Random disconnections from the internet

[RandomGeeza]

Absolutely at my wits end with the random and periodic discons from the internet.

To bullet-point the facts:

Issues started around mid to end February 2013. The first day, I lost connection for a number of hours. I note that snow was heavy and, at first I put it down to weather issues.
Since then, I have suffered repeated disconnections, some for a while, others for seconds, some for a few minutes. With no real pattern visible except... (please read on).
iDNet have tested the line over and over, and have had a "no known fault" repeatedly returned. And yet the disconnections continue.
((In fact, whilst talking with Nick today, shortly after that conversation another random drop-out occurred)).
I have tested with my legacy router, a NetGear DGN2000, which has been stable as a rock until this situation created doubt over its workability.
I have also been and bought a new NetGear DGN2200v3 (which was returned to the shop for a replacement, in order to be sure that the unit wasn't faulty when the same drop-outs occured).
I am now using a different NetGear DGN2200v3. With daily logs being recorded so that i can try to identify what it is.
New filters have been fitted, new cables. Test socket etc. etc. etc.
I have also done a number of quiet line tests... and am constantly monitoring performance on BTW-PT.
I have unplugged each peripheral, one by one; NAS device, NetGear Powerline, Networked Digi TV box, cordless phone. In an attempt to drill it down.
And yet I still get the drop outs.

iDNet have advised to go down the BT Engineer route, albeit, I have no confidence in BT or their Engineers, hence I use iDNet. And to be truthful, given the potential to incur a charge of £150, I am reluctant to agree to it.

I am beginning to suspect REIN interference, because the issue never happens during the weekend and always seems to kick off on a Monday, and persists through to a Friday. This is the only identified pattern.

The likelihood of all three routers being faulty, along with the supplied cabling and filters is highly unlikely. I have the router set as per iDNet's instruction and can even recite, from memory, the IP addresses, DNS gateways etc, because of the number of times I have checked, double checked and triple checked all of the settings.

I really am looking for some advice on what next to do and what to expect if an BT Engineer investigation is agreed too? I simply cannot afford to lose £150 if an Engineer were to imply that the issue is mine and not theirs. And yet, as per Nick's advice today, "if you've done everything we've asked, then you have nothing to worry about". Sadly, I don't trust BT and can imagine them trying to scab the money, just for the sake of it.

Many thanks, in advance....

Edit: More info.

[Steve]

 

Frustrating times, not sure what else you can do, it is a worry that it appears to be stable at the weekend, my fear is that BTw will find no fault as well but do you have any other choice but to get an engineer round.

[Simon]

I'm having similar issues, also with a 2200v3.  I'm currently thinking of changing the router, as I can't think what else it could be.

[RandomGeeza]

Frustrating times, not sure what else you can do, it is a worry that it appears to be stable at the weekend, my fear is that BTw will find no fault as well but do you have any other choice but to get an engineer round.

Looks like I spoke way too soon, just checked my log and found a whole spate of drop-outs this evening. So, my thoughts about it possibly being REIN from the factory behind where I live is doubtful now, as the factory is shut. 

[DSL: Down] Friday, April 05,2013 22:48:33
[DSL: Up] Friday, April 05,2013 22:48:12
[DSL: Down] Friday, April 05,2013 22:47:25
[DSL: Up] Friday, April 05,2013 22:47:13
[DSL: Down] Friday, April 05,2013 22:46:24
[DSL: Up] Friday, April 05,2013 22:46:12
[Internet disconnected] Friday, April 05,2013 22:45:30
[DSL: Down] Friday, April 05,2013 22:45:26

This really is starting to drive me crazy!!!

Have unplugged everything baring the router. The whole shabang. No phone line, printer, NAS, TV connection... will continue to monitor and may try swapping the router back to the DGN2000. Although, past experience tells me that I am pi55ing in the wind.

[RandomGeeza]

Looks like I spoke way too soon, just checked my log and found a whole spate of drop-outs this evening. So, my thoughts about it possibly being REIN from the factory behind where I live is doubtful now, as the factory is shut. 

[DSL: Down] Friday, April 05,2013 22:48:33
[DSL: Up] Friday, April 05,2013 22:48:12
[DSL: Down] Friday, April 05,2013 22:47:25
[DSL: Up] Friday, April 05,2013 22:47:13
[DSL: Down] Friday, April 05,2013 22:46:24
[DSL: Up] Friday, April 05,2013 22:46:12
[Internet disconnected] Friday, April 05,2013 22:45:30
[DSL: Down] Friday, April 05,2013 22:45:26

This really is starting to drive me crazy!!!

