Intermittent DSL connectivity

[g15m0]

Hi there,

Wondering if anyone out there can shed some light on my issue.
Since 23/12/2013 I've been having intermittent DSL connectivity.
Seems to be working flawlessly for about 2-3 days, and then can't maintain sync for the next 2-3 days, and then repeat.

An excerpt from my router's log:

2014-01-10T10:55:33.808609+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1
2014-01-10T10:55:52.890717+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1 sent [PADI Host-Uniq(0x0000663c)]
2014-01-10T10:55:57.632533+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1 sent [PADI Host-Uniq(0x0000663c)]
2014-01-10T10:56:07.634546+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1 sent [PADI Host-Uniq(0x0000663c)]
2014-01-10T10:56:10.287147+02:00 172.16.0.1  DSL: xdsl READY!!
2014-01-10T10:56:27.791503+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1 Timeout waiting for PADO packets
2014-01-10T10:56:27.792222+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1
2014-01-10T10:56:46.881672+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1 sent [PADI Host-Uniq(0x000066e3)]
2014-01-10T10:56:51.615349+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1 sent [PADI Host-Uniq(0x000066e3)]
2014-01-10T10:57:01.625504+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1 sent [PADI Host-Uniq(0x000066e3)]
2014-01-10T10:57:21.781774+02:00 172.16.0.1  PPP: ppp1 Timeout waiting for PADO packets

And my router's stats (as of right now):
[table="width: 400"]
[tr]
[td][/td]
[td]Upstream[/td]
[td]Downstream[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Current Rate (Kbps)[/td]
[td]1014[/td]
[td]7440[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Max Rate (Kbps)[/td]
[td]1024[/td]
[td]10192[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]SNR Margin (dB)[/td]
[td]6.5[/td]
[td]11.9[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Line Attenuation (dB)[/td]
[td]13.5[/td]
[td]36.8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Error (Pkts)[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

I just don't understand what's happening. My router was working consistently at 10Mbit's since July last year. I've tested 2 DSL modems, had line profile dropped to 4Mbit (and set back to 10 as it made no difference).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Noah]

My PluGG(IS) account is giving me problems however my Telkom(SAIX) account is fine.

 

[g15m0]

Fault is unrelated to ISP accounts. I can turn router into Bridge only mode (no PPPoE dial-up) and DSL sync is still not reliable.

 

[fragtion]

Almost certainly a noise issue. Check your POTS filters, make sure you have one where each device plugs into the phone line. Do you hear any cracking on the voice line when the problems occur ? It could be water or a poor connection joint somewhere

 

[g15m0]

Almost certainly a noise issue. Check your POTS filters, make sure you have one where each device plugs into the phone line. Do you hear any cracking on the voice line when the problems occur ? It could be water or a poor connection joint somewhere

Been a long time fragtion!

No POTS filter, no telephone, no splitters. Using only DSL modem directly connected to line.

 

[fragtion]

Been a long time fragtion!

No POTS filter, no telephone, no splitters. Using only DSL modem directly connected to line.

Ah ok. While that's unlikely to be the specific cause of the problem, you might like to know that a POTS filter - especially one with a phone connected to it (even if you don't use that phone) can often improve and somewhat stabilize the SNR on the DSL side. I usually see improvements of 2-6dB, depending on the quality of the filter

The best filter I've used personally is the Excelsus Z-Blocker (Z-330P2J). This filter, combined with a Dlink 2500u, allows me a marginal 10Mb sync where most modems without any filter tend to top out closer to 8Mbps. Some food for thought... Unfortunately you can't buy the Excelsus filters in SA, but they are on Amazon so perhaps you can get them shipped or a travelling buddy could do you the favour. If there is enough interest, I'd be willing to import them and sell them off here for close to R100 a pop? I do have 5 left from my last batch of 10, so let me know if you're willing to cover the cost and I'll send one down for you

Telkom filters, and filters that come bundled with most routers, don't have the same effect, and pretty much just serve their purpose of ridding the DSL noise from the voice line... but give it a try, perhaps your mileage differs.

 

[g15m0]

Tried the filter that came with the modem last night, didn't help.
Was thinking about grounding? Don't some surge protectors ground the line?

I'm getting desperate. At the moment my line can't even sync.
Heading for a month now with this issue.

I have submitted my second escalation report this morning, mostly out of frustration with trying to get through on the phone yesterday.

 

[g15m0]

Had a very helpful response from TelkomZA. Simultaneous Telkom and ISP fault.
Line been stable, albeit at 6Mbit since yesterday, so at least I have internet access!

 

[g15m0]

So, today I closed the fault, 1 month to the day since my it started
Line was stable at 8Mb since 7pm on Monday, so just had it bumped back up to 10Mb.

My concern is that nobody claims responsibility for fixing this.
All the technicians I had the pleasure of speaking to had no clue as to the cause of the problem, or at least gave that impression.

Hopefully my line just stays working and I don' have to fight Telkom DSL support again.