Broadband keeps going down

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 13:40

Christine,

I have an old Home Hub 5 and it is different, and I don't see the same message. However, under the "WAN" category there are others which will give you the timing of when the service comes back. If you see a WAN report which includes "PPOE is up - Down Rate=", then that's output when the home hub re-establishes contact with the cabinet electronics. That will have the date and time (which will be a couple of minutes after the service was lost). Cross-checking with my times would show if they happened at about the same time.

There doesn't, on the Home Hub 5 appear to be an easy way to download the log unless I missed it.

There are two basic services, and anything BT calls "Fibre" will be to the green roadside cabinet (where the fibre is actually connected). The older, ADSL service had the other end of the broadband service terminated in the exchange. It's the shorter run of copper wire to the cabinet rather than the exchange that

Both VDSL and ADSL are "DSL" services, so don't worry too much about that. As far as "impacted" is concerned, that is something to do with whether there's something on your actual line that might cause it to run a bit slower than if it wasn't. It's a bit of detail about guaranteed speeds, and is not the cause of your outages.

In any event, if there are others on the same cabinet (or same line card in the cabinet), then it points to a specific problem for OpenReach to deal with. The real problem is getting through to the technical staff and getting past the IPS retail people who are working off of scripts.

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 13:35

BT responded to my text. An engineer coming out to check the cabinet and also my set up, tomorrow (Friday) a.m. He could see that I had 25 drop-outs yesterday. No wonder I have beeen struggling!

Gave him the info about Cabinet 3.

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 13:11

We are with John Lewis and have the broadband drop all day yesterday and today. The person I spoke to said a BT engineer would be out tomorrow to investigate. 

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 12:50

Steve, Thanks again. Very thoughtful. 

But WAN does not give me anything like your results -- perhaps because I connect via DSL?? I can't even see listed there the times when I know there was no connection. I don't want to fiddle with the advanced settings as I really don't understand how it all fits together.

My attempt to report the fault via Miranda's bt link has failed. It says everything is in order, so I will try the TEXT 61998 route instead. 

By the way, on your Wholesale checker link page I did notice it says that although the VDSL Range A is clean for Cabinet 3, it does also say that VDSL Range B is impacted, and says it's a line which may have wiring issues. Might that be the problem? You will understand this, whereas I do not.

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 12:25

I am on Sky broadband and getting the same downtimes as you, Steve. 

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 12:10

Christine,
  have you selected the "WAN" type only first (it's a button towards the to right of the technical lot)? You will still get lots of extraneous stuff even then, but if you scroll through it (and there will be several pages) then you should see lines which include "disconnect" and with the duration of the connection in seconds.

Also, it's often easier to export the log and then look at in Excel or a text browser if yu have that.

The WAN bit is important or else you will get lots of other services reported which the router provides. WAN means "Wide Area Network" and that's the bit that actually connects to the Internet and logs the various activities to create the connection. But for this problem, it's the "disconnect part". It's really whether all these disconnections are happening at the same time for all those which are experiencing faults which is a clue to the problem.

It may be that there's a failing line card in the green cabinet. Each one has maybe 20 or more lines on it, and there will be perhaps 20 of those. If one of those cards is faulty then it could just affect those who are unlucky enough to be on it.

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 11:54

Thanks Steve, I have done all of that (with difficulty), but my event log does not look at all like yours and I really don't understand it at all. This means, for reasons of confidentiality, I don't want to post the results here. I use BT HomeHub 5.

Building work here today, so will only get onto reporting the fault when I get time. Let's hope it gets fixed soon!

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 11:20 (last edited on Thu 8 Sep 2022, 11:53)

Christine, to get a technical log then you have to log in to the router via a web interface. If you have a BT Home Hub, then there are instructions on how to do so here. Routers from other ISPs will have equivalents.

On the Home Hub 6 the…

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Thu 8 Sep 2022, 11:11

And I’m cabinet 3

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 11:06

Having gone through BT text diagnostics and no improvement, they have texted:

Hi, it's the BT Diagnostics bot here.

We're really sorry but due to the high amount of requests we're receiving at the moment; we are unable to schedule a callback for you to at this time.

You can get help by messaging our team online at bt.com/help, by using the My BT app or by calling 0800 032 5628 to speak with a support agent, although wait times may be high.

Alternatively, please text ADVISOR again later today or tomorrow to try again. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 11:02

Yes, mine has also dropped out again. Definitely Cabinet 3. Sorry don't know how to get a router log, Steve. 

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 10:59

Cabinet 3 here too and having the same issue. Ours went off twice last night for a few minutes and has just dropped again now. 

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 10:55

Thanks Steve for that info re cabinets. Having looked at the site you mentioned i now know I’m cabinet I.

Thu 8 Sep 2022, 10:32

To find out what cabinet you are on, the use the BT Wholesale checker and put your phone number (or other details in). Note, that I'm definitely on cabinet 3 which is on the Enstone Crossroads. Sandy's reference to 9 Acres close may be to the property location, not the…

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Thu 8 Sep 2022, 09:26 (last edited on Thu 8 Sep 2022, 09:32)

Was absolutely dreadful for me late last night, although I did manage to watch an hour of catch-up TV.

OK first thing, but then went off again briefly at around 9.15 am. Will need to try and report the fault which wasn't showing up as a known problem when I last looked.

Please could others also report their issues. I can do very little when the system goes down because I usually also lose 4G as well.

I believe I am linked to the cabinet on the Enstone Rd, by the crossroads and bus stop, not the one on 9 Acres Close, Sandy. 

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 23:08

On and off since this afternoon. Seems ok now though. Mail would arrive, but then would say “unable to download message”

Assume I’m on cabinet 3 in Nine Acres Close.

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 22:20 (last edited on Wed 7 Sep 2022, 22:22)

No issue here.

I recommend surge protection on all fixed pc hardware such as desktop pcs, routers etc. Energy companies throw out dirty power even on no storm days

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 21:08

And to me as well. This is clearly not a coincidence; I suspect the cabinet has a problem.

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 21:07 (last edited on Thu 8 Sep 2022, 06:19)

Lo and behold, it happed just now at 21:05 for a couple of minutes 

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 20:59

Possibly we could compare the technical log WAN data to see if the outages are all at the same time.

I ought to add that I did once have a router damaged by a lightning strike. It's one of the reasons I always have a backup router (bought second hand of eBay).

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 20:58 (last edited on Thu 8 Sep 2022, 15:30)

Same problem here off The Green. Microsoft Teams calls have buffered a few times over past two days and dropped out once today. It helped when no one was using video. 
My router has had many short episodes of flashing and losing connection today.

Catch up tv via BT broadband has not been affected though - but then I don’t watch much tv.

First time I lost broadband was during that evening electrical storm.

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 20:53

Thanks Steve. That's very helpful to know. 

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 20:41

I have been having exactly the same thing happening here in Ticknell Piece road. We will both be on what I think is cabinet 3, That's the one by the Enstone crossroads.

I have swapped over to a backup router that I have to see if it happens with that too. I should add that I lost broadband for a few hours during the first thunderstorm a few days ago. The backup router didn't fix that; it just came back.

I have heard rumours of some sort of power issue affecting the cabinet (although they are meant to have battery backup).

Wed 7 Sep 2022, 20:35

My BT broadband has been going on and off all day -- at least 6 times, but not for very long. I also lost broadband on a few occasions yesterday, and for many hours after the storm on Monday night.

I would like to know if others are having problems, or if it's something I need to contact BT about on an individual basis. I am in the Ditchley Rd area.