More BT Infinity issues?

[Fragil1ty]

Just a quick overview, about a month ago, I had to get a line-tech out to fix my connection because it was dropping as soon as it was coming online 90% of the time. He came out, he fixed it and it was a problem at the FTTC. And it was been perfect for well over a month and all has been well.

So for the past 2 days, I've been experiencing problems (again), essentially what's happening is my net will go down/lose connection, however you want to look at it and then it'll come back say .. 10-30 seconds later, it's really annoying when you're trying to watch netflix, game, etc.

I'm located in the NW of England area, near Liverpool. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this issue or is having this issue as I'm going to give it one more day to sort itself out and then going to have to get ANOTHER tech out, sigh.

 

[Fragil1ty]

It could be that the Openreach guy who fixed your service didn't do a fantastic job.

What's your connection speed like? Is it down from the usual?

It actually is, I'm only getting 40-49mb whereas before I was getting 60+ and what not. I'm still getting full upload speeds, but the download speeds have diminished a little bit.

I went to bed last night and I left a chat window open with a friend on Steam, as it tells you when you've lost connection and then regained connection and here are the results from last night, I'm waking up at 10am this morning.

3:13 - Lost connection to steam, will rejoin chat automiatically when connection regained.
3:13 - Connected again and rejoined chat.

3:20 - Lost connection to steam, will rejoin chat automiatically when connection regained.
3:20 - Connected again and rejoined chat.

3:45 - Lost connection to steam, will rejoin chat automiatically when connection regained.
3:45 - Connected again and rejoined chat.

3:49 - Lost connection to steam, will rejoin chat automiatically when connection regained.
3:49 - Connected again and rejoined chat.

4:06 - Lost connection to steam, will rejoin chat automiatically when connection regained.
4:06 - Connected again and rejoined chat.

4:31 - Lost connection to steam, will rejoin chat automiatically when connection regained.
4:31 - Connected again and rejoined chat.

5:43 - Lost connection to steam, will rejoin chat automiatically when connection regained.
5:43 - Connected again and rejoined chat.

 

[Fragil1ty]

Had to get in contact with customer support again and I'm going to get a call from network support in the next 48 hours or something and then, if it needs to be escalated then it will be and what not.

/fun

 

[Fragil1ty]

Are you using the Homehub?

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.ph...fttc-router-disconnection-and-reboot-bug.html

I am, BT Home Hub 3 at the moment. I've got to pay for the new router I believe. (Unless my current one 'breaks')

 

[Fragil1ty]

I have a Homehub 3 and I normally get around 53mb but after a speed test, it's down to 3-4Mb but upload remains over 10Mb. A restart of the hub brings it back to 50Mb+. It appears I have to do this on a regular basis everyday.

I have wireless printer issues with it also and I seem to be connection lost errors when streaming video. Would this be similar to yourself?

Not entirely no, the problem that I've been having has only been occurring over the past couple of days is essentially, the connection would drop for about 10 seconds to 30 seconds and then it would re-connect as if it were nothing.

My download speeds are down slightly, but only about 10mb or so, I usually get around 62-65mb, I don't really care about the download speeds, 50mb is fine, but it's just annoying when the connection dips in and out all the time.

Your problems seem to be a little worse than mine though, I'd contact tech support/customer support as soon as possible and get it sorted out, maybe you have a faulty router.

 

[Fragil1ty]

Leaving Steam chat open is far from an accurate test to gauge a true reflection of your line's up-time...

Steam's friend server is notorious for being up and down, you couldn't of picked a worse method of testing.

You simply need to look at your router's log page and see when it is dropping sync etc.

Nope, steam was up during this time and it wasn't a method to test "my line up time", it was a method to test when it was going down that night. Obviously if it were a more serious problem, I wouldn't find other means to test my line's connectivity and what not. I checked with a friend and his connection didn't go down once, all night. So yeah. Thanks though.

I have this EXACT issue and it's driving me nuts.

It sucks mate.

I rang them up today (the issues have been a lot less frequent as of late, but I wanted to get this sorted out, it's just not on).

So I rang them up, I informed them in thorough of the situation, they advised me that it seem as if (from their tests) that it may be a modem issue, so I went ahead and got a free BT Home Hub 5, I was previously on the HH3. I had to renew my contract for another 12 months of course, but hey, that's fine by me.

That's going to be coming tomorrow, I'll switch to the new router and then report back here with the results and what not.

