5 GHz connection dropping out

[#1]

After seeing inside.......maybe.
But TBF I've not seen a single piece of consumer electronics in the last 20 years I would pass through QA at work. But then these routers aren't going on planes or into space........I hope!

[#2]

Do you know what's causing the oxidisation patterns on the board?

[#3]

Was activated on fibre last Thursday.  Everything was running smoothly until last night when my Nokia 3 phone decided to have an authentication error connecting to the wi-fi.  LIke others I am on the 263 firmware.

I have looked at all the threads related to this and tried things suggested. Once I had the phone connected again I thought I would enable the 5ghz sync with the 2.4.  When I tried to connect to the wifi with the phone I got a connection but no internet.

So it looks like its an issue with the 5ghz chip as others have suggested.

May have to look at splitting the networks properly when I have time ( kitchen gitter will be here shortly, to try and finish off what should have been done last week, but wasn't because he was let down by his supplier )

I assume if I do the split I can manually connect to each network (I could on my Asus router with ADSL) ? 

[#4]

Well, seeing 2 separate wifi connections but the 5ghz one connects but has no internet.

May have to invest in another router, as this just isn't any good.

[#5]

It would be nice to have an update on how the investigation into this issue is progressing.

[#6]

@Anonymous it's not oxidation, it's no clean flux residue from the through hole soldering on the connectors.

[#7]

Ive had 5Ghz issues off and on for at least a year. it tends to be devices more than mainstream things like android phone. This afternoon I'm having a big problem with an amazon echo device - a few days ago it was an LG TV. That time I got it working by enabling / disabling 5Ghz in the Hub menu. No luck with that method today, nor with restarting the echo.

I normally reboot my router once a month - as it gets a bit moody running that long  and although my fibre is well below speed estimate its quite stable - but it did reboot a few days ago I see - but that's the one thing I havent tried today.

[#8]

I'm experiencing exactly the same problem. All the devices on 2.4GHz work fine. Devices on 5GHz connect to WiFi, but have no connection to the internet (Pixel 2 on Android 10, Samsung Galaxy S8 on Android 9, HP laptop with Windows 10). 

Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263 | Last updated 30/01/19

[#9]

I've just rebooted my Hub, and rejoined the networks.  My Nokia 3 now finds the network again and is using the 5ghz with internet connection.

[#10]

I started having this problem about 2 months ago, I even managed to get a new hub sent to me after a lot of messing about but the problem is the same connecting to wifi but not the internet. 2 x phones 1 x laptop and 1 x TV everything else is fine. If I turn off 5 GHz everything will connect. My son has just joined Plusnet from BT I set up his new router for him while he was on holiday and everything seemed fine now a couple of weeks later he has the same problem as me. This is not being taken seriously because it is not affecting  everyone, but I think that more people are affected but are not noticing my in-laws for example have 1 mobile phone that is rarley used so if they had this problem it would not show up.

[#11]

Right, I think it's time for me to give a further update on this because Plusnet have chosen not to and a recent post on the forum has wound me up somewhat!

In another thread, this week here https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/No-5g-connection/m-p/1676301#M14172

@bobpullen  said

We know of an issue affecting the 5GHz channel on the latest firmware build, and I'm looking for somebody that can get the router in a 'broken' state and leave it there for a while so we can grab some diagnostics.

At the end of May this year @bobpullen gave me a test firmware to try hoping it would resolve the problem. When it failed on the 17th June I PM'd Bob telling him what had happened and said that I hadn't rebooted the router in case he needed to look at anything first. I didn't get a reply for 9 days by which time I had obviously rebooted. This means that Bob could have had what he is now asking for over three and a half months ago.

Since that time I have told Bob that I have narrowed down what causes the issue for me. I know what causes it but it doesn't happen every time. I think I have now narrowed it down even more. Time the router is up does seem to be part of the equation but I reckon I could recreate it in within a couple of days, maybe sooner. I have deliberately avoided causing the issue when I can in order to save having to reboot.

Despite knowing that, and now apparently needing some logs off a failed router, Bob hasn't contacted me for over 10 weeks.

This still doesn't sound like anyone from Plusnet is actually that interested in resolving this issue.

