Fluctuating SNR Dropping Connections

[#1]

Is there anything that I or Plusnet can do as regards the fluctuating SNR I have on my lines? It is becoming rather tedious now.

I don’t know what a VR graph would show so if someone could take the time and provide one I’d be grateful.

[#2]

Hi @Anonymous,

Thanks for getting in touch.

Could you give me the last digit of the landline number for the line that this relates to, so that I can narrow this down and take a look for you?

Best wishes,

Dave

[#3]

Hi @RandallFlagg The last digit is 5, for WAN 1 and 2 is 4. Thanks.

[#4]

Thanks for confirming @Anonymous, the visual RADIUS graphs are as follows:

WAN 1

WAN 2

As you can see there are some drops in the connection every now and then and any issues that you're experiencing are most likely a symptom of these drops, although when testing the connection on both lines I can't see any indication of any external faults. As this is the case I would advise to go through our online troubleshooting guides for resolving connection issues which can be found here and here.

Please let us know how this goes and if you continue to experience any further issues so we can investigate further if needs be.

[#5]

@TheMightyAJ, @RandallFlagg - I have done a quiet line test and there is nothing but silence, which is of course a good thing. All of the wires are plugged correctly into their 5C master sockets, I make a point of doing this after the cleaner's been but it’s not so much an issue now as she now uses our cordless vacuums.

As you cannot find anything on the line tests then there is nothing that I nor you can do, but this issue as been ongoing for some time, as my notes may well show. There is something wrong, but what that something is I do not know.

You’ll see from the images that the noise levels has changed with in a matter seconds (see image name for time stamp), in fact the SNR for WAN 2 was at 5 just before I took the first image.

If you have any thought's I'd appreciate them.

[#6]

Hi @Anonymous

Thanks for the additional info.

My only thoughts on this would be that we'd probably ask you to raise a fault if the issues persist.

You can do so here if need be.

Best wishes,.

Dave

[#7]

@Anonymous

Have you tried different modems? Also, what type of cabinet are you connected to? Most people tend to prefer Broadcom based modems, only a small minority of the people on ECI cabinets seem to prefer Lantiq based devices such as your Drayteks.

[#8]

@ejs, I would if I'd had something else but I only have a pair of Draytek 120 -v- the current 130s. As for the cabinet type I don't have a clue and have no idea how to find out.

The only thing I can do for now it to upgrade the Modem's firmware, but that's quite tedious as I have to remove the modems from the cabinet, other than that I have nothing.

[#9]

@Anonymous I have experienced exactly the same problem as you, eratic SNR and the connection dropping several times a day. I am using a Draytek 130 modem like you. I tried the latest firmware V3.8.3 but that didn't help. I referred the problem to Draytek Support and they sent me an updated Beta Firmware version with specific instructions as to how to load the firmware using TFTP mode. I am pleased to report that since updating the firmware as instructed the problem has disappeared and my line is again stable. I would suggest that you try Dratek Support for a solution. Hope this works for you.

[#10]

Thanks for that @Bobengineman, I'll do that first thing on Monday, having just applied the latest firmware it would appear that I wasted my time.

[#11]

@Bobengineman - I've just completed the online contact us regarding the firmware you mention, can you give me the firmware version number please so I can mention it please.

[#12]

@Anonymous I think Draytek run daily updates on their firmware. The version I received was the latest available at the time. It still reports as V3.8.3 so that is not much help. I guess you would receive a later version of the same firmware, whatever is the latest when your query is dealt with.

[#13]

As yet I have had no response from Draytek support as regards the firmware, but I'm thinking that it may well be a red herring.

Looking at the live ping graph for WAN1, you can see there is a fair bit of packet loss and as a consequence(?) the connection keeps resetting, unlike WAN2 which is using the same firmware and has been up since the firmware was upgraded.

Could either @RandallFlagg, @TheMightyAJ or someone please run a test on the line and see what the VR graph for WAN1 reports as something is evidently wrong with this connection.

[#14]

Hi @Anonymous

I've ran some tests on WAN1, and below is the VR and GEA

Test Outcome	Fail
Test Outcome Code	GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_1113
Description	Downstream ES and SES have exceeded threshold from real time check. Continue submitting trouble report
Main Fault Location	CI
Sync Status	In Sync
Downstream Speed	71.6 Mbps
Upstream Speed	18.6 Mbps
Appointment Required	N
Fault Report Advised	Y
NTE Power Status	PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result	Not Run - Unable to run
Bridge Tap	Not Detected
Radio Frequency Ingress	Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise	Not Detected
Cross Talk	Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres	439.0
Upstream Rate Assessment	Low
Downstream Rate Assessment	Good
Interference Pattern	Not Detected
Service Impact	No Impact Observed
Home Wiring Problem	Not Detected
Downstream Policing Discard Rate	0.0
Customer Traffic Level	Upstream and Downstream Traffic Detected
Technology	VDSL
Profile Name	0.128M-80M Downstream 3dB, Retransmission Low - 0.128M-20M Upstream, Error Protection Off
Time Stamp	2018-09-20T17:15:00

I assume you're already connected to the test socket and so on, if so the next step would be to raise this to BT Wholesale. If you can confirm the basic checks are done I'll raise this for you, as it will probably require an engineer.

Finally, WAN2 VR is below. The GEA is fine.

[#15]

Thanks @deank, test have been done so if you can please arrange an engineer for earliest time / day that is available, AM preferred but not fussy.