Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

I've been having a strange problem for a couple of months now intermittently. Basically the connection will drop out and reconnect, only when it reconnects it continues to drop-out and reconnect on and off. The lights on the modem are exactly as they would be if I was connected and online - i.e. when there has been a network problem in the area in the past the two lights furthest right which I think are upstream/downstream(?) one of those will be flashing - this is NOT the case, both lights remain constant even when I am disconnected/reconnecting, so I can't tell by looking at the lights what the problem is.

When the connection comes back on (takes about the usual time it would be from plugging in the modem) I do a test like go to BBC news in my browser, it will then load the title in the browser tab so I'm clearly online, but it will take a very long time to load the page - and only that page. If I open another tab and click on anything else - even google - it will not load even the header title nor will any othe link work on the first page if it has loaded by now. This then signals that I will be disconnected again, reconnected and again I test with say BBC news page and the exact same cycle happens until I'm too frustrated to keep going and I unplug the modem. The exact same thing happens when I plug it back in after a couple of minutes sometimes say or even 10-15 mins. Sometimes rebooting my PC helps get things back to normal or using my separate wireless router (or only a wired connection if I was using the router when the problem first started). But more often than not I just leave it for a good 5-6 hours or overnight if it's too late to faff around.

I'm on an old wired connection modem, I don't have superhub (not even sure what that is tbh). I also use a separate wireless router on and off for other devices sometimes that I plug in to the main Virgin router - it happens with or without it so it's not a wireless problem, it can happen when I only use a wired connection to the main PC.

It feels like it's a traffic shaping measure as it will often happen if I've just watched say a load of youtube videos or downloaded something. It doesn't have to be a huge file 200-300mb say, but if the download speed was full speed - I'm only on 20mb - this seems to trigger it. Maybe that's paranoia, but it's my experience of how and when the problem occurs. Is this how Virgin traffic shape by disconnecting you temporarily, it doesn't seem to make sense but it's the only thing I can think of.

Has anyone experienced this themselves or know what the problem could be? I've read similar accounts on the Virgin forum but there's a lot of techno jargon and most customers have a superhub so I'm not sure the answers apply to my situation. If anyone could give me any pointers I'd be grateful.


TR;DR - Modem connects/reconnects over and over but the lights stay on as if it were connected and online.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

set up a (free) monitor at http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/monitors.html and post a couple of days graphs.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

First thing we need to do is get the modem's status while you're disconnected. You'll need to specify what modem you have so we can tell you how to get it's signal readings. Furthermore, you should try pinging the modem constantly, especially when it's 'down but not down'. I believe it's something along the lines of:

ping -t -w 1 192.168.1.100

in a command line or the Run prompt

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

I am a bit confused, you say you have got a standalone modem, a separate wireless router and "the main Virgin router". Can you tell us the make make and model of each device (should be on the bottom) and what is connected to what e.g. your pc is wired to whatever you call the main router.

You need to be careful about the older posts you read on forums if you search for stuff. What you refer to as traffic shaping is called stm in this context and VM don't do it anymore. Your connection is 100% unimpeded as far as you are concerned and the only time you should see it slow down is if there is a lot of congestion e.g. everyone watching youtube on a Sunday afternoon.

VM came up with superhubs (shubs) simply for this reason. They don't like it when people have problems like you have got because they don't know what routers you are using, how they are setup or what options you have tinkered with. As far as they are concerned your connection could be perfect and it is one of your routers which is playing up. The shubs are combi modem/routers with custom firmware so you basically have one device which provides you with your internet connection as well as letting everything else connect to it either wired or wirelessly. Because VM have designed all the settings and options they are in a better position to understand how it works and tell you what to do if things aren't working as they are supposed to. Now all that is great in theory but the first lot of shubs which came out were pants although they aren't too bad performance wise these days (they are on their 3rd generation) the custom firmware still leaves much to be desired and you are still better off using your own router if you know what you are doing.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Yes, sorry for the confusion over the routers. I'm using the wired connection router virgin gave me. It doesn't have wireless. Because of that, many years ago I also purchased a wireless router that connects to that so that I can use devices that use wireless (laptop, gaming devices etc). Sometimes I use wired, sometimes wireless (if someone else in the house wants to use it for example) - the problem happens both times, so I don't see how the problem can be my personal wireless router since it happens when I'm only using the virgin-supplied wired router.

