Internet freezing regularly at around 8PM

[#1]

Dear Plusnet,

I have a problem with my internet connection freezing in the evenings. It usually happens just after 8PM, though the time can vary. It happened most recently around 19:58 on 7 June and 20:05 on 8 June. The problem lasts 5 to 10 minutes, during which it is too slow for internet radio or web browsing to be usable. The problem occurs on both a PC via ethernet and an internet radio via Wi-Fi (with the PC powered down). Restarting the router solves the problem in about 90 seconds (the time it takes to reconnect). The problem does not occur every evening, maybe about half the time, and does not happen more than once in one day. This has been happening for the past three months; before then, I tended not to use the internet in the evening. There are no problems at other times, when I get about 7 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload.

Having to restart my router regularly is irritating – is there a way of fixing the problem either at your end or by adjusting my router settings?

Thank you

Paul

My router is a Plusnet-branded Sagemcom 2704N

[#2]

Hi @Paul_1970

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear that. I have tested your line and there is no fault. After looking into history of this connection, there are spikes of errors connected with these drops. They do not always cause drops in your connection. This is most likely caused by electrical device in your area which is starting/restarting. It may be central heating, street lights turning on etc. You can find more details here 

As you can see  there was ongoing connection fro 31 days with no drops - but we can see that spikes in errors were still appearing during this time.

[#3]

Thanks for your help, Piotr.

I will investigate interference sources.

Is a shielded cable between the router and filter likely to help?

Paul

[#4]

Thanks for getting back in touch.

If something is causing so much interference that connection is dropping - I doubt that shielded cable between router and filter may help. Interference may be caused outside of your property and it may be other part of network which is not shielded enough to stop this, like drop wire, lead in, or something near distribution pole or cabinet.

However - If you have any extension sockets or if DSL cable is really long - it may be always good idea to try. Using test socket is always good idea to check in first place.

[#5]

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@Paul_1970 wrote:

Is a shielded cable between the router and filter likely to help?

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If the interference is very near, or in the house, a twisted pair cable could be beneficial. The ones supplied with routers are usually flat non-twisted. Further info here .

These guys are a reputable supplier.

[#6]

Dear Piotr (or colleague),

Could I request a 3dB increase in the target noise margin (both directions), please, to see if this improves the connection stability. I appreciate that this will reduce the data rate a bit.

It seems odd that a router restart recovers the connection, but it doesn't stabilise itself after the interference has passed.

Many thanks

Paul