Wiki is your friend.


(The FEC (Forward Error Correction)you mention rising is a way of attempting to avod re-transmissions of data, in your case, errors are being detected. I would be surprised if the drop-outs in your WiFi are linked, as the BT and Tiscali are only bothered about the link from the HUB/ROUTER back to the exchange equipment)

Recently had to redo my CCNA and one of the most common questions is along the lines of what disturbs WiFi networks in offices.
The typical answers are cordless phones, filing cabinets and microwaves.
I would try using a different channel initially. Or move your phone into the microwave and dump them both in the filing cabinet.

Is it definately just the WIFI dropping out?

 

Never had any issue with voice calls.

The problem with the FEC thing is that there have been attempted fixes since that was measured, so I have no idea whether it is still the case - it might be that it is no longer happening / rising.

During these dropouts, my router lights are all still on as usual. My computer reports that it is still connected to a network, but with 'limited connectivity'. Internet can't be accessed, but the Router set-up page can. So it definitely seems to be only internet, not the entire wifi signal.

 

Tonight I just disconnected from the phone line, didn't turn them off, and no dropouts again.

This leads to two questions:

1) Will DECT phones still be trying to communicate with each other (to try to enable a connection I guess) when the main one isn't plugged into the phone line?

2) Do phones send some signal down the phone line even when a call isn't being made? (The reason I ask - If this 'FEC' is the culprit, I can't understand how removing the phone could make a large difference, we hardly ever use it anyway.)

I will continue to experiment.

 

Just a few random thoughts.
Have you tried a hard-wired connection to your router and, if so, do you still get the same problem?
Have you tried just having one phone switched on to see if it's a particular handset?
Have you tried a different router?

I don't know if you need micro filters with the DECT phones but, if you do, could you have a duff one?

This sounds like there is some interference somewhere, sounds similar to this

 

Ah. That's a point - I have had it wired before, and still suffered problems.

The phones are new, and the problem existed with the old ones - I just think it might have got worse when the new ones arrived.

I have tried a different router, and different network adaptor, and different micro-filters.

 

Given the suddenly remembering the wired experiment, back to thinking it's the FEC thing - which my provider are basically refusing to fix (or even acknowledge.)

 

Something I read mentioned double-filtering when using DECT phones, it may be worth googling that.
Have you tried doing a quiet line test? You connect a wired phone to the BT test socket and call 17070 option 2, more details courtesy of my ISP here

 

nnn

 

Bazza, what sort of extension wiring do you have around the house? I used to have issues until I disconnected all extensions and plugged the dect base station and the router into the master socket.

 

The main DECT is plugged into the main BT socket.

In the past I have tried having the test socket open (so disconnecting everything else in the house) and having the router and home phone plugged straight into that.

At that point, I still got dropouts with this setup - but I can't remember whether that pre-dates the cable pair swap which the engineer performed.

I haven't actually noticed a dropout for the last 2 or 3 days for some reason.

 

i just put a similar reply in the other broadband thread, but i was getting exactly the same, full wifi signal, connected to the router with limited or no internet access.

It was either a new wireless mouse i got or the neighbours new wifi interfering with it.

I changed the channel from automatic (6) to channel 4 and it has worked perfectly ever since.

It can't do any harm to try doing this.

 

I think you're quite right - can't hurt.

Do I just need to change the channel at the router end? Or do I need to make changes at the computer end too so it can still detect the router?

 

Just the router. The PC will scan for the channel and connect.

 

You change the channel on the router, just turn your wireless off and on again on your computer and it should pick up the change automatically.

 

Cheers. I'll give that quiet line test a go when I have a chance too - although I don't hold out much hope, since whenever my ISP do a line test from their end, they happily inform me I don't have any errors.

Had a dropout again tonight (hadn't disconnected the phones).

 

Who is your provider? Sorry if you've already said.

I've currently got a complaint against TalkTalk - slow speed and dropouts at certain times of the day.

 

It is talktalk (was tiscali.)