Personal wireless router: LinkSys WRT54GC
Virgin router number on the bottom: E08013:00 (it has a big "256" on the label too)
This isn't my image, but I found a picture on google images of the same virgin modem here: http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/q...pcrouter1a.jpg

The only reason I suspected traffic shaping was because it would often happen after a period of heavy use (which I try to keep to offpeak times like the middle of the night). If I transfer a large amount of data and then this connection problem happens, I assume that this is the cause of the problem and VM are shaping my traffic or something similar. If that isn't the case, then that's great but it also means I'm totally in the dark as to the actual cause.

Thanks for your help.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

The ambit 256 is a modem only. Either way though, why are you using two routers and not just the Linksys directly attached to your modem? There is a 4 port switch on the back of your Linksys router to which you can connect wired devices and obviously you have got the wireless as well. I suggest you do this in the short term so we can ascertain whether it is your connection which is at fault or a connectivity issue with the router. When you start to daisy chain routers it can introduce problems and make it hard to work out what is happening with your traffic if you don't know what you are doing. Two points though:

1) 20mbit is an old tier which VM are dying to get rid of so I would strongly suggest you give them a ring and see what they say. They should upgrade you to 50mbits for free and send you a shub (which you will need for the speed) which you can use just as a modem if you want.
2) Taking the above into consideration, you won't get more than 25mbits wired or wireless through your current Linksys router and I would seriously suggest taking a look at something like this. It is basically a beefier version of what you have already got and the wireless range and speed will be far superior to what you can currently achieve. Atm any laptops/tablets/phones you have bought in the last 4 or 5 years are being held back by the legacy wireless on your router.

As an fyi, I have just done a quick google and I think you have got yourself in a right pickle. If your "virgin router" looks anything like this, it isn't a router at all and is just a modem so if you are using another modem which is connected to your VM line and is working then you should only be using your Linksys router.

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2015/02/16.jpghttps://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2015/02/17.jpg



It is very rare I say this (it is only the second time ever) but I seriously think you should just forget using all 3 pieces of equipment you currently have, ring VM and ask for a superhub2 and they'll also bang you up to 50mbits. The reason I say this is because the modem part of the shub (without going into technical detail) will be far superior to what you currently have, provide you with a more reliable connection and you are more likely to be able to get the faster speeds. I do my Linksys routers but the shub2 is going to be better for you atm for both wired and wireless. If you do decide you want to go back to using your modem in the future you can do no problem. The shubs have a feature called modem mode and it makes the shub act only as a modem and you can connection any router your want to it and attach all your clients to your new router.

I really do think getting a shub is going to fix all your problems and although you are new to the forum, their are some very tech savvy experts on this forum who work in IT and you'll see them all agreeing with me when they join this thread. Trust us :)

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

I can't see any way to connect the linksys wireless router diretly since there's no port on it to accept the white round cable that comes from the virgin cable box in the wall.

I can't afford to buy any new equipment at the moment, although tbh the speed we have now is adequate, I don't really have a need for a higher speed. (When it works!) it's ok as it is now speed-wise for our needs.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

What I am saying is that you should only be using one modem. The coax coming out of the wall sock should go into to the back of the ambit 256 and then your Linksys router should connect to the ambit 256.

I honestly believe that all the problems you are experiencing are attributed to the equipment you are using. I am all for "if it ain't broken don't fix it" but the stuff you are using is ancient in the networking world. VM basically don't want it used on their network anymore and like I said, will send you a shub2 for free and upgrade your connection at the same time. You don't need to be nervous about using something new, the shubs are easy to setup and work exactly the same as your Linksys router, the only difference is that it is an all-in-one box. The increased speed is neither here nor there and you won't have to do anything for it, VM send an update to the shub saying "you are now allowed to do 50mbits instead of 20".

To give you some perspective, I used to have the same Linksys router as you but I stopped using it back in 2006/7 and moved onto the next model because 50mbits came out and I actually had exactly the same modem and router which you are currently using and both of them has to be replaced so I could achieve the new higher speed. At the time I moved onto an Ambit 300 (may it rest in peace) and a Linksys wrt150n. So what you have got to think of is that the stuff you are currently using is 8 years old.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

That's exactly what I'm doing, sorry if I was confusing before.

