iPlayer freezing on Samsung smart TV after upgrading to fibre broadband using Plusnet Hub One

[#1]

I upgraded to Plusnet Fibre Broadband (FTTC) with a Plusnet Hub One a couple of weeks ago (07-Jan-2022). Since then iPlayer on Samsung smart Tv intermittently randomly freezes after 20 to 60 minutes. The iPlayer is essentially unusable.

My Plusnet Hub One firmware self-identifies as ver4.7.5.1.83.8.289.1.3 (last updated 07-Jan-2022) which I assume to be up-to-date.

But I had NO problems at all with SAME TV running on a Plusnet (Technicolour) TG582n Broadband Router for 6 years prior to this.

However I have (I think) finally managed to capture an Event Log showing the fault sequence at ~14:26 hrs today (30-Jan-2022). Note that I hard rebooted (paperclip reset) the Hub One at ~13:30 hrs; and made 1 change to rename 5GHz channel to *-5GHZ plus 1 change to dim hub lights.

There were only 2 devices connected in this session (both wireless on 2.4GHZ channel): IP 192.168.1.65 which is my HP DESKTOP PC & IP 192.168.1.64 which is my SAMSUNG SMART TV
Also IP 31.125.x.x is the external hub IP in this session; IP 52.72.155.135 and IP 52.200.30.115 seem to be an amazon web servers; and IP 157.55.184.57 is unknown (does not respond to a ping -a)

So my initial interpretation of the Hub One Event Log (see attached file for the log) is as follows:-
13:38:19 Samsung TV powered on, IP lease connection requested from hub
13:38:20 Samsung TV connected to hub with a 1440 min lease
13:39:55 iPlayer initiated on Samsung Smart Tv to replay a BBC1 program
13:39:55 implied that iPlayer then replays Tv programs using the UPnP protocol on port 55816
14:08:41 to 14:09:14 I logged in as Hub One Router Admin to monitor Hub One router
14:24:35 iPlayer freezes (after replaying ~44 mins of tv program)
14:24:35 Outgoing TCP packet on port 57620 from Samsung Smart Tv is BLOCKED by Hub One from reaching 157.55.184.57 port 443 due to PERCEIVED invalid tcp flag
which then causes an irrecoverable outbound cascade of BLOCKS to amazon web servers (aws)

It is not clear to me whether aws is serving the BBC iPlayer content, or whether the iPlayer (or Samsung) has (unsuccessfully) attempted to push some user data to aws over the hub

Therefore I have three questions:-
1) Will the original Plusnet TG582n Broadband Router work on the new Fibre Broadband connection (albeit at reduced speeds - but giving a stable usable iPlayer) ?
2) Can anybody better interpret my Fibre Broadband Event Log of today's iPlayer freeze ?
3) Or is the only solution to junk the Plusnet Hub One for a BT Hub 6 using Plusnet Fibre Broadband ?

Any suggestions/observations would be welcomed.                                                     (IanT / 30-Jan-2022)

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Full IP address edited to maintain privacy (and sent to an area that staff can see).

[#2]

Thanks a lot for getting in touch @iandmthomas and I'm sorry to hear that you've been having issues with your service. Tests on the line on our side are also showing the line to be banded, with some line issues detected. Saying that, these have only occurred over the last few days, starting on 25/01/2022. Is this the date you plugged in your new Hub One?

[#3]

Hi Adam,

No, my new fibre broadband (FTTC) Hub One was activated p.m Fri 07-Jan-2022 (replacing my asdl broadband Plusnet Technicolor hub which was activated ~16-Oct-2014 and had been wirelessly connected to my 2014 model 40" Samsung Smart Tv used for heavy iPlayer usage - flawlessly - up to 07-Jan-2022).

However I came across multiple Plusnet Community complaints about the Hub One giving intermittent freezes on iPlayer on Samsung Smart tv's since ~2018, and I have worked through all the (supposed) fixes (on older versions of the Hub One firmware) documented therein e.g. turning off Extended UPnP security etc) - without any success.

Finally I turned off the 5Ghz channel entirely (for about 2 days) which left a warning light on the Hub One - but made no difference to the iPlayer freezes, which continued. (Could only proceed by switching off the Tv and starting the iPlayer replay over again).

That was why I did a hard reset (paperclip reset) of the Hub One at ~ 13:30 hrs on Sat 29-Jan-2022 (to refresh the firmware to as-delivered state - namely v4.7.5.1.83.8.289.1.3 last updated 07-Jan-2022) before attempting to capture the Event Log trace of a controlled iPlayer freeze :- which I then posted to the Plusnet Community website.