I had a dropout this afternoon, so took the opportunity to change the channel. As soon as my network adaptor re-connected to the network, I had internet again. Could be a coincidence of course - might have recovered during that time. But I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Still can't quite work out why an interference problem would give this symptom of a seemingly working network with no internet. Perhaps on recognising the interference the router automatically shuts down the internet so it can send the minimal network traffic with no corruption, rather than all network data with everything corrupted?

Sounds a weak theory to me! I'm confidently expecting to see the dropouts continue - but I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'm wrong!

 

I've tried more than once to report this issue to TT but their support people are dire. Why does everyone seem to have Mumbai tech support these days. The last time it took me and the lady on the other end about 5 minutes to establish I was using Ethernet cable, not wireless the call didn't last long.

I've used 3 different routers, microfilters and with the phone connected and disconnected, plugged directly into the test socket.

It's definitely an external issue and I can't help thinking this started in the last couple of months since TT had a major campaign in the area doing a really good 12 month deal, tieing people in for a year. But I'm just cynical.

 

One thing I've had on various routers is that the default security is WPA/WPA2 auto. I would get regular dropouts either just a few seconds or on some routers needing a power off/on. Forcing either WPA or WPA2 cured the problem. Some older routers get hot and trip out running WPA2 so I had to drop to WPA for reliability (sod security, I'd rather it worked )

Now on BT Home Hub 3 and this works well WPA2 only (WPA/WPA2 still occasionally drops out)

 

Interesting must try this.

 

Yep, tech support rubbish. Every time I rang, I had to start from the very beginning again. I requested a case handler so that they would know all the background every time, but it never happened.

 

Just out of curiousity, are you able to list any readings from your router config pages? I had regular dropouts recently and in the end got a BT engineer out to fix them - they did the quiet line test though the noise was only slight. The main issue he noticed was that the Signal to Noise Ratio was too high and was a result of the fault on the line - he disappeared for a few hours (including, I think, climbing up the pole at the front) and it's all good again - just took a few days for the BB to get back to speed again. I'd also tried changing routers, phones, settings, microfilters, etc. with little success.

Best to do all the tests you can before calling the engineers back out.

 

Thanks, but little point with Talk Talk, they insist on giving the same spiel everytime you ring. I once got a call back from an engineer days later while i was on the motorway - he said he couldn't call back some other time and rang off.

Apart from speed, I'm finding the best policy is to stay with BT.

 

Talk Talk have always been rubbish...

 

I had this dropping out problem over a few months - exactly as you describe. Changing the router channel sorted it. I'm with BT and find their tech support excellent (once you get through!).

 

Changed channel a good few times now - no fix unfortunately.

 

Right, lets go back to the beginning to clarify things.

1. Your computer connects to your router via wifi only?

2. You only have one computer?

3. When the Internet stops working you can still connect to wifi and connect to the router admin page?

4. When your Internet stops working can you ping computer addresses on the WAN (the public side of your router)?

To do option 4 open a command prompt then type ping 173.194.69.101 and hit enter. If you can ping that address then open your browser window and go to this URL

http://173.194.69.101/

If the site shows then you are suffering from either a DNS failure at your router or at your ISP(this probably because of a denial of service scenarios because talk talk oversubscribed their network), rule out the ISP by changing your dns server addresses to those documented at http://www.opendns.com/

 

Right, lets go back to the beginning to clarify things.

1. Your computer connects to your router via wifi only?

2. You only have one computer?

3. When the Internet stops working you can still connect to wifi and connect to the router admin page?

4. When your Internet stops working can you ping computer addresses on the WAN (the public side of your router)?

To do option 4 open a command prompt then type ping 173.194.69.101 and hit enter. If you can ping that address then open your browser window and go to this URL

Google

If the site shows then you are suffering from either a DNS failure at your router or at your ISP(this probably because of a denial of service scenarios because talk talk oversubscribed their network), rule out the ISP by changing your dns server addresses to those documented at OpenDNS - Cloud Internet Security and DNS

1. Wifi only, but it has been tried wired, and haqd the same issues.

2. Two computers, two iphones, all fail when there's a drop out.

3. Yes.

4. I'll try to remember to do that!