HubOne Connection breaking firmware update

[#1]

I am posting this in case anyone else has had the same issue as me, and is also having as much trouble getting an answer out of Plusnet's technical team.

I was without connection from 10/08/2017 until 15/08/2017 when all of a sudden things started working.

I am still awaiting an update on the ticket i raised for this but i have noticed that the day before my connection issue the firmware on my router was updated by Plusnet 

From the logs on my HubOne i can see the previous firmware version...
22:52:39, 05 Aug. ( 29.840000) System up, firmware version: 4.7.5.1.83.8.226

and the latest firmware version.
Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.237.2.2 | Last updated 09/08/17

It seems as if they have fixed the issue on their side as the firmware version has not been further upgraded.

I will update this post when my ticket has had a response.

[#2]

It's not only the firmware that updated. The new FW release has different DNS servers embedded into it. In my case, it actually makes connection worst presumably because of this.

[#3]

Tad concerning, however we're not aware of any 'connection breaking' issues related to the recent firmware update. In fact, it contains very little (if anything) that affects the operation of either the DSL or PPP negotiation layer.

Neither does it have new DNS resolvers embedded into it. The DNS addresses are assigned by the remote server when first connecting and the only thing that has any bearing on them, is the endpoint you're connecting to, and whether or not you've ever enabled our Safeguard parental controls feature.

@d8smt, perhaps you can share details of the DNS servers you were assigned pre and post update?

[#4]

Hi Bob,

interesting about the firmware update. Maybe it won't fix my connection cutoffs then.

Pre-update, DNS servers assigned were 212.159.13.49 & 212.159.13.50

Post-update, they are 212.159.6.10 & 212.159.6.9

THere are significant delay/connection issues with internet sites that I have experienced since the upgrade, not constant but enough that it is highly noticable & I was rebooting the router regularly until I noticed the DNS changes. Luckily I have 3 PlusNet HubOnes, 2 were upgraded and 1 wasn't: switching back to the old one improved the site connection no end, so I assume this is either a DNS issue or a firmware issue. That being said, things have improved in the last 1-2 days significantly with site loading/connection speeds.

I was led to believe by support that the firmware upgrade would improve my connection dropoffs (up to several times a day) that I've been having since upgrading to the 76Mbps service, across all of my Plusnet routers (I have 3 different ones I am trying).. Interestingly enough, when I put the old BT/Huawei fibre modem & DLINK router back on the line (with Google DNSs), these cutoffs diminish significantly.

[#5]

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@d8smt wrote:

interesting about the firmware update. Maybe it won't fix my connection cutoffs then.

Unless they're related to periods of heavy upload utilisation then no, it won't.

Pre-update, DNS servers assigned were 212.159.13.49 & 212.159.13.50

Post-update, they are 212.159.6.10 & 212.159.6.9

Nothing unusual there. Plusnet's DNS addresses have always been 212.159.6.9, 212.159.6.10, 212.159.13.49 and 212.159.13.50. You'll normally be assigned either the first two or the latter two in pairs. They're anycast addresses in that they don't always necessarily route to the same location. As mentioned in my last post, it depends how your Internet session is being routed  across our network.

If you have ever turned Safeguard on, you'll have the pair of DNS addresses 213.120.234.42 and 213.120.234.38.

THere are significant delay/connection issues with internet sites that I have experienced since the upgrade, not constant but enough that it is highly noticable & I was rebooting the router regularly until I noticed the DNS changes. Luckily I have 3 PlusNet HubOnes, 2 were upgraded and 1 wasn't: switching back to the old one improved the site connection no end, so I assume this is either a DNS issue or a firmware issue. That being said, things have improved in the last 1-2 days significantly with site loading/connection speeds.

Which sites in particular, and how exactly do these delays manifest themselves? Are we talking seconds/minutes? Does it happen over wired  and wireless connections. Is it specific to certain connected devices?

I was led to believe by support that the firmware upgrade would improve my connection dropoffs (up to several times a day) that I've been having since upgrading to the 76Mbps service, across all of my Plusnet routers (I have 3 different ones I am trying).. Interestingly enough, when I put the old BT/Huawei fibre modem & DLINK router back on the line (with Google DNSs), these cutoffs diminish significantly.

The Huawei modem has a Broadcom chipset. The Hub One has a Lantiq chipset. It's not outside the realms of possibility for one to be more susceptible to a line problem than the other.

[#6]

were talking minutes (typically 1 or 2) to load sometimes (but not always)...if in fact they do. Amazon, BBC, even this site are susceptible...others also but these ones come to mind first. No issues however when I switch routers to use the google DNSs. Quite often we have to reboot the plusnet router because devices in the house can connect to the router but cannot connect beyond (no internet fault message against WLAN). I've had to do this three times this morning already. It's also impossible to stream services like spotify because it can't maintain a connection for any length of time. Log analysis shows no obvious reason.We dont get this on the older firmware plusnet router (but we get constant line dropouts)  or using the DLINK router/huawei modem with google DNSs but until I've figured out how to stop the firmware being auto updated on my last plusnet router (presumably a port block will prevent this?)  I've kept it off the network. Unfortunately the huawei/dlink combo can't cope with video streaming otherwise i'd just seitch to that.

re the router chipset: yes, I had thought of this. Although as yet i'm not convinced we have a line fault, the whole line has recently been changed (18 months ago) and the plusnet line test shows no fault. but it could be a possibility.

[#7]

Thanks for the extra detail. All very odd given the lack of any other reported issues with the firmware

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@d8smt wrote:

We dont get this on the older firmware plusnet router (but we get constant line dropouts)  or using the DLINK router/huawei modem with google DNSs but until I've figured out how to stop the firmware being auto updated on my last plusnet router (presumably a port block will prevent this?)  I've kept it off the network.

I can remove the the device from our management platform if you message me the serial number. That will stop any incremental updates.

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