 

[Fragil1ty]

Update:

I was supposed to get my new router, the BT HH5 but it did not come, even though I would be paying for the shipping, I checked and it's coming through Parcelforce's 24hour service, but yeah, it wont be coming until Monday, it's not that big of a deal, but when you're dealing with constant interrupts because your modem is dying, yeah it's a little annoying. Even more annoying when you're TV is connected to the Internet. But hey ho, oh well.

Had the same issue as well here is how to fix:

Enable ALL Wifi connections on the BT HH5!

Then wait for BT to update your HH5 firmware remotely.

Go here to read more about the issue its affected a LOT of BT Infinity users recently
https://community.bt.com/t5/BT-Infinity-Speed-Connection/bd-p/BTInfinity

What do you mean by 'enable all wifi connections on the BT HH5?'

And will the BT Firmware be updated automatically, or do i I have to do something about it?

Thanks.

 

[Fragil1ty]

My Home hub 3 was a nightmare

I had intermittent speed drops on the wifi every two days or so. would drop to 2 mbs, upload unaffected.

No event log errors, no issues with wired devices, just wifi.

Re sited the hub, removed the non essential wired devices, changed channel, switched off FON. Still the same.

Only way to resolve the issue was to either change channel or reboot.

Had the original replaced and all was good for a number of months, then the same issue again.

Long story short (We had some fantastic conversations about them testing my Wifi from India, testing the line and of course, "BT does not support Wifi") Anyway, I moaned and moaned till they gave me a Home Hub 4. No issues since.

It seems to me that once the issues start, they just don't stop and that's a little annoying to be honest.

Here's an update anyhow.

• HH5 arrived and installed
• Noticed that my speeds were low, I normally get 73/18, I'm currently getting 37/11
• Phoned up BT, inquired about this, was told my line would be monitored and I would be contacted within 48 hours (again)
• Going to wait for the call and then get an engineer out to my resident
• fun

Personally, I think the engineer that I got out a month ago, although he fixed the problem at the time, I don't think he did a well enough job now that these issues are occurring, but he did tell me that if there are a lot of drops on the line, the line will adjust itself in an attempt to stabalise itself, maybe that's what's happened here? I'm just not sure.

Just want it fixed really.

 

[Fragil1ty]

Update 2:

• Phoned BT, service rep wouldn't escalate my call as I felt I was getting no where (he actually told me to use IE to increase my speeds?)
• Re-rang, got a better representative and he booked me out an engineer straight away
• Engineer coming tomorrow to fix my line (not sure what he's going to be able to do if anything, as my line is stable, it's just my speeds that are not)
• Line is now stable but my speeds are way, way down
• Paying for BT Infinity 2, used to get 73/18, not only getting 30/10 (even worse speeds than yesterday, fun times)

Will report back tomorrow when hopefully everything is fixed.

Edit:

BT Infinity 2 - Speedtest @4:54AM 4/3/15

 

[Fragil1ty]

your ping is quite high for a Speedtest result. Especially on Infinity 2

I would test on other severs to get a comparison as you are only on copper to the cab and given your previous speeds, it's not that far away. So I would expect a ping to be around 1 to 15 Ms

Also have you tried BT Wholesale Speed Test

As for upload, Try uploading large mounts of data. I do it to my cloud and then download. I use a 1 -2 Gb file and then ping pong them up and down.. I find this kicks the upload to full rate. I have had it throttle at 9 when IP's have changed or BT have been messing about with my connection. However after about about 10-15 Gb of uploads it goes to the higher upload speed.

Oh I know mate, it's just absolutely terrible, here's todays antics anyway.

I was supposed to have an engineer come out between the time frame 1-6pm, he didn't show by 4:30, so I went ahead and gave BT another call, it seems that I get through to them straight away as of recently? Not sure what that's about.

She then informed me that he had tried to knock and gain entrance into my premises, but he didn't so that's a major cop-out/lie. She then informed me that he tried to contact me, but that was a lie also, I had no call day and the only text that was on my phone was an engineer confirmation text, nothing more.

I then told the lady on the phone that I want to speak to a supervisor/manager as this has gone on long enough, she then told me that the manager was going to get on the phone with the engineer/cabinet people or some other nonsense like that and I would be getting a call back between 5/6pm, so far it's 5:30 and I've had no call back, so more than likely that's not going to happen either.

