Increased frequency of connection dropouts

[#1]

I have been aware that the Plusnet HubOne loses connection periodically and re-establishes connection automatically within minutes. Fortunately this has happened overnight and only once or twice a month, but often less. However recently it is happening during the mornings and more frequently. Checking the log for WAN entries I see the following history:

05 Sep 23:45

11 Nov 00:14

25 Nov 11:26

28 Nov 11:23

30 Nov 11:22

02 Dec 11:11

05 Dec 11:58

07 Dec 11:31

In between these events the connection is stable with expected data rates.

What can I do to get this investigated?

[#2]

@Dippy The easiest way is:

It sounds very much like you have a problem - most likely not in your home/office environment, but more likely in the BT/OR network.

First thing to check: Is your phoneline clear? Dial 17070 (preferably from a corded phone), select option 2. Once your phone number is confirmed, there should be silence on the line except for the regular 'Quiet Line Test' message - any other noise, report a PHONE problem via: https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/phone/

If the phone test passes, report a broadband problem via: https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/broadband/

Let us know the result - if the tests come back as clear but you still have a problem, we need to investigate further.

[#3]

Thanks for this advice. Unfortunately we have no corded phones, only DECT, but there seemed to be no noise during the quiet line test apart from a constant faint hum which is likely the phone equipment.

I find the Plusnet problem reporting page confusing. It appears that the quickest way by text is in fact the only way to request a line test. Does that have to be sent from the landline to be tested?

[#4]

If your phone test has come through clear, as you have indicated, then use the 'report a broadband problem' link in that post, but please let us know the response you get.

[#5]

I reported the broadband problem and it was tested. I received the message "The line from the network to your home appears to be performing well, so next we need to refresh the connection to your hub". After the refresh and the connection was restored I checked the HubOne log. The entries were identical to those I have been seeing for every dropout instance.

What occurs to me is that I instigated this using a mobile phone and all I had to do is enter the line number. There was no security check to confirm that I am the customer for that connection. Could my disconnections be due to someone else checking and entering the wrong number? Is there a way to find out if this has happened?

[#6]

I doubt your use of a mobile, and your final question, have anything to do with this.

If you are still seeing instability, maybe we should approach this in a different way:

For Community members to be able to help, information from these two sites, as screenshots, posted as pictures within the topic, not as attachments:-

BT Broadband(obscuring your phone number) and BTW Performance Tester - Over a wired (Ethernet) connection if at all possible, please report the 'ADDITIONAL DIAGNOSTICS', and sight of the broadband connection status from your Hub (with the 'Username' obscured) would be a good starting point.

For the Hub One -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Troubleshooting > Helpdesk

For the Hub Two -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Advanced Settings > Technical Log > Information

If you are unsure about anything in this guide, please just ask - I am happy to help.

[#7 · Accepted solution]

Update for the record.

I escalated the issue to PlusNet. More tests were done and no fault found, however the engineer confirmed the router log and decided that it could be at fault. The decision was taken to upgrade it to a Hub Two.

In the meantime I made a startling discovery. The dropouts had been coinciding with the use of Renpho bathroom scales which have a cloud function. I managed to reproduce the dropouts when the Renpho app was opened on a particular Android smartphone. I would not have believed this was possible but it was eerie how I could induce the router to drop the connection by merely opening the app on the phone. I did this several times - it could not have been a coincidence.

The Hub Two was installed and the dropouts stopped. I can only assume that somehow the communication from the Renpho server to the phone was causing the Hub One to drop the connection.