Plusnet broadband unlimited keeps dropping out this afternoon

[#1]

Writing on Wed 28 September 2022. This afternoon the broadband has been dropping out repeatedly for 1-2 minutes at a time. I've just installed a brand new plusnet Hub One modem so I can see that the problem is on the phone line (flashing orange light on the front) and nothing within my system.

Is there a known problem?

I'm located in Wokingham, Berkshire.

[#2]

@simonc2 Firstthing I would check is the username/password on the Hub is yours and not 'setup@plusdsl.net'.

[#3]

The username/password must be correct because when broadband comes back up after the dropout I get connected automatically.

The problem seemed to stop about 5pm this afternoon, and hasn't recurred. I also restarted the modem which may have helped. But it's worrying that it happens at all - I hope it won't keep happening.

[#4]

'The username/password must be correct because when broadband comes back up after the dropout I get connected automatically'. Not necessarily - it will reconnect with the 'setup' username for a short while, but not hold the connection. Have you actually checked it?

[#5]

I have categorically checked that the username/password is correct by disconnecting and reconnecting which requires you to type in the username/password.

The dropouts are still going on. Sometimes it seems it's off for about a minute in every 10 which is making it very difficult to work. (I will run a batch file to do regular pings to try and measure this exactly.)

The problems have been most apparent since the start of my new plusnet Broadband Unlimited contract last week.

Either the Hub One router/modem is faulty or there is a problem with my broadband line. I would be grateful for any advice in how to follow this up.

[#6]

@simonc2 Can you supply the information requested in the below, please - it may give some of the more knowledgable members of the Community an idea as to the possible causes.

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

It may also be a good idea to report the results of a Quiet Line Test - dial 17070 option 2 from a (preferably corded) phone. After the confirmation of your phone number, there should be total silence apart from the regular 'Quiet Line Test' announcement. Any other noise - report a PHONE fault first.

If phone test is OK then take the front off your telephone master socket, you may need to remove two screws. In behind you will find the test socket. Plug a filter in here and connect that to your hub. If it’s still dropping out then report a fault at https://faults.plus.net.

[#7]

John

Thanks for your very detailed instructions which I will follow.

Attached is a log from last night showing results of pinging the plusnet DNS every 10 secs over about a 40 minute period.

Simon

[#8]

Here is a rather long reply:

The line seems to have remained up for several hours up to now, but you can see from this graph of ping response time that the speed is all over the place:

Screenshot from Broadband Availability Checker:

Screenshot BTW Performance Tester:

Screenshot from Hub One Helpdesk Information:

Hub One connection status at about 1145 today:

Quiet Line test had no extraneous noise on the line.

Haven't yet checked plugging in to the test socket in the phone master socket.

Simon

[#9]

@simonc2 Thanks for that detail - very comprehensive. Based on that, I suggest that you raise a Broadband error report via: https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/broadband/, as your connection should be giving you much higher speeds, based on the BTW report. Your highly elevated D/S SNR points to a fault somewhere in the network, which Openreach need to investigate and resolve.

[#10]

@simonc2  You appear to be on an ADSL2+ service, is that sufficient in terms of speed because it doesn't look reliable at all.

The checker shows that you have both FTTC and FTTP available. The FTTC speeds show the maximum speed of 80Mbps so you must be quite close to the fibre cabinet. I have 80Mbps FTTC and have not had any dropouts or speed reductions since getting it nearly 3 years ago so very reliable. FTTP is fibre to the home so even more reliable and with much higher speeds up to 1000Mbps if you want, but lower speed packages are available and cheaper.

You should consider upgrading to a better service.

[#11]

Hi RealAleMadrid

If the connection is reliable then we don't need anything faster than the ADSL2+ we have at the moment. Our service is coupled with a landline and it looks as if the plusnet full fibre services don't include the landline, and they are also more expensive than our current contract.

However, the service we're getting right now doesn't seem to be at the level it should be, so I'll raise a fault report and see where that gets me!

Thanks for your advice.

Simon

Why "RealAleMadrid"? When I lived in Madrid real ale wasn't much of a thing!