So please IGNORE any and all Hub/Line errors occurring BEFORE ~ 13:30 hrs 29-Jan-2022. But if Hub/Line errors are still occurring after 13:30 on 29-Jan-2022 then please let me know . . . . [I attach a hard copy of the BT Broadband Availability Checker that I ran for my line on 29-Jan-2022 in case this is of help].  [My practical observed fibre broadband upload+download speeds reflect the hard copy results shown].

Overnight, since making the original post, I realised

(i) that the fibre broadband Hub One Event Log is NOT logging full diagnostic DETAILS, as there is no reference to the estimated 400MB of data traffic that I think must have been played by the iPlayer before the tv freeze after ~40+ minutes

(ii) that I have not tested out whether it is JUST intermittent iPlayer freezes, or whether OTHER streaming services are affected on the Samsung Smart Tv, so I an NOW stressing my Tv/Hub/fibre Link with replay of an Amazon Prime film. Will update this post later today with the results.

(IanT / 31-Jan-2022)

[#4]

Thanks a lot for your response, I think we may have found the issue, so I've run a phone line test this afternoon, and we're now seeing what's called a Loop fault. this usually occurs when there's a short circuit somewhere within the internal wiring.

Are you able to remove the faceplate from your master socket, and connect your router directly into the test socket which lies behind it for a few days and see how you get on? If you're still having issues, we can look into arranging an engineer visit.

[#5]

Hi Adam,

Yes, I can connect the Hub One directly to the test socket on my BT Openreach Master Socket 5C for you.
My router (was Plusnet Technicolor, now Plusnet Hub One) is always connected to the Master Socket,
but there is one extension phone socket in the bedroom, albeit nothing is plugged in to that socket.

Also in view of your comments on a possible line Loop fault - for completeness - be aware that although I have never had broadband issues (prior to 07-Jan-2022), I did report a phone line issue to Plusnet on 14-Aug-2021,
details as below (in case of any relevance). [No other line faults reported by me in last 7 years].

********************************************************************

Home phone line fault noticed on Fri evening 13-Aug-2021
NO RING TONE ON INCOMING CALLS - calls terminating as 'missed'
(but Plusnet Asdl Broadband Service to HP Desktop PC unaffected)
Phone Fault reported to Plusnet at ~09:05 Sat 14-Aug-2021.
Plusnet 'Question' 217100070 logged for 'Earth Contact Fault'
BT Openreach engineer attended our flat ~15:00 Tue 17-Aug-2021
After investigation, old BT Master Wall socket in flat was replaced
by the BT Engineer with an Openreach 5C Master Wall Socket.
Fault apparently fixed. Incoming & Outgoing calls from home phone OK.
Plusnet 'Question' 217100070 updated to Closed ~19:15 Tue 17-Aug-2021

*********************************************************************

BEFORE I move the Hub One, let me document the results of my tests today. At ~10:00 hrs to ~17:10 hrs today
I played back-to-back movies thru' Amazon Prime on my Samsung Smart Tv :- faultless performance for ~7 hrs.
Then at ~19:00 hrs I used iPlayer to replay a BBC1 program series. The Samsung Smart Tv froze at ~20:05 hrs.
Hub One Event log appended. Similar BLOCKED output from Samsung Smart Tv IP 192.168.1.64 to an Amazon web
server IP 35.172.79.157 as per previous freeze occurrence. 'Invalid' packet (apparently) on port 360360.
[Samsung Tv iPlayer froze displaying error message "'something went wrong' error code 01119"].

I will keep an open mind about the iPlayer until you have had time to do some more Line tests.

BUT my Plusnet Hub One broadband router has NOW BEEN MOVED OVER to the TEST SOCKET on the Openreach 5C
Master Socket at 21:00 hrs MON 31-JAN-2022 - as per your request of today. Will monitor if any change in next few days.

(IanT / 31-Jan-2022)

[#6]

Hiya @iandmthomas, thanks for getting back to us. I am sorry for the issues with your service.

I have tested your line again today and we are still seeing a loop fault being picked up so will likely need to look at sending an engineer to further investigate.

I have created a ticket here: https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=view_question&id=221615860 if you add a reply just give us a nudge on here and we can get that picked up for you.

[#7]

Hi,

I have updated Ticket 221615860 as Openreach has now attended my flat in response to your report of a 'line loop fault' . By a process of elimination a faulty Call Blocker on the house phone line was identified as causing a problem. When this was removed, both the phone line and the broadband line were tested again :- and both passed okay (green).

Thus far so good. The Openreach engineer left ~13:45 Thu 03-Feb-2022. 

