Long running performance issues and momentary perf dropouts - can you help me investigate?

[#1]

Hi, I'm using Plusnet ADSL broadband and for the last few months I've had these intermittent problems with connectivity. It seems to include making new connections (DNS resolution, TLS handshake) and occasionally just not sending any packets in an established connection.

At first I assumed this was something external, but when I have problems and try connecting to my router config IP - it has enormous delays. It seems like the router is actually sometimes struggling to route... to itself.

I thought it might be to do with some IOT devices (smart lightbulbs) which are notorious for flooding home networks with packets... but turning them off doesn't help. Nor does switching between 2 and 5 Ghz.

I have played a little bit with channels but it hasn't helped.

I'm wondering if the router itself could be at fault. I did think about purchasing my own, but I assume I would still need my current device to act as a modem. What I'd really prefer though is for things to work as they originally did - for a long time, my connection was fine.

Can anyone provide any advice? I'd also like to know more about how I can diagnose the fault - right now my connectivity problems are pretty opaque.

[#2]

Thanks for your post @yojimbo and welcome to our Community Forums.

I'm really sorry to see you're having a lot of issues with your connection. 

I've tested your line today and the tests aren't showing any definitive issues but what's known as the target signal to noise ratio (SNRM) is fairly low <3dB which necessarily isn't a bad thing however it does mean any interference on the line can affect your broadband more, so I've increased the SNRM target to 6dB.

Which router are you using? From what I can see we've sent you the Hub Zero (Sagemcom 2704n) but this doesn't have a transmitter for 5GHz wireless. If you're still having issues after the change I've made and not got it already, I'll be happy to send you the Hub One, which is a step up from the 2704n. 

Let me know how it goes. 

[#3]

Thanks, Gandalf. I'll keen an eye on things and get back if it degrades again.

I checked the device and it is indeed a Hub One.

[#4]

It seemed like things had improved but recently performance has degraded again. I'm not sure what to do next.

[#5]

Hi @yojimbo,

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing these issues. I've reviewed your account this evening and I haven't been able to locate any underlying line faults. When you've noticed these issues, have you been connecting to the router over Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable? Are these performance drops occurring at any particular time of the day, or are they just random?

[#6]

Most of my devices are connecting over WiFi. I've never spotted the issue with my TV (which connects over ethernet)

Timings are irregular. Problems arrive in clusters. For instance, I just lost connection to an extremely important work meeting, after about three minutes of spiralling audio loss.

And this is the problem. I honestly wouldn't care so much if all this affected was some streaming - but this is stopping me doing my job. I cannot tolerate that. Either it gets fixed sharpish or I *have* to move on.

[#7]

I'm sorry to hear this @yojimbo. Are you able to connect your work device to the router via an Ethernet cable?

[#8]

Not really, no, and I can't even properly confirm whether ethernet would actually fix things.

[#9]

I think it would be worth a shot if at all possible, as Ethernet connections often provide a more stable and consistent connection. As for what can be done to improve the Wi-Fi experience, I would recommend going through this guide as it may help out.