Intermittent WiFi dropout

[Bailey22]

I have recently experienced a problem with intermittent WiFi dropout that is becoming more frequent. When this happens and I interrogate any of my devices I get a message that says (words to the effect of) 'You are connected to the internet but there is no signal. Contact your Internet Service Provider'.

When the dropout occurs, the light on the front of the Huawei DG8041W-2.T5 router is rapidly flickering between red and white. Turning off the router and waiting 5 minutes before turning it back on clears the issue - until the next time!

Do I have a faulty router?

[Bailey22]

Yes, now will be fine. Thank you. 

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK, is it OK to do it now, the internet connection will drop for a few minutes?

Chris

[Bailey22]

You are the experts, not me. If you think it is worth it I am will ing to try it. 

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Thanks for the information. I can try a different firmware version and we can see if it makes any difference to stability, do you want to give it a try?

Chris

[Bailey22]

Thank you for that. I'll try it and see what happens. 

You mentioned before that you were not sure if devices were losing connection to the router or the router was losing connection to the internet?  Well, when the network connection is down all of my devices show a healthy connection to the router and my wireless laptop and wireless printer can communicate with each other and print perfectly. That is until the router starts rebooting!

Just a thought. The router that I have just returned has worked perfectly and reliably from January until October when it started to exhibit connection problems. The router that I received just over a week ago shows exactly the same symptoms. Could there have been a software update to the routers that is causing a problem?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks. I think we should try another router just to make sure that it's definitely not a router issue so I'll order one for you now, It should be with you either tomorrow or Monday

Chris

[Bailey22]

Thank you for that, I would not like to think that I was not being believed. Unfortunately, I do not have another router I can test with. I put the old one in the post to TalkTalk returns yesterday. 

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Apologies, I'm not implying that you are not being honest, I have no doubt your devices were unable to connect to the internet at the time that you said, it's just whether this is the router losing connection to the internet or devices losing connection to the router. Do you currently have another router that you can test with?

Chris

[Bailey22]

I am concerned by your statement that 'the connection was down for just under 2 minutes' implying that I am not being honest with you. I lost network access at around 1600 and the connection did not return until 1727. The photographs that I sent you contain clocks showing that the pictures were taken between 1610 and 1615. 

When the router reboots itself as far as I am aware it does not power off first. The solid white light just changes to a flashing amber light to indicate that it is starting up. 

You say that the connection has been stable since 1726, which it will be - until it goes down again!

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Line history is showing that the connection was down for just under 2 minutes but there appears to have been a period of around 6 minutes when the router was repeatedly trying to connect to the internet, it then connected at 17:26 and seems to have been stable since

When you say the router rebooted itself, did it appear to power down and then come back on?

Chris

[Bailey22]

Good evening Chris

I am sure that you will not be pleased to hear that the internet dropped out at 1600 today. After the router rebooted itself the connection was re-established at 1727. 

I have attached some photographs.  One shows the router with a solid white light whilst the Eufy hub on the left has a red light glowing, showing that it is not connected to the internet. Another photograph shows what happens when trying to access the router. The last photograph shows the results from 'Internet Explorer Light' at 1615 and it can be seen that there is a good wi-fi signal from the router. Unfortunately, there is no connection to the internet. Making a request to my smart-speaker gets the response 'Sorry, I didn't get that. The internet isn't reachable'. 

Please advise what the next course of action will be. 

Kind regards. 

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK, thanks for the update 🙂

Chris

[Bailey22]

Good morning Michelle

I think it is far too soon to say. The Openreach engineer was here for 2 hours yesterday and is hopeful that we will have no further trouble, but time will tell.  If I do have any more problems I will get back to you. 

Kind regards. 

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Good morning,

How are you getting on?

Thanks

Michelle

[Chris-TalkTalk]

I think the webpage is explaining that they can't help if you report a fault with broadband, phone line or Wi-Fi directly to them, you have to go through your ISP, which you have done. 

Chris

[Bailey22]

Hello Chris

Thank you. I have had a text message from Openreach confirming the appointment. The message contains a link to their support guide as 'many customers can fix their service' using this guide. The link does not work, simply taking me to an 'Oops' page. So that is a good start! 

Referring to the Openreach website, it is stated that they 'cannot help with problems with your broadband, phone line or Wi-Fi'. So what exactly can they help with?  Are they just going to turn up, say 'nothing to do with us' and charge me for the visit?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

I've booked the first available appointment as requested - November 06 2024, AM  - please let us know how you get on

Chris

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks. I'll book the engineer now and get back to you with the details

Chris

[Bailey22]

Hello Chris

The network connection has been down again from 1015 to somewhere between 1130/1210.  So the service is totally unacceptable as it is. 

Guess that I have no choice about the charges, although I will be very annoyed if I am charged. I can be available at any time on a weekday as long as I know when the engineer will be coming. 

I hope that this can be arranged quickly. 

[Chris-TalkTalk]

If you'd like us to go ahead with the engineer visit can you confirm:

• That you accept potential Engineers charges
• Provide availability, either AM (8am to 1pm) or PM (1pm to 6pm) between Monday to Friday.

Thanks
Chris