For wired only: coax -> ambit 256 -> PC
When using wireless: coax -> ambit 256 -> Lnksys -> PC

The cable to my PC I take out of the ambit 256 and put in the Lnksys, and put the Lnksys in the abmit 256 where the PC was connected to. I've done this for as long as I've had the Lnksys, many years, and have never had this problem until very recently. The connection problems also occur whether I'm using the Lnksys or not, so it's not part of the equation from what I can see, I can not use it for days but I still have gotten the problem with the ambit 256 wired connection only.

In the past we've contacted Virgin with concerns to upgrading the speed because the price we pay for broadband gives a faster speed according to their website, but they say that it isn't free because the price we pay is all tied up with the bundle of other stuff like TV/phone package. So I haven't checked for a while, but I realise the price we pay we could have a higher speed connection if we were a new customer, but Virgin have specifically told us on the phone that an upgrade to an equivalent priced increased broadband speed would not be free.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Ring up and get it changed. Simples

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

I don't want to sound condescending but the whole reason why routers were invented is so you don't have to faff around with cables as you have described above. Regardless of whether you are using wireless or not, your Linksys router should always been connected to the ambit 256 and your pc should always be connected to one of the 4 ethernet ports on the back of the router. That is what routers are for and your pc will work 100% fine and you won't notice any difference at all.

There is a very knowledgeable chap called Ben on this forum who works for VM, I have sent him a pm explaining your situation and hopefully he'll get back to you soon. He'll let you what you can and can't have for free. Like I said though, VM will jump at the chance to upgrade you because you are using legacy hardware on a legacy tier. I would bet good money that as soon as you get a shub all speed problems go away.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Why should the lnksys always be connected if I'm not using it? When I don't need wireless I take it out and connect direct to my PC. I've done this for years with zero problems, all of sudden this disconnection problem began, how can it be the hardware causing it when it hasn't caused such problems in all the years I've used it. And the disconnection problem occurs whether I'm using the lnksys router or not, so it still happens even when that is completely out of the equation.


As I said above, we tried that and they said they will not change the speed or equipment for free because we have a TV/phone/cable bundle.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Think of your internet connection like our road network. You have little residential streets which feed into main streets which feed into dual carriageways and motorways which then go into those massive overpasses and intersections if you think of America. The problem you have got is that in your area you have got over 200 houses using the same connection as you. I talked about congestion in one of my previous posts and the way cable works as a technology and how VM try to relieve congestion is to allow you to use multiple channels (think of them as lanes on a motorway). The problem you have got is that your modem is a single channel modem which means it will only use 1 channel. Think of an 8 lane motorway, you are in lane 1 along with lots of other people and the traffic is crawling to a halt, yet lanes 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are all free and you could jump into one of those. The reason why you need a shub is because it is an 8 channel modem which means you will use all 8 channels at the same time and if one of them is congested then you will send more traffic over the less channels. At the moment your internet connection is an all or nothing scenario and you need more flexibility and redundancy. There are various factors which can impede the performance of individual channels (never mind how many people are using it) and if something more technical is going on which screws the channel up then that makes you screwed if it is the only channel you can use. Each channel physically provide a maximum speed (I think it is about 55mbits) and the problem you have got is that more and more people are using faster and faster connections and trying to squeeze more and more speed out of every channel. Think about 100 people in your housing estate all on 100mbits trying to use those 8 channels at the same time and there you are trying to take up half a channel just by yourself. That is your problem. You haven't noticed it in the past because maybe the demand wasn't there in your area or the tiers were still sufficiently low but atm VM is upgrading everyone again and the lowest speed is 60mbits which is 3x what you have got.

You need a shub to improve your connection to the internet and as an aside you will also receive a speed upgrade. Your Linksys router can't handle anything over 25mbits like I said earlier so you will also use the shub as your new router and your pc will go straight into the back.

