I am livid!!!

[#1]

Plusnet, Your second wireless router is now (just like the previous) refusing wireless connections. 

This happens every few weeks.. it will suddenly decide no wireless connections (with or without a reboot) and an hour or so later it will decide to accept them again - even without a reboot.

So I ring you up. Most infuriating thing i've done today. Apparently i'm not named on the account (yet James Bailey did this years ago) and you won't discuss account details with me. Thats fair enough.. i know where we live and what our phone number is. Anyway he agreed to look at our tech issue.

Eventually he suggests I change channel - I would but it's set to AUTO - you know.. the thing that is supposed to pick the best available channel.... i pointed this out but still got the same response.

So I reluctantly agreed.. but asked him HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO IF I CANNOT CONNECT TO THE DAMNED THING??????????? I did question if he had any real experience at this point because it seemed like all he really understood IT wise was internet explorer and MS word.

To which he replied i'll have to use a cable. To which I reminded him that I can't do that because I have a 1 year old baby crawling round who loves playing with cables etc. 

Then he told me I was being rude and disconnected the call. Telling someone I have a baby crawling round and i can't use a cable is rude is it? - Seriously?

Are you calling my son a disgrace plusnet?

To recap: Your wifi randomly refuses any connection every few weeks (as if someone is logged in - like the sneaky BT???), then it randomly allows wifi again (without even a reboot) and this will also last for weeks, having a son that stops me using a cable is rude and i'm, supposed to be better at channel picking than a device which is programmed to do it faster and more efficiently than a human (even though i can't login to it).

Pathetic!

The router is now turned off. If you or your BT chums were attempting to do anything to it remotely then good luck - it's not happening.

[#2]

The suggestion was to reconfigure the router.

You asked how to do that when wireless connection does not work.

You were advised to use a cable for this purpose.

It does not sound as if you were being asked permanently use a wired connection instead of wi-fi,  only for the few minutes it would take to reconfigure. Surely the baby can be kept out of harms way for that time.

[#3]

Er no. The moment I try to put him elsewhere and leave him the whole street can here him. There is no way I can use a wire to get into the router with him about OR ELSE I WOULD HAVE DONE SO.

If its so easy alanf, you have an invitation.

[#4]

Wait until he sleeps!

[#5]

Give me a few minutes and I'll drop a ticket on the account with what I hope should be a way to sort this for you.

[#6]

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@NedLudd wrote:

Wait until he sleeps!

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 Are you serious? What good is that wheI  I need to use Internet? About as good as this forum letting me reply to quotes on my mobile obviously. 

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Quote fixed.

[#7]

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav)

Unhelpful post removed

[#8]

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7up wrote:

This happens every few weeks.. it will suddenly decide no wireless connections (with or without a reboot) and an hour or so later it will decide to accept them again - even without a reboot.

...

Eventually he suggests I change channel - I would but it's set to AUTO - you know.. the thing that is supposed to pick the best available channel.... 

And that is what it does do HOWEVER some devices are not very good at tracking channel changes.  Moving from AUTO to a static channel can avoid such defects in your devices.

[#9]

Well Chris your replacement hub one has turned up today... I'm really sulking now.

It won't stay active for longer than 30 seconds without rebooting!!!

Sometimes I can barely get the admin username typed into it without it rebooting again... and yes.. it's been left running far longer than the 5 mins stated in the manual! I have mentioned that going into advanced > Home network seems to trigger it but then when it happens when you're typing in the password again I have to wonder if the device is simply just completely and utterly faulty.

So.. after 3 different routers from you guys being nothing but hassle I am going to abandon all hope! Sorry Chris.. I know you tried...

I now believe that from my own personal POV I will be better using my Tesco mobile connection. The missus can fend for herself dealing with you guys... and trust me.. she's a no nonsense girl when you push her too far.

7up.

EDIT: After discussing further with the missus we're not convinced that this new router is going to be any use at all. Is there a possibility we can send it back?

[#10]

Being sent 3 consecutive faulty devices, including 2 distinctly different models is extremely unlikely.