[#12]

John

Thanks for your reply. I've raised the fault report.

Where in my reply did you find the information about D/S SNR? I assume SNR is signal-to-noise ratio? Not sure what D/S means.

Simon

[#13]

---

@simonc2 wrote:

Where in my reply did you find the information about D/S SNR? I assume SNR is signal-to-noise ratio? Not sure what D/S means.

Simon

---

Line 8 of the Helpdesk shot, D/S is Downstream, and you are correct about SNR. Please let us know the result of your report.

[#14]

@simonc2  You are correct about FTTP, there is no landline but FTTC still uses the landline and I would expect the lower speed 40/10 service to be very close to your ADSL2+ price.

As for my forum name it is nothing to do with real ale in Madrid but a play on words. It was a friends Fantasy Football team. I do like real ale though.😋

[#15]

John

Update on my broadband line: I reported the fault to plusnet last week and they have now sent a message to say the problem is fixed. I attach the edited correspondence which will mean more to you than it does to me. However, the response times are still very unstable - see the attached graph showing results from pinging every 10 secs for approx 1hour today - and the noise levels are showing as

8. Noise margin:

6.2 / 14.9

Is this acceptable or should I be pursuing this further?

Regards

Simon

PLUSNET FAULT REPORT:

System User

4:57pm, Friday 30 Sep 2022

[Internal]
Fault ID: 826082 was created
- Fault start date was added and set to 30-09-2022
- Service affected was added and set to Broadband
- Fault symptom was added and set to Intermittent
- Engineer visit was added and set to No

System User

4:57pm, Friday 30 Sep 2022

Your support request has been escalated to the correct team for review.

System User

5:00pm, Friday 30 Sep 2022

Your support request has been escalated to the correct team for review.

System User

5:00pm, Friday 30 Sep 2022

We are currently performing tests on your broadband service which will allow us to investigate the problem you've reported.

We'll contact you as soon as we have more information and let you know what happens next.

Plusnet Support - CSC Analyst

5:07pm, Friday 30 Sep 2022

Moving for advisor action.

xxxxx - CSC Analyst

12:20pm, Sunday 2 Oct 2022

Dear xxxxxxx,

We are now placing an order against your broadband service to ensure your settings are optimal for your connection.

• Is address and contact number correct in workplace: Yes
• Fault type: DCN / Speed

Automation Ref: FAULTS1

If you have any questions, please do not update this ticket, but instead contact our support team directly.

Kind regards,

xxxxxx

Plusnet Support - CSC Analyst

9:45pm, Sunday 2 Oct 2022

Dear Mr xxxxxxx,

Order to stable placed but CSQ present. Please resolve.

xxxxx - CSC Analyst

11:16am, Monday 3 Oct 2022

holding for 24 hours to monitor stability of connection



This Question is now on hold until Tuesday 4th October at 7:00am.

Kind regards,
xxxxx

Script User - Automated Script Pool

7:07am, Tuesday 4 Oct 2022

Question [ 228017388 ] is now off hold. Our Support Team will provide a further update soon.

xxxxxxx - CSC Analyst

5:45pm, Tuesday 4 Oct 2022

[Internal]
Fault ID: 826082 updated
- Outcome was added and set to Supplier
- Fault resolved date was added and set to 04-10-2022

xxxxxx - CSC Analyst

9:17am, Wednesday 5 Oct 2022

**INTERNAL**
Working ticket



Kind regards,
xxxxx

xxxxx - CSC Analyst

9:21am, Wednesday 5 Oct 2022

Dear xxxxxxx,

Thank you for your patience.

I have tested the line today and can see the fault now seems to be resolved.

I can see from our systems that your router is online and that your connection and speed are all performing within expectations.

If you believe that the issue has been resolved, please do not reply to this message. Instead, please ignore the ticket and it will close automatically in 14 days. This helps us increase our response times for all our customers.

Please do not hesitate to get back in touch online at http://portal.plus.net/wizard or by phone on 0800 432 0200 if we can be of further assistance.