Pretty much everyone is on some sort of package these days, it is what VM live for. Regardless of how old your package is, you should be upgraded to the current cost equivalent. As an example, many moons ago I started out paying £35/month for 512k but that doesn't mean I need to stay on it now. £35/month now gets me 152mbits. Some people are happy to essentially pay more for less (like you atm) but if you ring up they'll discuss the new and updated packages available and you'll find you can get more tv channels, unlimited talk time and fast internet all for your current monthly price.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

So to me it sounds like the issue is that any new bundle deal may be a higher cost than you are currently paying, rather than the broadband change itself being chargeable

However, if you are have issues with your broadband connection and don't want to touch the rest of your package you need to report it as a fault with your kit, and if they identify there is a problem they will send out a SuperHub (as VM no longer do standalone modems). Your speed would stay as it is.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

and you would gain all the benefits of a far more modern and technologically superior modem and router.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

From what I was told, the current new customer package for an equivalent costs LESS, but they still won't increase the internet speed up to what other people get for the same money because of how the deal is all tied in. I'm just relaying what I was told, it sounds as screwy to me as it does to you.

But thanks any way for the help everyone, I will just truck on as we are until we can afford a superhub.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

You don't need to afford anything.

To quote Ben:-

"However, if you are have issues with your broadband connection and don't want to touch the rest of your package you need to report it as a fault with your kit, and if they identify there is a problem they will send out a SuperHub (as VM no longer do standalone modems). Your speed would stay as it is."

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

you don't need to afford a shub, they are free.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Okay, I can understand your perspective on this, but what Maximus is saying is that there's no benefit from unplugging in lots of cables - and that might even be the cause of your disconnects (At Virgin's end, they expect one device to be plugged into the Modem and if you swap too much or too often, it can get confused.

In any case, if your computer is a laptop and you go from wireless to wired for the boost in speed, then it's still better to plug that cable into the linksys - it won't mind the swapping as that is what it's designed to do and Virgin will be happy. IF your computer is stationary, then you're better just leaving it always plugged into the linksys - less faffing and again it keeps things more stable.

There's absolutely no harm having your wireless on 24/7 (or even just when you're awake), they're designed to operate like that and it's just about convenience. It also is useful for if/when you get a tablet or phone as those can make use of the wireless.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

No point not going for a Super Hub 2, as said they are free, and have a better DOCSIS system than your old Ambit 256, plus it is both a modem and wireless router, if you don't want wifi you can turn it off and keep it as a modem.

If you ever need the wireless function, switch it on again.

I would definitely call VM and ask them to send it out, you don't need an engineer to do it they give instructions on how to call up to activate it etc.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

I already said it, but I'm not sure how else I can say it - The last time we called them they said it would not be free. The Super Hub would not be free, regardless of speed staying the same or not.

Again, thank you for your help.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Did you call the normal customer service or the people in retentions? If you ring retentions, I'm fairly sure they would send one and maybe even put you on a better package (at the same or lower cost), in return for signing you up to a new 12 month contract. Think its option 5, then option 3 from 150.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

We're not suggesting you ring customer services and ask for an upgrade, you need to ring tech support and tell them you have got a fault and when a tech comes round he'll give you a shub regardless because VM dont want you using the ambit 256

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

We already said it, but I'm not sure how else we can say it - you need to report a fault with your service. The Super Hub would be free, as long as you make them aware your current modem is faulty.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

That said, Jon22 makes an excellent point - Customer services don't give anything away for free (maybe a cable if you're lucky), however customer retentions have a lot more bargaining power. If you have a modem that old, there's a good chance you're out of contract so if you phone them up and tell them you're leaving, they'll bargain with you - tell them that your bill is too high and Sky has offered you a better deal with a wireless router for free and they'll quickly upgrade you - often at no cost.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

... and if you're really not happy contacting retentions (which has work for many before) then remember that your monthly charge includes equipment rental. You are paying for equipment that works. VM even make a selling point over Sky about this.
If you can demonstrate the fault then keep calling engineers out until it's fixed.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

If its faulty it will get changed, thats what i meant

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

fwiw I can certainly see the OP's pov as I tenaciously resisted changing my Ambit256 for years because normal CS agents were futilely trying to inflate my package with offering a SH1 and additional subscription.
My 10mbps tier on SACM was quite adequate for my usage profile.

It was only when I was in the middle of a lengthy 5 month SNR/FEC issue in Sept 2012 that having contacted Retentions for monthly "partial loss of service" compensation that they reviewed my whole package and offered a SH1 (with 30/2Tier upgrade) + VHD STB at LESS than I was previously paying (no install/admin charges either)!

