 GB
13. BT Wi-fi:	No
15. 2.4 GHz Wireless connections:	Disabled
19. 5 GHz Wireless connections:	Disabled
22. Firewall:	Default
24. VPI/VCI:	0 / 38
25. Modulation:	G.992.5 Annex A
26. Latency type:	Interleaved
27. Software variant:	AA
28. Boot loader:	1.0.0

I tried rebooting the router an hour ago. This time the connection went to 55 minutes before failing again. (So it's not because the router's been running for too long and needs to clear its memory with a reboot...)

What's wrong? What do I do to get the relevant information and raise the right sort of ticket?

[#2]

@mhi1 Welcome to the forums. The only disturbing figures on there are your  SNR figures of 7.4/22.6 dB on the Helpdesk , presumably taken after the log snippet - that reported reasonable results.

The other notable item is your VCI - I am fairly certain that should be 38 not 35.

[#3]

You may need to clean your screen @jab1  😀

It has been a while since I used a HH5, and when I did it was on VDSL.

It would be worth reporting a fault at Faults.plus.net and asking for a copy of the Radius log to see how often the circuit is dropping.

[#4]

Thank you to both jab1 and Mustrum. I've filled in the PlusNet form starting at Faults.plus.net, and must now wait to see what PlusNet and I can find out. I've got one slightly different disconnect record in my log file now,

15:54:36, 24 Feb.	( 7867.530000) PPPoA is down after 45 minutes uptime [Disconnected]
15:54:33, 24 Feb.	( 7864.900000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [Peer not responding]

That is, Peer not responding, rather than the usual User request, in the PPP LCP Send Termination Request line. Possibly that is a different internal error in the network (RADIUS server?) which may have provoked the message.

 - Mark

[#5]

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@Mustrum wrote:

You may need to clean your screen @jab1  😀

Oh dear - and my glasses are only two months old. 🤣

[#6]

The (semi-automated) response from the PlusNet fault reported is, of course, to instruct me to connect my router to the telephone test socket, using a different microfilter. I've now done that. I have also downloaded and am running the RouterStatsHub5A program/app and it shows a mystery drop of 2 dB in the upstream noise margin at 21:40, then the glitch and changes at 22:34 while I re-plugged its phone wire.

The download connection speed has increased (though not the rate revealed by speedtest.btwholesale.com); and it might be relevant to note that the fault report's diagnostics note 14 disconnections in the last 24 hours. That's about 13.94 disconnections more than I would be happy with!

[#7]

@mhi1 If that RS behaviour continues, it would suggest you have a problem - keep it running. Did you request the Radius log, as suggested by @Mustrum ?

[#8]

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@jab1 wrote ...Did you request the Radius log, as suggested by @Mustrum ?

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I have now! Also referred to this topic in the fault report.

Thank you for the advice so far, and that reminder. For what it may be worth, perhaps I should add that the local telephone exchange is only about 300 metres up the road. That accounts for the (mostly) high noise margin: there's not much wire, by telephone standards, in my line, to reduce signal and pick up noise.

 - Mark

[#9]

Not a squeak out of PlusNet support in response to my fault report in the last 36 hours. Disappointing, but, so I gather, only to be expected. Here's my update – mainly to be polite and keep the Forum's helpful answerers informed.

The router's been plugged in to a microfilter and that into the test socket since 22:35 on 24 February. There were three more disconnections overnight, hardly any nuisance since all at home were asleep, then one (in the middle of a Zoom call, of course) at 09:55 yesterday morning. Later that morning, a few wobbles on the noise graphs of  RouterStatsHub5A, and since then no problems (near-level lines on the graph). Clearly whatever was wrong has stopped doing it, at least for the moment -- but also clearly not my telephones or extension wiring, and no hint as to what was happening and therefore whether it might be back.

Here's part of the overnight graph of the noise margin, with the two big dips for disconnections at 04:50 or so.

Then for reference, here's the graph of connection speeds for the same times. 21.7, 22.1 and 18.6 Mbit/s.

After the disconnection yesterday, the new connection is at 18.8 Mb/s. The noise margin has been completely steady (+/- 0.1 dB) since 14:12 yesterday.

Possibly it is responding to my having searched out the household's only portable AM radio ready to look for interference. (It's a clockwork radio. Remember them? Needed a minor repair to the clockwork, which slipped a drive belt when I wound it up.) I'll keep it ready to threaten the broadband with, and maybe that will do more good than PlusNet's support service.

 - Mark

[#10]

Another update - five more disconnections this evening, following a day and a half with no problems. This time, though, a telephone Quiet Line Test reveals crackly noises on the line, Intermittent bad phone connection can account for all?

I have updated the PlusNet fault report to note the phone line fault. No human reply whatsoever to this fault report, now 2 days old. PlusNet need to rename it Customer Disservice, I fear.

 - Mark

[#11]

It sounds (sic) like you may have a dodgy external connection that is impacted by adverse weather.

Try and keep track of the weather and if you have a noisy line if/when you see broadband changes.

[#12]

Good evening!

Just for a bit of reassurance - think yourselves lucky to have this customer service - I have only just joined Plusnet - and at least you can speak to someone in this country! & send emails....Talktalk were WOEFUL

However....I'm also having similar problems to those described above - frequent dropping service. Any top tips / ideas please?

I have switched router on / off (& for 65 mins) but don't know how to get the diagnostic reports shown above!!!

[#13]

@Sbiltcliffe Welcome to the forums. As you have posted in the ADSL board, I assume you are not on FTTC.

To avoid confusion, please start your own topic on the relevant board - 'piggy-backing' on another posters topic makes it hard to help, and is also against forum rules, Once you have started your own topic, hopefully someone will pick it up and help as best we can.

[#14]

@Sbiltcliffe - welcome to the forums and to Plusnet (from a fellow-customer). As noted, best to start your own topic.

The plot (here) thickens. This morning (after about three disconnections overnight, those before my computer sent itself to sleep because I wasn't using it), my router reports a nice connection at 963 Kbps up, 18284 Kbps down, but https://speedtest.btwholesale.com/ reports ping=122 ms, download=6.59 Mbps, upload=0 bps. That is well below what the connection ought to be able to achieve (though there may be a non-broadband reason for that such as a family member's computer deciding Saturday morning is a good time for a OneDrive backup... but this is much slower than used to be usual).

Still no reply to my PlusNet fault report. Time to get on my emergency wired no-battery phone right next to my test socket and wait in the call queue, if I can face it.

 - Mark

[#15]

Morning Mark. That doesn't sound too good. Can you post your current Event Log, Help Desk and RS plots please, in case it gives us any clues?