Draytek 2860 router will not connect to BT VDSL

[AK47]

Hi all, I am having a weird issue here so hope someone may be able to shed some light.

The line speeds are terrible at this address, on BT VDSL the speeds are around 3Mbps so we resorted to signing up to two lines and the plan was to connect those to a Draytek router with load balancing. 

The setup:

BT Line 1 - connected to BT router, IP set to 192.168.2.254, DHCP off, WiFi off

BT Line 2 - connected to Draytek 2860n-Plus running latest 3.9.0_BT FW

Draytek - WAN1 configured with VLAN tag of 0 / 101, username is bthomehub@btbroadband.com and password is bt (I also tried BT). WAN2 configured with static IP of 192.168.2.1, gateway 192.168.2.254. Both lines set to always on and IP based load balance.

The Draytek connects to the Line 1 hub using ethernet no problem and I have internet access, but it will not connect to Line 2 and is stuck in TRAINING state. I connected Line 1 to the Draytek and it was in TRAINING state for a very long time (10-20 mins from memory) but eventually connected, I have left Line 2 connected for well over 30 minutes but it still won't connect. 

When I connect Line 2 to the original BT hub then after 5-10 mins it connects and we have internet. So both lines are working, my config on the Draytek should be fine as it works on Line 1 and on both of the original BT routers the username is bthomehub@btbroadband.com so I don't think Line 2 is on BT Business which would use different login details. 

I would connect Line 1 to the Draytek and use the BT Hub on Line 2 but the issue is the lines have been installed in different rooms and the wired LAN patches back to the location of Line 2 so the only way I could do this is to run a long RJ11 so the lines end up in the same location but in my experience, a long RJ11 will drop speed.

Does anyone have any ideas why Line 2 struggles to connect at all and why Line 1 struggles but eventually connects? Are there long RJ11 cables (I estimate I need 8-10m) that do not drop enough signal to impact speeds? I may have just used poor quality cable in the past. 

Many thanks

[licquorice]

The characteristics of the 2 lines will be subtly different and possibly enough to prevent the Draytek obtaining sync on Line 2, it seems to struggle to obtain sync on Line 1.

The length of the RJ11 lead should have minimal impact on speed as a few metres extra over the distance already travelled will be negligible.  You could always use a length of CW1308 cable rather than an RJ11 patch lead.

[AK47]

Thanks, I did think it was weird that the other one took so long to sync and as we must be at the end of the copper run from the fibre cab I guess it is really delicate. I will start with an RJ11 and go from there, in the past I must have used a really cheap one as I had terrible speed issues at another site with a long RJ11 but ok at the socket.

[licquorice]

Might be worth posting over on Kitz to see if they have any recommendations for a router better suited to long lines.

[AK47 · Accepted solution]

Issue now resolved, it was a combination of a few things. I was connecting to a pre-filtered master socket which was obscured by a fixed cabinet so I could not get to the test socket behind the faceplate. I was able to trace this cable through the wall where I found it was connected to a wire tap which split 1 cable to 3 cables. I cut this off and installed a new master socket, the Draytek still would not connect so I switched the the alternative modem code on the 3.9.0_BT FW and it connected in under 3 minutes with vectoring active.

I had tried this modem code before when using the original master socket but it looks like the issue was the wire tap reducing the already poor signal so much that it could not connect and the line requires a special modem code.