So it can be done but presumably depends on who you speak to in Retentions, length of service, duration/type of any existing fault, bundle type etc... :(

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Back again - We have a Superhub/100mb connection now, speed increase is nice, but....

I'm still having the same problems. I'm certain this is some form of traffic management as the disconnects/slow-reconnects 90% of the time have happened at 11am/4pm/11pm - times that correspond to VM's traffic management/throttling policies on their website. To me, it seems like rather than just dropping the speed there's some kind of connection/reconnection problem occuring, and it obviously was not my old modem since it's still happening.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

VM don't do traffic management anymore and haven't done for quite some time:

"We've got great news for all customers on our broadband tiers of 30Mb and above. After listening to your feedback, we've decided to stop applying our traffic management policy to download speeds. So now you can download as much as you like without worrying about traffic management slowing you down.

Our new policy is simple:
We only restrict upload speed
Your speed is only reduced while the upload threshold is exceeded. So the speed reduction could only last as little as an hour as long as you reduce your uploads"

Edit: I just realised which thread this is. Without going round in circles about traffic management and anything else you can think of can you copy and paste your power levels, config and log from the shub so we can take a look at what is going on. Click this link and scroll down to the fifth post (mine) so you can see what you are looking for. If you are using the shub in router mode (which I am sure you will be) go to http://192.168.0.1 (you can click that) it will take you to the router login page which is the first pic on that link I gave you.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Could this be due to a problem with the ethernet cable if it is continually being taken in and out of router and PC,

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Na, a new one would have been supplied with the shub

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

A new ethernet cable wasn't supplied with the superhub, but I did have a new one myself which is being used with it, so it's not that. It just happened again now at about 11:10pm, right on cue for the traffic management.

Virgin's own traffic management information: http://my.virginmedia.com/traffic-ma...hresholds.html


Thanks, here's the info

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2015/03/5.jpg
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2015/03/6.jpg
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2015/03/7.jpg

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

I'll make this super quick because I am late for work. Your connectivity issues are due to your power levels being out of whack. Your downstream power is too low (needs to be closer to 0) and your upstream power is too high. You need to ring tech support and ask for a tech to come out and adjust them. Don't let them give you any bs about resetting the shub and all that stuff, it won't fix it. You need a tech to come out and move your tap point in the street cabinet.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

OK, thanks for that. I don't really know what any of that means at all though, I'm worried if I just tell them verbatim what you say there they will fob me off and I won't have any come back because I don't know what I'll be talking about either.

So I ask for my power levels to be adjusted, because the downstream power is too low, and upstream is too high, so they need to move our tap point? I'm worried if I say that they won't know what I'm talking about and I won't either (the bloke who brought the superhub even told me he knew nothing about the internet when we were chatting).

I'm still wondering why the vast majority of the times the disconnects happen that it as a specific time of day - 10 mins either way of 11am/4pm/11pm.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Don't worry about the technical mumbo jumbo, just phone them up and tell them what you do know - your internet is intermittent and there's a problem. Let the agent figure it out and don't accept no for an answer.

It should be pretty cut and dry though, your levels are not great so even a mediocre agent should spot it and book you a tech.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

I won't bore you with the technical details but suffice to say that in order for the "signal" from VM to get to you and get through all the bits inbetween, it needs a certain amount of power to do it. Think of it as pushing a bowling bowl down the lane and having to hit a series of pins every meter. Every time it hits something it is going to slow down a bit so you need to make sure it starts off fast enough so it has enough oompf to reach the end. As the signal from VM gets closer and closer to you it loses power and in an ideal world it gets to you with just the right amount which is why I said your downsteam power levels (what you get from VM) should be as close to 0 as possible. Conversely, your upstream power is how much power you need to send back the signal so that will start off high and then go down as it gets closer to VM's end. There is such a thing as too much or not enough which is why your downstream power can be a + or - figure. There are limits within which your signal is deemed acceptable and yours is outside of those which is why your connection is dropping and you are getting those T3 timeouts in your error log.

