Internet Connection Reliability

[Crinkmeister]

Is there an internet connectivity problem at the moment? For the last few hours my connection has been up and down every few minutes. It has been doing this occasionally for the last month or so. I recently had Openreach repair a faulty connection to my house so I know it's nothing to do with the line. The ADSL connection is not dropping, so it's something further into the network. Doing a speedtest recently often fails and when it does work, latency times of >2000ms are reported. Other times, latencies are back down to normal few 10's of ms. I couldn't stay connected for long enough to check status pages anywhere.

[XRaySpeX]

Welcome to EE's Home Broadband Forum.

BB faults are rarely widespread but specific to your particular line.

Is it the BB as a whole dropping or just the WiFi connections? Do Ethernet connected devices stay working? What colours are the light sequence when it happens?

If you would like help with your BB speed or connection issues, please would you carry out the following steps for starters, which will enable us to diagnose the problem and advise you further. Do not restart your router to do these tests:

1. Post your full router stats:

• For a BrightBox: login and go to Advanced Settings > System > DSL Status. Also post 'System Uptime' from top of System Log page.
• For a SmartHub: login and go to Advanced Settings > Technical Log > Information. Obscure your names & any numbers in the BB Username & also the SSIDs.

Full router stats are key to any speed & connection issues.

2. What does BT Wholesale Broadband Availability Checker estimate for your phone number? Post just the whole table and the line above it, blanking out your phone number. If it doesn't recognise your phone number or you don't have one, use the Address Checker, not the Postcode Checker.

[Crinkmeister]

Hi XRay, Thanks for your response. It is nothing to do with wifi or the ADSL line. I don't have an EE router but the error log is clear: no router, PPP or line issues. Connected at just over 14Mbit/s with 33dB line attenuation and just over 3dB SNR margin. I did have a line fault repaired a few weeks ago and all was good for a week or 2. This issue seems quite sporadic - it has held up for a while now, otherwise I would not be posting a reply!

[XRaySpeX]

Sorry, but if it's nowt to do with the BB line, how can this be happening unless the router is faulty?

Please post the full router stats from that router.

[Crinkmeister]

[Crinkmeister]

[XRaySpeX]

Thanks, it looks all OK.

Locate the hidden test socket that is revealed when you remove the bottom half of the split faceplate (2 screws or press tabs) of your master socket. Only do this if you have a split faceplate. Do you have any extension sockets in the home even if unused? Are there any wires connected to back of faceplate of master socket?

Try the BT Quiet Line Test (QLT), dial 17070 Opt 2, preferably with a corded phone, in the test socket with the router disconnected. If there is any noise, report it to your landline provider as a voice fault (don't mention Broadband). Often sorting out voice faults will fix the Broadband as well.

Reboot the router & plug it into the test socket. Post the full router stats & System Uptime when plugged into test socket.

Is the issue any better?

[Crinkmeister]

Working well at the moment with 15ms latency according to speedtest.net.

[Crinkmeister]

Quiet line test is so quiet, you'd think it's not working! I'm 100% sure there is no line issue. This was thoroughly tested a few weeks ago when I was getting ppp errors and an earth fault was found and repaired (water had got into a joint - the splice housing was full!!). As I said before, it seems to be working well now.

[Brumic]

Bn having probs all week with data connection.  So just use WiFi atm, it's a pain as I cannot use my contracted phone data out and about!!! What is going on with ee?