Intermittent Internet Connection Drop-Out

[#1]

Hi,

This post may seem very similar to the problem raised in post: https://community.plus.net/t5/Broadband/Internet-Connection-Intermittent-Drop-Outs/m-p/1895385.

Customer support directed me to that post as a possible solution to my issue of my router continually, frequently and intermittently dropping my internet connection.

The post advised me to change my Primary and Secondary DNS addresses. It appeared to work for the person who originally posted this query but, in my case, I have a Plusnet Hub One router. Internet investigations told me that it's not possible to change DNS addresses on this router.

As in the previous post, connecting the router via an ethernet cable makes no difference.

It's not the router location. It's in the middle of a very small house and one of the devices is in line of sight to the router.

Restarting the router does fix the issue for about a minute or so.

I have 11 devices connected wirelessly to the router. 4 devices on the 5ghz band and the other 5 on the 2.4 ghz band. Whether this makes any difference, I don't know.

Would be grateful if anyone has any further suggestions to resolve this.

Thanks.

[#2]

Hi @Rich_BigBuilder 

A warm welcome to the forums.  It is a tad dangerous point to a specialised issue UNLESS all of the other likely culprits have been eliminated.  That topic is only relevant if there is total assurance that the sync and PPP sessions are not being dropped.

---

@Rich_BigBuilder wrote:

Customer support directed me to that post as a possible solution to my issue of my router continually, frequently and intermittently dropping my internet connection.

The post advised me to change my Primary and Secondary DNS addresses. It appeared to work for the person who originally posted this query but, in my case, I have a Plusnet Hub One router. Internet investigations told me that it's not possible to change DNS addresses on this router.

Restarting the router does fix the issue for about a minute or so.

Can you please advise what tests / analysis have been performed to verify that there has been no loss of sync associated with the observed events.  There has been work on the DNS systems since that topic was raised which should have substantially if not totally mitigated that issue.  How recently have you experienced the issue?

Have you gone through the basic fault investigation process?

Broadband is not going to work well if the "phone" line is not working properly.

Please perform a quiet line test - dial 17070 select option 2 using a phone plugged into the test socket behind the face plate of the master socket (ideally this should be a corded phone). The line should be silent. A noisy phone line (or no dial tone) will have a marked adverse impact on the performance of broadband.

If the line is noisy or there is no dial tone, then a PHONE LINE fault needs to be raised with your phone provider. If this is PlusNet, you can report a fault on line using the button below. NB: You need to put your LANDLINE NUMBER after "PHONE" [missing instruction].

• Phone Faults

How is your line performing?

Please post your router stats (include line speed, attenuation, SNRM, uptime and if available, error counts); for PN routers use the buttons below, for other routers look at the Kitz link.

Also run a BT Wholesale speed test (ideally using an Ethernet wired PC with the WiFi turned off) then run the further diagnostics, download the .PDF report and post the results here. DO NOT REBOOT the router!

Check the Plusnet user portal for the "Current Line Speed" which is relevant to users with static IP addresses.

• TG582n Stats
• Hub 0 / 1 Stats
• Hub 2 Stats
• Kitz list
• BTw Speedtest
• PN Broadband Status

 Sight of the router stats (as detailed above) will be very informative.

[#3]

Hi,

Thanks very much for this response and apologies that it's taken a while to get back.

May've mentioned that my wi-fi adapter is a TP-Link wireless adapter. 

I've been in contact with TP-Link Support to see if there's anything I've missed or any settings on their adapter I could modify.

After a long and helpful conversation thread, they've asked me whether I could change channels on the router and switch their adapter to another channel.

I've done some serious research on the internet about this, including the Plusnet forum and followed various suggestions but, I've arrived at the conclusion that, on my Plus Hub One router - like finding out that I can't change DNS addresses - I can't find a way to force any of my devices onto another channel. I suspect it's got something to do with Plusnet's built-in Smart Wireless capability but that's only a guess.

Any suggestions/comments, as always, welcome.

[#4]

Hi @Rich_BigBuilder

Sorry to hear you're having some trouble with your TP-Link adaptor, you should be able to change the wireless channel manually by following the below in the hub manager - 

To manually select a wireless channel for the 2.4 GHz wireless network:

• Select 2.4 GHz Wireless
• Make a note of the Current channel 
• In the Channel Selection list, select channel 1, 6 or 11
• Click Apply 
• Now use the Hub as usual for a few minutes to check if the performance has improved. If it hasn't, go back to the Hub Manager and select another channel.

