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Unable to connect!

TheMikeFromYork
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎13-08-2009

Unable to connect!

Hi all,
Was going to post this in the "rants and raves" section but thought that was a bit extreme since i've never had any major problems with plus net for the 3+ years i've been with them up till now. I'm on the plus net unlmited broadband plan and i'm happy with the connection speeds and the prices etc.
But on Tuesday i returned from work to find that i had no internet connection at all. Tried the usual of unplugging the routers power cable for a few minutes then plugging it back in etc. Then reset the router and still nothing. Occasionally the "DSL" activity light would flash but no kind of connection was able to be established. Even intermittently.
Gave PlusNet a call for the first time on Tuesday evening (11/08) and call wait time was 10 minutes which wasn't too bad. I got through to someone who i unfortunately didn't take the name of and they asked me all the usual questions and then asked me if the router was plugged into the main phone socket in the house. I replied that it wasn't and had never been in the 3+ years i'd been with plus net and had a relatively stable connection.
I was then told that before they could "progress the fault further" i would need to try plugging the router into the main socket along with a different microfilter. Luckily i had a spare microfiliter to hand. I advised the agent that i could try it in the other socket "right now" and could he stay on the line for the ~ 60 seconds this would take. The agent then told me he would be unable to do that and that i should call back when i'd done this. He didn't give me a reason for this and as this was fairly early on in the saga i didn't press him about it. It was very annoying though.
So immediately after he'd hung up i started calling again as i wandered through to the other room with my router and plugged it into the other socket with a fresh microfilter. Before i'd even pressed the correct options and heard "due to high call volumes the estimated wait time is 15 minutes" i had the router plugged in and powered up in the other socket. Still no luck at all and the dsl light flashed feebly a few times and still could not establish any proper connection.
The next agent i got through to was far more helpful so went some way towards making up for the first call i had made. I'll paste in my "open question" and annotate it now to show the rest of the story up till now.

I assume the 2nd person i spoke to was Richard as he has opened the ticket. He spoke about the switchover from LLU to IPSTREAM Max that had been in progress for some customers lately and he said that this had happened to my account in the early hours of tuesday. I was confident at this point that that must be the source of the problem and we could get something resolved. He said he would get on to the BT engineers about sorting this out and advised me to leave my router plugged in and turned on as it would be normally. So i plugged the router back into the socket it's always been in along with the original microfiliter and went to bed. Checked it in the morning and there was still no connection but went off to work feeling fairly confident.....
Question topic: Your Question | ID: 29654464    Open
[CSA Name Removed] CSC Analyst 8:50pm, Tuesday 11th August 2009
Broadband Fault Checker - Initial checks [ Completed ]
All initial checks have been completed without finding any problems. You now need to visit the Broadband Faults Checker and complete a number of detailed checks to progress your fault further. Please make sure you do this within the next 48 hours, otherwise your Question will close and your fault won't be checked anymore.
[CSA Name Removed] CSC Analyst 8:51pm, Tuesday 11th August 2009
Broadband Fault Checker - Detailed checks [ Completed ]
All questions have been completed by the user.
[CSA Name Removed] CSC Analyst 8:52pm, Tuesday 11th August 2009
The customer has provided the following contact details for the duration of the fault.
Daytime telephone number: ************
Evening telephone number: ************
Email address: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Additional contact info: social hours
[CSA Name Removed] CSC Analyst 8:52pm, Tuesday 11th August 2009
Broadband Fault Checker - Connection checks [ In progress ]
The tests on your broadband connection have now started. Please check this Question in about two hours to see the results of the tests.
Script User Automated Script Pool 8:52pm, Tuesday 11th August 2009
Plus.net Heavy FRIACO dialup (0808 9933270) component added to account
Script User Automated Script Pool 9:05pm, Tuesday 11th August 2009
Broadband Fault Checker - Connection checks [ Completed ]
The Connection checks have now completed
Test result summary: Pass
We have completed tests on your broadband service. Unfortunately we could not find the cause of your connection problems.

Please confirm that the problem is still happening. If you have an intermittent connection, please provide details of the times when you could not use your broadband. We will report your problem to BT and carry on our checks.

Thank you for your patience!
Script User Automated Script Pool 9:06pm, Tuesday 11th August 2009
This ticket has been returned to the customer for their attention
Your comment 10:00am, Wednesday 12th August 2009
[Color=black] So when i got to work i logged on and checked the status of the ticket and found that it had been returned to me to comment on

It says that the line tests have "passed" but the router is still not connecting. Is there anything else i need to do or are your engineers checking things at your end? The agent i spoke to on the phone yesterday said it looks like there had been a problem with the product switch
[CSA Name Removed] CSC Analyst 10:22am, Wednesday 12th August 2009
*moving to correct pool and testing*
Kind regards,
[CSA Name Removed]
[CSA Name Removed] CSC Analyst 11:42am, Wednesday 12th August 2009
*internal*
Line test results


Circuit information: Upstream link info Downstream link info
Description : Not in synch - suggest cct reset and line test.
Loop_loss Cell_count
n/a 0

Loop_loss Cell_count
n/a 0
Current line rate Line rate change timestamp Maximum Stable Rate Recalcuated Profile timestamp Maximum Stable Rate
7150 2009-08-11T20:25:55 N 2009-08-11T00:00:00 2272
Copper line test:
Test Outcome : Premature Termination
Description : Test Failure - Please Retry - if unsuccessful report problem to OR via a Trouble Report
Diagnosis Code: DS05
MFL : DT
More diagnostics required Line test failure. Algorithm unable to continue.
Need to confirm EU CPE powered up / functioning correctly.



