No internet since 11pm on Tuesday 4th August

philmatthews · Aug 05, 2009, 16:40:09

Hi everyone

I can't seem to connect to my IDNet broadband for some reason. I was browsing last night (4th August) and it went off at around 11pm. I thought I'd leave it overnight but it has been like it all today too. I can sometimes get it to "connect" but it will only load certain pages and takes a long time (1 or 2 minutes to load the Google homepage). If I do manage to connect it only lasts a few seconds.

I've checked the filter and the line sounds fine. The router (a BT Voyage 2110) seems to be running correctly. When I run a diagnosis on the connection I get the following:

Test the connection to your local network

Test your Ethernet Connection:   PASS
Test your Wireless Connection:   PASS

Test the connection to your ADSL service provider

Test ADSL Synchronization:   PASS
Test ATM OAM F5 segment ping:   FAIL
Test ATM OAM F5 end-to-end ping:   FAIL

Test the connection to your Internet service provider

Test PPP server connection:   PASS
Test authentication with ISP:   PASS
Test the assigned IP address:   PASS
Ping default gateway:   FAIL

So the problem seems to be with the ATM OAM part but I have no idea what this refers to! The BT line checker shows no problems and my exchange (Weymouth) seems to be OK.

I've tried rebooting the router and leaving it off for a while but have had no luck so far. I haven't installed any softer or hardware recently, it just seemed to go off last night.

My account was upgraded to the ADSL2+ several weeks ago and has been working fine since.

I suspect the problem lies with either BT or the line but I thought I'd check here first as the support is much better from IDNet! :-)

Thank you so much in advance for any tips or advice,
Phil :-)

Rik · Aug 05, 2009, 16:43:46

Hi Phil and welcome to the forum.

There was planned BT maintenance work yesterday evening which took all/most WBC connections down, that was, for most people, around midnight and lasted till 2:44.

Given you've done the obvious things, I would suggest you phone support, 0800 701 200, for help. They will be able to see what's been happening to your connection from their side, which will be the quickest way to resolve it.

philmatthews · Aug 05, 2009, 16:56:30

Thanks very much Rik!

I've called IDNet and they are running some checks there end to get to the bottom of it.

Thanks for such a fast reply, very much appreciated! :-)

Rik · Aug 05, 2009, 16:58:17

Brian's on your case as I type, Phil. You've had 29 disconnections today, but no loss of sync. Do you have a spare router you could try?

philmatthews · Aug 05, 2009, 17:02:03

Unfortunately I only have the one router to test on. I've been connected for around 8 minutes now which is promising! Speed is still too slow to load some sites (they just time out) but hopefully things are picking up!

Rik · Aug 05, 2009, 17:03:58

Brian will be phoning you shortly, it does look like the router might be the issue.

philmatthews · Aug 05, 2009, 21:07:35

After chatting with IDNet it would appear all signs point to the router cutting off shortly after connecting. I've tried a friends old router but it was a very old model and nothing happened! So I purchased a new one (Belkin) this evening and it seems to be doing the same thing as my BT Voyager 2110: sometimes connecting but ever so slowly with many sites timing out before they load.

Any ideas on anything else to try next? The line seems clear and IDNet's side is showing I am getting around 6 - 7 meg connection when in fact it is only 0.08 mbps according to the speed test.

I also purchased a new filter at the same time to check that was not causing the problem!

Could it be a problem at my exchange?

Thanks :-)

JohnH · Aug 05, 2009, 21:27:53

Have you tried rebooting your PC or using another browser to see if it makes any difference?

Simon · Aug 05, 2009, 21:33:38

Hi Phil,

It seems a bit of a coincidence that this has happened immediately after the WBC outage last night (due to BT engineering work - see here), but I can't be certain that's the cause. Have you tried connecting the new router at the test socket (assuming you have one), to establish it's not a problem with your home wiring?

Ultimately, I think you'll probably need to go back to IDNet, and get them to kick someone at BT for you. Unless, of course, someone else has any ideas.

JohnH · Aug 05, 2009, 21:34:35

Developed a stutter, Simon?

