WiFi Hub Unresponsive

[Theguitarman]

Hi Guys & seasons greetings.

                                                 Just wondering if anyone could shed a little light I have with my Wifi hub.

About 2/3 weeks ago I lost all connections to my hub with my wired connections showing DNS not responding and wifi not connecting at all. The light on the hub flashed one slow then one quick and just kept repeating.

A reboot resolved the problem but it happened again 2 days later only this time the led was steady white. All ok after another reboot then the same again so I reported it to TT and was sent a new hub.

New hub installed and up & running then it updated to the latest firmware (SG4K10002808t ) overnight and a day later I had the same issue again via ethernet but this time the wifi stayed on.

Over the past few days the problem comes back in one form or the other and this morning and it's back to the slow / fast single flash with no connections.

Once or twice the router appears to have rebooted it's self where the led has been steady white but all connections unresponsive then the led goes out and flashes quickly etc. 

My Internet connection speed is dropping steadily but I'm guessing that's down to the wonderous automatic line management system which is a personal favourite of mine 🙂

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

              Mike

[KeithFrench]

Maybe a line issue, have you tried in the test socket behind the master socket's removable faceplate (if you have that design) with a new microfilter?

[Theguitarman]

A quick update following my full system reset, (Router, power supplies and devices) I managed to get roughly 3 days without any issues so all looking positive from the freezing up issue.

For some reason today the router seems to have reset itself but I'm not 100% sure.

My line connection was showing a connection time of 11 hrs and the sync speed has changed a little. Also both my wifi channels have changed but not sure why. I don't use auto as 95% of the time it picks the busiest channel so I use a BW scanner to find the optimum channels then set the manually.

I've always done this but never seen the router changed them itself - They changed to different fixed channels not auto?

Maybe I have Gremlins (lol) 

[Theguitarman]

Hi Keith, I did reply to you from my phone but have just noticed it's not showing here.

Thanks for your input but I decided to try a full reset first then see how it goes (see below). I'm a veteran of line faults having had lots over the years but I've never seen one affect the internal network so not sure if that's the right route to go down.

I have a Mk-5 socket (about 7 months old) which Openreach installed last time they were trying to resolve a line issue. They also rewired from the external connection point.

Regards,
Mike

[KeithFrench]

If the light goes out on the hub when this happens as you have said. Then there is a fault in the router, faceplate, line etc. I asked you to try the test socket behind the MK 5C Master socket, in case the faceplate is faulty (which is your responsibility). However, I have now asked the OCEs to look into this for you,

[Theguitarman]

Thanks Keith,

                       I'm not sure if the light went off or not last time around and the reset (if it was one) occurred overnight.

I've just checked it again and it's done the same thing 16hrs ago so again overnight.

When I say the same thing it's not freezing up anymore but at the very least it has dropped the line sync then reconnected it and again it's changed both my 2.4 & 5 ghz Wifi channels to two of it's own choosing suggesting maybe there is an issue with the latest firmware as I can't see how anything else would allow the router to change channels after I've manually set them?

Nobody has yet been able to tell me what one slow then one fast orange light (repeating) means but that was the first thing I noticed when the problem first started. If by any chance the 1 slow / 1 fast flash is what happens when the router is updating it's firmware then all my problems on both routers would have started since the last upgrade (just a thought).

[KeithFrench]

The changing WiFi settings changing are all down to some WiFi Optimisation that is applied to the hub by default. This can be disabled if you want, but only the OCEs can do this.

[OCE_Michelle]

Hi Theguitarman,

Our performance monitoring tool will only change channels when interference is detected.  It will learn about each device that is connected over time.

However our Products Team have advised if you are experiencing issues and would prefer to select your own wireless channels then we can arrange for Wi-Fi optimisation technology to be switched off on your line. Would you like us to arrange this for you?

Thanks

[Theguitarman]

Hi Michelle,

                    The wifi channel switching isn't really causing me any issues to be honest. I'm only aware it's happening as I'm checking the router status everyday at the min to monitor the disconnection issues so I'm quite happy to hold that for now and see how things go.

I would point out that the router just picks the same channels that all the other routers around me seem to pick when there are lots of clear free channels so maybe the optimisation system needs some work. Historically I've always manually set me channels and never had any wifi connection or speed issues.

The biggest problem I have right now is that the router appears to disconnect then re-syncs my line at approx. 2am for some strange reason. This has now slowed my connection down to below the min contract levels so your technical team were running some checks earlier but haven't advised back yet (although I'm sure they won't find anything using the remote checks as I've seen similar issues before which required physical tests by Openreach).

Do you happen to know if the router would re-sync when it's optimising the wifi - I assume not but it's very strange that my connection loss always occurs overnight and around a similar time so I'm just trying to understand if that is an issue with the router doing something or with my line?

It's not power outage at my end as I would know from other systems resetting.

I could swap back to my old wifi hub as a test as I didn't have the connection issue with that unit - just the freeze up with the long and short orange LED problem I originally queried. The new hub did the same thing after the first day but I haven't seen it since.

Regards,

               Mike

[OCE_Debbie]

Hi Mike

I don't think the router would reboot/resync when the wireless channel changes. Do you have any devices set up to come around the time the connection drops (timer to switch lights off or central heating timers)

Thanks

Debbie

[Theguitarman]

Nothing springs to mind Michelle but I will make some checks tonight and let you know if I find anything.

