Plusnet router loses connection etc, etc

Derek F

unread,

Mar 11, 2015, 7:35:31 PM3/11/15

to

In case anyone kindly helping missed the copy of the E-Mail from Plusnet
in this long thread I will repeat it and the one from Bob
as no one has commented on them and then sit back and wait for Plusnet's
promised improvement.

" Thanks for your continued patience and apologies in the slight delay
with regards to the response.
I have carried out a test on your line which indicate that a large
number of errors is the most likely cause of the variable speed issue
you have seen.
To fix this I have turned on a system called interleaving, which should
correct the errors and solve the issue with your speed.
This should be active within 2 days and you should notice an improvement
in the service within 5 days from today. If this doesn't solve the
issue, please give us the opportunity to investigate this further.
I hope this resolves your problem and my apologies for any inconvenience
caused.
Should you be having any further issues, I ask you click play to watch a
guide on how to resolve a few basic connection problems.
The link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br8Q3S-fOl4

There are many potential reasons why a wireless signal may be weak or
dropping, please follow the instructions on the following page for
information on how to fix this:
How to improve my wireless signal
Should the issue persist please get back in touch with us.
Please get back to us online, call us 24/7 on 0845 1400 200 or simply
reply to the text we have sent if you require any further assistance"

***************************************
" I've had a glance at your RADIUS logs mind you and the line does
appear to have been dropping since earlier in the month.

The connection had been uninterrupted for 30 days before this lot:

Session Ended Session Duration

13:08 11/Mar/2015 3:5:14
10:01 11/Mar/2015 0:8:12
09:50 11/Mar/2015 6:23:58
03:24 11/Mar/2015 5:46:4
21:35 10/Mar/2015 2:4:9
19:30 10/Mar/2015 2 Days, 6:23:11
13:04 08/Mar/2015 0:48:33
12:15 08/Mar/2015 17:23:5
18:37 07/Mar/2015 5:32:25
13:03 07/Mar/2015 14:47:40
22:15 06/Mar/2015 0:22:51
17:54 06/Mar/2015 2 Days, 4:48:35

Be interesting to see if the interleaving helps
--
Bob Pullen
Plusnet Plc"

Thanks Guys,
Derek

Martin Brown

unread,

Mar 12, 2015, 5:05:47 AM3/12/15

to

My instinct would be that if the connection was previously stable for
months or years then a BT Openreach engineer has yanked the cable that
your connection runs though and there is now a dodgy intermittent
connection in the signal path. Interleaving might be enough to handle
the transient faults - it works for me on a very old rural line.

If you are in a town though I'd be more inclined to blame the rollout of
FTTC for any new line faults. Round here they typically break one
existing ADSL subscriber line every other time they do a new install.

Is there any audible line noise on a quiet line test?
Dial 17070, press option 2 (quiet line test)

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Derek F

unread,

Mar 12, 2015, 8:53:19 PM3/12/15

to

I'm in a town and about a mile and a half from the exchange.
Does the data Plusnet picks up give them an indication if a cable has
been yanked or does interleaving disguise it? If yanked is that most
likely at the exchange or outside our building. Are BT capable of
routinely picking that up? We seem to have a lot of Openreach activity
around us.
I don't know if it is of any significance but we are in a big block of
56 flats. All the phone cables come into the basement and then up
through the building. There is a cupboard on each of the six floors that
phone, entry phone and communal TV cables go to and are distributed to
each flat. The phone wiring in the basement and is open to the world and
looks a right mess.

> Is there any audible line noise on a quiet line test?
> Dial 17070, press option 2 (quiet line test)
>

There is no line noise.
Derek

Martin Brown

unread,

Mar 13, 2015, 5:15:50 AM3/13/15

to

If they do a TDR line test then it should pick up any discontinuities
along the signal path. Since your line drops above occur randomly at
different times of day it seems unlikely that it is local interference.
Evenings only could mean one of your neighbours has taken up a hobby
using electric arc welding or something like that.

> I don't know if it is of any significance but we are in a big block of
> 56 flats. All the phone cables come into the basement and then up
> through the building. There is a cupboard on each of the six floors that
> phone, entry phone and communal TV cables go to and are distributed to
> each flat. The phone wiring in the basement and is open to the world and
> looks a right mess.

When you look at any BT interconnect box or cabinet it is always amazing
that anything works at all. Several buried interconnects round here
often have to be drained before the guy can work in them.

>> Is there any audible line noise on a quiet line test?
>> Dial 17070, press option 2 (quiet line test)
>>
> There is no line noise.

Pity. Reporting that is an easy way to get a line test done.
(don't mention broadband problems just report intermittent noise -
much easier to do convincingly if the line is actually noisy)

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Derek F

unread,

Mar 13, 2015, 6:07:44 AM3/13/15

to

LOL, Not in this building of mainly aging residents with strict noise
rules after 5 PM and at weekends.

>> I don't know if it is of any significance but we are in a big block of
>> 56 flats. All the phone cables come into the basement and then up
>> through the building. There is a cupboard on each of the six floors that
>> phone, entry phone and communal TV cables go to and are distributed to
>> each flat. The phone wiring in the basement and is open to the world and
>> looks a right mess.
>
> When you look at any BT interconnect box or cabinet it is always amazing
> that anything works at all. Several buried interconnects round here
> often have to be drained before the guy can work in them.
>

>>> Is there any audible line noise on a quiet line test?
>>> Dial 17070, press option 2 (quiet line test)
>>>
>> There is no line noise.
>
> Pity. Reporting that is an easy way to get a line test done.
> (don't mention broadband problems just report intermittent noise -
> much easier to do convincingly if the line is actually noisy)
>

Back in the early days of the Internet that was a problem we once had
where we then lived.
Derek

Kraftee

unread,

Mar 14, 2015, 5:16:55 PM3/14/15

to

"Derek F" <lordp...@NOXgmail.com> wrote in message
news:OFyMw.19962$lO6....@fx24.iad...

> LOL, Not in this building of mainly aging residents with strict noise
> rules after 5 PM and at weekends.

It still could be caused by an interference problem. The only way you could
check is by using an AM receiver put it on 612khz (that's normally the sweet
spot and check whether you can hear anything which relates to your dropouts.

My reasoning..... Old people tend to have older pieces of electronic kit
which are more prone to broadcast interference signals than newer

Derek F

unread,

Mar 15, 2015, 2:28:13 PM3/15/15

to

Interesting thought.
Derek

Martin Brown

unread,

Mar 16, 2015, 6:40:52 AM3/16/15

to

On 14/03/2015 21:16, Kraftee wrote:
>

Their original Kenwood mixer with no suppression for instance!

Or that original Marconi spark transmitter.

I expect running a Telsa coil is disastrous for local ADSL signals.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Derek F

unread,

Mar 16, 2015, 7:12:02 AM3/16/15

to

Some of those old products last forever. Our seldom now used food mixer
is a relatively young 33. Our even older Kenwood carving knife recently
expired and the new model is not a patch on it.
In one house we had we used to get TV/radio interference caused by a Guy
running an unofficial car repair business from his nearby garage before
he was closed down
At one time if you complained the BBC would trace the culprits. I don't
suppose that still happens.
Derek