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Persistent internet dropouts.

JeremyP99
Grafter
Posts: 39
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Registered: ‎08-09-2016

Persistent internet dropouts.

OK. Got one of the "new" routers, as our old one, the previous version, gave up a year or so back. We are now seeing more and more internet dropouts. Usually temporary - click on a link, get "no internet" or "gateway problem" (or such like), which a\ refresh clears. Annoying, but not the end of the world. However, my wife, whose laptop is connected over an ethernet powerline, lost her net connection this morning after using it for a while. W10 diag said it was a gateway/router problem, that the gateway could not be reached. My internet connection (hardwired, router is in my office) was fine. 

 

Rebooted modem. No change. Shut everything down. Switched off powerline, and then switched everything back on again. This time it's OK. Half an hour ****ing about with this nonsense.

 

I'm thinking that that is a) a poor router &/or b) a malfunctioning one. 

So - Plusnet - can you test it from your end, and more to the point, if I were to buy our own router, are the settings posted in the broadband site as they should be, for configuring a new router. 

 

I'd also add that the WIFI is trash. I ended up using a powerline for my wife's laptop as it was so bad. Yet it's 5 yards away from the router, and two studding walls between the laptop and router. Often the wifi would cut out, and often it's so slow as to make the laptop unused. 

 

We would really like a settled internet connection, as this is happening far too often. 

17 REPLIES 17
JeremyP99
Grafter
Posts: 39
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎08-09-2016

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Another regular occurrence....reloading the URL it works fine. I get maybe five or six of these a day. 

 

This site can’t be reached

The web page athttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/;jsessionidid=tidl1geem3pmvqfiqmgcffoavcbquiv0/#source=refresh might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.

ERR_SSL_BAD_RECORD_MAC_ALERT

 

Gandalf
Community Gaffer
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Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Sorry to hear you're having connection issues.

Our tests are showing a potential line fault so I've raised this with Openreach now.

I'll update you account with more info shortly.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
JeremyP99
Grafter
Posts: 39
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎08-09-2016

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Thanks, that's good. I did report this a little while back and was told the line was fine. Pleased there is progress. 

adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
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Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Same here, we should be able to update within the next couple of days. 

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
JeremyP99
Grafter
Posts: 39
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Registered: ‎08-09-2016

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.


@adamwalker wrote:

Same here, we should be able to update within the next couple of days. 

 

OK. Openreach engineer has just been. tested line and says it's ok. Replaced the plate the microfilter goes into, and check the connection as it enters the house. Also checked box at top of pole our line comes from. 

What I have notice- can't check for dropouts till they happen! - despite the line being good, speedtest.net shows good speeds, better than we are used to. 

Are you able to test the router to see if there's a problem there. We do have **very** slow file transfers between the 3 PCs in the house. 4Mbps is good, which is a nonsense for modern Windows 10 home network. 

Moderator's note by Adie (Dvorak) fixed quote.


 

Gandalf
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Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

@JeremyP99

Our tests aren't showing any issues, but from the sounds of it the problem may lie with your home network which isn't something we can test or see from this side I'm afraid.

Are your computers connected together over WiFi or using ethernet cables?

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
JeremyP99
Grafter
Posts: 39
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎08-09-2016

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

One, hard-wired ethernet cable (PC by router) the other two powerline ethernet. Wireless is so poor to be unuseable a lot of the time - even tho' it's a short distance and thru' stud walls. Which is why i wondered about the router. 

JayG
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Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Couple of thoughts:

Stud walls may incorporate aluminium insulation which is a sure Wifi killer despite being much thinner than a brick or stone wall.

If the dropouts only affect devices connected via your powerline adaptors, it could be the adaptors that are responsible (mine drop the connection on a seemingly random basis at least once a day that I know of, usually for a minute or so at a time.) Not much more you can do other than make sure they are connected correctly (i.e. not via extension sockets, especially anti-surge types.)

JeremyP99
Grafter
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Registered: ‎08-09-2016

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Granted, however as we live in an old council house, built in 1929 and not rebuilt inside, I suspect that is not the case; indeed, I put my wife's laptop onto a powerline connection as a result of the flaky wifi. We all seem more stable since the OpenReach engineer re-assembled everything. I am certainly getting far fewer browser messages relating to loss of internet functionality. 

Baldrick1
Moderator
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Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Regarding the wifi on your 'new' router, see here: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/plusnet/1403635/plusnet-hub-zero-2704n-review. You may note the comment that it's amongst the worst wifi performance they have ever seen. Powerline units can also be problematic due to the ever increasing amount of conducted emissions from switched mode devices, which can interfere with the data trnasmissions..

If you hava a spare £30ish then go onto Ebay and buy a BT Smart Hub 6. They are easy to set up on your Plusnet account using instructions you will find on this forum. They they have excellent wireless performance.

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JeremyP99
Grafter
Posts: 39
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Registered: ‎08-09-2016

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Thanks. Our only wireless use now is my wife's smartphone and visitors when here, and she's usually OK. Not on it all the time unlike many smartphone users!

 

 

How would I know if we use this "switched mode" stuff? Electricity is the same as magic as far as I am concerned. We have an RCD type switchbox, but it and the wiring was installed a while back. 

 

Jeremy

Baldrick1
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Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

What I was suggesting was that you get a router wirh decent wifi performance and use it instead of powerline devices. In an ideal world you would run an Ethernet cable instead of using Powerline as that will guarantee you full fault free bandwidth in both rooms. This is well worth the effort if you have the DIY skills.

Switched mode power supplies do not use big bulky transformers. You will find them in the vast majority of low power domestic appliances such as TVs, computers, phone chargers, routers, led light bulbs etc. 

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JeremyP99
Grafter
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Registered: ‎08-09-2016

Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

Hokay. I had indeed pondered putting a cable to my wife's laptop - it would have to go up and over three doorways on the way, but I've done that before! Downstairs is a nono, and the PC there is where we stream stuff to watch, so not too keen on wireless. It's a powerline to that as well, but generally reliable. 

 

Thanks!

Baldrick1
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Re: Persistent internet dropouts.

If you get Cat 5e Ethernet cable then fix wall sockets after you have installed the cable you can make a professional job. It's also worth seeing if you can find a route that doesn't trail around doors etc. Being a small diameter it's easy to drill through walls to ease cable installation.

For example, to get from my router in the hall to the TV in our living room the cable goes straight through the hall wall into the kitchen, coming out under the plinth of a kitchen unit, up the back of a tall kitcen unit, throught the ceiling. Immediately above is a built in wardrobe. It goes up the wardrobe into the loft, across the loft then out through the soffit befind a drain pipe. It then goes down the back of the drain pipe and back through the outside wall into the living room. 

It was a real pain to put in but there's not a bit of cable in sight, it only has to be done once and it runs at the full router LAN speed of 1Gbps without fail.

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