Problem with authentication - Nov 5-8, 2006

[Nerval]

The authentication problem from earlier in the week has reappeared tonight.
It would not authenticate the connection from 7pm until now (9pm).

Does anybody know what is going on? 




Edit: date added to subject for clarity

[ardmhacha]

I am having the same problem. It took my 1.5 hours to connect this evening. This has been very frustrating problem. In fact since joining IDNET in August I have always had connection problems.

[AndyG]

Hi

I think I might of had similar problems today.  My router retrained for some reason this afternoon and after about 10 minutes the PPP session had not restarted.  I suspected a 'stale session' so turned the router off for about 45 minutes, it synced with the exchange and then tried to restart the PPP for about 10 minutes but still no joy.  I switched the router off for a further 35 minutes and then connected on the first try afterwards.

Andy

[Rik]

I understand that there has been a series of faults with BT which is causing this, here's the details for one incident, but the issue is the same each time:

BT Wholesale - Broadband SERIOUS Incident Report
BT Incident Reference: 27386 Issue : 4
Detected Date: 31/10/2006 Detected Time: 18:45
Start Date: 31/10/2006 Start Time: 18:40
Anticipated Clear Date: 31/10/2006 Anticipated Clear Time:23:47
Incident Headline: BROADBAND USERS : UNABLE TO AUTHENTICATE

[Nerval]

Thanks rik, I'd noticed that other ISPs are having authentication issues too.
Does this mean that authentication problems are always down to BT and the ISP can't do anything about it?

[Rik]

I really don't know is the short answer. The long answer is I suspect that ISPs are part of the process, but if you can't get past the BT barrier, you never get to authenticate with them. I'm sure Simon will clarify if he spots this post. 

[Nerval]

I've just had a word with Miriam (she rang me to ask how it was!) who tells me that there is currently a BT problem with authentication for a number of lines, which BT are trying to sort out, but may take some days.  The only answer till it's sorted is to keep your connection going , which in my case means leaving the router on 24/7.

[Rik]

I've just had a word with Miriam (she rang me to ask how it was!)

You mean she didn't ask at the time? <g,d,r...>

Oddly enough, she called me this morning to check my connection was OK. This customer service concept is going to take a bit of getting used to!

who tells me that there is currently a BT problem with authentication for a number of lines, which BT are trying to sort out, but may take some days.  The only answer till it's sorted is to keep your connection going , which in my case means leaving the router on 24/7.

I always do, unless there's thunder about, talking of which, if you want to check for thunder, you might like to take a look at this site:

http://www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk/weather/light0900.htm

Handy in summer, and courtesy of Bill Ford.

[Nerval]

Thanks for that link.
I normally just turn the lot off with the one switch since everything is plugged into the same adaptor and I don't need to leave the PC on overnight.
But at least I know what to do now.

[Rik]

Remember to also unplug from the phone socket in the event of thunder, otherwise you can still fry the modem, and in extreme cases, everything attached to the router (as it's still a path to earth).

I shut down the PC and most peripherals with one switch on a UPS, but the router I keep on 24/7 unless I'm going away. Get a connection, keep a connection, that's me. 

[ardmhacha]

Is anyone else still having this problem. It took me 16 attempts to get logged on again tonight. getting the same 718 and 734 error messages. This is becoming very annoying. I have checked with a few friends in the area and they are getting connected to their ISPs no problem (not IDNET)

[maxping]

Yes i haven't been able to connect most of the night , i kept getting error 718 messages.

Is this likely to be sorted soon?

[Bill]

It's not just IDNet- from the sublime to the ridiculous...

[Nerval]

Miriam suggested when I spoke to her on Monday that it should be sorted by the end of the week, but I think that is based on hope/experience rather than any specific knowledge or promise from BT.

Her advice, and what I'm doing, is once you've got a connection, keep your router on so you don't lose it - as rik says above.  If you're using a USB modem, I suppose you'll need to keep the computer on to achieve this.

