on 10-06-2023 09:54 PM
For the last 2 months my internet has been incredibly unreliable. I kept having freezes during work Teams calls, streaming services keep freezing and online gaming has been near impossible with dropouts and high ping spikes. This is across all devices connected to the Wi-Fi.
I've installed internet connection loggers on a few laptops and it is showing at worse, drops every minute for 2-30 seconds then reconnects and repeats, this is on all devices connected. If no one is using the internet, no streaming, downloading or video calls we get no dropouts, as soon as someone starts doing one of them it starts dropping out again, web browsing doesn't seem to cause it. To add, there are only two people using the broadband with at most 2-4 devices at a time (TV, laptop and mobiles).
I have spent hours on phone with the technical support chat with no luck, after about an hour or so of making no progress they all get "disconnected". When I speak to the next person, they say I have to start the troubleshooting process again from the start doing all the same steps and they have no record of the person before.
I've done all the restarts, removing devices, unplugging devices, re-plugging and adding devices etc, used the 5G broadband app to find the best location for router and tried a new sim card. I haven't tried a new router yet (I am willing to try), although I'm sceptical that it'll work as it doesn't always cut out, I do have days it’s fine - although they are very rare.
I am currently using NR5103E router on a 5G contract, the coverage map says I'm in the area for 5G although I rarely ever have 5G and normally stuck with 4G with yellow/mid signal on app. Happy to share the internet connection logger history.
I'm past the anger/annoyed stage and just want a solution that actually works but cannot put up with any more web chats that do nothing but waste 2 hours. I mostly work from home and this is hugely impacting my productivity. I would just like the broadband to work as advertised, failing that, the ability to cancel with no fee.
Thanks and sorry for wall of text!
02-14-2024 12:43 PM - edited 02-14-2024 12:46 PM
I have the same issue with frequent brief internet dropouts. Typically only lasting a few seconds and then OK again (I never need to reboot router etc). Internet monitor shows dropouts lasting a couple of seconds or more (about 400 dropouts recorded in past few months.), but recently I am getting very slow (0.5MB/s) or very brief dropouts that stops some devices working but doesn't register in monitor.
.I am near a 5G mast with good signal strength. I have tried 3 different routers, ZTE MC801, Zyxel NR5103E, ZTE MC888. (bought privately). Tested each for a few weeks in same location. Summary, not much difference between them. All give 450Mb/s on a good day. All suffer very slow broadband at times, and all suffer dropouts.
I stay with THREE because it is cheap, mostly I do not notice the dropouts, and I hope they will improve the service in the future.