Whether an inherent bug with the devices or not, it's probably very likely something closer to home that's getting them in a tiff.

What devices do you have on your local network and what are they doing? Is there any common activity that occurs around the time wi-fi connectivity is lost or the router reboots?

With a bit of trial and error, I wonder if you can establish if it's a particular device being connected/attempting to connect that invokes the problem.

[#11]

Perhaps there's some device within your network, or even within wireless range, that's doing something to upset these routers. Of course the routers should be more robust, but it might be useful to try and find out if there's some particular device that's triggering the problem.

[#12]

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@bobpullen wrote:
Being sent 3 consecutive faulty devices, including 2 distinctly different models is extremely unlikely.

Whether an inherent bug with the devices or not, it's probably very likely something closer to home that's getting them in a tiff.

What devices to you have on your local network and what are they doing? Is there any common activity that occurs around the time wi-fi connectivity is lost or the router reboots?

With a bit of trial and error, I wonder if you can establish if it's a particular device being connected/attempting to connect that invokes the problem.

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Well bob.. the first router just kept refusing connections wirelessly.. it refused the correct passwords and all of our devices were refused wireless access. You replaced it and we sent the defective one back to you in the blue plastic bag supplied (I think I still have the proof of posting somewhere).

The second one worked well for the next few months... but every now and then it also refuses wireless connections - even with just ONE single device turned on (namely the desktop PC). When this happens it plays up for anything from 10 mins to several hours. Reboots make no difference, it continues to randomly deny access (middle of the day or night). Windows can see it with a good strong signal (it's less than 5m away). Eventually (even if not rebooted) it will just randomly allow the wifi connection again however I must stress that rebooting it does not cause the wifi to start working - if its decided to refuse it then it continues to do so even after a reboot. Even with the desktop PC turned off, it still performs the same behaviour with both our android phones, the tablet and my netbook (the latter is barely used these days).

The hub one thing... lovely looking bit of kit... but OMG it's just awful. Please see my thread here for a screenshot:

https://community.plus.net/t5/Tech-Help-Software-Hardware-etc/Anyone-got-a-hub-one/td-p/1338357

Being a new router I do not see it as an unreasonable request to log in and use the admin pages to make sure that it is functioning correctly, connecting, secure, seeing our devices (of which only one is presently turned on), firewalled etc etc.

That said, clicking the "Home network" link or not, the damn thing can't stop rebooting itself once it has started - it's like it enters a loop of reboots until it eventually gets bored of it. Sometimes I enter the admin password and by the time I've clicked ok it's already gone... AGAIN. This isn't a loss of wifi.... it's a loss of wifi caused by the device rebooting - repeatedly.

Only one device connected to it at the time - my desktop PC. Abandoned that and used the netbook... same behaviour.

I'm honestly mulling over the idea of just using an old XP box running ICS instead .. or just permanently switching to my phones 4G.

[#13]

As mentioned in the other thread, it may be worth RMA'ing the device, but I've a sneaking suspicion based on your experience with the previous devices that the replacement might also cause you problems.

I wonder if it's nearby wireless devices or some other electrical equipment kicking out impulse noise interference or something like that.

Would be handy to get the device back in the office to see if what you're seeing can be replicated.

[#14]

If it helps Bob, I can Skype you so that you can see it in operation at our end before it is returned - with #3 anyway. The previous router / modem is random - I can't replicate it, it just goes randomly.

This is a real shame to be honest as the second router meant connecting to an external modem - more wires and mess... but this 3rd device is all in one and has tidied up the hall nicely... murphys law and all that..

[#15]

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@ejs wrote:

Perhaps there's some device within your network, or even within wireless range, that's doing something to upset these routers. Of course the routers should be more robust, but it might be useful to try and find out if there's some particular device that's triggering the problem.

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Let me put it like this. I click a link in the admin page and bam.... the router throws a hissy fit and reboots. When it reboots the wifi is turned off. Then it reboots again... and again. I can't see how any external device would cause that...