WIFI OPTIMISATION

[Chris1012]

I recently switched to Talktalk broadband and I'm having issues with WIFI optimisation and channel hopping causing certain devices to disconnect from the WIFI network. From reading these pages I understand that a Talktalk employee can disable this feature on my router? Please can this be actioned?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Yes I agree that something must be causing the disconnections, the line test is just showing that there are no faults detected on the Openreach network.

Chris

[Chris1012]

Hi Chris,

I can't understand how there can be 'no problems' when the connection dropped ~24 times in a 12 hour period, surely that in itself means there is a problem somewhere? I have no idea what a 'mass event' is and whether that would cause the issue. Although I have been told this before, but it can't be responsible for 60+ dropouts I've had over several weeks. I have had no more dropouts since ~6am. I will give it another 24 hours, but if I get anymore dropouts I will immediately report back so that you can arrange another engineer visit.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks. The line test does show that there are no problems found on the Openreach network but the performance of the service may be impacted by a recent mass event. We can arrange another engineer visit but I think it's probably worth giving it another 24 hours to see if the connection stabilises before doing this

Chris

[Chris1012]

Hi Chris,

Yes, the router has been reconnecting (flashing orange/white light) many many times over the past ~12 hours (well over 20 at the last count from the log). The only thing connected to the master socket is your router, I don't use the phone connection so can't comment on that.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Chris,

I'm sorry to hear that the problem has got worse, Line test is showing a lot of reconnections over the last few days, are you experiencing any problems with your telephone service, any noise on the line?

Chris

[Chris1012]

Hi Michelle,

It's been just over a week since the engineer visit. I had a couple of VDSL dropouts over a few nights, but I put those down to the stabilisation period and the DLM. However, from last evening until this morning (5am) I have had 22 VDSL dropouts! The internet was unusable for ~ 2 hours yesterday evening and has been virtually unusable this morning! Obviously the engineer has not fixed the problem of the VDSL dropouts and they are now getting significantly worse. This issue has been ongoing for nearly a month and my patience is wearing thin. Please could you escalate this to a formal complaint so that it can be resolved once and for all.

29.05.2024 20:45:42	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
29.05.2024 21:05:07	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
29.05.2024 21:09:09	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
29.05.2024 21:10:01	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
29.05.2024 21:11:12	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
29.05.2024 21:13:57	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
29.05.2024 21:59:25	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
29.05.2024 22:17:51	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 01:11:00	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 02:23:41	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 02:52:40	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 02:53:31	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 03:24:51	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 03:40:10	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 04:28:18	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 04:29:57	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 04:46:33	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 04:50:54	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 04:51:50	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 05:35:54	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 05:36:51	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1
30.05.2024 05:38:50	Info	XDSL	VDSL connectivity is down port 1

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Chris,

I understand. It was decided in the last month and we have been feeding back to the team on this. Please let us know how the alternative router compares. If it is still happening then we can pass the dates and times to the team to see if they can see a specific issue causing issue and ask what the solution will be.

Thanks

Michelle

[Chris1012]

Hi Michelle,

So this is a recent decision since you were able to turn off wifi optimisation for me on the 19 April? I will try the previous router to see if wifi optimisation is still disabled. I disagree with the team - for my setup, which is pretty basic, we proved 100% that disabling wifi optimisation completely fixed the problem with my 3D printer becoming unresponsive on the wifi and needing a restart (something I never had with my previous ISP's router). I will look at collecting dates/times when this happens, but this and documenting all of VDSL dropouts are taking way more of my time than they should! Surely the broadband and wifi should just work, it always has with previous ISPs!

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for confirming. Unfortunately we no longer have the option to switch wifi optimisation off as the team has advised that by switching this off it will cause more overall connection problems. Would it be possible to provide a few specific dates and times when this is happening and we can refer back to the logs on our side.

