Low SNR on FTTC causing very low speeds and connection drops.

[#1]

Had a surprise visit from an Openreach engineer today.  It seems that Plusnet send out engineer requests without telling me as this has happened before.  Good job my wife was in today!

I'd reported a noisy line and frequent broadband disconnections which still appear to be happening after the visit as the engineer wasn't able to prove any issues during his time here.  Typically when he left it dropped off pretty quickly.

Is it possible to get one of the connection report graphics that shows when the connection has dropped?  Think I've had one on here before.  Sadly I fear Openreach will never replace the awful degrading aluminium infrastructure around here and we'll have to wait for fibre to the home/premises to arrive in whenever!

[#2]

@Wilsonline,

An engineer was issued out as you logged into the portal and logged this ticket as a fault. It's automatically raised this to Openreach and when they've tested their line test has failed and issued it out to an external engineer. We have no part in ordering eternal engineers. If Openreach's line tests fail it's an automatic process, if they then deem it necessary on the day to try and gain access to your premises they will try to. If they can't gain access and feel they need to they return the fault back to the ISP (in this case us) to book an appointed visit, agreed with the end user (you). 

The connection graph is below;

The very poor drops yesterday tally up with the visit times that happened, but aside from that the connection is quite poor. To be honest I'm not sure that engineer actually did anything, there are no notes to confirm anything other than the line tests that are required to complete the job.

When I've tested it there's a dreaded 3DB marker against the profile which I reckon might be causing the issues currently frustrating it didn't get picked up yesterday. There's a trial to reset 3DB lines but your line isn't eligible so to get that resolved I'm sorry to say I'll need to book an appointed visit and put on some specific notes. Though as you said the Aluminium is probably not helping matters in your case.

[#3]

Thanks Jolo.

I think the engineer just ran some tests that came out OK to him and that was it.

What's the 3DB marker bit?  Is that an awful signal to noise level note?

[#4]

Hi @Wilsonline

The 3db SnR ratio might be an issue depending on the length of your line etc.

I can see that my colleague in the faults team tried to contact you to discuss the connection on a ticket here. As things stand, I'd agree with his assessment that its probably worth monitoring the connection for a few days before we send a further engineer.

Feel free to provide updates here, or via your fault ticket and we'll go from there.

Best wishes

Dave

[#5]

Is it possible to have a diagnostic report of my connection again? The broadband has been on and off frequently over the last couple of days.

[#6]

@Wilsonline,

Your GEA and connection logs are above. On the 'parameters' section of the GEA there are a lot of errors that are happening on your line. Personally I'd suggest we go down the route of another fault. 

[#7]

Thanks Jolo.
I'll get it reported.

[#8]

No problem.

Let us know how it goes.

[#9]

Just checked the line and it's crackling away to itself. Few more drops this evening. I have a feeling the wind and rain of the last few days has got into the awful infrastructure around here yet again.

[#10]

Sorry to hear this.

Unfortunately, as our tests aren't showing any external issues the only way we can proceed is to arrange an engineer visit.

If you can respond to the latest update we've just sent we'll get that picked up for you

[#11]

@Wilsonline

I assume you have overhead lines?, if so, lines where branches touch can cause issues.

Not sure who is responsible for clearing the line in the UK, in France the electricity board go around with the cherry picker and the chainsaw to clear the lines, which assists as the telephone lines often use the same posts.

My line, all underground is 200m longer, I get around 20Mbs on download, and the snr settles from 6db to 3db very quickly.

[#12]

Only from the local pole to the house which is clear of any trees. The infrastructure around my area is all aluminium cables from the 1970s and frankly its not up to the job these days.

[#13]

Hi @Wilsonline,

I'm really sorry to hear that you've been experiencing these issues. I've reviewed the fault and I can't see that the ticket we raised yesterday has been responded to as of yet. If you wish to progress with the investigation of this fault we'll need you to read through and respond to this ticket, which can be viewed here.

Please let us know once you've been able to read and respond to the ticket, so that we may pick this back up again as soon as possible.

[#14]

If I follow that link I get to the questions page, but it's blank.  I thought it was an issue with loading on my mobile but it comes up the same on my Surface too.

[#15]

Hi @Wilsonline

Sorry to hear that you can't access the ticket - I'd probably clear the cache on both devices just to be on the safe side. In the interim, here are the relevant parts of the ticket for your convenience:

======

BT wish to send an engineer to your premises to further investigate your home phone fault.

Before we arrange to send an engineer, please see our video help guide below to make sure that you've covered the internal checks requested:

The link is http://youtu.be/7gofRBmT4PU
 

If you are unable to watch the video for any reason the steps are outlined below.

We need to find your master socket, this is often the first telephone point where the line enters your home. If you?re still unsure of what that looks like, we have a guide here - http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/master-socket-guide.shtml

When you've found it you need to make sure it?s working properly:

* Locate your master telephone socket, and unplug all other equipment from the line (ideally, please try this from the test socket (behind the removable front plate of the master socket)
* Now take the corded handset and plug directly into the master socket.
* Pick up your handset and see if you?re still having the same problem.

If you have done all the above checks and the issue is still evident then we can arrange to send an engineer to you. However, if an engineer visits your premises and the issue is found to be caused by your equipment, internal wiring or as a result of damage to BT equipment a charge of ?65 may apply. This is why we advise of the above checks.

If you wish to proceed with an engineer appointment we need the following information:

* Agreement that if the issue is caused by any of the above that you may receive a ?65 charge.
* An alternative contact number preferably a mobile
* Availability should an engineer need to attend the premises, between the hours of 8am-1pm & 1pm-6pm Monday - Friday.
 

============

The ticket would have been the primary method of us recording your availability for an engineer - if you still can't access it after clearing the cache etc, just let us know and we'll give you a call to do this over the phone as an alternative.

Best wishes

Dave