To manually select a wireless channel for the 5 GHz wireless network-

• Select 5 GHz Wireless
• Make a note of the Current channel
• In the Channel Selection list, select channel 36, 40, 44 or 48(note selection of a higher 5 GHz channel from 52 to 140 may be incompatible with some wireless devices connected to the Hub One. There may also be a delay of up to 10 minutes for devices to connect to channels 52 to 140)
• Click Apply 
• Now use the Hub as usual for a few minutes to check if the performance has improved. If it hasn't, go back to the Hub Manager and select another channel.

If you're unable to do this then let me know and I'll see if I can run a smart check on your router to see if this puts you onto another one. It may not always be possible as your router will always try to put you onto the best channel for overall connection. 

- Curtis, Plusnet Sheffield

[#5]

@Rich_BigBuilder 

There is a real danger of you chasing smoke here.

Either you have misunderstood the advice from TP Link or they have mislead you.  You DO NOT set the channel in the connecting client.  You chose the SSID and the client connects to the SSID on the channel it has chose to broadcast on.

You have not yet affirmed that there have been no disconnections on the xDSL link - what is the PPP session up time reported by the router?

There are at least three scenarios which might give rise to the description of this topic...

1. xDSL disconnection (this is the most probable) - "intermittent" implied both "in frequently" and / or "briefly" - an xDSL drop recovery will typically take 90 seconds. depending on the cause of the drop - follow the advice given above
2. DNS look up failures (not probable) these used to happen from time to time, but very rare and were probably only seen as a misleading "not connected" report from a web browser which was fine on a page refresh - the cause of that is believed to have been eliminated by engineering work undertaken over Christmas
3. WiFi SSID channel hopping (a possibility but not likely) - where a WiFi Access Point is working in "Smart Mode" it continually checks to see which channel might deliver optimal performance - if it is not the current one, it selects a different channel and clients then swap over ON THEIR OWN - this can take 10 or so seconds

Do you have evidence that there is WiFi channel congestion in your locality?  Try using Metageek's inSSIDer to examine the WiFi spectrum - if there are "bad boy" APs using channels other than 1, 6 or 11, you might find better performance forcing the WiFI AP to use a channel which does not overlap the "bad boy" channels.  Note co-residence of APs on a channel is less of a concern that operating on over-lapping channels.  Whilst forcing the router to stick to one channel will stop channel hopping, that might mean that performance is not optimal.

It would be wise to review the router logs at the times that you perceived the disconnections to affirm that there was no drop of sync or PPP sessions.  Only if there was not, is pursuing the other things you have looked at worth while.

[#6]

Hi,

Thanks to both for your input.

@csmith94, thanks for your suggestion. I can't find a way to change channels with my current Plusnet Hub One router as clicking on the available options when I log on to my router doesn't appear to give me that option.

If there is a way - apologies - I'd need an idiots step-by-step guide to get to this functionality, unless you've already given one in your response in which case I'll sell my computer and go back to a calculator :-).

@Townman, thanks again for helping me however ....

Here's a sample of the log the router's generating and it pretty much repeats the same thing.

It does mention PPP but whether this is relevant or not well, I don't know.

Event Log
This page summarises all the recent events that have been recorded on your Plusnet Hub.
You can filter the events to show items related to a specific category.