Kind regards,
[CSA Name Removed]
[CSA Name Removed] CSC Analyst 11:45am, Wednesday 12th August 2009
Dear Mr France,
I have called and left a message to either check this ticket or call us for an update. We need to confirm that the modem/router is powered up and plugged in, as the test results are stating this may not be the case.
Please either update this ticket confirming if the modem was left powered up and will remain as such for further testing or call the support team and update us and we will test/advise further.
Kind regards,
[CSA Name Removed]
At this point i was slightly annoyed that the only thing the system had thrown up so far was "are you sure you've plugged it in?"
Your comment 11:48am, Wednesday 12th August 2009
Modem was left connected and powered up this morning when i left for work. It was still doing the same thing of occasionally flashing the "dsl" light but not being able to connect permanently. Unless theres been some kind of power outage at the property (which i doubt) then the modem is definately plugged in and turned on.
As i was reduced to only having an internet connection at work i called them when i got home to see what was happening with the tests they had been doing since i had confirmed to them that yes i had left it plugged in and turned on as per their instructions on tuesday night...... After a long pause from the agent i was fairly aggreived to hear that "it looks like nothing has been done with this, But don't worry i'll escalate it". I asked for a likely timescale and was told it may be looked at tonight but would probably be in the morning. I thought this was reasonable to be honest and despite the slight annoyance at "nothing being done" i thought that "escalate" sounded like a nice important buzzword so i was willing to forgive a few human errors and move on.
[CSA Name Removed] CSC Analyst 8:03pm, Wednesday 12th August 2009
[internal]
Customer called in, turns out the fault is actually intermittent synch, confirmed master socket checks, escalating accordingly.
Kind regards,
[CSA Name Removed]
Your comment 12:31am, Thursday 13th August 2009
Dear Mr Michael France,
We have asked our wholesale broadband suppliers to turn interleaving on on your phone line to try and fix your current broadband problem.
Interleaving is a form of error correction that helps to improve the stability of high-speed broadband. One drawback of interleaving is that it can increase ping times, which may cause problems for online gamers.
We think that turning on interleaving may help with your connection problems. Interleaving usually takes 24 hours to turn on, but can take up to 5 days to take effect.
If interleaving solves your problem, please close this Question. If you are still seeing problems with interleaving switched on, please return this Question to us with as much detail about your problem as possible. Thank you for your time and patience.
Kind regards
PlusNet Customer Support
The above question update is what greeted me when i got into work this morning and was able to check the internet. Very perturbed by the response as the comment about "intermittent synch" made by the agent i talked to on the phone seems to suggest that my connection is intermittent and that i am able to access the internet sporadically which unfortunately is not the case. I have been telling plus net since tuesday evening that despite whats flashing on the router there is no connection at all. I checked my own internet usage stats and not a singe KB has been registered as transferred since tuesday morning.
I may be way off here but its my understanding that interleving is a way of improving the stability of a connection as opposed to restoring it completely? I seriously doubt that the proposed solution below will magically restore a connection but obviously if it does i shall have my humble pie served warm with custard....

Your comment 10:07am, Thursday 13th August 2009
So there's no fault you've managed to find on the line at all? When i left for work this morning i again left the modem turned on and the dsl light wasn't flashing at all and hasn't done so since yesterday morning as far as i can remember.
I find it worrying that the previous note by [CSA Name Removed] quotes that "the problem is infact intermittent synch" when i have stated since tuesday evening that there is no internet connection at all.
Also how will i know when interleaving has been switched on? Or is it that you are asking me to wait up to 5 days before i call you back and say that i still have no connection.
Finally, as noted in my 2nd call to yourselves on tuesday night. I have no internet access at home now due to the fault so it would be helpful if you could text me when you have an update as well as updating this help question. [/color]
So basically........since tuesday evening plusnets solutions seem to be "are you sure it's turned on?" and "We'll try interleving....call us back in 5 days"
I'm not hugely happy about this since i find it more than coincidence that the changeover to IPSTREAM has fallen pretty much exactly as my connection has been cut off.
Any thoughts?
Sorry for the long post
Mike France
dick:red CSA names removed as per link:rules
5 REPLIES 5
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Unable to connect!

Hi Mike,
A couple of explanations - the fault was moved because it was raised initially as an authentication fault (i.e. in sync but unable to connect on your plusnet username). It was moved to intermittent disconnections (although you're right there, it should have been moved through to no sync) and all sync faults have interleaving applied in the first instance as this can solve a lot of sync issues.
I'll pick this up and raise it for you now as a line test has shown some very odd results - for example there's no line rate or noise margins shown and the maximum stable rate and fault threshold rate (the top and bottom limits of your connection speeds) are both set to 2272kb/s.
I'll pass this up to our suppliers now and you should be updated shortly.
TheMikeFromYork
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎13-08-2009

Re: Unable to connect!

Great, Thanks for the update and apologies for forgetting to remove CSR names in my post. Was just getting a bit worried about the interleving comments and the lack of updates today.
Thanks again.
Mike France
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Unable to connect!

No worries at all, I can understand your concerns. We'll do what we can to get this sorted sharpish for you Smiley
TheMikeFromYork
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎13-08-2009

Re: Unable to connect!

Yeah, just had a response quoting 48-72 hours whilst BT have a look at it too. Luckily i have Scunthorpe United's first home league game to occupy me this weekend otherwise i'd be really bored
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Unable to connect!

Don't worry, it's never that long in practice.