I'm talking to your support team but as usual I'm getting nowhere and losing the will to live as they are currently trying to tell me it's a browser problem !!!

They have run some checks on my line and say there are no disconnections recorded for last night. When I asked how come my router shows a connection uptime of 12hrs and why has my sync speed now dropped to 26meg they can't answer me (Can't say I'm surprised to be honest).

 If it helps I've just checked the hub again and noticed under device info it shows the following:

System uptime 12h31m41s

Wifi uptime it    12h31m14s

xDSI connection time 12h31m43s

I'm no expert but the fact that all three uptime recorders have reset around the same time suggests something is wrong with the hub - Could it be another faulty one maybe?

Regards,

               Mike

[Theguitarman]

Just another thought Michelle but maybe we should disable the Wifi profilling so I can rule that out as a possible cause?

I'm quite happy to set the channels manually.

Cheers,

             Mike

[Theguitarman]

Appologies Debbie, I need to read who is answering me before I reply 🙂

[OCE_Michelle]

Hi Theguitarman,

I've requested this now and I'll let you know once I receive confirmation that this has been completed. In regards to the drop in speed, does your master socket have a test socket?

Thanks

[OCE_Michelle]

Hi Theguitarman,

I've received confirmation that this has now been completed.

Thanks

[Theguitarman]

Hi Michelle,

                    Thanks for getting that done for me. I checked the hub just after midnight and the wifi channels had moved again but the line had remained connected so there isn't a link there.

Just as feed back for your system team the hub has again selected the worst channels it could so I've moved them back. It may be worth suggesting if the hub is going to offer auto & manual options that the profiling system is disabled when a user selects a channels manually (don't see the point in having a manual option otherwise?).

Anyway back to the speed / disconnection issue - I had no disconnections or re-syncs last night so up & running for 1d 7hrs as I type. It's possibly worth nothing that the last three times I've had this issue it's been water getting into joints in my line so it's usually worse following wet weather and it was dry yesterday. I'll keep an eye on this over the coming days / weeks if no other cause is identified.  

 The speed has dropped a little with every disconnect / re-sync and is now showing in the router as only supporting 29mb. From previous experiences (of which I have many) this is classic DLM banding behaviour which would seem logical given the number of disconnects / re-syncs.

I checked my electrical appliances and there is one which uses a countdown timer to run and would have be active at approx. 2am. As a test I ran this appliance twice yesterday and it caused no issue with the hub. The appliance will be running a timed cycle overnight again tonight so I'll monitor it and let you know what happens.

My master socket was replaced by Openreach approx. 18 months ago when they were last trying to find the same kind of problem which turned out to be water. I also have another master socket which is only 1 week old as I'd already replaced it myself last time but Openreach insisted on doing it again anyway.

I'm happy to replace the faceplate again or connect using the test point if you like but from experience this will not increase the line speed if it's being banded and the info from the router suggests that is the case right now as the noise margins look ok at 6.3 down and 6.0 up.(not sure if you have anyway of confirming this).

Let me know if you want me to do this but if so I would prefer to wait a day or two whilst I'm monitoring the other bits just in case the line remains stable. I guess if the line does remain stable for a couple of days that would rule out the faceplate anyway??

Just another point my line historically always run at 39mb with a max reported speed of around 44. Last time Openreach fixed the issue they did not reset the DLM so I've been stuck at 30mb for over 12 months as Talktalk were unwilling to action anything because my speed was above the 70% cancellation threshold.

When we eventually get to the bottom of this and I get some line stability could you confirm if a DLM reset could now be requested as my line speed is now only running at 65% of what I pay for?

Apologies for the essay, just trying to give you as much info as possible

Regards,

               Mike

[OCE_Michelle]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the additional information. If the connection only seems to drop when the weather is wet then this would indicate a potential external fault. Have you ever noticed any noise on the line when it rains? Unfortunately we can't manually reset DLM as this would have to be completed by an engineer as part of their fault investigations.

In regards to the wireless channels changing, if you change this back now then this shouldn't change again now that the optimisation has been removed.

Could you let us know how the stability compares over the next few days please. If the connection does remain stable, however there is no increase in speed then we can ask our Network Team to take a look at this.

Thanks

[OCE_Michelle]

Also thanks for ruling out the timer causing the dropouts.

Thanks 🙂

[Theguitarman]

Good morning & Happy New Michelle,

My router managed almost 3 days without any issues but then the problem repeated approx. 5am this morning. (nothing running on timers).

My sync speed is now down to 20 meg with a line limit of 23meg so quite a large speed drop this time.

All three timers in the router have reset again so all are currently showing approx 14hrs. I'm still not sure if that indicates the router is re-setting but it does seem to.

I have powered the router down for 1/2 while I install a different power supply line in the house and will also take this opportunity to replace the faceplate with my spare one.

Do you have any way of confirming if a line fault would be able to cause all the timers to reset in router as it seems odd that the wifi timer reset's when the re-sync occurs?

I'm  currently using my 4g connection (which is now faster!) so will be able to keep in touch.

Regards,

               Mike

[Theguitarman]

Just had a thought that I will also switch back to my original wifi hub so I can check if the pattern of events is the same (ie do all three timers reset etc).

The new router has not cured the problem and has possibly made it worse but that could also just be a symptom of any underlying cause is getting worse.

Also forgot to mention in my previous update, no rain for a couple of days so doesn't look water related at the min.