You need to ring tech support and tell them that you are experiencing intermittent connectivity issues which you believe are due to out of spec power levels. If you get a good agent he will ask if he can log into your pc remotely so he can connect to the shub and have a look at the same pages which I asked you to do. If you get a ming mong they won't understand what you are saying and will go through the palaver of rebooting your shub, resetting it to factory settings and mucking about with other stuff (like changing your wireless settings). No matter what they say they have done, they cannot change any settings on the shub which will fix things nor can they do anything their end. If they turn around and say "madam I have just send a signal to the modem and I have changed the power settings and I can see that the problem is fixed now" they are lying.

Not all the connections in the street cabinet (what your house is connected to) are the same because properties are situated at varying distances from the cabinet. Depending how far or how close you are to the cabinet means you might need a little bit more or less power. Your connection needs to be moved to a different tap point so your downstream power goes up by +10 (to make it +3) and your upstream comes down by -10 to make it +45. You don't need to feel bad about ringing them up and don't think you are a pain in the bum. The tech who brought the shub round should have checked your power levels before he left so all of this is his fault for doing half a job. You are actually doing them a favour by making their job easier because you know what the problem is. If India muck you about be firm with them and tell them you want a tech booked and if they say no then ring back go through to retentions and complain. If you don't get back to us before the tech comes out you should know he will do one of two things; he will either move your tap point in the cabinet or cheat and put an attenuator on the back of the shub which will adjust the power coming down the cable before to reaches the shub.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Alright, I'll give it a go thanks very much for the continued help.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

One other check you can do: Are there any attenuators* fitted at the back of the SH?

*Small metal boxes in-line with the cable

If they're there please report what is written on the outside of them.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

it is a new shub so I doubt the installation tech would have put one on without checking the power levels first

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Yes there isn't anything fitted to the back of the SH.

The install guy did nothing other than plug it in and pull up speedtest.net, I asked a few basic questions and he looked at me like I was speaking Chinese. They could've just sent the SH through the post, I knew how to do what he did myself.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Looks like your tap point needs changed.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Hi everyone, just wanted to pop back and say a big thank you to everyone who helped me in this thread (even when I was stubborn!).

The engineer came this week, and exactly as you had said he fixed the power levels and changed the tap point. So fingers crossed everything seems much better so far. You helped me a lot, so thank you again :)

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

We're all happy to help. Glad you got your issue sorted out.:)

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

yup, pay extra special attention later at the times you think traffic management kicks and watch to see what the shub does. It you get any dodgy flashing lights or lose connectivity have a look in your log and see what happened. Can you post your new downstream and upstream power levels (regardless of fault) as well so we can see the difference.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Back again. The same problems we had before came back within 48 hours of the engineer leaving. That was a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't contacted Virgin again yet as I wanted to make sure it wasn't a temporary blip - but I can safely say that the connection now is the worst it has ever been.

I don't understand what I can do at this point. If we get another engineer out aren't they just going to do the same thing with "power levels" and the "tap point" that the last one did? That didn't do anything clearly, in fact it made things worse if anything, so how can I trust Virgin a third time?

I've looked in to switching to Sky which everyone in the house is fine with, but since we just got the Superhub I'm just praying that this doesn't count as a new contract and we're locked in to some draconian 18 month contract until we can cut ties with Virgin. At this point I'd be happy to take even a significant speed drop by switching providers if it meant that the connection actually works. We've been with Telewest/Blueyonder/Virgin for 20+ years and this is the worst service we've ever had during that entire time.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

you never posted your new power levels so we couldn't see what the difference was.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Yes sorry, I've only just been able to reconnect and it's not much better than 56k!

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2015/04/22.jpg
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2015/04/23.jpg
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2015/04/24.jpg

These are from today. When the engineer came a couple of weeks back he said he adjusted the power levels (the work receipt he gave me says "signal levels incorrect levels") and also moved the tap point in the box on the street. So if it's the same problem as before he did all that - how and why? :confused:


And the connection died again just as I hit the reply button! Why am I not surprised!

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

your power levels are fine. The next thing to do is setup a Think Broadband monitor. I did it the other day and it is a 2 minute job. It let's us assess the quality of your connection and you get a graph that looks like this:



Go to this page and setup an account (username, email and password) and you are away.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

OK I've done that, should I give it a day or two to post the graph?

