Your connection has dropped. Now deny I have a Broadband problem???

[Anonymous User]

Over the years I have tried services from both Sky and Now broadband and swapped between them over many years but our problem persists. Its rarely for very long but a pain in the ###### as I work from home now and don't need drop outs losing my work. We live in  a village which has a fibre connection box about 1/2 a mile away so after that box we are on copper BT cables to the house. Each day we have numerous drop outs with the message "Your connection has dropped". When this happens the router middle light flashes orange until the service comes back and all lights go green. So its not just Wi-Fi cutting out its the broadband service.

I've reported this a few times to both sky and Now (current provider) to no avail. Friends suggested we reduced Wi-Fi use and installed a Local area cable network. I've now done this and we use ethernet cables to TVs, Laptops and PC's as much as we can. Sadly its made little to no difference. Now suggests we had too many devices connected which sound like an excuse to me. I think the number was about 11 devices found?  I would say 70% of these devices are turned off but a few such as phones may have the Wi-Fi function turned on when not being used. We rarely use more than 3 machines to access the net at any one time and we often lose connection when I am working from home on 1 laptop?? How can having too many devices cut off the signal to our router and put the orange light on??

Like any household with kids we have plenty of devices that can access the net yes devices are usually turned off as the kids use them after school?

When our Now box goes off each day 4 or 5 times, Now claim their system doesn't show any problem? I've been offered another Now box but very much doubt that will stop the connection being lost daily? Our last box is only just over a year old? Has anyone any suggestions of how I can get Now to supply a better broadband service and stop it cutting out? Now currently just deny I have any problem??  Sadly I cant justify paying for BT broadband!

[RoyB]

@Anonymous User 

On a given day, take a series of time-stamped photos of your connection, one each time it goes orange, and then another when it’s green again. Mail the broadband team this incontrovertible evidence of your line drops, and ask what their records show.

Also ask if what they are monitoring is the operation of your router, and not some more general thing closer to them in the connection chain; unless they are monitoring your individual router, what they are doing will not have sufficient granularity for your purposes.

You can certainly lose individual devices if you have more than ten devices competing for slots on your 2.4GHz, and/or more than another ten on 5GHz, but this wouldn’t make your internet light go orange.

[gavs82008 · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous User 

Perhaps there is a fault somewhere on the line possibly as far back as the cabinet. If I were you give the broadband team a call to request full site/line investigation by an OpenReach engineer.

That being said I’m with BT for full fibre 300MB and only paying £36.50. So it’s definitely possible to get some good deals if you either speak with them over the phone or head to an EE store who can deal with the home broadband with either BT or EE.