My internet does seem to be a lot more stable than it has been over the past week and i'm glad because of that, but my speeds are down incredibly, it's like i've been downgraded to BT Infinity 1 or some crap. I have heavy usage in my home, I have a whole family that uses it which ranges from 5-7 people using it at any one time and 30mb just isn't going to cut it.

Here's the wholesale test though.

 

[Fragil1ty]

Mmmmm

They are little tinkers these BT peeps...

Couple of things.
As you had a home hub 3 you must still have the openreach VDSL2 modem at your premises?
Have you connected that to the HH5 via the Wan port or have you disconnected that and plugged in the HH5 to the Master socket?

Can you also see if your IP address's have been chamging over the past few days? (check speedtest results)

TBH I am very surprised they are sending an engineer out after such a short time. I would have expected them to say that your line should be monitored for two weeks.
TBF there is not much the engineer will be able to do. If there is a connection and its OK, (your original speed not withstanding) they will say "it will take a few weeks to sort itself out"

Hopefully by the time I have typed this BT will have got back to you

Disconnected it of course and yes it is in-fact connected to the master socket, I'm quite tech savy, I've been working with computers since I was 12, but I can see how that would be a mistake many would make, but no mate, connected it straight into the wall (master socket).

Can you also see if your IP address's have been chamging over the past few days? (check speedtest results)

Not to my knowledge, the only time the IP has changed is when I've either a.) reset the router or b.) the connection has dropped.

TBH I am very surprised they are sending an engineer out after such a short time. I would have expected them to say that your line should be monitored for two weeks.

This started well over a week ago now and I've been phoning up, complaining, explaining my problems and what not, I'm not sure why I'm getting engineers out so fast, maybe I'm just lucky. My line has been monitored twice over the course of these problems, both for over 48 hours at a time.

TBF there is not much the engineer will be able to do. If there is a connection and its OK, (your original speed not withstanding) they will say "it will take a few weeks to sort itself out"

I remember the engineer that came out over a month ago telling me that if the line is unstable it will downgrade itself to try and become more stable, I'm not sure how much of that is true, but that is what he told me. The internet connection on their end, they said it was stable, fine, ok or whatever but the woman on the line today told me that there is a fault at the exchange and that the 'engineer' had been and looked at it and fixed it, but he'll need to reschedule an appointment as he didn't get access to my home.

Hopefully by the time I have typed this BT will have got back to you

Yeah mate, she did, I got called by the Line 2 manager or whatever and she's got me an engineer out tomorrow for the same time slot 1-6pm and she assured me that this time he will be arriving on time and I will be called prior to his visit, so hoping for the best, but I've not got high hopes.

 

[Fragil1ty]

Sounds like the usual BT garble.

I had BT out on Tuesday for my Brother in Law. They had noise on the line. I was taken over to talk to them as that was my career.
It was always a card fault at the exchange, however liked playing with copper so after 5 1/2 hours, new drop wire, new Master socket, new pair to the pole.... card fault in the exchange....

Lets us know what they say and have a go with the uploading large date files. Defo helps
Amyway

What does it sound like to you? Anything you've had experience with in the past? Any idea what could cause drops from 73 - <30mb?

 

[Fragil1ty]

Honestly... I would not be surprised if you were not on an Infinity 1 package set up by mistake.
You renewed your contract?
Next time they ring get them to make sure for certain that you have infinity 2

Yeah man, renewed it to get the BT Home Hub 5 for free and what not, I'll call them tomorrow if the problem persists after the engineer has been and gone and then ask them and what not.

Will report back with the information, thanks for the help man, I really appreciate it.

 

[Fragil1ty]

I'd leave it disconnected and powered off over night. Try it again the next day. Modems tend to train them selves once the connection is open. If there was a lot of noise for a while it might have learnt that it can work at a lower speed. Leaving it off for a while should help the exchange forget the the slower speed it learnt last time.

Yeah I'll do that mate, see what happens (if anything).

 

[Fragil1ty]

So update:

• Engineer came around close to 3pm
• plugged in his equipment, rang some number and got my line reset or something
• on the master socket, was receiving 76/18
• speeds seem to be back to normal ('ish)

Here is what I'm getting thus far, I am using powerline adapters though, it's been as high as 60 thus far, but this it the average that I'm getting at the moment, a lot better than yesterday (and also the past week though).