Have unplugged everything baring the router. The whole shabang. No phone line, printer, NAS, TV connection... will continue to monitor and may try swapping the router back to the DGN2000. Although, past experience tells me that I am pi55ing in the wind.

And it went abso crazy last night. Had to call 'out of hours' to see if we could test the line whilst it was happening. Frustratingly, the line tests completed, literally, nano seconds after the episode. And, as per, came back with nothing. However, the exchange test that was done was described as taking a long time to complete.

And this was with everything disconnected...?

[Internet connected] IP address: XXX.XXX.X.X, Saturday, April 06,2013 01:57:00
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:56:47
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:55:42
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:55:32
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:54:43
[admin login] from source XXX.XXX.X.X, Saturday, April 06,2013 01:54:36
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:54:30
[admin login] from source XXX.XXX.X.X, Saturday, April 06,2013 01:53:54
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:53:44
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:53:32
[DHCP IP: (XXX.XXX.X.X)] to MAC address XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX, Saturday, April 06,2013 01:53:26
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:52:42
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:52:30
[admin login] from source XXX.XXX.X.X, Saturday, April 06,2013 01:52:21
[admin login] from source XXX.XXX.X.X, Saturday, April 06,2013 01:52:10
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:51:43
[admin login] from source XXX.XXX.X.X, Saturday, April 06,2013 01:51:42
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:51:31
[admin login] from source XXX.XXX.X.X, Saturday, April 06,2013 01:51:02
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:50:41
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:50:29
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:49:42
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:49:30
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:48:40
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:48:31
[DSL: Down] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:47:42
[DSL: Up] Saturday, April 06,2013 01:47:30

Haven't had any further drops, on checking this morning. Again, everything unplugged, and in the Test socket...

At a loss...?

[Stevescat]

Similar disconnections happened to me, it's a nightmare. Just out of the blue when my connection is usually very stable. Bought a new router, and all seemed well. Have experienced this again but thankfully only for a day. Constant disconnections every few minutes. You say you did quiet line tests, was there noise? When I did them I could hear pops and crackles, obviously noise coming from somewhere, but where, who knows. Then all back to normal for me, OK ever since. I can only sympathise with you, hope you get a solution soon.

Steve

[Simon]

Could the timing last night suggest exchange work, perhaps? 

[Gary]

All this seems very familiar  I'm back to getting my BT mate to get logs now as BTw just want to send out a third engineer and tbh unless they are here when it happens nothings going to get done even after the last engineer suggested another lift and shift and my line transferred to a pole instead of the underground cable since I have a pole across from me as I'm right in the middle of the start of the underground cable and the end of the BT phone poles. Also having crackles on my line as well. I wonder if its the huge amount of work being done for FTTC causing this, my so called non intrusive tests actually knocked out my phone line as well 

[Gary]

Could the timing last night suggest exchange work, perhaps? 

Check Zens site, you can put in your area code and see any faults or maintenance work. http://status.zen.co.uk/broadband/

[RandomGeeza]

Similar disconnections happened to me, it's a nightmare. Just out of the blue when my connection is usually very stable. Bought a new router, and all seemed well. Have experienced this again but thankfully only for a day. Constant disconnections every few minutes. You say you did quiet line tests, was there noise? When I did them I could hear pops and crackles, obviously noise coming from somewhere, but where, who knows. Then all back to normal for me, OK ever since. I can only sympathise with you, hope you get a solution soon.

Steve

Hi, no noise on the QL Tests... as quiet as a daisy, and also did one whilst the connection threw a benny last night, again. No noise.

As for works, could be... ? Although 'out of hours' reported nothing on this, even when I asked.

Have just checked stats for the connection and have replaced the CAT5 with a bog standard lead. Have seen a jump in the Line Sync and my IP Profile...

ADSL Link   Downstream   Upstream
Link Rate   10207 Kbps   1119 Kbps
Line Attenuation   36.5 dB   21.2 dB
Noise Margin   6.1 dB   6.8 dB

IP Profile now at 9.01

Looks like another waiting game to see if it goes again with the new lead, and everything unplugged... This happened last week with over 130 hours uptime and then just when I thought it was sorted it started again.

GRRRR

[RandomGeeza]

Check Zens site, you can put in your area code and see any faults or maintenance work. http://status.zen.co.uk/broadband/

As suspected, nothing reported on any of the areas checked. Thanks for the link...

