1.6Gbit connection new smart hub (white, small box) sporadic issues? DNS MITM?

[allamavortex]

Hello all,

So I recently changed my service from 900mbit to 1.6Gbit and that involved a change of router and obviously the OR ONT on the wall.

Ever since having it installed there seems to be an issue with (most likely DNS issues). Whatever is loaded/playing/game continue to work, but I have spells where NO further DNS requests seem to make it through.

I totally forgot to nslookup during one of these issues, but I will the next time it happens (it's pretty frequent and annoying). I can ping 8.8.8.8 (google) whilst being unable to load any webpages on any device/browser. Thus removing the possibility of it being localised to a single machine/device as some were using the router, some were set to DNS over HTTPS and some were using Google's 8.8.8.8 etc. 

It is very much like the router is playing the MITM and intercepting the requests and then slowly, or failing to process these requests at all for a period of time which ranges up to about 45 seconds.

As I said, cached requests, or those already in process are fine, but even something as trivial as trying to watch a YT video is met with 45 seconds of nothing, totally unable to look up ANY address, but established connections and new connections not requiring DNS all work fine.

I'm not really one for conspiracies but I really feel like this new router is intercepting (MITM), attempting to do something with, and failing the DNS requests. This behaviour is only been present since getting the new Smart Hub (the tall, thing white one).

I did a quick google and it seems I'm not alone with this - is anyone else noticing this type of behavior?

Mixture of wired and wireless devices, same behaviour.

[rainman2871]

Do any of you guys rate any good  VOIP Providers which you recommend on service and price

[rainman2871]

Yes just found a service in uk voip

Vonage for Home | Residential Home Phone Service

[TraderTravel]

As reported by someone else, I don't believe these issues are going to be fixed anytime soon.

I've debated whether to post this, but I will in the hope it helps a few other people.

I've recently come off the phone with someone fairly up high up in complaints resolution team and been advised they will turn on the flag on my account so that I can leave EE and go to another provider without penalty. Apparently, the team responsible for the firmware is aware of the issues (which is a positive) related to the current firmware release. Unfortunately, they have absolutely no timeline they can provide in terms of a possible resolution. The person I have been dealing with has been very professional throughout, although I am disappointed with their response (not their fault of course!).

The irony of course is that this issue can be resolved with 3rd party kit as everyone on this thread knows.

I now need to decide whether to stay with EE and simply buy other kit, or go to another provider. Personally, if I felt the issue was likely to be resolved in the next few weeks I would probably just deal with it, but as the service seems to drop in some way every 30 mins or so (often more frequently than that), I clearly have a few decisions to make. I suspect regardless I probably need to buy some kit as I doubt anything provided by an ISP will give me quite the control I am looking for. I am however worried that other people moving to EE on this 'performance tier' will likely experience these issues and without the necessary technical background may end up trapped without a clear resolution path. Mind you, I suspect most people spending 70-80 quid a month can probably afford their own kit...

[JimM11]

@TraderTravel Many moons have passed since the release and optimism off those who Purchased the 1.6Gb/s package not even getting the Pro and that was sorted kind off, few also realised that even having the Pro and mesh was just not going to work out and went down there own routes to fix out what was needed. It's a catch 22, you want fast and you want/need to do it then whatever it takes has to be done! ISP routers/hubs will always be about the masses, have to be easy to connect, try and not cause too many problems, patiently wait for resolve when they occur. Time is not a factor that you can even put out in the play book, will say Fibre supplied was always fine, still is even on another ISP now, getting it done and waiting for it to be done, there will be a few as you have seen posted patience is a virtue and needed!

You also have the likes of @bobpullen very knowledgeable in the field, goes well over and above the call off duty, may not/does not see the exact same, it's the nature off the business, get it working, leave it alone and address issues as they arise. It takes smart guy's hardware and software to make a system sing, the rest if it works 95% off the time happiness abundance!

[TraderTravel]

My frustration @JimM11 is that from a hardware perspective, EE has actually got some pretty decent kit. If they managed to solve all the software issues, it would be a winning combination. Reading between the lines, the non-committal response in respect to timelines kind of suggests that EE (BT) have outsourced their router and its software development.

I personally don't have the patience to deal with a router which has a wobble every 15-30 mins (especially when I have work to get on with), and to be perfectly frank, no consumer should have to deal with dropped packets on a regular basis. I'm not a gamer so in my case I am literally paying for bandwidth so I can download large files quickly when needed and forward them back when necessary. Other people in my household are also working from home, so there is a reason for being on the package we are on. 🙂

In my case I am probably likely to simply purchase the kit necessary to make the connection stable. I'm also acutely aware that leaving EE won't magically provide me with better kit as I know if I move to a provider like Zen, I am simply moving to yet more ISP supplied kit (e.g. Amazon Eero), which I suspect might have its own set of issues. My warning however is that anyone buying a 1.6gbps tier product probably just needs to invest in some working routers and avoid ISP provided kit like the plague at this stage. It's a real shame when I know the hardware supplied is actually very decent.

[Thawke]

I too have started experiencing these issues with Websites taking ages to load and sometimes even failing with a DNS resolver issue before hitting refresh and it starts working.

Already established connections carry on working and the Hub doesn’t drop the connection with the internet being connected for days without issue. Only new website requests slow down to a crawl and error out only to start working after a few F5 refreshes.

Am on EE’s 1.6Gbps service.

Changing DNS servers on the PC only seems to fix it for 5 mins for it to come back again, so the issue isn’t my end.

The only permanent solution I have found was using a separate router to EE Smart Hub Pro (bought a TP-LINK BE550) and the issue has gone away.

Numerous tests conducted, successful outcomes, can guarantee the issue is gone.

As to what caused this? I don’t know but it’s certainly left me with a Smart Hub Pro and Smart hub WiFi pro pieces of kit that are next to useless.

[ben_flugel]

I've been in touch with the EE Guides again today and spoke with someone far more technical and knowledgeable - a refreshing change from Sunday's call!

He was aware of firmware issues affecting these units but said the next step we have to go through is to replace my Smart Hub Pro, which is due tomorrow.

Be interesting to see whether this is the same hardware version of the device (I suspect so) and if there are any differences (I suspect not). But I get the process they need to follow and will report back here and to them if my issues continue.

[AHarMan2]

Wont make a blind bit of difference to replace the hub. Same issue will re-occur as soon as the hub updates itself.

[spacedyemeerkat]

How on earth is EE getting away with this?

[ben_flugel]

I know. But I'm happy to go through some hoops initially before upping the pressure.

It's desperately frustrating working from home. Even opening documents from Office 365 online take ages, as it attempts to load, more often than not requiring a close and reopen.