Michelle

[Chris1012]

Hi Debbie,

Within a few meters. The engineer didn't do anything at all with the router wifi, he only worked on the Openreach line. As I said previously in this post (see message 47 here), once you had disabled wifi optimisation on the old router ALL of my wifi connection issues with the 3D printer went away. They only returned when I plugged in the replacement router to try to solve the VDSL dropouts.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Chris

How far away is the router from the laptop and 3D printer?

Since the engineers have completed the work on the line have there been any improvements with the connection to these 2 devices in particular?

[Chris1012]

Hi Debbie,

My 3D printer, which was the whole reason I started this post! I also had a problem with a computer (Macbook pro) that was 'kicked off' the network, despite the router showing it as connected (the same issue I had with the 3D printer). Restarting the wifi on the Macbook solved the connection, but it happened again when the wifi optimisation did its channel hopping thing. I've also been getting the 'WiFi security settings have been successfully saved' message in the router log that has been linked to devices being 'kicked off' the network (just to be clear I haven't made any changes to the wifi to cause this line in the log). When the 'WiFi security settings have been successfully saved' message appears multiple devices are forced to disconnect/reconnect to the wifi and it seems to be this behaviour that causes some devices to not connect correctly (I never had any of these issues with my devices and previous ISP routers, so it's not the devices causing the problem, it's the Talktalk router). 

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Chris

I can check but it may have switched back on again.

What wifi devices are experiencing issues?

[Chris1012]

Hi Debbie,

Yes, I have a return bag and label.

If I switch back to the first router (where you disabled wifi optimisation) will the wifi optimisation still be disabled? I've had wifi connection issues over the past ~week with the second router due to the wifi optimisation being turned on (the same issues I had with the first router before you turned wifi optimisation off).

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Chris

Thanks for letting us know.

Did you receive a returns bag to return the older router?

We can no longer switch off wifi optimisation on the line.

[Chris1012]

Hi Debbie,

The engineer came yesterday afternoon. He replaced the master socket and also found problems in a junction box in the road (corroded connections) and at the street cabinet (my 'profile' had been setup incorrectly, presumably when I joined Talktalk). He corrected both of these problems and said that because of the profile reset I'm now on a 2 week stabilisation protocol. Hopefully fixing these problems will correct the VDSL dropout issue, but I won't know for sure until at least several days have passed since they were intermittent.

Since the second router didn't solve the VDSL dropouts I presume you would like one of the routers returned? If so, please could you disable wifi optimisation on the router that is currently connected so that I don't have to switch over routers and interrupt the connection whilst it is stabilising? I can then return the first router.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Chris

Thank you. I will check in again with you after the engineer visit.

Debbie

[Chris1012]

Hi Debbie,

Thanks for letting me know, I'll be sure to be in! I've just received this email from Talktalk - I assume this is related to tomorrow's appointment, but no date is given. It just says 'Repair_Engineer_VisitDateRepair_Engineer_VisitDate'!

Engineer appointment confirmation

Hello,

Your engineer will visit you on Repair_Engineer_VisitDateRepair_Engineer_VisitDate between 1:00pm and 6:00pm. If your issue is fixed, or you need to rearrange or cancel your appointment, please contact us 12:00pm, one working day before your appointment date to avoid a missed appointment fee of £75.00.You can chat to us via here. Don't forget to keep an eye on any updates via 'My Active Faults' in My Connection, here.

Your TalkTalk team

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Chris

The engineer visit has been arranged for 21/05/2024 PM (1pm - 6pm)

Please let us know how you get on following this visit.

Thanks

[Chris1012]

Hi Michelle,

I don't see that I have a choice! I either have to live with the VDSL dropouts most days for the next 17 months (my remaining contract) or the possibility of a £75 charge if no fault is found (there must be a fault or else why does the VDSL keep dropping?). I would like to reiterate that the VDSL dropouts are intermittent, the chances of one happening during the engineer visit are very unlikely. Please note, I am keeping records of everything in case this needs to go to the ombudsman.

So, since I have no choice, please book an engineer visit.