VDSL dropping out for a short period every few hours

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › VDSL dropping out for a short period every few hours

bakery2k

79 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#197881 16-Jun-2016 12:04

I have had Spark VDSL at this address for over two years. Unfortunately, my VDSL connection has recently begun dropping out for a short period every few hours. The Event Log of my "Technicolor TG589vn v2" shows at least three drop-outs in the last 24 hours:

Warning Jun 16 11:27:47 PPP link up (PPPoE) [...]
Info Jun 16 11:25:18 xDSL linestate up (ITU-T G.993.2; downstream: 27534 kbit/s, upstream: 1416 kbit/s; output Power Down: 14.6 dBm, Up: 5.3 dBm; line Attenuation Down: 23.0 dB, Up: N/A dB; snr Margin Down: 9.0 dB, Up: N/A dB)
Warning Jun 16 11:25:05 PPP link down (PPPoE) [...]
Info Jun 16 11:24:57 xDSL linestate down
...
Info Jun 16 05:58:39 xDSL linestate up (ITU-T G.993.2; downstream: 27451 kbit/s, upstream: 1360 kbit/s; output Power Down: 14.6 dBm, Up: 5.1 dBm; line Attenuation Down: 23.0 dB, Up: N/A dB; snr Margin Down: 9.0 dB, Up: N/A dB)
Info Jun 16 05:58:17 xDSL linestate down
...
Warning Jun 15 20:16:33 PPP link up (PPPoE) [...]
Info Jun 15 20:14:41 xDSL linestate up (ITU-T G.993.2; downstream: 20479 kbit/s, upstream: 785 kbit/s; output Power Down: 18.9 dBm, Up: 9.3 dBm; line Attenuation Down: 29.3 dB, Up: N/A dB; snr Margin Down: 9.0 dB, Up: N/A dB)
Info Jun 15 20:14:19 xDSL linestate down
Warning Jun 15 20:11:28 PPP link down (PPPoE) [...]

I believe these drop-outs started a few weeks ago. Perhaps coincidentally, around this time there was a major fault in the local area, which caused complete loss of land-line phone and VDSL service for about 3 days. During the recent short drop-outs, however, the phone seems to work without issue.

What could be causing these VDSL drop-outs? Is there anything I can do to fix them?

PeterReader

6028 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 461

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#1574961 16-Jun-2016 12:04

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

you have reset your modem and router
your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing - you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap
your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing
you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

Your ISP and plan
Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)
Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)
Your general location (or street)
If you are rural or urban
If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin
If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service
If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

sidefx

3775 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1295

Trusted

#1574974 16-Jun-2016 12:08

Start with the info requested by PeterReader above - it's worth eliminating your internal wiring as a possible cause... though yeah by the sounds of that major fault and the fact it worked fine for 2 years before that, it sounds like some sort of line fault, so probably raise with your ISP.

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

bakery2k

79 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#1574985 16-Jun-2016 12:31

Just had another drop-out, this time with a few minutes (12:18 - 12:22) of "PPP link down" despite "xDSL linestate up":

Warning Jun 16 12:23:35 PPP link up (PPPoE) [...]
Info Jun 16 12:22:54 xDSL linestate up (ITU-T G.993.2; downstream: 27673 kbit/s, upstream: 1416 kbit/s; output Power Down: 14.6 dBm, Up: 5.2 dBm; line Attenuation Down: 22.9 dB, Up: N/A dB; snr Margin Down: 9.0 dB, Up: N/A dB)
Info Jun 16 12:22:33 xDSL linestate down
Warning Jun 16 12:18:30 PPP link down (PPPoE) [...]
Warning Jun 16 12:16:31 PPP link up (PPPoE) [...]
Warning Jun 16 12:16:17 PPP link down (PPPoE) [...]
Info Jun 16 12:16:15 xDSL linestate up (ITU-T G.993.2; downstream: 27562 kbit/s, upstream: 1249 kbit/s; output Power Down: 14.5 dBm, Up: 4.9 dBm; line Attenuation Down: 22.9 dB, Up: N/A dB; snr Margin Down: 9.0 dB, Up: N/A dB)
Info Jun 16 12:15:44 xDSL linestate down

cbrpilot

964 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 555

Trusted

Spark NZ

#1575019 16-Jun-2016 13:45

I assume you have a splitter installed to seperate your modem from the rest of the house wiring.

