Router loses connection - Only when accessing online games

[Shaun43]

This issue has been ongoing for some time and I'm all out of avenues for a resolution. So if anyone can look at the info below and come to any solution that'd be much appreciated, as my current one is "wait for fibre". (satellite internet / cellular options aren't viable)

The issue:

The internet is 95% of the time completely fine. Until I try to play a online game where I'll be loading say more than 4-5 other peoples data in-game (happens noticeably more frequently).  The router will randomly completely lose it's connection and the lights flash orange. It will automatically reconnect. It can then immediately re-occur when reconnecting to the game or happen 6-7 more times spread out or not at all and be fine. The disconnects will happen everyday without fail but is fully capable of running the games for multiple hours without a problem.

I've never had an issue like there where the internet fully stops, usually you'd get high latency as the bandwidth drops, which happens easily when downloading with my speeds. Side note, sometimes crashes do occur while not on a game, but this is exceedingly rare.

Details:

• Max D/L speed from exchange 42Mbps. Speed tests tend to sit around 25-30.
• Distance to exchange is quite far and its copper cable into the home.
• Main access to the internet is on the computer via ethernet cable.
• Throughout the day there are also random ping spikes and guaranteed ping spikes at set times (two set times twice a day, i.e 02:15 and 14:15, 07:15 and 19:15)
• Flat Building with 6 homes total in this block.

Attempts to resolve:

• Keeping a record of all the disconnects and there is no pattern other than the one above.
• Use a different PC.
• Simple turn router off and on or factory resets.
• Run talk talk router in modem mode and relay it into my own third party router.
• Replace all cabling/fixtures including trying other sockets that aren't the master one.
• 4 new routers provided by talk talk.
• Calling talktalk support far too many times going through the same useless loop of them running tests and telling me there is nothing wrong.
• 4-5 talk talk engineers coming to the home to run the same tests.
• 3-4 BT openreach engineers trying multiple things. Lift and shift, rebuilding the radius, tidy up connectors. All of which when running their tests tell me nothing is showing at fault.
• See if neighbours have similar issues - none play games to my knowledge so not conclusive.
• Turn off everything feasible at the switchboard/sockets to try and eliminate REIN/SHINE.
• Running as many downloads and internet using software outside of games at once to simulate high download/upload usage. Does not cause crashes, but extremely slow speeds. (youtube videos, steam downloads, spotify, netflix, twitch, chrome tabs etc.

Thanks for reading, any help appreciated.

[Shaun43]

Hi Chris,

The router is currently connected to the master socket. There are two telephone sockets in the Flat. I believe the second one is an extended cable from the master. The disconnecting issue occurs when the router is connected to either. An Openreach engineer confirmed the master socket and replaced it for new in case.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Shaun,

How many telephone sockets do you have? Is your router currently connected to your test socket?

Chris

[Shaun43]

I'm not sure what is meant by a different line/connection. I know that one of the Openreach engineers did say he was putting us on a new line, so I assume that is the same thing.

There has to be some explanation as to what is causing the issue. Is there a device I can use to monitor the line to track faults as they occur, since the live tests always say nothing is wrong. Or do I need to look into getting some sort of wiring expert in the home to see what's going on. Something is causing the router to trip, is there perhaps a stronger/ more capable router from talk talk available. Or is it worth getting yet another Openreach engineer in to have yet another look.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Shaun,

Thanks for confirming. I'm not sure what else to advise as I can see from your first post that you've tried different routers and also had Openreach and TT engineer visits. Have you ever tested on a different line/connection to see if the same thing happens?

Michelle

[Shaun43]

My main PC access is always wired.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Shaun,

I'm sorry to hear this. Can I just confirm, this also happens if you're connected wired not wireless?

Michelle

[Shaun43]

Sadly, the issue is still occurring.

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi

I've updated the router firmware for you.  See if this helps.

Regards,

Karl. 

[Shaun43]

Sure happy to give that a try, I'll likely have a result by tomorrow if it has worked or not.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hello,

Thanks for confirming. We do have a new version of firmware for your router. Would you like us to update this for you to see how the connection compares?

Thanks

Michelle

[Shaun43]

Hi Michelle,

No problem at all. I would say 99% of the time the router re-connects to the internet on its own after around 2-3 minutes of flashing orange. On random occasions it will flash orange for a much longer time so I will reset the router, unsure if this fixes it or just me being impatient.

This will happen on any game where loading other player data is required. As an example I can play online with a friend of mine no problem for the most part with only a couple of router internet disconnects. Then in the same game when there is 5+ people on screen its almost an immediate crash sometimes.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Shaun,

I'm really sorry for the delay, I couldn't run the line test yesterday. I've run the test now which is clear, however I can see some re-connections on the line. Do you have to reboot the router when this happens? Is it a specific game or server?

Thanks

Michelle

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hello,

Thank you. I'll look into this and will post an update back shortly.

Michelle

[Shaun43]

Relevant information now updated

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Shaun,

Can you please update your community profile to include your:

• Name
• Telephone number
• Alternative contact number

We'll then look into this further. Please do not post this information on this thread. Once you've updated your profile please post in your topic to confirm it's updated.

Thanks

Michelle