Dropping broadband

[#1]

I have just upgraded to Hub 2 because my broadband was continually dropping out.  This new router is causing more problems than ever.  The router is upstairs and is as far away from my pc as the ethernet cable will allow.  However I frequently get the message not connected.  If I bring any ipad into the equation by using it downstairs the connection is far worse.  If I then position it about 2 feet from the router I still cannot get a connection.  Meanwhile the light on the router mainly stays blue. I am on an unlimited fibre and phone plan with an average speed of 16-18mb/s (which is pretty awful considering I am paying as much as those who get the full 36) and  the cabinet is just about 50 yards down the road. We cannot get full fibre as we are out in the sticks. All this happens with an android tablet and my husband's ipad too. I do have a range extender downstairs in the vain hope it helps (not sure it does).

[#2]

@theoldandgrey Your setup sounds strange why is the Hub upstairs - does your telephone cable come in there to the master socket? What grade is the Ethernet cable, and which socket is it plugged into on the Hub?

Can you post a screenshot of the result from https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL  - obscuring your phone number?

This sounds more like an internal problem than one caused by the OpenReach network, but answers to the above questions may help.

[#3]

@theoldandgrey 

"an average speed of 16-18mb/s "

Are you measuring this with a speed test, or is it what the Hub2's management GUI is reporting as the speed it is syncing at? If the latter, then you probably have an external fault, (possibly in addition to an internal issue as mentioned by @jab1 ).

The Hub sync speed can be found by putting 192.168.1.254 into a web browser, then going to "Advanced Settings", then "Technical log". Post a screenshot of that page if you are not sure what it all means.

Also, when you look at the BT Wholesale page referred to by @jab1 it should tell you which cabinet number you are connected to. It is worth checking that it is the same as the one that is 50 yards from your home, (cabs usually have their number painted on them). It isn't always the case: historically, the houses close to me have been fed via a cabinet over 600 metres away, and not the one that is 50 metres directly in front of our house. This is due to the way our estate was built over many years.

[#4]

Thank you for your suggestions. I have discovered we are connected to a cabinet 550m away, not the nearest one!   However daughter suggested ditching the Ethernet cable and using wi-fi which until recently when 4g became available, was pretty impossible to use - down the end of the garden after all.   I did not think to try that method again, I am 90 after all so perhaps can be forgiven some shortcomings, and so far it has worked for 30 minutes without dropping. That is a re cord.  Thank you so much for your help and I have learnt something new which I will try if this other method does not work.

[#5]

Sorry just realised 4g doesn’t come into this - I said I was 90 and it is showing🫢

[#6]

A slightly long copper cable then, @theoldandgrey , but not unduly so. As I asked before, though, why is the router upstairs - it is very unusual for your master socket to be installed upstairs?

It would be interesting to see some details about your connection, but I don't want to confuse you with jargon, so a polite question - how computer literate are you - or your daughter, if you aren't?

[#7]

To answer your first question. My master socket is downstairs but pc upstairs as that is where my study is. As explained in my last post I had forgotten the router could be used with a wireless connection as it has always been done by Ethernet cable. I hope I can be forgiven this lapse and my 90 years used in mitigation.  With regards your second question I have always been the “go to” person amongst family and friends (teenagers included) when they need help particularly as I have built myself several pcs in the past, which did actually work.

As you will see in the posts I have now hopefully solved the problem by using wi-fi and am annoyed with myself for forgetting this option and thus bothering members of the community.

I thank everyone for their suggestions which I will bear in mind should the Wi-Fi arrangement fail.

[#8]

OK - if it works, all good. If it goes pear-shaped again... . TBH, when you said PC and  Ethernet cable, I assumed i was a desktop.

[#9]

Yes it is a desk top, but with 2 iPads for speed (and to save going upstairs)  I use the PC  mainly for web design and photoshop type work.  Still going strong, fingers crossed.