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Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

Stu2016
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎08-03-2016

Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

Hi,
For the past few weeks I've been experiencing intermittent DSL drop-outs. When I say intermittent, I mean it can happen several times in the space of an hour, but then be fine for one or two days solid. This has coincided with noise on the line: crackling, squeaking, popping, etc. The noise can sound very bad, but can also abruptly disappear.
I've raised this with support (Q 120846063) on 26 Feb but they're taking an age to respond to my messages and I can never bear the 30-45 minute waits on the phone. The first message I got back from them was a joke - it included lines such as "[delete as appropriate]" which I'm sure I wasn't meant to see!!
At first, this was a just an annoying break in connection, as the speed was absolutely fine once then modem reconnected. Last week, I noticed that when my connection came back after a drop out (which it generally does within a minute or so), the speed was slower than normal (about 3-4 Mbps). The last few days were quite good, with only a couple of disconnections, and my speed recovered to around 8 Mbps. I actually thought the problem had sorted itself out!
Today, however, it's terrible!! The line sounded noisy again earlier and there were several drop-outs. Now, the speed is a very frustrating 1 Mbps maximum!
The drop-outs do seem to coincide with the noise. When the noise disappears (as it can do quite abruptly) the connection is stable.
At the time of writing this post, the connection has been stable for a couple of hours, the line is silent, but the speed is dismal. From my perspective, the loss of line speed is now actually a much bigger problem than the occasional bouts of DSL drops!
I've followed the guide and listened to the noise on a quiet line test via two different corded phones in the test socket, so it's definitely nothing to do with my set-up. Most of the time I've got the modem connected to the master socket via a filter, and nothing else plugged in.
I'd appreciate any advice - either on fixing the problem or getting some response out of tech support!! Thanks in advance.


Estimated line speed:
There's no speed estimate currently held on your account.
Current line speed:
1.3 Mb


Link Information:
Uptime: 0 days, 2:56:31
DSL Type: ITU-T G.992.5
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 1,132 / 9,740
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/GB]: 454.50 / 3.33
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.6 / 0.0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 16.7 / 32.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 9.5 / 15.1
System Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ----
Chipset Vendor ID (Local/Remote): BDCM / IFTN
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 106 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 13 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): -
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 168 / 1
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 960
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 3 / 13
9 REPLIES 9
runhare
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 556
Thanks: 69
Fixes: 3
Registered: ‎09-10-2007

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

You must raise a line fault: you can do that here http://portal.plus.net/help/phone/ if your phone service is with Plusnet. If it is with another company contact them to advise on the noise. Go through  the fault checker service as shown. don't worry too much about a comment suggesting you may be charged for a callout . Usually the fault is with the phone line outside your property and  if not, then you should not be too concerned about being charged!
Good luck!
GPS
Anoush
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 2,568
Thanks: 572
Fixes: 139
Registered: ‎22-08-2015

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

Hello there, Stu2016. I've looked into your account this morning and have booked the BT engineer for tomorrow (10th March) between 1pm and 6pm to sort out the noisy line. Please let us know as soon as possible if this needs re-arranging and we'll see what we can do.
This is my personal Community Forum account to help out around these parts while I'm at home. If I'm posting from the 1st March 2020, this means I'm off-duty with no access to internal systems.
If this post resolved your issue, please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
Stu2016
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎08-03-2016

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

Thanks Anoush, that's great.
Stu2016
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎08-03-2016

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

Okay, the engineer has attended this afternoon. He carried out a number of tests on the line, and concluded that there is no line fault.
He described the noises on the line as "digital" - i.e. they sound a bit like the connection noises made by a dial-up modem or fax machine. This, coupled with the fact that they are intermittent and come and go quiet abruptly with no apparent physical cause (they came and went this morning, for example, during calm sunny weather), and the fact that both the socket and the line to the pole are very new (both are less than one year old) led him to conclude that this was almost certainly a broadband fault, not a line fault.
Because these "digital" noises are audible via the test socket with no other equipment connected, he said that the problem most likely lies with the broadband equipment at the exchange, which he said was the responsibility of Plusnet.
Anoush
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 2,568
Thanks: 572
Fixes: 139
Registered: ‎22-08-2015

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

I've raised your ticket with our broadband faults team who should pick it up within the next 72 hours.
This is my personal Community Forum account to help out around these parts while I'm at home. If I'm posting from the 1st March 2020, this means I'm off-duty with no access to internal systems.
If this post resolved your issue, please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
Gel
Aspiring Champion
Posts: 2,332
Thanks: 299
Fixes: 29
Registered: ‎02-08-2007

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

Stu2016
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎08-03-2016

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

Anoush - Many thanks!
Gel - To be honest, I may have misunderstood what he said - he may have been saying it was exchange equipment or Plusnet. The crux of it was that he couldn't do anything because it wasn't a line fault.
pvmb
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 568
Thanks: 67
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎12-02-2014

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

Right. Sad
Stu2016
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎08-03-2016

Re: Intermittent noisy line causing DSL drop-outs

In case it's of any help, here's a recording of the noise (sorry it's not great quality, I just held my phone up to the receiver)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_9ptkqvVBfYSWNvc3J4Smp1aW8/view?usp=sharing