This topic

Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

speechless — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 10:39:28 GMT

THE PROBLEM

1. My problem is intermittent broadband connection after changing to a new BT Smart Hub Type A (aka Home Hub 6). Browsing the forum I can see that the most common cause is a noisy phone line but I’m not 100% convince this is so in my case as explained below.

2. In April 2020 my ancient BT Hub 3 lost power. I tried an alternative 12v power supply adaptor plug but it made no difference: the hub was powerless. It was impossible to dismantle the hub itself to check for blown fuse or broken connection, etc because it is a welded unit. It was attached to an Openreach modem (Huawei FTTC VDSL) which was working ok.

3. Needing to quickly re-establish a greatly needed Internet connection during the Covid-19 lock-down, I purchased a new BT Smart Hub which supposedly doesn’t require use of the Openreach modem.

4. I connected the new hub to my Openreach BT master socket. I think it’s NTE5 MK1 which on the faceplate has the 2 sockets vertically aligned with the ADSL socket above the phone socket which doesn’t need a microfilter. At first all seemed fine but I soon got intermittent disconnection which I initially thought might be caused by the high volume of Internet use during the lock-down.

5. I also noticed a big drop in speed from 36 Mbps with the old Hub 3 to an average of 20 Mbps and sometimes even less with the Smart Hub - only 15.4 Mbps on 13th August 2020. Incidentally without being asked I seem to have been moved from Infinity 1 Broadband which guaranteed 35 Mbps to Fibre with BT Halo 1 which guarantees only 23Mbps.

6. The most common obvious cause of dropout is when I finish receiving or making a phone call. 10 seconds later the hub disconnects and then take about 30 seconds to re-connect. Also much less often when I’m using the computer it disconnects for no apparent reason, i.e. apparently nothing to do with the phone.

WHAT I’VE TRIED

1. Checked and confirmed that my neighbours using BT broadband are not having problems

2. The Quiet Line Test (dialling 17070). How quiet is “quiet”?! I hear an almost inaudible crackle. But when I receive or make an ordinary call there is a very loud annoying crackle! So maybe I do have a noisy line?

3. Using an alternative old corded phone made no difference.

4. The Intermittent Connection Assistant via the Hub manager. It runs the test and finishes with “We’ll need you to get in touch... Thanks for using our troubleshooter, we’re sorry we can’t fix your fault online.... give us a call on 0800 111 4567"

QUESTIONS

1. Do I have noisy line if I hear a loud crackle when using the phone even though it seems to pass the Quiet Line Test? And if the problem is a noisy phone line then why was there on problem until I installed the new Smart Hub?

2. Did my old Openreach modem somehow filter out problems and give me a better speed?

3. What might be causing the problem besides a noisy line?

4. Is my new BT Smart Hub faulty and in need of return to the BT Shop?

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

licquorice — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 10:46:22 GMT

You have a noisy line fault.

The quiet line test should be totally silent and your line stats are appalling, you need to report the fault as a noisy line, don't mention broadband.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

imjolly — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 10:50:42 GMT

from your description you do have a noisy line - the line should be silent when using a corded phone and maybe a High Resistance fault on your line which is causing the drops when you receive or make a call. constant drops in conenction will see the DLM take action by reducing you speed to try and stabilise your line

from your stats you have an attainable of 42mb but are nowhere near that

can you try the quiet line test from the test socket to make sure problem with noise is outside your home and not caused by any internal wiring

test socket shown by black arrow and found by removing middle section with yellow arrow

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

speechless — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 15:45:29 GMT

Thanks for prompt response. I'll try phoning 151. Am I correct in thinking it's best reported from a mobile so they can do a line test?

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

speechless — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 15:48:10 GMT

Thanks. I'll try reporting it as a noisy line. By the way ... what should I be looking at in the stats? I'd like to understand them better.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

licquorice — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 16:01:25 GMT

Mainly data rate and max data rate about equal and noise margin 6.0/3.0

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

pippincp — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 16:12:31 GMT

@speechlesswrote:
Thanks for prompt response. I'll try phoning 151. Am I correct in thinking it's best reported from a mobile so they can do a line test?

They will only do a line test if you reort a broadband problem, you don't. You have a noisey line problem. Report it as such and don't mention broadband as you'll end up just wasting your time.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

speechless — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 13:17:32 GMT

I finally got through to 151 on 2nd attempt after a wait of only 22 minutes! I avoided mentioning broadband until I was finally asked if the problem was affecting my broadband connection. So had to say that it disconnected every time I hung up after making/receiving a phone call. Nevertheless interference on my line was confirmed and an engineer is coming on Thursday. Assuming the noisy line is fixed I presume in the following 10 days my speed will gradually improve and get back to at least the guaranteed minimum?

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

licquorice — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 13:48:37 GMT

Yes

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

speechless — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 16:12:29 GMT

A BT engineer visited to day and confirmed interference on my landline caused by water getting into the connection under one of the nearby BT manholes. After fixing the problem my download speed has returned to a respectable 41.8 Mbps. Many thanks to everybody who responded to my request for help.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

SaltedCaramel — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 18:15:13 GMT

I imagine the problem may have been there a while but we’ve had so little rain over the last few months you’d never had known about it. Good to hear you’ve got it sorted.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

speechless — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 07:29:08 GMT

I rejoiced too soon! At precisely 8pm yesterday (4 hours after the engineer had apparently fixed the problem) my broadband disconnected for about 15 seconds while I was browsing the web. Later when I made a phone call it disconnected again - a repeat of the old problem. My download speed was reduced from 42.3 to 24.4 Mbps. This morning’s stats are:

Data rate : 6.30 / 26.31 Mbps

Max data rate : 6329 / 2610

Noise margin: 6 db / 5.9db

Did quiet line test and it was crackling yet again just like it was before the engineer fixed it yesterday.

So what should I do now? Report the problem as noisy landline again on 0800 800 151 and not mention broadband?

Wasn't sure if I should have started a new post topic for this or continue my original post.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

licquorice — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 07:43:45 GMT

Carry on with thread.

You will have to report the noisy line again I'm afraid, either the engineer didn't fix it properly or more likely, there are multiple faults on your line.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

speechless — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 18:47:26 GMT

When I called 0800 800 151 this morning I was offered a new way to report the fault - by text message! The procedure was to send a text “fault” + my landline phone number to 61988. I’ve attached snips of the conversation which lasted about 18 minutes. They have booked an engineer to come tomorrow morning. When I visited my BT account to track the fault it said that the reported problem was “Broadband - Slow Connection” even though in the text conversation I was not given an opportunity to specify the nature of the fault. The “bot” has automatically diagnosed the problem. Does this matter now that somebody is coming? Are Openreach broadband engineers different from BT phone line engineers?Fault Reporting via Text Message

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

licquorice — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 18:57:04 GMT

There are no BT phone line engineers, they are all Openreach. But, yes, not all are broadband trained. It is usually quicker to get a phone engineer.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

speechless — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 07:40:51 GMT

On the second BT appointment the engineer found it difficult to find the fault. He then re-wired the socket where the wire enters my flat (joint-box - not master socket) and said there was a bit of a “shine” on it ... is that a technical term? Anyway that seemed to fix the problem and all has been well since then. I’ve delayed reporting back because I wanted to be sure the problem had been truly solved. Once again many thank to everyone who has advised me.

Re: Is new BT Smart Hub Causing My Drop Outs?

Keith_Beddoe — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 07:53:24 GMT

See https://kitz.co.uk/adsl/rein.htm