ADSL Disconnects When BT Phone In Use and Stuck IP Profile?

Hi All. I've had this problem intermittently for some time but it is now all the time and is just getting unbearable, so I'm hoping someone from Orange 2nd or 3rd line broadband tech support sees this and can lend a hand .

Problem : Whenever the BT phone line is answered or a call is made then the broadband connections drops.

I've always been suspicious of the internal wiring in the house but have recently plugged the router and phone into the master socket on a permanent basis and disconnected any extensions from the master socket (note that I have an LJ 2/1A old style master socket rather than the NTE5). So I've rule that possibility out.

When the router is connected (through an ADSL Nation xf-1e filter which has been replaced many times) I can hear noise on the line when I do a BT quiet line test. I do not hear any noise when the router is switched off or not plugged into the filter (I've borrowed a wired phone to do this test to avoid any wireless interference).

Previously, with my Livebox, the router reconnected during any telephone call and often reconnected with a very slow sync speed. Sometimes this would lead to a reduced IP Profile temporarily. Having raised this with Orange I was sent a new Livebox but the behaviour was the same. I then received a new BrightBox which I also tried out (although am reluctant to give up the free VOIP calls through the Livebox) but again the same behaviour is observed - although the BrightBox appears unable to re-connect following a disconnection so I have to power cycle to reconnect. This avoids the low sync speeds which I guess is good from an IP profile perspective - but is a bit rubbish really.

Unfortunately I only received the BrightBox in the last week so my reduced IP Profile resulting from the Livebox reconnections is still persisting. I have been getting 135kbps for 6 days now - whereas the router typically syncs at about 3.5Mbps. I spent a long time on the phone with Orange about this two days ago and they decided to 'reset the line' so I am hoping this request is in BTs queue because I've not seen any improvement so far.

I'm hoping someone can advise what steps to take next. I think there must be a fault somewhere and I suspect it must be a broadband related issue rather than voice - but trying to explain all of this to the Orange 1st line helpdesk is impossible and would probably result in me being asked to reinstall Windows or something crazy like that.

My stats are as follows

IP Profile 135kbps.

Status:
Configured Current
Line Status --- SHOWTIME
Link Type --- Interleaved Path
Operation Mode Automatic G992.1(G.DMT)

Data Rate Information:
Stream Type Actual Data Rate
Upstream 448 (Kbps.)
Downstream 3808 (Kbps.)

Defect/Failure Indication:
Operation Data Upstream Downstream
Noise Margin 19.0 dB 14.4 dB
Line Attenuation 27.5 dB 46.0 dB

Indicator Name Near End Indicator Far End Indicator
Output Power 12.3 dBm 19.9 dBm
Fast Path FEC Correction NA NA
Interleaved Path FEC Correction 3227 0
Fast Path CRC Error NA NA
Interleaved Path CRC Error 29 0
Loss of Signal Defect 0 0
Fast Path HEC Error STR NA NA
Interleaved Path HEC Error 162 0
Error Seconds 23 0

HR Fault (High Resistance) better test kit is in the wild now, so should in theory be testable these days, but can be a struggle getting this over to ISP support.

Eventually the fault (which is usually at a joint) will get to the point where it affects the voice even when the ADSL kit is unplugged, and is often easier to report at that stage

Thanks MrSaffron.

I've done a quick Google on a "HR Fault" and it would appear that the symptoms of such a fault get worse in rainy conditions - this is exactly what I am experiencing. My recent low IP Profile all started last Tuesday when we had torrential rain all day.

So ultimately a BT engineer will need to fix the fault - is that right?

It is just a matter of who calls out the engineer - ISP or BT?

Do you suggest I try to get Orange to test for a HR Fault? Until it is noticeable on a voice call (with ADSL kit unplugged) then I guess BT will not be interested - perhaps I should run a quiet line test when it next rains.

I've read about calling out a BT engineer when BT support cannot identify a problem - you get charged something like £150 if the problem is internal to your house. I might just try this because I am now 100% certain the problem is external.

P.S My IP profile is now back to acceptable level - phew

Edited by rodeostar (Mon 09-Apr-12 16:31:18)

if it's a fault only affecting broadband call your ISP. They request the engineer.

You can run a line test from the faults reporting tool on bt.com, try that when it's being dodgy if you can't get anywhere with Orange.

do a quiet line test on your line, if you can hear noise intermittently you can report it as a voice fault and they seem keen to fix them!

to do the quiet line test dial 17070

It turns off the dialing tone so you can list for noise

My friend had a HR fault (which I diagnosed thanks to this forum). Openreach were quite happy to come out after he reported this to his ISP and spent a few hours fixing water ingress on a cable joint. Thankfully his sync speed went up as a result of this fix to a relatively respectable level.

Just giving an update for future reference.

Orange arranged for a BT Openreach engineer to come out. The engineer did 2 things

1) Fitted a new master socket so the old cabling was no longer in use
2) Made good some cabling joints that had evidence of corrosion in an external junction box that looked like it was leaking in water, then correctly sealed the junction box.

That was over a month ago now and my broadband connection has been rock solid ever since. I am now getting speeds of about 6Mbps compared to a previous best of about 3Mbps and less when it was raining

Thanks everyone for helping me to get this problem resolved. I no longer curse when the phone rings!!

Post deleted by UKDoc

Edited by UKDoc (Wed 16-May-12 18:24:53)

Nice to see a "sort" of result for your Rodeo!

I am next on the "Orange" UKdoc bump to a higher level list I hope :-0