New Router

[#1]

Following the direction of the Broadband Troubleshooter, I need to buy a new router to test for an ongoing connectivity fault. I didn't get a new one from Plusnet when I switched; would I still be able to get this? If not can people also please recommend something cheap and effective. I will hopefully be then able to save this router for future presuming my BT Home Hub 2.0A isn't the fault root cause, though at 5 years old I can see this is fully plausible.

[#2]

How long since you joined? If you still have more than 12 months on your contract then you could get one from Plusnet just for the postage, they usually want a new 12 month term when you get one this way. If it's the 2704n then it's a basic modem/router which you can't do a lot with as far as customisation with the current firmware but it's a perfectly good device for testing and has a broadcom chipset. If they can supply the TG582n it's a much more powerful modem/router but to customise it more than some of the settings available through the GUI you'll need to be a bit techy.
I see you've got 2 threads on your connection issues (not sure why you started a 2nd one instead of continuing in the first one) but I'll go and have a look at them to see what's going on.

[#3]

i only have one thread? Not sure what you perceive as second one hehe. i joined in Nov 2013, currently 6mth into a contract which i believe comes up again in november. i have zero technical ability and also have confessedly zero understanding of thebenefits of altering nonbasic settings. 

[#4]

My error  You do have 2, but the other was a year ago which I didn't note initially

[#5]

Pursuant to the above, conx still shaky - can anyone on the Plusnet side advise whether a router from you at postage only is possible?  Then later this week I can either arrange that or research other options ^_^

[#6]

Re: the connection, can you hear/have you heard any crackling or other noises on the line when using the phone? Have you had any problems with incoming or outgoing calls? Try the Quiet Line Test 17070 option 2 if need be.

[#7]

another thing you could check would be the chipset of your dslam, anotherone could probably tell you the telnet code to perform this with and google can tell you what the hex code means, iirc there are several different types the main ones being Infineon, Thompson, Broadcom, texas instruments and a few others, if your voice line doesn't have a fault there might be a problem with the router having a different chipset (it has been known in the past) so knowing the dslam chipset can help you to choose a router based on this.
for instance my exchange has a Broadcom chipset, the Thompson routers have a Thompson chipset and I was getting regular line drops when i bought a Broadcom based router I stopped having those problems (I still get the odd problem but they are far more random rather than daily for hours on end) so whilst it might make no difference it might make the world of difference.

[#8]

Actually, not 100% correct there nanotm. The TG582n has an excellent Broadcom chipset. Problems do sometimes arise with some Texas Chipset linecards usually on 20CN exchanges with the TG582n 8.4.4.J Firmware. This is usually fixed by upgrading the firmware.
All recently supplied TG582n's have the upgraded firmware.
The need to match the Modem chipset with the linecard chipset is generally not the issue it's made out to be. It only tends to occur with a very small number of "awkward" lines - and there's no reliable way of knowing what might be an awkward line.
I'm hoping one of the CRT members will advise on the Plusnet modem/router options for TheArbiter1985.

[#9]

Sorry for the delay in responding.
We can supply a new router to you, but it would generally be £40 plus P&P or we could give you new contract and the router itself wouldn't cost.

[#10]

So if I want a new router that might not even solve my problem (since my drops are so random that router fault seems statistically unlikely), I have to extend contract despite regular line issues. If the line is the problem this does not benefit me since I arbitrarily lose flexibility over choice of service. If I don't, and somehow this random stuff is the router, I get charged for callout. If I do nothing about my service I suffer conx issues that interfere with my earning online from poker. So every option to investigate what seems most likely to be line faults, ends up costing me through no fault of my own. I guess I'm responsible for the line then, looks like I'm best off doing nothing because otherwise I can see me testing a new router, finding out its the line, and being locked into a contract just to have expected line quality guaranteed. Never mind plusnet.

[#11]

Keep a log of line drops by date date/time - it may indicate some periodicity which would allow you to tie it down to internal or external events.

[#12]

Jeremy's suggestion is worth doing. Also unfortunately HomeHub's do have a bit of a reputation (thanks to BT), so whether this is the cause is difficult to say.
Sometimes eliminating the cause of issues is only achieved by trying an alternative modem/router.
Have you considered getting a Plusnet one from Ebay there a few TG582n's there some at excellent prices and one or two new! I wouldn't go for the 2704n, it's quite locked down and doesn't have the same potential for diagnostics. Despite the odd comment I've seen on there, TG582n's aren't locked to Plusnet, but do have Plusnet customised firmware.