Connection Dropping Out

[cotmire]

Hello,

For about a week now my connection has been dropping out, at first it was a few times a day and I only noticed it on the WiFi-connected PC I was working on furthest away from the router - now it's got really bad, it's happening multiple times an hour and affecting everything including our phones and ethernet-connected TV etc, the connection is basically unusable today.

The connection uptime shown in the router admin panel is unaffected, nothing in the logs indicates that there was actually an internet disconnection.

Today I've tried connecting the router to the test socket but that didn't make any difference. My dial tone sounds fine. For some reason the TalkTalk line test tool just keeps telling me this: "Oops, looks like something went wrong. We're currently struggling to fetch the relevant information due to technical difficulties".

It got so bad dropping out every few minutes this afternoon that I found an old HG633 router and tried plugging that in instead of the Sagemcom hub; for a few hours it seemed to help but I think it was a coincidence as it has dropped out exactly the same way again 3 times in the last hour.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

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

Chris

[cotmire]

Hi Chris,

They've been gone for a while and I can already tell it's still happening. The full disconnection incident this morning was likely coincidental. It has disconnected/reconnected about 8 times this afternoon - most recently at 2:03pm and 2:05pm. I will continue to monitor it but please can you go ahead & book the appointment. Thank you.

Edit: 9 times - just happened again at 2:34. Definitely still happening!

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Yes, I think it's part or an incident affecting a number of customers. Could you monitor the connection for 24 hours and if the issue persists we can try booking the engineer again (but I'm pretty sure that it's already under investigation - I think that may be why the line test isn't completing)

Chris

[cotmire]

The internet was completely down for me and at least 2 other flats this morning and I unplugged the router for 30 minutes. It's back up and running now and line sounds fine. There are OpenReach engineers currently working in the cabinet outside so that's likely something to do with it.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Line test still isn't completing. Could I just ask, are you currently experiencing any problems with your telephone service, any noise on the line line?

Chris

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Sorry, not booked it yet, I need to run a line test before I can book the engineer as I need to enter the line test reference number on the engineer booking form, but unfortunately due to a system issue the line test won't complete. I've tried a couple of times and will try again now

Chris

[cotmire]

Thank you. This actually seems to be affecting neighbouring flats as well - having tried connecting to two WiFi networks at the same time yesterday they both cut out at the same time. Mine cut out and didn't come back on at one point yesterday I had to switch router off for 20 minutes. This morning we have no connection at all. As soon as possible would be good for the engineer booking. Is it booked yet?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

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

Chris

[cotmire]

Ok I understand about potential charges, please arrange, thank you.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi cotmire

I will arrange the engineer visit. Can you also confirm potential engineer charges

Engineer charges

[cotmire]

Hi Debbie,

It was at the test socket but I've moved it back now as it makes no difference either way, I've tried both ways with all 3 routers at this point. Maybe the problem is the socket itself.

Can I have an afternoon engineer visit? Any day is fine.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi cotmire

I've completed another line test and this is clear - No faults detected.

I can see re connections on the line. Is the new router currently connected at the test socket?

The next step will be an Openreach engineer visit.

[cotmire]

Yes it is happening with wired devices too.

I plugged the HG633 back in as it had seemed a bit better but have actually been getting the same issue - the only difference is with that router my devices keep the WiFi connection but still lose the internet connectivity for a minute (vs a complete disconnect/reconnect with the Sagemcom). Regardless of router or 2.4ghz/5ghz/ethernet/device type the issue is there. The connection uptime stat does not reset though. When I use the Sagemcom routers it always shows a downstream noise margin of 0dB which I gather isn't good (the HG633 shows 6.7 though?).

I just tried to run a line test through the TalkTalk support page and it said:

"We need to investigate further.
Our diagnostic tool picked up on a potential issue but to help us understand what’s going on you’ll need to run a more in depth line test."

It said it would take 5 minutes and I can only run it once every 5 days, but when I tried to it just said "We've run into a problem. Sorry, we're working hard to resolve this issue. Please try again later."

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi cotmire

I'm really sorry to hear this.

The line tests are clear. Are wired devices also losing connection?

[cotmire]

Hi Debbie,

I had one of the dropouts again this evening so I've plugged in the new router using the new filter and cables directly into the test socket, but unfortunately it's happened 3-4 more times already over the first 3 hour period (but no more in the following 3 hours - it's very random!).

[cotmire]

Hi Debbie yes thank you it arrived this afternoon. The connection has been better past 48hrs with the old model, will set this new one up and let you know how it goes.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi cotmire

Have you received the router?

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi cotmire

No problem 🙂

The new router is on its way, please allow 24-48hrs for this to arrive.

Please let us know how the connection compares.

Thanks

Debbie

[cotmire]

Hi Debbie,

Thank you. Yes please I think new equipment is worth a try since the older router seems to have been an improvement.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi cotmire

I'm sorry to hear this.

I've completed a line test and this is clear, no faults detected. The connection also appears to be stable.

Would you like me to send a new router, cables and filter so we can rule all equipment out? I know you have tested with an older router but it would be worth testing with a newer one (including cables and filter)