[Gary]

As suspected, nothing reported on any of the areas checked. Thanks for the link...

No worries, looks like my area code has some work coming up on the 12th for a possible 4 hour period to replace a line card at Guildford which is running 'at risk' whatever that means 

[Simon]

As suspected, nothing reported on any of the areas checked. Thanks for the link...

We've experienced in the past, though, that BT don't always announce unscheduled exchange work, so don't take any such links as gospel.

[Baz]

I am no expert on this but did have similar problems a while back and although not finding out exactly the cause the things that I did,apart from the stuff you've already done and probably done again when IDNet asked, were return a new router and exchange for another ' version 2 ' model...thanks a great deal to Gary for the info about that   ... and fit a new filtered face plate even though the one I had was only 10 months old.

Since this I have had no bother at all. Thinking about when it happened and reading the posts above my local area was also getting cabinets fitted for fibre to be ready last june/july , so it may well be a cause I dont know ...good old BT eh 

[Gary]

We've experienced in the past, though, that BT don't always announce unscheduled exchange work, so don't take any such links as gospel.

I would agree with that, although right now there seems to be more issues popping up than I have seen in a while. Ageing networks cables heaving under massive amounts of data and the bad weather we have had using cheap Chinese crud. Joy... I have to admit that I always used to use adsl nation gear, but the new style faceplate for FTTC seems better, maybe it being passive and having less components is better than the active ones, who knows.

[Simon]

I would agree with that, although right now there seems to be more issues popping up than I have seen in a while. Ageing networks cables heaving under massive amounts of data and the bad weather we have had using cheap Chinese crud. Joy...

Road works... 

[Gary]

Road works... 

Lots of that around here, well not in my village but maybe the damage was done...but BT are surveying for new cabinets and readying exchanges for FTTC so that's bound to cause disruption too.

[Clive]

This used to happen to me all the time and after years of misery it turned out to be the little connector box on my window sill bringing the phone line into the house.  The connections had corroded and once  the engineer fixed it my broadband has been fine ever since. 

[Gary]

This used to happen to me all the time and after years of misery it turned out to be the little connector box on my window sill bringing the phone line into the house.  The connections had corroded and once  the engineer fixed it my broadband has been fine ever since. 

Wish mine had been that simple, everyone is at a loss 

[RandomGeeza]

Wish mine had been that simple, everyone is at a loss 

Likewise...

FTTC is already enabled here, and has been for a while, as per SamKnows info: http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/EMHINCK Although, I suppose it could be elsewhere in the network...??

As for roadworks, that could be a contender, but I never saw any yesterday whilst winging my way around the town.

With the bog standard ADSL lead in, I have had uptime of three hours plus... a marked improvement on yesterday. Plus, increased Sync. I wonder if it was a buggered CAT5 cable... Would the length have an impact as such? The cable was three meters, whereas Mr Bog-Standard barely reaches from filter to router?

Oh I forgot to mention, my downstairs neighbour has experienced drop outs too... In fact he's had a few this week... not in sync with mine though?

EDIT: Remembered about the neighbour.

[Steve]

I would guess the neighbour's drop outs are significant, the CAT5 is not that long so unless it's faulty I doubt it's the cause.

[Simon]

When your connection drops out, do you get the red light on the router?  Only, I didn't - the router seemed to think everything was OK, even though it had lost the connection, hence, in my case, I'm suspecting a router fault. 

[Gary]

When your connection drops out, do you get the red light on the router?  Only, I didn't - the router seemed to think everything was OK, even though it had lost the connection, hence, in my case, I'm suspecting a router fault. 

Some routers show in sync say at 0.1db but they are actually not as far as the exchange is concerned, this is what's been happening to my mine, so the router logs show nothing, Broadcom chipsets hang on for dear life so your router may show it never dropped but the exchange sees it as it did. Saying that if you have no connection I would say its a router fault as mine does not loose connection and pulls back when the snr goes up. It looks like my fault is not something that can be fixed at all. If its RFI and it seems to be its oyt of BTw remit if its caused by a neighbour so I am stuffed royally.

Best way to double check a Netgear is to re-download the firmware, hard reset the router before hand, reload the firmware, hard reset the router after and then re-enter all settings by hand not from a back up.

[Simon]

...or get a different router. 

[Gary]

...or get a different router. 

If its got a two year warranty get a rma on it. Routers are bl@ody boring really. I can think of better things to spend cash on having gone though four of em