Random DSL dropouts over 4 months, no solution.

[FishFingers33]

Hi. I’ve been having random dsl dropouts over the course of 4 months and I’m at the end of my tether. I have FTTC and it all started with my previous isp, Sky. I would get dsl dropouts once, twice, 3,4,5 times a day at random times, or even no dropouts at all. In all I had 4 Openreach engineers out and although they could see im having an issue they couldn’t pinpoint where it is coming from. They replaced copper cables, master sockets, cable connections, routers etc etc but to no avail. I knew Sky had their own software and equipment at my local exchange so I thought by changing my isp it would eliminate the possibility of Sky causing the issue. Literally 2 days after I started the process of moving over to Plusnet the dropouts stopped for a total of 10 days, the most was 1/2 days between dropouts. Progress, or so I thought. A couple of days before I went live with Plusnet the dropouts reappeared, sigh. I still had my hopes that Sky was the issue but sadly a day or 2 after I went live with Plusnet they started happening again, so that ruled out Skys equipment as a possible explanation. Openreach came out again (5 in total and counting….) and again redone 2 connections, one at the cabinet and one on a joint somewhere down the road leading to the cabinet. This was 2 days ago and I’ve had one dropout very early this morning (attached), but that COULD be something Plusnet has done, who knows. 
Im starting to think there’s a possibility of a RF interference issue causing this to happen, but I’m more than aware trying to find the culprit is more than impossible. Saying this Openreach has said it’s unlikely as I have minimal errors showing on the line, if a RF issue is present a lot of errors would be present. However, every time Openreach turn up they still find something to try, even though it feels as though they’ve exhausted all avenues of repair. I’m really at a loss as what to do. It’s been fine for 8 years of me living here, but something has obviously changed  

[FishFingers33]

Just had a chat with a rather helpful chap from Plusnet and he’s arranged for a Circet engineer to visit, he said he can check for any issues in my property that could be causing my issue. I’ve never even heard of Circet, anyone had any dealings with them? 

[jab1]

@FishFingers33 Looks like BT Group have stopped using Qube, who they used to sub-contract this kind of work to. To be honest, reading your initial post, I have no idea what they think this visit is going to achieve, apart from further frustration for you.

The information on there clearly shows a problem in the OR circuit - second line of your event log, and the D/S noise margin is elevated, another sign of a network issue.

[FishFingers33]

Thanks for your reply. What’s the OR curcuit? Do you mean Openreach circuit? My noise margin is currently 6.0/6.8, I presume that’s quite low? I mentioned  the NR to an Openreach engineer on Wednesday and he said it’s fine. 

[MisterW]

and the D/S noise margin is elevated,

Looks like the line is provisioned on a 40/10 profile, that could explain why the ds margin is elevated. Given that, it really shouldn't be dropping out, so there is likely a fault somewhere.

[FishFingers33]

It’s remarkable that so far 5 engineers have failed to find it. I’m hoping this other engineer might have more luck…

[jab1]

---

@MisterW wrote:

and the D/S noise margin is elevated,

Looks like the line is provisioned on a 40/10 profile, that could explain why the ds margin is elevated. Given that, it really shouldn't be dropping out, so there is likely a fault somewhere.

---

Fair enough - but, because I've seen it before but never queried it - what, if anything is the significance of the (Error - no carrier ) comment in the error log?

[MisterW]

@jab1 the No carrier is a DSL drop.

It's strange that with the DS margin at 7.6 there is headroom and therefore errors are unlikely. I don't doubt there's a line issue somewhere but its probably an intermittent fault.

[jab1]

Thanks, @MisterW . Should have realised really.

[FishFingers33]

It is an intermittent drop, a very random intermittent drop at that. The Openreach engineers are convinced it’s somewhere between the cabinet and my home, and not within my home itself. Would those stats show this at all?

[jab1]

@FishFingers33 Yes - as I think I said up-thread, line two of your error log shows a fault, which, now I've been reminded what the error message means, suggests strongly the fault is in the OR network - i.e. outside your home/control.

[FishFingers33]

I’m starting to think Openreach, or the engineers I have been having, have no idea what the router stats mean. Although I would guess their equipment would show stats of my line?

[jab1]

@FishFingers33 They probably do know what your error log is showing, but if the line is stable during a visit, random faults are hard to trace.

[FishFingers33]

True, but there’s a finite amount of things to do to solve it, imo it shouldn’t take what is now 6 visits.

[Welpz]

Sounds almost identical to my issue currently. Bunch of dropouts and an absurdly low sync rate at the same period every day but outside of this time an otherwise perfect line. Up to 5 engineer visits with no real improvement or end in sight.