Simon · Aug 05, 2009, 22:29:52

W... W... What?

JohnH · Aug 05, 2009, 22:40:42

4Way · Aug 05, 2009, 22:46:46

Quote from: Rik on Aug 05, 2009, 16:43:46
Hi Phil and welcome to the forum.

There was planned BT maintenance work yesterday evening which took all/most WBC connections down, that was, for most people, around midnight and lasted till 2:44.

Given you've done the obvious things, I would suggest you phone support, 0800 701 200, for help. They will be able to see what's been happening to your connection from their side, which will be the quickest way to resolve it.

I too was caught out last night. As it was planned works why weren't customers emailed to let them know?

Simon · Aug 05, 2009, 22:52:29

Because IDNet missed the notification from BT. Apology here.

4Way · Aug 05, 2009, 23:02:14

Thanks Simon

philmatthews · Aug 06, 2009, 00:02:01

Thanks for the tips guys.

I can confirm I've rebooted the computer and tried the router in the main socket in the house too. Seems to have connected just now but still around 0.15 mbps (and I'm worried it will disconnect at any moment!)

I'll give IDNet a call on Thursday morning to see if they can give BT a gentle nudge for me!

Simon · Aug 06, 2009, 00:11:54

Did you actually take the faceplate off the main socket, and use the test socket behind it, Phil? Sorry to press this, but if there's nothing obvious showing at IDNet's end when they test the line, they will ask you to do that, so it's best to be prepared. Also, if you can manage to stay online for long enough, a BT Speedtest might be useful data for them, and you could also post the results here.

Let us know how you get on.

PuncH · Aug 06, 2009, 00:25:41

Ah, wondered why my internet light went red last night!

I just switched my router off and went to bed to try and get some sleep, which didn't quite work out! (see the "I'm a Dad!" thread on IDNatter

)

Simon · Aug 06, 2009, 00:45:04

Yeah, you know that "sleep" thing? Forget it!

PuncH · Aug 06, 2009, 01:32:08

Quote from: Simon on Aug 06, 2009, 00:45:04
Yeah, you know that "sleep" thing? Forget it!

Rik · Aug 06, 2009, 08:40:59

It's only for the next 20-odd years.

Simon · Aug 06, 2009, 12:31:59

And some of them will be very odd!

philmatthews · Aug 06, 2009, 13:04:35

Quick update:

After it appeared my BT Voyager router was the problem I tried a borrowed router (3COM) with no luck so bought a new one last night (Belkin). IDNet can see this one connect but no packets are transferring. It occasionally connects but at a very slow crawl (2 minutes to load Google etc...)

IDNet have advised me the new router I bought last night may be faulty and to go and exchange it for another one so that will be my next thing to try.

A couple of other people in Weymouth have told me they have little or no broadband over the last 48 hours but others have normal connections. Is there anyway I can get in touch with the Weymouth Exchange to get some clarification from them? (the status pages on BT don't seem to suggest any problems)

Rik · Aug 06, 2009, 13:07:48

No, you can only talk to IDNet, Phil, you're not a BT customer. If there's a local issue, IDNet should have been told or be able to find out.

JohnH · Aug 06, 2009, 15:56:20

Quote from: philmatthews on Aug 06, 2009, 13:04:35
Is there anyway I can get in touch with the Weymouth Exchange to get some clarification from them?

It's a bit cheeky, but this might shed some light.

philmatthews · Aug 06, 2009, 16:08:41

Thanks for the link lodge, very much appreciated! :-)

It shows no faults on my exchange. I'm a freelance web designer and I've had 2 clients also based in Weymouth contact me today because there internet connection is down (or very slow) just like mine which was why I was sure it was to do with our exchange.

I've exchanged my router for another Belkin one and it is doing the exact same thing so I'll give IDNet another call and see what they suggest as the next step.

Rik · Aug 06, 2009, 16:12:33

You've had 115 logins today, Phil. Just trying to find out more right now...