 

[Fragil1ty]

So update:

• Engineer came around close to 3pm
• plugged in his equipment, rang some number and got my line reset or something
• on the master socket, was receiving 76/18
• speeds seem to be back to normal ('ish)

Here is what I'm getting thus far, I am using powerline adapters though, it's been as high as 60 thus far, but this it the average that I'm getting at the moment, a lot better than yesterday (and also the past week though).

So all in all, it seems to be working fine and a lot better now, it took a total of 9 days to fix these problems which imo it's not the best turn around but it's definitely not the worst as I have heard horror stories about other people who get messed around a lot more than me, so for that I am grateful.

I will say that if you have any issues like what I have been going through, just call up every day, make sure your line gets monitored, ask them to put notes on your account, they will do all of this and if you are as persistent as me and as I have been, I have no doubts that your problems will be sorted out also.

accidentally quoted instead of editing, my bad, rofl

 

[Fragil1ty]

So all in all, it seems to be working fine and a lot better now, it took a total of 9 days to fix these problems which imo it's not the best turn around but it's definitely not the worst as I have heard horror stories about other people who get messed around a lot more than me, so for that I am grateful.

I will say that if you have any issues like what I have been going through, just call up every day, make sure your line gets monitored, ask them to put notes on your account, they will do all of this and if you are as persistent as me and as I have been, I have no doubts that your problems will be sorted out also.

accidentally quoted instead of editing, my bad, rofl

So, your PC is on a powerline adapter?

Do you have a phone you can test your speed with over wifi?

There are many many reasons why you might not get the best speed around your house wiring.

Testing plugged into the home hub is your yard stick, even via wifi on a phone near the hub. Your speed is only ever as good as your last connection.

I don't use/have a phone, yes I use powerline adapters, I do have an Asus dual-link 300mbps with excellent connectivity that I can also check though to see if the speeds would be any higher though.

I'm going to check the internet with a direction connection from laptop - router tomorrow when I get a chance, using ethernet of course.

 

[Fragil1ty]

My internet has been fine since Thursday until yesterday, I've started to receive drops yet again and they have been persistent throughout the day and they have continued into today also, not sure what's going on but from the general comments in this thread, it's all down to the BT HH5? is that correct?

I might just go ahead and buy a new router because this is becoming beyond pathetic now, it's just up and down all the time and I cannot handle it really, it's just tedious. I cannot afford this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-072-AS is there a cheaper alternative that's around the same performance?

 

[Fragil1ty]

Why don't you just get an BT Openreach Modem HG612 from eBay and connect that to the HH5 and no more disconnections it just works and many people use them.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zRHxm5YW3UA/UnkIHqvJjwI/AAAAAAAACWM/d9LhOp02xcU/s1600/modem.png

I've already got one of these and the BT HH5 has a modem integrated into the router, so adding another modem on top of this would just cause more problems surely? I mean I don't have the exact model that you're referring too, I have the following one:

https://hackingecibfocusv2fubirevb.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/eci_vdsl2_modem.png

edit: I was reading up and isn't this fix only supposed to help people who live a fair distance away from the exchange thus them getting low speeds and so on? Let me know as I'll try it in a little while and see what happens.

edit:edit: I tried the modem solution, but the speeds were slightly better when the DSL cable was connected straight into the HH5. Maybe if I left the modem plugged into the HH5 then it may become more stable and what not, but I'll try that another day. If anyone else has tried this and has/had the same problems as me? then please let me know.

The drops/network issues seem to be resolved for the most part as I have no dc'd all day today, but only time will tell.

 

[Fragil1ty]

You have the ECI open reach modem and it should work fine but the model I am referring to is the Openreach Huawei Echolife HG612 version 3B which is much easier to unlock.

I would leave the open reach modem in place and this will take over from the built in modem in the HH5.
I take it you would prefer to drop a little in speed but gain a reliable connection and with it in place things should be better unless you have an issue on your telephone line.

I don't see any difference in my speeds with the Huawei Echolife HG612 modem connected to the HH5 or not but after the recent firmware update to fix connection issues I did notice a sudden change in my HH5 and it not connecting after only a couple of days and this was not the case before the update so I have opted to connect the modem once again and all is well again.

I've put the openreach modem in it's place for now, I'll keep it there until further notice as I was experiencing a few drops earlier with the HH5 modem and what not.

Will report back and let you know how it goes within the day.