So I then retested my original reported fault, by starting up the iPlayer on my Samsung Smart Tv at ~ 13:57 hrs replaying a BBC1 drama. The iPlayer froze at ~14:35 hrs. After a few more minutes the iPlayer displayed an error message "'something went wrong' error code 01119". (My HP Laptop connected fine wirelessly and was entirely unaffected). Upon examination the Hub One Admin Event Log (attached) shows a familiar pattern of 'BLOCKED packets (because of Packet invalid connection') at ~14:38 hrs.

Clearly it now seems that the Event Log is not logging sufficient data to enable any data/firmware fault finding to occur [there is no record of the ~37 mins of iPlayer data (I estimate up to 600 MB of data received in that time) showing on the log].

In conclusion I will again ask a variation on the questions that I originally posed my first post to this thread:-

1) As confirmation, does Plusnet want to repeat a Line Test on my line to independently confirm no remaining line errors ?

2) Will the original Plusnet TG582n Broadband Router work on the new Fibre Broadband connection (albeit at reduced speeds)  to see if this old router still gives me me a stable iPlayer ?

3) Can the Hub One be altered to record ALL data being sent & received from 192.168.1.64, the Samsung Smart Tv (in order to try and capture some more useful diagnostic data of a 'freeze' event) ?

4) Or is a viable solution to junk the Plusnet Hub One for a BT Hub 6 configured to use Plusnet Fibre Broadband ?

(IanT / 03-Feb-2022)

[#8]

Thanks a lot for getting back to us @iandmthomas, I've tested the line this morning, and am glad to see that the loop fault now appears to be resolved. Saying that, I'm sorry to see that you're still having issues with BBC iPlayer.

It ought to be noted that not all issues with third party application on Smart TV's are caused by your Plusnet connection, and that potential issues with the App itself, and the TV's internet connection should also be diagnosed.

Are you having similar issues with other applications on your Smart TV?

Something else I'd also like to try is changing the WIFI channels on your router to those best suited for your environment. As your TV is currently connected wirelessly, this may help.

[#9]

Hi Adam,

(1) Noted that your repeat line tests on a.m. Fri showed my line to be fault free (albeit I do not think it was the cause of broadband problems as the identified cause was a [faulty ?] Call Blocker device plugged into the landline phone upstream of the ADSL filter).

(2) Noted your comments about Channel numbers so I have installed inSSIDer on my PC and analysed the wi-fi environment. On Sat a.m. onwards I fixed the 2.4Ghz band at channel 11 (albeit I do not think that this is the cause of the broadband problems as previously the [default] auto-channel allocation was usually observed to pick channel 11 on the 2.4Ghz band automatically).

(3) With respect to iPlayer freezes on Friday afternoon + Friday evening, random freezes were encountered on iPlayer after between 10 mins and 60 mins of replay / running on the 2.4Ghz band / iPlayer giving 01119 error code / no useful diagnostics being visible in the Hub Event Log. (Need to power off the Samsung Tv to restart after every freeze).

(4) One (and only one) Amazon Prime freeze was observed on Friday evening after ~35 mins of replay / running on the 2.4Ghz band / Prime giving 5004 error code / no useful diagnostics being visible in the Hub Event Log.

(5) One (and only one) HP Desktop wi-fi dropout was observed on Friday evening  / running on the 5Ghz band / no useful diagnostics being visible in the Hub Event Log.

(6) On Sat a.m. I set up a 4G mobile phone wi-fi hotspot, and reconfigured the Samsung Smart Tv to use this 4G wi-fi hotspot. I then ran iPlayer on the Samsung Tv for ~2 hours, during which time no iPlayer freezes were observed.

(7) I am now ready to throw the Hub One out of the window. But on Sat p.m. I made one more configuration change to the Hub One, and made sure that all devices were wi-fi connected to the 2.4Ghz band (and none were/will use 5Ghz band / and no ethernet connected devices).

(8) Sat evening/all Sunday I have re-run multi-hour stress tests on the iPlayer on the Samsung Tv. No freezes observed after ~7 hrs replays on iPlayer.

(9) Intend to continue stress testing for, say, another two days - before I document my workaround - providing the Hub One stress testing continues positively.

(10) I will update this post, probably on Wednesday.

(IanT / 06-Feb-2022)

[#10]

Hi @iandmthomas

I'm really sorry for the issues you're having.

Let us know how it goes on Wednesday. 

