Very unstable connection - dropping out at random interrvals

[#1]

Hello, a long-time Plusnet user here, using BILLION's 8800NL router and no issues in more than 5 years with the company; recently moved to a new place and had no issues in September/October/November; the day after storm Arwen (?) hit us I noticed the occasional loss of service - no big deal. Things have gotten worse since then, unfortunately. I can work for several hours without interruption, but it's also possible that I lose my connection every 2-3 minutes; some days are better than others... mornings seem to be really bad - lost the signal several times this morning during a MS TEAMS call. Speeds are down to 5-7 mbits/s - on a good day I get 18. A BT technician came over and installed a new box and all of a sudden the speed went up to 20 mbits/s - but the next day I was down to my usual 7. PLUSNET are aware of this but I don't have a feeling they know what to do. I need a reliable connection that doesn't die on me at random intervals during the day... any idea what might be wrong?

[#2]

Thanks for your post @B_Jetelina and welcome to our Community Forums.

I'm really sorry to see you're having a lot of issues with your connection.

I can see we've passed the fault back to our suppliers and they're investigating, and we'll update when we know more.

In the meantime, I've checked your connection and it looks like you may be turning your router off when you're not using it.

If that's the case, I'd recommend leaving your router on 24/7 as turning it off regularly everyday can cause connection issues as well as trigger automated software to slow your speed down automatically.

Also, I can see that full fibre (FTTP) is available for you in your area, so it may be worth looking at moving onto this as it'll likely provide you with a more reliable connection and speeds.

We aren't yet offering this as a product, but if you move to BT or EE for the service, we'll be happy to waive any termination fees. We'd just ask you call our Customer Options Team on 0800 013 2632 to discuss and arrange this. 

[#3]

Good morning, leaving the router on 24/7 seems to be helping a little bit - but why do I get such low speeds now? I used to get upload speeds of 15-29 mbits/s and when the BT engineer was here he was able to get it up to 30 (at least for a few minutes)... I'm now back to my usual 7... which is a real shame. But at least it seems to be working more stable now... still, quite unsatisfying.

[#4]

@B_Jetelina It will take some time for the automatic DLM equipment to recognise a stable line and adjust to give you more speed, but maybe @Gandalf could see what PN can do for you in the meantime.

[#5]

Thanks, everyone. I've been able to work without any interruptions since 8.30 this morning, which is quite some progress compared to last week - if only the speed went up a little (currently at 7.32 mbits/s).

[#6]

@B_Jetelina Good that you have been able to get things done, but to be honest, it sounds like you still have a problem. I have no idea what your modem/router can provide as regards statistics, but sight of them may be interesting.

[#7]

Hi, my connection also seems to be dropping out very regularly. Not had problems before and been will PN for many years

[#8]

@Squeakpip Please start your own topic, giving a few more details. It is not good practice to 'piggyback' another users topic, and makes answering difficult, as the issues may be different - and it is confusing having two issues in one area.

[#9]

Hi John, is it possible for me to provide any router info by downloading a script or going into my BIOS? I was able to work for 4 hours without interruption today, when all of a sudden I lost the connection. The router tried 3 or 4 times to reconnect but it took a few minutes for it to establish a new connection. Fingers crossed that's it for the day in terms of connection issues. I do agree, even though things do look a bit better there is still an issue somewhere...

[#10]

@B_Jetelina I seriously don't know the answer to that, as I have zero experience of Billion equipment, but there should surely be some basic connection information from the GUI - if it has one?

[#11]

Hey @B_Jetelina,

I'm sorry to hear that you've been experiencing issues with your connection. I've reviewed your account today and updated the open fault ticket, which can be found here. I hope the fault is resolved as soon as possible, but if you continue to experience any issues then please let us know and we'll be happy to pick this back up for review.

[#12]

Hello, just to let you all that I had a senior OpenReach technician over today to test the line and he found a fault with the cable leading to my house; this will be replaced tomorrow and that's hopefully the end of my connection issues. I kinda knew it would be something like that, as the issues only started happening after storm Arwen swept over the country...

Anyway, a big Thank You to everyone who responded to my initial posting. Merry Christmas!!!

[#13]

I'm glad to hear that there's been some positive progress on this case @B_Jetelina. Hopefully the work is completed by the end of the day tomorrow, but if there's any issues or delays then please let us know and we'll be happy to pick this case back up for review