Connectivity dropping especially in the evenings

[#1]

Hope someone can help.  In the last 2 - 3 weeks our connection is dropping out, especially in the evenings, and usually multiple times in succession.  We've been with Plusnet for several years and had the occasional dropout but nothing on this frequency for so long before.  We haven't changed anything internally, I've been through the troubleshooting and checked all the basics, cables plugged in etc.  I've restarted the router a couple of times but I know this can also cause issues so have left it powered on for around a week since then with no improvements.  When we are connected, everything is working fine and the speed is OK.  The connection will stay up for a few hours, and will then drop out a few times in succession. 

Router info below.  

We're finding this really frustrating, my son is a gamer and keeps getting thrown out of his games, and when we're watching TV online the programmes go back to the menu and we lose our position etc.

PS Dropped out again as I'm typing this!

Thanks
John

1. Product name:	Plusnet Hub
2. Serial number:	[Removed]Q60905385
3. Firmware version:	Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.289.1.1 Last updated 14/07/21
4. Board version:	Plusnet Hub One
5. DSL uptime:	0 days, 01:35:24
6. Data rate:	19433 / 71222
7. Maximum data rate:	19434 / 71463
8. Noise margin:	6.1 / 6.0
9. Line attenuation:	23.5 / 18.7
10. Signal attenuation:	23.2 / 18.5
11. Data sent/received:	15.4 GB / 231.0 GB
12. Broadband username:	[Removed]@plusdsl.net
13. 2.4 GHz Wireless network/SSID:
14. 2.4 GHz Wireless connections:	Enabled (802.11 b/g/n (up to 144 Mb/s))
15. 2.4 GHz Wireless security:	WPA2
16. 2.4 GHz Wireless channel:	11
17. 5 GHz Wireless network/SSID:
18. 5 GHz Wireless connections:	Enabled (802.11 a/n/ac (up to 1300 Mb/s))
19. 5 GHz Wireless security:	WPA2
20. 5 GHz Wireless channel:	48
21. Firewall:	Default
22. MAC Address:	90:72:82:8a:39:62
23. Modulation:	G.993.2 Annex B
24. Software variant:	AA
25. Boot loader:	1.0.0

Moderators Note: Personal information removed

[#2]

Hiya @John7000, I am sorry for the issues being experienced with your service.

I can certainly see that there's some drops happening but testing today hasn't highlighted anything that could be causing these issues.

I would advise to connect to the test socket for the time being as shown here: https://community.plus.net/t5/Library/Testing-From-The-Master-Socket/ba-p/1322242 if not done so already.

Please log a fault for further investigation with here: https://faults.plus.net and we can get this progressed for you.

[#3]

Thanks @LaurenB  for your reply, I have connected to the test socket at 7.20pm this evening and logged a fault report as requested.  I will update you if the test socket makes any difference to the problem.

[#4]

Thanks @John7000 for raising the fault and getting into the test socket. I can see a drop yesterday evening which looks to be you connecting to the test socket and so far there hasn't been any further drops.

Given that your drops are usually quite sporadic, it's probably too early to tell if it's made a difference and so would be advisable to monitor further before we look at arranging an engineer.

If the drops start again, just give us a nudge on here and we will get the fault ticket picked up for you if not already actioned.

[#5]

Hi @LaurenB - just to confirm I'm still experiencing occasional dropouts after connecting to the test socket.  We lost internet connectivity earlier this evening and I believe we also lost connection overnight at least once as I had to reconnect my phone this morning.  I have updated the support ticket to confirm this as well, so it would be good if you can investigate further.

[#6]

Hi @John7000, thanks for getting back to us and I'm sorry to hear the drops look to be persisting. In which case, I've looked into and progressed the fault on your acocunt and currently the fault ticket needs confirmation from yourself so we can progress this further for you. The fault ticket I've updated can be seen and commented on here:
https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=view_question&id=218034967

Feel free to give us a nudge on here after updating the ticket as we'll happily pick up and progress this further for you.

[#7]

Hi @BD 

After reporting this issue with you a couple of weeks ago, a very helpful engineer called round and replaced both the master socket in our house and also the cable running into our house from outside, however we are still experiencing random dropouts in the evenings.  The engineer did test the line and thought the problem would be resolved, and our speed has actually increased, so I assume the fault is intermittent and not detectable when the line is working correctly.

As the engineer has replaced pretty much everything in our house, and tested the cable running right to the router, I am assuming the fault must be external.  I have tried leaving the broadband for 3 days to stabilise as requested but the issue has persisted.  Please can you look into this again - I have tried replying to the ticket on the helpdesk support page but this appears to have closed and I have to go through the whole troubleshooting process again even though it is the same fault?

