Broadband connection working intermittently - Page 2

Martin Rowley · 14-04-2006, 20:48

Yes, there is obviously a wider problem here. Too many of us are experiencing this intermittent drop in connection - and in my case, this is the first time I've had any problems since going B/B in 2003. Only kicked-in about 4 weeks ago when NTL started messing about with the network. I can actually *see* the modem recycling as the signal drops away - yes it does recover, but what use is that for streaming audio/video, gaming etc. I assume NTL monitor this forum, so perhaps with enough notes the T/S people might get the idea that 'summats up'!

Martin.

ffc · 14-04-2006, 21:37

I too am in Bracknell and I have started getting the modem reboot issue as well. I haven't called support yet. As I suspect they won't have a clue.

Martin Rowley · 15-04-2006, 09:07

Worth reporting if you can: I know it's a hassle (and costs), but the more reports, then hopefully, the higher the priority for action - or am I being simple .....

Martin.

greyripper · 15-04-2006, 09:11

Tried to respond last night. But, yes, you guessed right, connection dropped!
Still having problem (Wokingham here). Engineer booked for Monday morning, I'll let you all know what (if anything happens. Anyone waiting for a resolution, don't hold your breath!

Off to look at Sky and BT alternatives.

Happy Easter!

Ian_S · 17-04-2006, 18:50

Well I had the NTL engineer round today. Apparantly the Bracknell area is oversubscribed and the are having to upgrade the network to cope. While they are upgrading these problems will continue. Unfourtunately the have no date for when work will be completed.
I will give it another week or two to see if the issue is resolved before looking elsewhere for an ISP, as Ive had this problem for over a month now.

Martin Rowley · 17-04-2006, 19:09

Thanks for coming back with that info. Looking around elsewhere on this site and it seems that these problems (albeit not always with the same resolution) are coming up quite frequently. I've held off reporting (it'll be the third time when I do), as I have better things to do over the weekend, but intend to have a go at T/S again in the next couple of days to keep the pressure on!
One thing that has come out of all this: I've learnt a whole lot about line-levels, signal strengths etc. Thanks to all guys & gals who've put the various bits of information together.

Metrostar · 17-04-2006, 21:00

The same thing is going on in Leicester. VERY annoying. I'm gonna call in the morning after having read this thread - I thought it was just me. I'm really looking forward to the idiot at customer service treating me like an idiot. I've been with NTL for over two years and without a single hitch, really, not one. This disaster is a bloody shame. Shoot, just realised I had better get on and post this, who knows how long my connection will be up...

greyripper · 17-04-2006, 21:24

Engineer called this morning, fortunately whle I had a failed connection. He said it was the NTL network and reported it. About two hours later a network engineer turned up, fiddled with the distribution box, and said it was a 'bad reverse path amplifier'. Been working ever since, but with some slow-downs. No disconnects yet though.
Still looking at alternatives, LLU looks like the way to go, but I need a BT line first!

nopcode · 18-04-2006, 00:41

I was the same as martin, dont like to call cs to be told I need to reboot modem etc when it dosnt work. However all seems to be well now, I have to say webpages load faster than I can remember now. Games still spike very close to d/c limits, but apart from that im happy once more.

Is it possible that NTL just shift the load on servers from one area to another, depending on how hard people complain? Because I notice other areas are springing up with similar problems.

Martin Rowley · 18-04-2006, 11:24

Have just come off the phone (to India!) after nearly 20 mins (enhanced rates), which consisted of at least 40% waiting for something to happen! The end result is that I will get another engineer to visit tomorrow - but they weren't going to do that until I mentioned the magic words " ... why am I paying for a service I'm not getting?" I suspect the modem will be changed this time, but as noted elsewhere, with more widespread problems about, I think that it is a network issue and changing modems is just the next 'tick in the box'. Like swimming through treacle ....

Will report back if any progress.

Martin.

DamnMachine · 18-04-2006, 11:45

Add one more to the list. I'm in Camberley, and have been having this problem a while, but its got really bad recently. Three engineer visits over the years ... attenuator added ... attenuator removed ... cable modem changed ... no results.

I now have a new NTL 250 cable modem. The symptoms are the same each time. Ready light goes out, then flashes for a period before coming back on.
Last engineer's visit says signal levels were just fine.

The very strange thing is that a neighbour four doors down the road who also has NTL doesn't have these problems.

Two wacky ideas - any thoughts appreciated?

1. Wireless router - is there any track record of the wireless signal interfering with the signal to the cable modem? Is it even technically possible? They are right next to each other in my set-up, less than an inch apart.

2. Freezing Digital TV. We've noticed an increase in digital TV signal freezing recently. I know it sometimes happens, but we were getting it every five minutes last night, on more channel than one. Does that point to some kind of local cabling problem on my premises which could be causing both?

Of course, being an intermittent problem, the only guaranteed way of preventing it from happening is to have an NTL engineer visit.

\Damn

Mick Fisher · 18-04-2006, 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamnMachine

2. Freezing Digital TV. We've noticed an increase in digital TV signal freezing recently. I know it sometimes happens, but we were getting it every five minutes last night, on more channel than one. Does that point to some kind of local cabling problem on my premises which could be causing both?

I had that problem. It turned out to be caused by a signal that was Too Strong. Something had failed in the local cab that needed a network engineer to remedy. My BB on a Tjet seemed unaffected although the engineer did say that the condition could affect BB.

Good luck with it.

Martin Rowley · 19-04-2006, 13:10

Just an update .. (Wednesday): engineer came .. was one who came before (which saved a lot of hassle explaining the problem), and even before he came through the door, said "did I change your modem last time?" [The T/S people also asked whether the modem had been changed so perhaps this should have been done before? ] .... I now have a 250 (to replace the 120), and I'm *told* that this should be better as with all the upgrades over recent years, the older modem stock wouldn't cope too well. The puzzling thing is, today, I had absolutely NO problems at all (first time for 7 or 8 weeks) with the OLD modem. I did look at the 'work in progress' site (via B/B medic) as last night, this area was due to undergo "network optimisation" work. Given that some on this forum think that recent changes have (perhaps) altered the configuration of the network, perhaps that work did more to sort our problems out than a new modem?

Still, it's nice to have a new modem

If the service stays 'stable' after a few days, I'll post back here to update the story.

Martin.

19-04-2006, 13:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Rowley

<snip>Still, it's nice to have a new modem

If the service stays 'stable' after a few days, I'll post back here to update the story.

Martin.

Hope that is a 'happy ending' for you, thanks for the update

Ian_S · 20-04-2006, 22:38

Well my internet connection hasn't failed for a couple of days, so hopefully NTL have now resolved the problem...