Suggest you give us a call and we can get a line test run on your line to determine what kind of fault we can detect on the line. If I've done my detective work correctly I think I've found your line, and started that test - so give us a call tomorrow afternoon and the test should have completed, and the helpdesk will have something to work with. Just tell whoever you speak to that there may already have been a linetest run using ESPM.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

bakery2k

79 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#1575094 16-Jun-2016 15:37

I assume you have a splitter installed to seperate your modem from the rest of the house wiring.

Yes, there is a splitter installed.

If I've done my detective work correctly I think I've found your line, and started that test

Thank you for that. The line is the same one which you and I discussed by Private Message (regarding low VDSL upload speed) in December 2015.

Please let me know if you need any more information.

cbrpilot

964 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 555

Trusted

Spark NZ

#1575124 16-Jun-2016 15:58

Thanks for confirming the line number.

Please give us a call to log a fault tomorrow afternoon (i.e. after 2pm) so that the current test will have completed.

Dave.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

Apple TV

Stream your favourite shows now on Apple TV (affiliate link).

bakery2k

79 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#1575775 17-Jun-2016 14:39

Unfortunately, after half an hour on the phone to 120, I have been unable to log a fault.

The first person I spoke to said he would bring up the results of the line test. "Stay on the line" he said, but then disappeared and the phone went silent. I hung up after 5 minutes.

On calling back, another person told me that he could not do anything because of the system upgrade (http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=197866).

Do I have to wait until the system upgrade is completed (Monday?) to log a fault?

cbrpilot

964 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 555

Trusted

Spark NZ

#1575819 17-Jun-2016 15:26

Hi bakery2k, my apologies, I did not realise this outage would effect some Chorus systems too.

Yes, I do fear you'll need to wait until next week to be able to get Chorus to come out and look at the line. :(

My humblest apologies. I can see the line bounced at least 13 times yesterday. Hang in there, and give us a call early next week and we should be able to get Chorus to come out and sort whatever is wrong.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

bakery2k

79 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#1583704 30-Jun-2016 21:33

A Chorus technician did some work on the wiring in the street, and this issue is now resolved.

Cbrpilot, thank you very much for your help.

cbrpilot

964 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 555

Trusted

Spark NZ

#1583718 30-Jun-2016 21:47

You're very welcome. Great to hear that you got it sorted :)

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

bakery2k

79 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#1613447 17-Aug-2016 20:48

Unfortunately it seems that my optimism regarding this issue was premature. About a week after Chorus worked on the line, the frequent disconnections resumed. I reopened the case with Spark and further work seems to have been done on the 18th of July. I can't be sure what was done because Spark have not been in contact since the case was reopened, and have now unilaterally closed it again.

The frequent disconnections continue. The other morning I oscillated between connected and disconnected every 5 minutes, and for the last 48 hours my connection has been dropping about once every 30 minutes.

As well as the disconnections, I notice that my connection statistics have significantly worsened over time. Compare them to the statistics at the top of this thread, or to those which I posted to Geekzone late last year:

DSL Type: ITU-T G.993.2
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 992 / 30,584 => 592 / 16,549
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 9.0 / 16.8 => 9.3 / 19.0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 10.0 / 23.8 => 20.0 / 29.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 9.7 / 8.9 => 15.9 / 22.1

Along with the disconnections, over the last few days I have also noticed the router (a "Technicolor TG589vn v2", supplied by Telecom in January 2014) spontaneously rebooting a few times. Could this point to the router as the cause of the problem?

If the router is likely the cause of the problem, will Spark generally replace supplied routers if they become faulty? If it is not the router, is there anything I can do to get this issue investigated thoroughly?

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Jase2985

13730 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6202

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1613512 18-Aug-2016 05:09

call spark and tell them you are having DNS issues with windows 10 and the Router. Tell them it is/was a common issue and they should replace it.

But yes my frist port of call would be try a different device.