Broadband slows until router reboot

[meekamunz]

Hi All, apologies if this is the wrong board!

I have a FTTC connection, copper to the house with (until recently) a SmartHub2 router.  Almost daily between 10 am and 10:30 am, the network grinds to a halt and performs below the stay fast guarantee.  A reboot of the router almost always solves this.  For an hour or two.  This then happens a number of times throughout the day.

We've got the BT team to run diagnostic tests - they say there is nothing wrong and that a router reboot is a sufficient fix.  It isn't - we both WFH permanently and this is causing a significant and regular interruption.

We've had BT come out and check the internal connections - no fault found, but master socket replaced for good measure.

We've had Openreach come out who mentioned that although there was no issue with the line from the cabinet, there was a high rate of FEC errors.  FEC errors alone (no CRC errors) so the only issue they would expect would be a loss of connection, which we don't get.

BT have sent a new SmartHub 2 router.  This made no difference.

I've replaced the SH2 with a TP-Link - this has given us a faster connection than we ever had with the SH2 (previously we were just about the stay fast guarantee by about 5Mb, now we're near our quoted speed (about 45Mb).  But we still get the daily slow-down.  Again, a reboot of the router resolves the issue.

What else can I try, to find the cause and fix the issue?

[gg30340]

Have you checked to see if there are any electrical devices coming on when the problem starts. It might not be a device in your house, it could be a neighbour particularly if you share an adjoining wall.

Are you using powerline adaptors? They can also cause a problem if your electrical circuit is prone to surges. If you do use them you should try disconnecting them to see if the problem still occurs.

[meekamunz]

oooh, that could be a shout. I do use powerline adaptors - they're kind of necessary to get my network to the garden office for work. Would it be a case of moving them to a different socket?

[gg30340]

You could try that but it would be better to disconnect them altogether, perhaps at the weekend, to see if they are the problem. If they are then it might be a case of having to replace them or look for an alternative way of getting the Internet in your garden office.

[meekamunz]

I'll try both and report back. Excellent knowledge to think of the PLAs as a potential issue.