Struggling to work out what the issue is here - cable, networking card or EE SH router?

Unfortunately they’re all blocked - all I’m seeing is USB/SATA headers :(

I noticed when I was checking through the logs on a different PC yesterday that the connection was randomly dropping on that PC. (Although I’m not ruling out the built in NIC being the problem still - been having some issues since I got it in September)

Would that be the router causing that?
 
Tested with a USB NIC and that is also poor. The connection remains poor (on both the Ethernet cabled device and the WiFi) and devices are randomly getting what can only be described as ‘kicked off’. This is despite an Openreach engineer visit to correct issues with the light/power levels, so the connection to the house is not the fault.

The cable itself seems fine (it works fine with an Xbox, but then the issue itself is a bit weird)

If I was getting a new router, what would be best? (I’m currently limited to a £50-100 budget)
 
RT123 said:
If I was getting a new router, what would be best? (I’m currently limited to a £50-100 budget)
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You could look at the TP-Link Archer AX23. Can be had for around £60. It will be good enough to let you know if the current router is the problem. Also a relatively cheap introduction to Wifi 6 on OpenWRT if you are inclined.
 
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Too early to say whether it’ll stay this way yet - but I had a motherboard replacement done today (luckily under warranty) and so far, the connection on the PC has been much better!

A replacement EE SH+ that arrived yesterday after it was requested on Monday has not been any help whatsoever - it lost the connection within 15 minutes of getting one :cry: So probably looking at a replacement for that too - not that I wasn’t already :(The networking world is overwhelming (so many choices and I don’t really know what I’m looking for!)
 
the-evaluator said:
This doesn't sound like a cabling fault to me. If it were I'd generally expect it to always be problematic or at least problematic when the cable is moved about.
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Well, in my years of doing this stuff you'd be surprised what I've stumbled upon.

One time, a band camp, I was called to a site where this intermittent issue was causing havoc and confusion.

Turns out the drop outs correlated with the central heating coming on.

The network cable was running close to a radiator down pipe.

Changed the cable run to a different path, drop outs stopped.

Another thing to consider is mac address conflicts.

It's more common that you think, I know it's crazy with the amount of characters in the addy.

But if 2 devices have the same addy, they are fighting for network domination in an endless war.

With all that being said, I would:-
1. Reset the router to default settings.
2. Add one device to the network at a time and test for drop outs.
3. If the above actions do not improve the situation, ask my isp for a replacement router or borrow one for testing.
 
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As far as I can see, there is no devices sharing a MAC address.

PC is still having the most issues (despite a replacement Mobo of the same kind) but others are having some issues. A USB NIC didn’t make any difference (they both are using Realtek drivers in case that’s of any relevance)

I’ve already had a replacement SH+ that has fixed nothing (in fact, it’s probably worse than the original one!) In regards to routers, I know that ASUS and TP-Link should be good (is there any that I’ve missed)

Connected a laptop directly to the ONT for about an hour today and that seems fine - saw none of the weird issues.
 
Hi,

I've been experiencing random slowdowns/disconnections (some of which are affecting my other devices, but mostly affecting the gaming PC, so planning to replace the router to see if that helps at all before wasting money there, but it's been ongoing since I got the PC in September when I was using VM) - provider is EE and connection type is FTTP. I've tried to get them to send the older Smart Hub2 with no results. Previous PC (on WiFi at the time, with an Intel NIC) and a Mac Mini (also WiFi) were fine. Issues persisted on the first board with a fresh install of Windows, so doubt that will help here.

So the motherboard has been replaced (on this PC that's been having problems - no difference (was replaced with the same board - an ASUS PRIME B550M WiFi II with a Realtek NIC - and can't swap it for an Intel NIC). USB NIC (Realtek) had the same fault. My ThinkBook (with an Intel NIC) was fine for 2 hours when I tested last night. There's no space on this board for a PCiE NIC as my GPU is "hogging" 3 slots (all I can see are the USB/case headers - can't read

So, I was wondering:
  • any USB NICs with an Intel/alternative chip that isn't Realtek? Or am I going to have to ask one of my friends with more "PC Building" experience (given mobos are more difficult to replace, my Mum gets scared by having to take out a GPU) to help replace the motherboard with an ATX motherboard - I can't do this myself (company took over a week to come out and do this - don't want to wait that long again, and that's even if they would do it, cause in their eyes that should've probably fixed it)
  • What good routers are out there? (I'd prefer <£100 but wouldn't mind a bit more)
 
From your previous thread (not sure why you needed to make a new one) your router shows the port is physically going down, so replace the cable between the router and your PC and see if the issue goes away
 
I already spent lots of money(it’s not quite the same for me - I can’t do it due to a disability and my family either can’t or won’t help with drilling - mistake #1: getting a handyman to do it) One thing that might be do-able is get the PC close enough for testing purposes and test it with a cable closer to the router.

Ok, maybe should’ve added onto the existing thread (and don’t mind a merge) : but the PC issue happens on any connection method (whether it be Ethernet, 5G through mobile hotspot or WiFi)
 
You're at the point now where you have lots of potential problems and need to start ruling things in or out. You don't have to replace the cable that is already in place, just get hold of a long enough patch lead and drag it up the stairs or along the floor to bypass whatever is installed. 20-30m patch cables are available from quite a few places.

If your PC loses its internet connection when you're tethered to 5G then changing your router definitely won't fix anything.
 
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Thank you - I will try and get and run a very long cable up the stairs to the room - that’ll help rule out the cable (or whether I need to replace that)

I’m having issues with other devices on WiFi as well (sometimes they experience it) but these aren’t as significant as the ones plaguing my PC and that’s what I’m hoping the router will help.
 
Certainly some of the way there.

I noticed a disconnect (well, recognising a connection but not working) on a WiFi device this morning, so tried to access the router gateway and couldn’t even get the loading screen. So will be ordering a router today

Have also ordered a long Ethernet cable to check that the issue is not there and will go from there
 
CaNsA said:
Another thing to consider is mac address conflicts.

It's more common that you think, I know it's crazy with the amount of characters in the addy.
Click to expand...
I've never heard of that being an actual thing, and unless you are buying generic Chinese networking equipment, I can't see how it would even occur.


RT123 said:
Certainly some of the way there.

I noticed a disconnect (well, recognising a connection but not working) on a WiFi device this morning, so tried to access the router gateway and couldn’t even get the loading screen. So will be ordering a router today

Have also ordered a long Ethernet cable to check that the issue is not there and will go from there
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Something odd going on - I'm struggling to believe it's a router issue (even with how rubbish ISP routers generally are).

What other devices are on your network? (any other routers, NASes or other devices that may have a DHCP Server?)

Have you tried just the router, turn off wifi (or change the SSID so nothing can connect), and just the single PC connected via cable? - this rules out any issues caused by other devices. If it's still an issue then likely it's the cable, as you'll have replaced everything else.
 
RT123 said:
Not as far as I’m aware

I haven’t tried that with the PC (yet) but when I connected a cable directly to the ONT using my laptop, that was fine
Click to expand...

Try it with your laptop then.

Laptop cabled straight into router, disconnect any other wired cables. Turn wifi off on the router or change the SSID temporarily.

If the laptop works fine, then it's not a Router issue - it's either the long ethernet cable, or it's something inside your network causing issues.
 
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