Intermittent connection issues loading/changing site- secure connection failed/site can't be reached

[EDIflyer]

Is anyone else occasionally getting a 'connection down' error from Chrome (or 'Secure Connection Failed' from Firefox) when changing page - if I hit refresh it works fine. At first I wondered if it was the site I was using but have noticed it on multiple different major websites over the past couple of months and not noticed it from other locations where I don't use Three Broadband so does seem to be related to the router/connection (this is via wired Ethernet too, so not a WiFi problem).  I've tried changing DNS server in case that helps but no difference.

It mainly seems to happen when trying to first load a site or (annoyingly) at checkout when a different site is being loaded as part of the checkout process.  It certainly doesn't happen everytime but does happen with reasonable frequency.  I've also noticed I often get it when trying to pull/push from/to Github too and have to do so a number of times for it to work (browsing the Github website works fine).

I'm using a NR5103E with Firmware Version V1.00(ACBJ.0)b14 - I tried rebooting it but to no effect.

[Nameless]

Upon closer reading, there is actually a split tunnel mode however it would require making a Cloudflare account - Something that you may or may not want to do

In regards to WARP failing on your phone, it does indeed sound like an app problem which has been mentioned on the Google Play store. Apart from updating the app (If it has an update), reinstalling it and, if you wish to do so, updating everything on your device, I suspect that only Cloudflare would be able to fix that. Additionally the iOS version has not been updated since 1 September 2023 but it seems that the Android version was last updated on 9 August 2024

I hope that this helps and also hope that Three finally fixes the real issue sooner rather than never later

[munk]

The split tunnel exclude option is available in the windows client but it's more for corporate or enterprise settings I would say where you know exactly the network addresses or domains you want to exclude.  With something like an app where you don't know what addresses or domains are going to be accessed it's a bit impractical.

Really though it's not a problem for me to the extent I want to file feature requests, generally it does the job.

Absolutely bizarre Three are taking so long to resolve this.  There must be a handful of ppl on this thread alone who could fix it in a day if they were given access.

[EDIflyer]

Sadly just the same here, fine on VPN and very unreliable if not. Makes it quite a pain for smart TV usage! 

[bytespider]

Honestly my connection has been pretty poor the last few weeks, I assume due to the school holidays and what-not, so its been hard to tell what's an issue and what's congestion. I can say when I do a speed test I either get crazy ping times but decent speed or terrible signal which is usually fixed by rebooting or moving the router left or right by about a meter or so.

In all nothing to report because I have so many other issues right now

[andrew_w]

I've recently started to get this issue on my 5G home broadband. ie. PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR in Firefox. Reloading the page multiple times will "solve" the problem, but it happens every few webpages.

I'm also getting problems with updating my Debian GNU/Linux, which also seems to be an issue with SSL.

I use a VPN a lot of the time, and with that (as others have mentioned) the issue disappears completely. However, sometimes I want to use the full "raw" connexion, or I have to do so because of geolocation for work, and the problem raises its head, persistently giving me problems with web pages and logins.

[Nameless]

Cloudflare's WARP may potentially be faster than a traditional VPN (I posted some links in my message above) and has not given the usual error in my fairly long usage however it may not be suitable for geolocation purposes...

[andrew_w]

I use Debian GNU/Linux, I won't be putting Cloudflare's secret, non-free (free as in free speech) software onto my computer.

I'm happy with AirVPN, but Three ought to sort this problem out.

[BrAinZ]

I use a VPN when I hit a problem and it does fix most things (but then again, using the VPN means that some new issues are introduced).

I haven’t tried the WARP option, but I really don’t want to have to loads different software on each device just to get it working, I either want the system to just work, or have something on the router that then fixes the connection for any device connected to it.

Come on Three, we really need a workable solution.

[andym00]

So, been suffering this for months now before stumbling over this thread.. Symptoms, same as others, Netflix on Amazon Fire can't login 99% of the time, Microsoft Authenticator fails 50%, Partners banking app failing 90% of the time..And various other apps and sites that vary from sometimes working, to every single time authentication (or something) fails..

I work from home, and when connected via the company VPN everything is absolutely fine, but that's not really a solution for everyone else in the house.. Another VPN on another computer works fine as well, sadly running a VPN for the whole house isn't prractical..

Using a Zyxel NR5103E 5G router, Adult Filter is on, but is supposed to be off (will be the 3rd time I've called to disable it! Works, then N random months later it'll be back on)..

Forcing the routers radio bands to only 4G bands gets things reliable and working again 100%, that's the only solution I've found (bar the VPN).. Downside is I get 120D/30U/30ms using 4G versus 900D/60U/20ms in 5G mode.. Not ideal, but it's a work-around for now, but I'm wearing tired of it it now..

Is swapping Routers an option here ? I'm guessing not since I see similar behaviour on my iPhone 15 Pro when connected to 5G, but not as bad as the Router is..

[Nameless]

As far as I am aware, the routers provided by Three will not change anything however the only VPN-like alternative that I can recommend would be Cloudflare's WARP which is free and works on both computers and mobile devices with some more information present here in my first post in this thread and this following post (There might be a few other useful posts that I have forgotten although WARP may be faster than using a traditional VPN)

Hopefully there will be a proper solution to these issues sooner rather than later