[#11]

SOLVED iPlayer freezing on Samsung smart TV after upgrading to fibre broadband using Plusnet Hub One

FAULT SUMMARY

I only experienced this after I upgraded from a Plusnet Technicolor ADSL Broadband Router (with average download speeds of 12/14Mbps) to a Plusnet Fibre Broadband vDSL Hub One (with FTTC average download speeds of 30/35Mbps) on 07-Jan-2022.

Since 07-Jan-2022 the iPlayer on Samsung smart Tv intermittently randomly freezes after 20 to 60 minutes replay time. (One freeze was also observed during one Amazon Prime series replay after ~15 mins).

My Plusnet Hub One firmware self-identifies as ver4.7.5.1.83.8.289.1.3 (last updated 07-Jan-2022). My Samsung Smart Tv supports iEEE 802.11a/b/n wireless internet communication protocols i.e. 2.4Ghz band (ref: page 231 of Samsung-40inch-tv-user-manual-2014)

I had 6+ years of faultless iPlayer usage with Plusnet Technicolor TG582n ADSL Broadband Router (Hardware specifications: Wi-Fi iEEE 802.11b/g/n) (ref: Plusnet-Router-Specifications-2013). NO Technicolor Router Admin Changes To As-delivered Router Configuration.

And alternatively connecting the iPlayer on the Samsung Smart Tv from a 4G mobile phone localhotspot (with average download speeds of 20/22Mbps) on 04-Feb-2022 gave faultless iPlayer viewing.

OTHER FACTORS

Searching the web it appears that this problem - or variations thereof - have been reported to Plusnet Forums since at least 17-Apr-2018, without any definite satisfactory solution being found on the Hub One.

Hub One Admin Event Log information is totally USELESS for diagnosing detailed faults, i.m.o. No continuous data packet information can be switched on in the As-delivered Hub One Event Log configuration.

From my router wi-fi research, IEEE 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4 specification) allows Multi Input/Multi Output Wi-Fi simultaneous connects; whereas IEEE 802.11g Wi-Fi does not (Wi-Fi 3 specification).

HYPOTHESIS

Hub One basic firmware coding issue is seen as less likely, as freezes occur at random timings. (If a basic firmware coding issue existed, I might expect a repeat of the same iPlayer program to freeze at exactly the same replay duration).

It seems, to me, more likely that a INFREQUENT TIMING issue (either a data packet being received unusually slowly or in the wrong order due to transient network loading) might cause a condition to occur that has not been foreseen/allowed by the firmware coding.

And I GUESS that this more likely to occur in a data stream that allows Multi Input/Multi Output simultaneous
wi-fi connects i.e. in Wi-Fi 4 specification under iEEE 802.11n.

So I postulate that making connections at slower speed (Wi-Fi 3 specification IEEE 802.11g) might avoid this.

HUB ONE ROUTER USER ADMIN CHANGES APPLIED FOR TESTING

(1) modify identity of 5GHz band [to make sure that Smart Tv wi-fi is connected on 2.4Ghz band]
(2) change auto-channel select on 2.4Ghz band to a fixed channel [probably not essential]
(3) change 2.4Ghz band from 802.11b/g/n at 300Mbps max to 802.11b/g at 54Mbps max [essential]

TEST RESULTS

Over the past 2 days, with the Hub One Admin settings changed as above, I have
replayed 11.5 hours on iPlayer + 5.0 hours on Amazon Prime - WITHOUT ANY FREEZES.

[I measured average router download speeds of 18/20 Mbps with the above hub changes.
The above restricted fibre broadband speeds are considered acceptable to me as
my Hub One typically only runs one iPlayer plus on HP Desktop simultaneously].

CONCLUSION

I consider the above to be a SOLUTION to the problem (albeit it is really a WORKAROUND
fix - but I am not holding my breath that Plusnet will address a probable Hub One firmware
loophole that appears to have been reported - in various forms - since 2018).

SO I fully document this WORKAROUND fix in case it is of help to other Plusnet Users

(IanT / 09-Feb-2022)

[#12]

To avoid any ambiguity, I attach screenshots of the Admin changes that I made to the Hub One Router.

(Ian T / 10-Feb-2022)

[#13]

Hi @iandmthomas, thanks for the thorough feedback.

As far as I'm aware we no longer have an acknowledged issue with our firmware of the Hub One, having recently completed the rollout of a new firmware version at the end of last year, however I'll tag @bobpullen as he may have some thoughts. 

Although it may be seen that the first two Wi-Fi tweaks you've done in your router settings to be as normal due to the the way that the wireless signal & some devices work, though the third tweak is interesting. 

I'm glad to see you've got to the bottom of the issue though and thanks again for sharing. 

If you have further issues or there's anything else you'd need help with, feel free to get back to me and I'll be happy to help.