Rik · Aug 06, 2009, 16:24:45

Your case is being passed to BT for investigation, Phil. The original two routers were talking, but not holding the connection. The Belkins are holding the connection, but after authentication they are not passing any traffic. It may indicate a chipset incompatibility with the MSAN you're connected to.

philmatthews · Aug 06, 2009, 16:28:21

Thanks for all your help Rik, I appreciate it :-)

Rik · Aug 06, 2009, 16:29:20

NP.

philmatthews · Aug 08, 2009, 13:49:37

Update:

Still no more news :-(

I've have managed to keep a connection long enough to run a speed test:

It has seemed a bit more stable over the last 24 hours (staying with a connection for up to an hour) but it is still around 0.1 or 0.2 mb/s so loading most sites is next to impossible.

It is the hands of BT now I believe (am I right to assume BT won't be doing anything on it over the weekend?) so I am just keeping everything crossed they can find what is causing the fault.

As I need the connection for my job as a freelance web designer I am thinking about getting an old dial up modem just to tide myself over until it is fixed (getting quite a big backlog of clients wanting me to update their sites since the fault developed!) Do IDNet have a dial up connection number I can connect to?

Thanks guys,
Phil

Glenn · Aug 08, 2009, 13:55:01

QuoteDo you provide a back up Dial up service?

Yes IDNet offer a dial up number should you require it. The service is charged as an internet call via your BT phone bill at the standard 0845 'local' call rate per minute. To use the service you must have caller ID enabled on your line.

Dial up number: 0845 6021131

User name/password: enter the same User name and password provided to you for ADSL connectivity.

philmatthews · Aug 08, 2009, 14:24:20

Thanks Glenn

Popping in to town to try and find a dial-up modem....

philmatthews · Aug 08, 2009, 14:53:24

Also, I don't know if this reveals anything new but my results when I ping idnet.com are below.

C:\Users\Phill>ping idnet.com

Pinging idnet.com [212.69.36.10] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Reply from 212.69.36.10: bytes=32 time=1349ms TTL=59
Reply from 212.69.36.10: bytes=32 time=1199ms TTL=59
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 212.69.36.10:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1199ms, Maximum = 1349ms, Average = 1274ms

Rik · Aug 08, 2009, 15:23:42

It reveals something is horribly wrong, Phil, but not much else. As the connection is mission critical for your business, you might want to think about switching to a business package with enhanced care, where BT guarantee fault fixes in hours rather than days.

philmatthews · Aug 10, 2009, 11:04:43

Update: Well, I'm over the moon as the broadband came back yesterday! Not sure what was done to fix it but I am just so glad to have it back!

My router says I am connected at:

ADSL Status Connected
Data Rate Down/Up 6653/447(Kbps)

But the actual speed is copied below:

I'm hoping this will creep up again over time (I normally have around 4 - 5 mbps). But, as I say, I'm just pleased to have broadband back again!

Thanks to IDNet, Rik and everyone who has offered tips and advice on this. Very much appreciated!

Rik · Aug 10, 2009, 11:06:53

It looks like your profile may have dropped, Phil. Can you try a BT speed test?

philmatthews · Aug 10, 2009, 11:20:07

Sure thing. I've run a test at http://speedtester.bt.com/ and copied it below:

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
Your DSL connection rate: 6652 kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 444 kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP profile for your line is - 5000 kbps
Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2098 kbps

If you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP.

If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance.

Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester.

Rik · Aug 10, 2009, 11:21:57

Let support have that result, Phil, it looks like you've joined the band of troubled WBC migrants.

philmatthews · Aug 10, 2009, 11:33:37

Thanks Rik. I've just sent IDNet support an e-mail with all the info.

Rik · Aug 10, 2009, 11:34:04

dujas · Aug 10, 2009, 12:37:12

I'd be interested to see IDNet's figures on how many WBC migrations have succeeded without a hitch versus those that have incurred problems due to BT. As in, are these isolated teething issues, or will these problems continue to manifest as more exchanges are enabled?

Rik · Aug 10, 2009, 12:41:13

Last time I spoke to Simon on the subject, he said that it was a handful of the people who have migrated that are being affected. That's not much consolation if you're on of the handful, of course.

bobleslie · Aug 10, 2009, 12:52:06

Perhaps this will help.