[Rik]

Curiously, LCP went down on the router at 6:45 this morning and it took 5 minutes to re-establish a connection due to the CHAP issue. I feel quite lucky, given the problems others are having, but what does intrigue me is that, since I've been with IDNet, both the drops I've had have occurred in this time span. There is nothing in the house likely to cause noise then (the CH switches on much earlier), and there has been no loss of sync.

[Nerval]

Snap.

My router's been on all week, and stayed connected, then I looked at it this morning and it had dropped out at the same time as yours.  Fortunately it reconnected without my noticing it had happened, but it's a strange coincidence.

I wonder if they do some maintenance work involving cutting you off?
Though even Plusnet used to warn you in advance of that kind of thing.

[Meerkat]

Hi

I also suffered a drop in authentication at 06.45 this morning, and it took several attempts to re-authenticate so it is clearly a fairly widespread problem!

An aside....  Been with Idnet for a few weeks having migrated (like so many) from PN, and am enjoying every moment of it!  In the first few days I had need to contact support  and actually spoke to real people (thank you Simon) who resolved my issues speedily.

[Rik]

Maintenance did cross my mind, especially as I didn't lose sync.

When I was with Wanadoo, I rarely lost the connection, but if I did their TS was useless. With Nildram, we got lost of advisories of maintenance, which seemed to be a constant activity for them. IDNet don't advise, so we can only guess. 

[Ray]

seems that I also lost connection at 06:45 this morning as well and took 5 minutes to reconnect (see router log extract below). I didnt lose synch though dsl has been connected for 22 days and Internet had been connected for 19 days before this.

Not had any connection problems previously

Nov 8 06:50:47   PPP link up (Internet) [212.69.56.197]
Info    Nov 8 06:50:47   PPP CHAP Chap receive success : authentication ok
Info    Nov 8 06:50:27   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = rdsl-lond-uk02)
Info    Nov 8 06:50:26   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Error    Nov 8 06:50:09   PPP CHAP authentication failed (Internet)
Info    Nov 8 06:49:39   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = rdsl-lond-uk02)
Info    Nov 8 06:49:38   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Error    Nov 8 06:49:22   PPP CHAP authentication failed (Internet)
Info    Nov 8 06:48:51   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = rdsl-lond-uk02)
Info    Nov 8 06:48:50   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Error    Nov 8 06:48:34   PPP CHAP authentication failed (Internet)
Info    Nov 8 06:47:53   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = rdsl-lond-uk02)
Info    Nov 8 06:47:52   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Info    Nov 8 06:47:46   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Info    Nov 8 06:47:37   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Info    Nov 8 06:47:34   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Info    Nov 8 06:47:25   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Info    Nov 8 06:47:19   PPP CHAP Receive challenge (rhost = ESR10.Birmingham6)
Info    Nov 8 06:45:36   GRP Default destination is not routed anymore via gateway 212.69.56.197
Warning    Nov 8 06:45:36   PPP link down (Internet) [212.69.56.197]

RayC

[Rik]

It's an odd that three of us should lose the connection at 6:45 with an LCP/PPP issue (no loss of sync) and re-connect after multiple attempts hampered by CHAP problems. In my case, I lost the connection 25 seconds before you and regained it 3 seconds before you. Too odd to be a coincidence, imo, has to be an equipment issue somewhere.

[AndyG]

Same here as well.  My PPP dropped around 6:45 and restarted about 6:50.  There was no loss of sync.

Andy

[Danni]

Down here:

17.30-18.06
18.17-18.32
19.06-19:59
06.45-06.52

[Nerval]

It's an odd that three of us should lose the connection at 6:45. Too odd to be a coincidence, imo, has to be an equipment issue somewhere.

six so far 
perhaps Simon will tell us what it was.

[Thar]

Make that 7. The 6.45 drop this morning and one yesterday sometime too...can't remember the time as I've pulled the plug on the router since. 19 days up 'til then 

[Lance]

make it a possible 8...

the light on my router suggested no dsl connection but as i didn't actually go on the computer i can't be sure.