I have been using Fast Fibre 65 for quite some time without issue, but at the start of November 2024 I kept getting connection drop-outs. My PC is wired to the router so this is not a WiFi issue. The Internet would drop out for a minute or so, then return. However, this would kill off Teams and other meetings / calls, and generally cut off connections to remote locations. Come the start of December 2024 it was getting to be a few times a day. When this occurs, if I go through to the where the router is, I can see it flashing amber, and the Ethernet light on the ONT (black box on the wall) is off. After 30 seconds or so the router connects to the ONT and the service is up and working - the flashing amber light turns solid white.
I have had a nightmare trying to talk / chat with support, and the 'experts' just run off a script and keep asking the same pointless questions I had already answered in the chat. Hint to TT: don't think outsourcing to under-trained, under-skilled services is saving you money.
Anyhow, after one 'expert' decided they could fix it remotely it stopped working entirely. I won't dwell on the Kafkaesque series of events (still ongoing) but I have now discovered something interesting. Note also that I did find a few similar stories on the Internet and even in this community, but no explanation or solution that works for me.
The router (Sagemcom FAST 5464) sits flashing either slow or fast amber. The flash speed reflects whether the green Ethernet light on the ONT is on or off (I forget which way round) - and the router will quite happily sit there for days repeating the slow, then fast flashing without ever connecting. I have had two texts from Talk Talk a few days apart saying "Good news! We have applied a solution...", but of course it wasn't a solution to the problem I am having. They don't explain what they have done, which may be helpful to know for long-running issues.
Several things come to mind
- The old router could be on its way out?
- TalkTalk have implemented some upgrade without telling me, and it broke things
- The fibre connection is broken
Apparently, the fibre connection reported itself working. However, connecting the PC directly to the ONT I could get no connection... at least for the first 6 days of the 'no connection' problem, and I was repeating the router and PC connection testing daily. Then on Monday 16th Dec, even though the router could not connect, the PC could. This is a change in behaviour, and a possible step in the right direction. So the ONT / fibre connection was truly working - so it must be the router? I borrowed a similar router from a friend, and yes, that just connected and produced a WiFi network etc. etc. Trying my original router again it was just flashing amber lights, so I managed to get TT to send a new FAST 5464 router - I set it up but it did the same as my old router. This is when I looked more closely and realised the friend's router was a Huawei DG8041W (not now in front of me but sure that was the code).
So the questions are
- What changed to stop the FAST 5464 working? (it wasn't me!)
- Why would the Huawei router (much older I believe) work fine?
- Why is there no easy-to-find answer to either of the above?
I am still without a working router (hmm, define 'working'), and therefore no usable data service from TalkTalk. If the Huawei routers work, can TT send one of those instead of the Sagemcom? How do I get that to happen before Christmas?
TIA
DRJ
PS I may only be able to check replies intermittently, when I have access to the Internet
