30M Hit And Miss Internet

da_vone · 23-01-2012, 13:48

For the last few day as well as within this month i've been getting what i call "hit and miss" internet.

It basically comes and goes whenever it feels like. Having voiced my frustrations last Friday the chap asked for my power levels which were: Down Stream (Locked) -8.8 and Up stream (Unlocked) 0.0 [this is when it was NOT working-all the lights were flashing green].

The chap said the power levels were too low and said an engineer will come out today however upon calling virgin today they said it was an area fault and that the engineer wont come to my property but fix the area fault.

This mysterious (B10) area fault keeps on happening. They never say what the fault is, as i have called with the same issue before.

When it is working the power levels are as follows Down stream (locked) -9.8 and Up Stream (Locked) 41.0. Lights are (blue, green, green)

The account holder pays the bills all the time every time. When the service is working its really brilliant and so one would expect to get near enough continuous service. however i have been let down quite a bit due to loss of service. Fair enough they have credited for the times of loss of service but how can i make sure that my net is always on.

Is there anything i can do when when my net goes down and all the lights are flashing green? i have done what they say take it out of the plug put it back in reboot etc, also unscrewed the white cable and put that back in too. Your suggestions are most welcome.

thenry · 23-01-2012, 14:09

check your area via this link > https://my.virginmedia.com/faults/service-status

VM are in the process of upgrading the network which includes green cabinets, have you noticed any workmen by the cabinets lately?

could you post a full print screen please of your power levels when the internets connected..

192.168.100.1
login (default: username: admin - password: changeme
advanced settings below the 3 red boxes
to your left click on connection
printscreen and upload

da_vone · 23-01-2012, 14:19

Alright there Thenry. Thanks for your reply. That link was helpful it does say there is a broadband issue which should be fixed by 5pm today so i've got my fingers crossed.

Ok you asked for power levels so i shall give you 2 of them

20/01/2012: http://imgur.com/Wrzt3

23/01/2012: http://imgur.com/1TU8W

Cheers.

thenry · 23-01-2012, 14:28

down levels are low. have you got an attenuator fitted anywhere, before the cable feed goes into the SuperHub, or a splitter ?

da_vone · 23-01-2012, 16:03

Hi Again,

Yes i do have a thing down stairs that splits the cable wire up. There is a white cable box fitted in the front room, from which the cable wire runs from and into the middle room. The middle room is where the cable wire splits. One line goes into my set top box [which is in the middle room] and one line goes upstairs to my superhub. This splitter thing was installed about 10 years ago (approx) when we first got 512k broadband from Telewest.

i have attached a picture: http://imgur.com/X9Rj7

As you can see there is some paint on the outside, Could this be causing the problem?

thenry · 23-01-2012, 16:14

See how you get on in the evening. Check if the faults been cleared via the link above. If its cleared call VM again and get a tech booked to sort the power levels out.

Have your power levels always been that low? Have you had problems prior to this?

da_vone · 23-01-2012, 16:30

Hi Again. i hope you read my post just above yours. being a complete tech novice i didn't really know anything about power levels until it was mentioned to me by the virgin media guy and yourself.

The internet runs pretty well hence ive been with Telewest/Virgin media for so long. its just especially this month and towards half way through December 2011 i began to see the net just drop all of a sudden. sometimes it would come back up like after an hour [or even sooner] or not at all and then in the morning id find everything is ok and then after a few days it would come and go etc.

Here is another power reading taken at 16:25: http://imgur.com/6QpB4

I have noticed the Downstream number is always in the negatives, is it supposed to be in this region?

thenry · 23-01-2012, 16:44

Its fine if they go into - but theres a limit which yours has past. I'm surprised your online now to be honest, those level can easily stop the SH grabbing and keeping hold of the connection which it seems to be doing

Peter_ · 23-01-2012, 16:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by thenry

Its fine if they go into - but theres a limit which yours has past. I'm surprised your online now to be honest, those level can easily stop the SH grabbing and keeping hold of the connection which it seems to be doing

They are high but not excessive and will probably need a technician to adjust them, I have seen higher with the customer still online.

da_vone · 23-01-2012, 17:07

Thank for the replies gents.

Ive checked the status link and it shows the broadband to have a green tick so they must have sorted out the area issue

When i call virgin and they ask if my internet is working i would say yes, so wont they then turn round and say in some manner "if its working why are you calling us"

in light of this can i say that ive been chatting on cable forums and the consensus is that my power levels are high and thus need to be adjusted or my internet will drop again as it has been doing so.

pabscars · 23-01-2012, 17:14

If you don't get the help you need when you call back, i.e. an engineer visit, then hang up and redial choosing the "thinking of leaving us" option.

This should pretty much guarantee you getting through to an English speaking agent, that should be able to sort it out for you. It certainly can't hurt to volunteer information that you've been reliably informed that your power levels are out of normal operating perameters.

thenry · 23-01-2012, 17:20

Now that its gone green reboot your SuperHub and have a look if your levels have improved. if they havent call VM and tell them your power levels are low and your internet keeps dropping.. Ask for a tech to come round to fix it. If you still dont get joy getting a booking ask to be transfered to customer relations and complain. Infact call them first > call 150 > option 5 > option 2 thinking of leaving..they will sort out a booking asap

The Installer · 23-01-2012, 17:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_

They are high but not excessive and will probably need a technician to adjust them, I have seen higher with the customer still online.

The downstream power levels are low, not high !

As mentioned you will require a tech out to sort those downstream power levels for you. They should be about 10dB higher than you have at present, this would then give you a level of 0 - +1dB which would be pretty much spot on.

da_vone · 23-01-2012, 17:34

Thanks A lot of your replies Gents

Here's an updated power reading taken at 17:30: http://imgur.com/uKFfG

It pretty much looks the same as before still in -10.

I am going to get onto Virgin and see how it goes.

Update: i called 150 and they say "we can see you are experiencing a problem with your broadband in the areas of B10 [and other's] (even though it shows everything thing to be rosy on the service status web link). it goes onto say engineers are working on it, to get it fixed. I know if i carry on waiting to chat "one of our team" i will have to wait 20 mins and speak to an Indian individual. As i am not getting other other options, i am going to give it bash tomorrow and i shall let you all know how it goes.

The Installer · 23-01-2012, 17:42

Yep still 10dB down on where it should be