Ethernet Issues on BT Broadband

jackbauer123 · 24 May 2017 at 12:31

I am having a really irritating time with my ethernet connection since moving home and I was hoping someone may be able to offer some advice on what may be the cause and also any possible solutions.

It is BT broadband and it is a Homehub 5. At the previous house the setup was Homehub downstairs and a long ethernet cable upstairs into the PC with no issues whatsoever.

Since moving I have got the Homehub downstairs and have been forced to use ~~TP-Link~~ Netgear 1000 Powerlines as opposed to the long ethernet cable unfortunately. It is the same Homehub and the same PC. Just a different phoneline and the addition of these Powerlines.

Since moving I have found that I am randomly losing connection. The errors can happen at any time, suddenly web pages or videos just start loading indefinitely and then I get a DNS error. The connection icon usually stays the same. If I go to the network adapter, right click>disable, then right click>enable. The connection usually returns immediately until the next time which might be the next day or as soon as 5 minutes later.

I have tried switching out the cables to no avail. I have also tried connecting the Homehub into the test socket and still found the same thing would occur. I have also tried switching off the power saver setting off on the adapter.

I'm thinking it is the powerlines that are the problem but if they are I find it odd that I could disable and re-enable the network adapter to get it going again.

I guess I would be surprised if it was the phone line for the same reason. That said I have had some issues with my phones wifi connection but that doesn't seem to occur as often.

Given BT's reluctance to send out engineers to check the line I'd like to try and rule everything else out beforehand if possible. Anybody have any ideas what it could be based on the above?

ChrisD. · 24 May 2017 at 12:36

Sounds like a powerline issue, connect the PC directly to the Homehub to diagnose further.

pcfarrar · 24 May 2017 at 12:53

That's a pretty common problem with the cheaper TP-Link homeplugs. Which models are you using?

jackbauer123 · 24 May 2017 at 14:09

pcfarrar said:
That's a pretty common problem with the cheaper TP-Link homeplugs. Which models are you using?

I am not sure why I typed TP-Link, they're actually Netgear Powerline 1000's. The ones with the pass through sockets.

jackbauer123 · 24 May 2017 at 14:13

ChrisD. said:
Sounds like a powerline issue, connect the PC directly to the Homehub to diagnose further.

I will see if I can get a long ethernet cable and try this out.

APM · 24 May 2017 at 19:04

What other electronic gear is on the go near to any of your networking kit?

Try physically moving things around a bit, like tv's from powerline sockets etc.

I've heard that can help.

dmsims · 26 May 2017 at 10:41

As a test try running a continuous ping to the router

(Windows: CMD prompt, then: ping your router's IP adress -t)

Bickaxe · 26 May 2017 at 13:56

How old is the house? It could be the wiring that is the issue (older is more temperamental). I've had the issue in a house we rented yet when we moved to a much newer build, I got a much more stable connection.
Use a home network now we have bought.

bremen1874 · 26 May 2017 at 14:10

Bickaxe said:
(older is more temperamental).

No reason I can see that this should be.

Older, simpler, wiring could be better.

If I wanted to use Powerline adapters in my house I'd almost certainly end up with them on different circuits and probably on different sides (both RCD protected) of the consumer unit. At my mother's house there's basically a single ring that covers the entire house so they'll always be on the same circuit.

Bickaxe · 26 May 2017 at 14:41

Was referring to the quality of the wiring, at least in my experience. But I agree a simpler route fro point to point is better.
I've never tested across different rings so can't comment on how that affects anything.