Very short disconnects

[SteveBB]

A little while ago I complained about high MS in games but now I'm having another issue, my connection will drop but only for a few seconds at a time, the network icon in the taskbar will say "no connection" or "identfying" and then it'll start to work again, so it's dropping but only briefly, obviously this kicks me out of whatever I'm doing at the time so it's highly frustrating. I have formated my PC and got the latest network driver to rule that out. My router is a TP Link W9980 with the latest firmware. I'm just wondering what usually causes these short disconnections? I was thinking about replacing the filters, cables etc but I'm not sure if that's a waste of money.

[Keith_Beddoe]

I assume you are connected using an Ethernet cable, as wireless interference can cause that issue. The wireless connection de-authorises, and then has to re-establish the connection again.

Ethernet does not suffer from this issue.

[SteveBB]

Yeah I'm using wired, I only use wireless for my tablet.

[Keith_Beddoe]

Do any of the lights on the TP Link router change colour when this happens?

[SteveBB]

I didn't notice that they did, just the icon on the taskbar. When it drops fully the light goes out on the router, but these small DCs don't seem to cause that to happen.

[Keith_Beddoe]

Could be a noise burst on the line.

Is there any noise on your phone calls? Dial 17070 and select option 2, there should be no noise between the announcements.

Listen for at least three minutes and see if you hear any clicks or other noise.

[SteveBB]

I just did the test and it was clear, but my connection is OK right now so I'll do it again once it starts to drop again.

[DavidM]

Hi @SteveBB,

@Keith_Beddoe could be on to something here. If you can pick up noise on the line your best bet would be to report it to 151 as a line fault Let us know how you get on.

Cheers

David

[SteveBB]

Would the noise only appear during a period where my connection is acting up?

[Keith_Beddoe]

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@SteveBB wrote:

Would the noise only appear during a period where my connection is acting up?

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Yes, it could just be a burst of noise, or a crackling noise. It may not show up on the router if its only a short burst, but it could be seen by your computer as a short loss of Internet connectivity.