Dropouts recorded  4/10/21 - 6.35pm

4/10/21 - 7.20pm

6/10/21 - 9.50pm

7/10/21 - 7.55pm

Thanks again for your help

John

[#8]

Hello @John7000

Thanks a lot for reaching out and I'm really sorry to see the numerous dropouts on the line both before and after the engineer visit which took place at the back end of last month. I'll pop a visual radius below which clearly shows how the matter has not been resolved.

Going forward, something I've noted is that your router is now fairly old, and has been used for the past 5 years. I'd personally suggest replacing it to see how you get on with a new one before re-raising a fault with Openreach. Would you be happy for me to get one ordered and sent out?

[#9]

Thanks @adam945 , yes happy to try a new router if you think that could help.

The graphic you posted is interesting, this confirms what I thought as the connection has been stable in the daytime while I'm working at home and it shows the drops in the evenings and also when I've left the router off and then reset it to see if that made a difference.  Also seeing some drops overnight which makes me think it can't be interference from anything electrical in our home.  Is there ever any evening / overnight work on the network between 6pm - 6am which might cause this sort of issue?

John

[#10]

Hiya @John7000, thanks for getting back to us.

I have now got you a new router order, this should be with you over the next 3-5 working days so let us know how things go once it's arrived so we can determine the next steps if the issues persist.

Maintenance is often carried out between midnight and 6am and could explain some of the drops through the evening, but things certainly don't look right.

[#11]

Hi @LaurenB - many thanks for the new router which arrived earlier this week.  I set this up on Tuesday evening and unfortunately the problem looks to be persisting.  We had disconnections today at mid-day and then three so far this evening at 7.30pm, just before 8pm and again at 9pm.  I understand we may need to leave it a further couple of days to be sure but wanted to report it.

[#12]

Thanks for getting back to us with an update, I'm really sorry that the drops are still happening.

The drops are still pretty frequent:

I have raised a new fault for you and think the best thing here is to progress with a further engineer visit and take it from there, can you please just get back to us on the fault ticket here with your availability: https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=view_question&id=218824321. Let us know once you have replied and we'll pick it up for you.

[#13]

Hi @LaurenB - sorry to bring this up again, but unfortunately after the second engineer visit I am still having these problems.  The engineer came out on 5/11 and couldn't see anything wrong with the setup at home, so he arranged for our line to be switched to a different port in the cabinet and I believe this was done the same day.  Since then the disconnections have persisted, exactly the same as before, usually multiple times every evening and occasionally in the daytime.

Pretty much everything at home has now been changed, the socket / cabling and I've also had the new router and am still experiencing the same issue.  When I reported this on the ticket, I did get a call back the following day, but I was away at the time and have since had a message asking me to check my router again.  I feel this is just going in circles and am not sure what else can be done to solve the problem?  This has now been going on for three months.  The Openreach engineer did say that the disconnections are likely to be caused by something at your end if the changes he made at the cabinet don't help, as he couldn't see anything else wrong here. 

The only thing left I can think of is to change ISP to see if that helps, which would be a shame as I have always had good service with PlusNet, but having the connection drop repeatedly when making video calls is embarrassing, it is very frustrating having TV streaming dropping out and having to back through all the adverts again nearly every time we watch because of these disconnections.

[#14]

@John7000  leaving it a month to respond to the last post then claiming the only way forward is to change ISP is not a very logical approach.

No matter the supplier, you need two way communications to sort out issues. 

You don't have a contract with the engineers who turn up = some are good, some not so - don't take what they say as gospel, stick to the facts, if you are not getting the service you should, then persist with the fault ticket.

Switching to another ISP, whilst still using the same line will not make a difference until the fault is diagnosed and fixed.

[#15]

@Mustrum the reason for waiting a month is because my son was diagnosed with Covid-19 and so even though I had a prompt reply it was not possible to arrange for the 2nd engineer visit until November 5th.  Obviously at that point I also wanted to make sure enough time had passed before raising the issue again, as advised.  I have raised this off the forum initially before logging here also, as based on my previous experience the technicians here seem more knowledgeable and I was just advised to go through the setup process again.  To be fair, the responses I have received here have been quick and helpful, and I have been impressed with Plusnet previously. The issue is that despite the helpful replies and 2 engineer visits, I still don't have a successful resolution.  If you'd like to suggest anything that can help then please do? 

Also, surely the engineers are professionals who should have a reasonable understanding of what is going on?  They did undertake testing on both occasions and tried to help as best as they could.