Service problems since renewing my contract

[#1]

I have been a loyal Plusnet customer for several years. I previously tried BT and Sky but had many problems. Plusnet has been reliable and stable ....up till now!! 

I recently renewed my contract for another 18 months and better average speeds were promised.

However, since renewing, I am getting intermittent problems with the service. I have a fairly complex house and use BT Wholehome to relay the internet around my old 5 storey Georgian terrace. This has also been very reliable and stable.

But I am now getting problems where the BT discs are ok with wifi but not finding internet - ie losing link to the router.

What has changed since my renewal this time!!?

Is it time for a new router, after all this time?

It's a student rental property and if the internet fails - I lose business! So this is critical!! 

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thx

[#2]

@brico  Welcome to the forum.

Unless you upgraded to a faster service then there is no connection between renewing your service with Plusnet and the Openreach broadband speed/service to your house, apart of course from the service continuing.

If you look at it statistically if the average contract length is 18 months then one in eighteen faults will occur within the month following contract renewal.

Are you sure that you are losing the link between the mesh system and the hub? It's far more likely that the hub is losing it's network connection.  What are the hub lights doing?

[#3]

Thanks for the reply.

I was already on the fastest service available in my postcode but the average speeds promised were improved over my previous contract, so it MAY be that some config change was required at the exchange....no idea! It may be coincidence but it seems a logical first question to ask if anything changed since renewal.

Th BT WHolehome system has been super-reliable but it MAY also be the cause. I have the max 6 discs. The hub and associated discs shows steady blue and have a strong wifi signal as usual but connected devices say "no internet", so it seems that the hub is not finding the router - although it is directly connected via ethernet cable. So, I'm thinking that the router is dropping the connection. 

Resetting the hub fixes it. Resetting the router fixes it. 

It may be that the line needs testing - Openreach have been climbing poles in the neighborhood recently! So that could also be the issue!

The usual problem of identifying the failing link in the complex chain of connectivity! But students in the middle of an online lecture aren't really interested in the possibilities - they just blame the wifi (and the landlord!).

Thx

[#4]

Thanks for your post @brico and welcome to our Community Forums.

I'm sorry to see your tenants are having issues with your connection. I can confirm we've made no changes to your service in the last 2 years or more so whatever's causing the issue isn't to do with your renewal that's for sure. 

Testing your line I can see your router's getting around 56mbps with no drops in your broadband for the last 8 days. 

Running diagnostics on your router, it's suggesting a potential WiFi issue with your Whole Home discs.

Can you ask them to try plugging a laptop into the router using an ethernet cable to compare? 

Let us know how it goes.

[#5]

Many Thanks for the response.

I have the Plusnet router configured with wifi switched off, so relying on the pass-through to the BT Wholehome systems to get the wifi around the house. I was advised to do this in order to increase the speed throughput of the router, and it worked when I did it a few years ago. Is the router still up to the task? It's been there for a while now!

The Wholehome systems get around 50mbps to most places in the house and has been quite robust. They are on the latest firmware. The problem is intermittent, so using a laptop directly into the router via ethernet is unlikely to tell us anything, other than what you are saying re speed (56mbps sounds about right - although I thought the latest contract increased the speed commitments (!?). Can you check this please?

What are the diagnostics saying about the wifi?

Thx

B

[#6]

Thanks for getting back to me @brico

Using a laptop plugged into the router direct via ethernet rather than through your Whole Home discs will tell us if there's still an intermittent issue, because if there is then the problem wouldn't be the discs however if things work fine straight to the router, then that may point to an issue with the discs although it'd be a good idea to also try connecting a device onto the router's own WiFi too. Let me know if I've misunderstood or this doesn't make sense? 

You can find a copy of your contract including the minimum guaranteed speed logged on your account as a service notice Here. This was emailed at the time to the address we have on file. 

As part of the new contract I can arrange for a new router to be sent though if you'd want. 

[#7]

Moderator's note(s):

Thread moved from My Account to Fibre Broadband.

[#8]

Hi,

Thanks again for the responses.

Is there an updated router available? Or would you supply the same model as a replacement?

I use all ethernet ports on the current router.

Thx

B

[#9]

Hi @brico,

At this time, the router we'd supply as a replacement would be the same model as the one currently in use.

[#10]

I have reviewed my new contract. I should be getting average of 66mbps and, as you confirm, the speed is only around 56mbps (and in my experience I have never achieved higher than this!). Please can you increase the speed on this line?

I note that from your tests, the service has been stable over the last 8 days, so I will turn my attention to the BT Wholehome system to try to identify the fault.

I'd like also to change the router but only to an upgraded model. As a business customer, I think that is now available? 

Thanks for your assistance

B

[#11]

@brico 

The 66Mbps 'average' is a reference to the average speed that ALL subscribers connected to the Openreach 80/20 service get, not each individual subscriber, such as yourself. All connectionss are different due to the line condition and distance from the fibre cabinet. That is why you are given an estimated range of speeds and a minimum guarsnteed speed for yout particular connection. This speed also only applies to direct connections to an Ethernet port on the Plusnet hub, not wireless connections.

[#12]

Disappointing to get such "weasel words" re speed of the line. It's pretty clear that I'm not getting anything close to the average and haven't been for years. But rather than resorting to the legalese, what can you do technically to help me get close to what others are clearly achieving?

[#13]

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@brico wrote:

I have reviewed my new contract. I should be getting average of 66mbps and, as you confirm, the speed is only around 56mbps (and in my experience I have never achieved higher than this!). Please can you increase the speed on this line?

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As @Baldrick1 has suggested this is an average speed across everybody on our Unlimited Fibre Extra package.

You can check your speed estimates of your individual line Here.

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I'd like also to change the router but only to an upgraded model. As a business customer, I think that is now available? 

---

Unfortunately we aren't yet shipping the Hub Two for a residential account but there's a plan to do so soon. 

If you'd like to upgrade to a business account, I'd recommend speaking with our business customer options team on 0800 013 2632. They're here 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday.

If the Hub One has been working previously for you then there's nothing to suggest another Hub One won't do. That's assuming the current router you have has developed a fault though. 

[#14]

@brico 

I thought I would just make a final comment. @Gandalf  is the expert here amd a Plusnet guru who will do hos utmost to make things better, whenever he can.

I am but another customer and do my best to report/explain what I believe is facts, not a provider of 'weasel words' on behalf of Plusnet. Another fact to consider: upgrading to a business account will not affect the line conditions so why you might get a higher level of customer service it will not make your connection any faster.

[#15]

There is a lot that affects the speed that you can achieve on an FTTC product, most of which Plusnet (or any other ISP can do too much about).  FTTC involves a copper (usually, though there is some aluminum around too) line from the fibre cabinet to your master socket.  This will most likely be in a number of parts that are joined together, either where different cables are needed (such as multiple cores for a number of houses in part network joined to a single cable that runs to the property and such like), or where parts of the cable have been replaced due to a fault.  These cables (or part of them) could be very old as well.

The other main factor is the overall length of the cable run from the equipment in the cabinet to your modem.  These 2 factors combined will determine how much of the required signal can reliably be exchanged over it.  This is basic physics that Plusnet, Openreach or anyone else can't do anything about.  The only way to get better speeds would be to shorten the cable run and/or increase the quality of the cable/joints.  To do that on mass would be very costly and time consuming, but is basically what is happening with the FTTP roll outs which have been going on for many years and will be for many to come.  That is using a different type of cable though as well.

This is why each individual line has it's estimated speed given.