Category

All
click to change category dropdown

Recorded events
Time and date Message
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [120.243.165.75]:40239 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [185.253.182.240]:12659 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [5.189.157.90]:12057 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [178.206.191.38]:32928 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [185.242.4.59]:55649 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [146.199.229.151]:1291 CLOSED/CLOSED local_dev NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [146.199.229.151]:1289 CLOSED/CLOSED local_dev NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [146.199.229.151]:1285 CLOSED/CLOSED local_dev NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:48721 -​ -​ -​ [146.199.229.151]:1283 CLOSED/CLOSED local_dev NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:48721 -​ -​ -​ [146.199.229.151]:1276 CLOSED/CLOSED local_dev NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [113.41.202.172]:18920 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [220.142.90.229]:23495 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [142.215.164.104]:6882 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [181.66.137.141]:2217 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [106.197.184.87]:18476 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [146.199.229.151]:1226 FIN_WAIT_2/LAST_ACK local_dev NAPT)
21:56:44, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [146.199.229.151]:1226 CLOSED/CLOSED local_dev NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [181.233.157.231]:52721 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [222.92.141.18]:15425 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [88.19.90.163]:56382 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [69.80.12.87]:27097 LAST_ACK/FIN_WAIT_2 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [69.80.12.87]:26520 CLOSED/SYN_SENT ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [146.199.229.151]:1226 CLOSED/CLOSED local_dev NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [37.208.161.48]:7258 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [5.189.185.57]:9446 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [178.251.141.71]:60405 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [109.227.73.210]:6881 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [154.239.83.53]:40919 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [65.48.242.89]:6882 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [183.219.112.230]:36754 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [175.139.76.186]:23080 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [91.204.235.110]:55919 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [185.19.22.178]:21314 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [160.86.41.8]:1753 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [177.221.11.80]:22941 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [93.176.128.0]:30720 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [106.222.89.45]:28847 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [46.39.229.151]:35088 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [157.34.58.5]:51837 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [140.228.21.191]:21581 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [173.249.4.73]:60188 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:41, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [114.230.126.194]:4631 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [99.233.105.197]:26055 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [88.230.227.164]:29698 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: TCP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [192.145.139.45]:61095 ESTABLISHED/ESTABLISHED ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [103.217.166.70]:25553 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [223.81.141.12]:10769 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [5.189.160.21]:60171 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [85.24.253.18]:22419 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [54] Connection opened (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [207.180.192.205]:6881 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:26904 -​ -​ -​ [208.78.42.12]:52393 ppp3 NAPT)
21:56:38, 21 Jan. IN: ACCEPT [57] Connection closed (Port Forwarding: UDP [192.168.1.113]:26904 <-​-​> [146.199.229.151]:47376 -​ -​ -​ [173.249.35.40]:53837 ppp3 NAPT)

You can see that the connection opens, then closes, then opens etc.

I can't run Metageeks inSSIDer program as it tells me that the version it downloaded can't run on my computer.

(While my computer isn't new, I wouldn't have thought that it was that old. But, I guess 4-5 years could make it an ancient model - who knows).

As for xDSL disconnection, how would I find this out ?

(Asus has a comprehensive guide to finding this out but their advice assumes that one has an Asus modem so, not much help there.).

As before, really appreciate everyone's help/advice here.

[#7]

@Rich_BigBuilder 

This log is both interesting ... and not!

This extract does not support the presumption (offer any evidence of) of network level disconnections.  These entries appear to show the establishment (or attempt to) of connections from one device, on one port to a multitude of destinations.  The bottom 10 or so are to ...

• Turkey
• Africa
• Australia
• CMNET
• Canada
• Sweden
• Germany

Which machine in your network has address 192.168.1.113 ?

Do you have any idea what software is attached to port 26904 ?

What OS does that machine run ?

Has it got good quality anti virus software ?

This area would benefit for the look-see of others in the community having more knowledge of port assignment / typical use.  I cannot find a recognised use of port 26904 - which for me seems fishy!  Personally I would be looking for a virus / torjon here just to be safe.

The reference to PPP3 is the connection in use, not anything to do with the PPP internet session being dropped.

As for changing the WiFi channel, you need to look at WiFi settings on the advanced section of the Hub Management pages.  I do not have a Hub One running at the moment, so I cannot offer detailed guidance right now.

What OS are you running?  inSSIDer will run on all recent versions of windows.

[#8]

@Townman 

These entries appear to show the establishment (or attempt to) of connections from one device, on one port to a multitude of destinations

I fear you have misinterpreted the event log messages.

IN:ACCEPT are inbound connections using port forwarding rules to 192.168.1.113, either set by UPnP or created manually.

The inbound connections are coming in from many remote devices on 26904 and 47376, they are forwarded to 192.168.1.113 on port 26904.

IN:BLOCK would be the firewall blocking a connection attempt, couple of examples

16:11:55, 03 Nov. IN: BLOCK [16] Remote administration (ICMP type 8 code 0 80.249.99.164-​>my_public_IP on ppp3)
16:11:55, 03 Nov. IN: BLOCK [15] Default policy (TCP [89.248.163.209]:48391-​>[my_public_IP]:44111 on ppp3)

@Rich_BigBuilder 

So the open questions are

Have you created any port forward rules and what are they?

What is the machine in your network with IP address 192.168.1.113 ?

What OS does that machine run ?

Do you have any idea what software is attached to port 26904 ?.

If you select category WAN in the event log this will detail the DSL connection messages

HTH

[#9]

Thanks Dan.

[#10]

Thanks again for this response.

I decided to hassle Plusnet Customer Services again on this.

Luckily, I got a customer services rep who had had exactly the same problem as I have with my current router and arranged for an upgraded router which has just arrived !

Hopefully this will solve the issue. If not, I'll be back on this forum and message thread asking for even more insights and helpful advice.

But, thanks for all your input to date.

Regards.