PPPoE dropping constantly

[#1]

This started occurring a couple of weeks ago where I noticed my connection was down and had to reboot my modem (bt openreach) and router (ubnt edgerouter x) to bring it back up again. then it would be fine for a day or two then it would go down again. 

since then though the issue has got more and more frequent and since monday morning it is now at the point of being practically unusable for most tasks. 

Having done some digging it seems that the PPPoE connection is dropping but all lights on the modem remain lit and the edgerouter struggles to clear the connection and reconnect. I have found a script for the ER-X that detects when this happens and will clear the connect and re-connect when it notices the PPPoE interface does not have an ip address.

This now saves me having to power cycle the router every few minutes but the problem remains that the PPPoE connection is going down as often as every 5 minutes.

This evening I did notice that if trying to pull a lot of data down the line (youtube video) then the disconnects are much more frequent and if i leave the line idle it can sit for a couple of hours and remain active.

the settings for the router have remained unchanged since joining in dec 2016 and up until now has been rock solid so it feels like a router config issue (asides from being a bit [-Censored-] at reconnecting if the line drops) isn't the most likely culprit.

I should also add that even with the reconnect script I occasionally will hit a patch where I just get stuck with "Timeout waiting for  PADO packet" every 1m15s and it generally wont go away until I power cycle everything and wait for the connection on the line to clear itself.

I'm due to begin 2 new contracts where I'll be working from home this week so the timing for this could not be at all worse and I literally can't do anything more than browse a handful of webpages at a time with the connection.

[#2]

The Openreach modem may be faulty if it is particularly old, or there is a line problem you are not aware of. 

eg. Have you checked your voice line for any noise on the line?

If the Openreach modem is a Huawei HG612, these can be unlocked by flashing firmware to it, so you can gain access to line stats via the LAN 2 port.

The Openreach ECI modem can't be unlocked as easily.

Have you tried the modem at the engineer's test socket buried inside the BT master socket?

Ideally, you need to try another modem-router, such as a Hub One, to rule out hardware faults too.  The Openreach modems are discontinued.  Plusnet may (or may not) be able to offer a free Hub One for the cost of postage.

A Plusnet rep should be able to see if there are any line faults.

[#3]

Thanks for the reply Bill

I've ordered a draytek vigor 130 modem and bookmarked some relevant fixes i may need from on here to ensure a solid connection with that as it has its own issues (doesn't everything these days) and as a backup also ordered a netgear dm200 modem just in case. the draytek arrives tonight so I guess that means this evening I'm dismantling my comms cabinet and re-wiring my network. groan.   

If anyone from plusnet does see this and can confirm for me if there's any potential line issues from what information they have on my line from their end that would also be a big help just in case i'm chasing my tail switching out kit when the fault clearly lies elsewhere.

[#4]

Hi there.

It looks like our business support team picked up your fault ticket 182524686 not long ago.

Unfortunately line tests aren't finding the cause of the problem so we'd need to arrange an engineer visit to further investigate this.

If the DSL light on your modem remains lit and it's just the PPP connection that's dropping, this doesn't sound like a modem issue as the modem is maintaining sync.

I'd recommend trying a different router, do you still have the one we sent you?

Failing this I'd reply to your ticket Here with your availability for an appointment for an engineer to visit.

Feel free to let us know over here if you need further assistance.