I have, since Monday, started using a BT HomeHub 6 purchased with funds awarded to me by the Ombudsman through my formal complaint.

I would, however, be happy to go back to using the Hub One and providing Bob with the diagnostics that he needs if he contacts me and we can come to some agreement to make up for the added inconvenience and effort it would take from me.

It's over to you @bobpullen 

[#12]

@NigeBoy 

I remember we both got the option to downgrade in April.
I did get downgraded. [Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.237.2.2 | Last updated 17/04/19]

5GHz has worked flawlessly since.

No idea how much Plusnet need as a clue.  And WHY did they only upgrade my software once in two years, just to break it it March 2019 with v263?

As in, why two years for an upgrade you cannot do yourself as you are reliant on them?
What did Plusnet think I needed to be protected from with the new software at this point in time?
What did Plusnet supposedly fix for me?
Why did Plusnet break 5GHz?

It would be quicker to have a baby that expect the update they do not admit exists.  OK, for a 'few' people.  Like say, three or four.

I'm going to get a cheap Homehub6 rather that wait for the inevitable v263 or worse fix to arrive overnight.

Cheers and congratulations for the cost on your new modem/router.,

Steve

[#13]

Update from me. With DHCP lease set to 21 days and ip6 options turned off, the good news is I have not had to reboot my router in two weeks! With these settings I do still get the same 5ghz dropouts and “no internet” WiFi issues but the important thing is, the router recovers! Leave it a few minutes and everything is fine again so in most cases you don’t even realise the issue has occurred.

Now the bad news! You can see from the router logs that when the issue happens, the router makes a mess all over itself! Continual DHCP lease negotiation every couple of minutes, more so for “wired” devices rather than wireless for some reason and a ton of UPNP port forwarding rules continually being created. When in this state the router will regularly drop the broadband connection every couple of days. This means I have seen my broadband connection take a dive by 8mbps over the last two weeks due to the regular dropouts. All these issues would be completely invisible to the customer unless they happen to spot either the WiFi “no internet” issue or the actual router broadband disconnects in the few minutes in which they actually occur. The only way to “temporarily” restore real order is to power cycle the router.

So @Gandalf, my issue is no longer limited to “wireless” devices as I can get these to remain connected. My issue  has increased in severity as the regular broadband dropouts has caused my line speed to deteriorate which affects both “wireless” devices (which you don’t support) as well as “wired” devices (which you do support). Please advise what Plusnet will do to assist a long time, loyal, paying customer.

Thanks,

Russ.

[#14]

Ah - so maybe that's why my line speed has dropped a lot since I had to upgrade to version of the firmware!  

I guess keeping the 5GHz turned off is the answer. But it does mean I now need an engineer visit to fix a speed problem caused by faulty Plusnet Firmware.

[#15]

Hi @Russkinguk 

I've just ran a GEA test on your line and your profile is right where it should be at 80/20, dropouts have not caused DLM to kick in.

You are syncing at 66.7Mbps which is at the highest end of the DSL Checker estimates for your line:

Test OutcomePass

Test Outcome CodeGTC_FTTC_SERVICE_0000

DescriptionGEA service test completed and no fault found .

Main Fault LocationOK

Sync StatusIn Sync

Downstream Speed66.7 Mbps

Upstream Speed19.8 Mbps

Appointment RequiredN

Fault Report AdvisedN

NTE Power StatusPowerOn

Voice Line Test ResultPass

Bridge TapNot Detected

Radio Frequency IngressNot Detected

Repetitive Electrical Impulse NoiseNot Detected

Cross TalkNot Detected

Estimated Line Length In Metres596.9

Upstream Rate AssessmentVery Good

Downstream Rate AssessmentVery Good

Interference PatternNot Detected

Service ImpactNo Impact Observed

Home Wiring ProblemNot Detected

TechnologyVDSL

Current 15Min Bin Retrains0

Last 15Min Bin Retrains0

DP TypeExternal

Profile Name0.128M-80M Downstream 3dB, Retransmission Low - 0.128M-20M Upstream, Error Protection Off

In regards to power cycling the router to temporarily fix issues, we are only seeing 2 drops in connection in the past 7+ days of service history, are you having to cycles the route more than we are recording? 

Thanks, 

MoR