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

post the graph now and it updates in real time so we can come back and look at it whenever we want without having to wait for you to do anything

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Your going to have to enable ping response on the superhub, otherwise you'll have a block of red on the graph, as can be seen (can't remember if your using that or your own router, still applies anyway). Thinkbroadband have a guide: http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/g...b-vmdg480.html

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Right done that, I knew the big block of red meant there was something not right!

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

It's updated now and looks ok. Do a wired speed test, please.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2015/04/9.png


That of course looks as it should, except today the connection has been perfectly fine with slow times but really no long disconnects as most days. I've had the odd slow loading/failed load page that has kicked in the red cross/yellow triangle on the network/sharing center, but as soon as I've gone to repair them it said the problem is solved. It's literally been the best connected day I've had in weeks, so I don't think any of this information is giving a true picture of the problem.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

There was an odd spike around 2PM, so hard to say. What devices do you have connected to your network? Both wired and wireless, everything from TV's to Xboxes.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Just one wired computer, a laptop on wifi for a couple of hours on an evening most days of the week.

Today has been oddly, almost suspiciously, good connection and uptime.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

This is going to sound stupid...but have you tried doing a speedtest on the laptop with the computer turned off?

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

I will try that next chance I get (the laptop isn't always in the house when I am).

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

For now I think I'm just going to have to leave it. The connection this week hasn't been anywhere near as bad as the previous few, so I don't know what to do other than just be happy that it's working almost normally. If the problem comes back (I'm 99.9% positive it will!) then I'll come back and post speed tests etc, but until then I'll just say thank you for your attention and help again. I'll leave the thinkbroadband monitor active just in case.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

And of course the problem returns!

Same old crap, I've downloaded a couple of youtube videos with a firefox plugin to watch offline later, speed was ok but a quarter of what it should be on a 100mb connection. After say 1.5GB of total downloads through the afternoon (not constantly downloading but over the course of a couple of hours) the connection goes squiffy. Constantly disconnecting, then 'repairing' through Windows Network & Sharing Center, it quickly reconnects ("problem is solved") and I click a website only to have it load slowly and never finish doing so (the loading symbol on the browser tab never goes away), any link I click or new tab opened causes the connection to crap out again and the whole cycle repeats.

I think we'll just leave it. If the power levels are supposedly fine, but that was what the supposed cause of the problem was in the first place, then there's nothing to be done.

I'll be looking at Sky or something and Virgin can pick up their crappy little boxes from the front garden lol! They've had enough of our money over the years for them to just ignore this and fob us off with "power levels" as a ****ing reason.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Firstly, power levels play an intricate role in determining whether or not you actually have an internet connection, as I have explained before, so they are not an excuse, they are data to be analysed and used for diagnostic purposes.

Secondly, although your power levels were out of spec previously, I don't think your connection issues are anything to do with your WAN connection to VM and is a fault between your PC and shub. Your PC and Windows cannot magically change any settings with Virgin Media's connection so when it says repairing, it isn't fixing anything which your believe to be at fault VM's end and it isn't changing any setting on the router. It is changing various network settings in Windows and hoping it will fix the issue. The fact that your PC is detecting the complete loss of your network connection to the shub (and not the internet) and the shub isn't dropping it's wan (internet) connection proves this. If you don't believe me, look at your router the next time your connection drops and you'll see.

We have already ruled out the router as the culprit because you haven got a new one so the next thing is the patch cable (which is as cheap as chips) and then the NIC in your PC.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

According to your Think Broadband meter your Superhub was online just fine during this period. No drops, no loss, no response time changes.

I go along with the General, the issue is on your side of the connection now. Previously it was that the upstream power levels were too high, those are now fine.

Re: Connection drops in/drops out periodically
 

Agreed.

Further indication of this above given by the fact that "Repairing" in Windows solves the issue temporarily, the Repair process in Windows basically does a DHCP renew, it cannot influence the VM connection in any way. It only repairs the local network connection to the router.

---------- Post added at 18:05 ---------- Previous post was at 18:04 ----------

Now if you'd had told us this to begin with we'd have been able to figure out that the problem had nothing to do with VM all along :rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 18:06 ---------- Previous post was at 18:05 ----------

Dammit, you beat me to it

Guess we're even now ;)

Either way, the symptoms point to packet loss, and there's no packet loss from the router to the internet so that suggests somethings bust with his LAN connection.