In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Any boiler that burns fuel will have a sparker in it and these can change over time to the point where RF noise emits that affects broadband see http://www.thinkbroadband.com/videos/broadband-inter... for video on how to spot RF noisy stuff.

Ah I didn't realise that thanks Andrew, although we can't get DAB radio here (only 1 channel) and the FM radio is okay for some channels (if it can find them) or just full of static
I just tested the radio at 600 AM turning boiler on and off but it didn't change the static it was bad before and just the same after although when the boiler fired up I did hear a click on the radio but only slightly.

The reboot sounds like what has happened is you had some noise and the broadband reconnected at a slow speed and the modem will remain at that lower speed setting until you give the router a swift kick via the power switch.

Zen told me yday they throttle the line when there are problems to monitor it but its not just the speeds that are the problem one minute I can load a webpage and literally the next minute I I can't it wont load at all on wifi

I have now plugged the TP link into the power socket and put the ethernet cable into the PC which has helped enormously but my iPad and phone still have a weak signal.

In reply to a post by kadison44:

In reply to a post by Helan:

Am going to change the channel now too (now I know the password!!)

From what you've now said it does look like an issue with the line and changing the wifi channel is unlikely to help.

MrSaffron is right, it's probably something causing interference on the ADSL frequencies rather than wireless freqencies. Check that boiler or anything else with a (possibly faulty) transformer.

I did check the boiler but it didn't change the static only for a nano second when it fired up but then went back to normal static (if that makes sense)

In reply to a post by ggremlin:

if it is boiler related:

As Mr. Saffron says, some old oil 'boilers' have a continuous (noisy) spark, when they are running, they also have a rotating disk (noisy motor) to throw the oil, (to mix it with the air).
as they run, it could cause the broadband to drop out and reconnect, and at a lower speed, however, line management will also notice this and may increase the target SNR,
hence even without the boiler running, it then connects at a relatively low speed,
find some line stats if you can, my guess is (without boiler running) an SNR of 15db or so, and this dropping to about zero as it starts.
again as Mr. Saffron suggests, survey with an am radio.

ps, you should be able to remove the electrical noise from a boiler, without replacing the whole thing.

I think these are the line stats - tell me if I need to post something else

System Up Time 25:33:32
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoE 1889947 2169915 0 3152 21350 24:57:26
LAN1 100M/Full 323548 118506 0 1694 333 25:32:05
LAN2 Link down
LAN3 Link down
LAN4 Link down
WLAN b/g/n 145M 2298404 2110777 0 21906 4436 24:25:16
WLAN a/n/ac 867M 19795 286 0 37 0 24:25:09


ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Link Rate 6176 Kbps 448 Kbps
Line Attenuation 39.0 dB 24.0 dB
Noise Margin 9.3 dB 27.0 dB

Thank you all for your help very much appreciated. I lost internet yday afternoon completely and was on/off the phone to Zen until 6pm.

I just can't fathom out why this has just suddenly (last 6 weeks or so) started when the line/wifi/signal was fine for 3 years but I guess that's the problem with wifi (too many things can cause interferrance)

At least I can work now after plugging into the ethernet and so far the PC has been fine for loading pages and remote access so I won't lose any more money from not being able to work.

Would just like to get back to a decent wifi on the ipad as I enjoy streaming music and films but its not really possible now unfortunately

So if its just weak signal on ipad and iphone it is nothing to do with Zen and the broadband connection, but congestion/interference in the Wi-Fi spectrum at 2.4 GHz.

Solutions: Add a wireless access point that is dual-band or replace the existing router on the line with a better dual-band wireless device.

Hi Andrew thanks for the reply

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

So if its just weak signal on ipad and iphone it is nothing to do with Zen and the broadband connection, but congestion/interference in the Wi-Fi spectrum at 2.4 GHz.

Yes I now know it's not Zen's problem/fault it's here, this house something messing about/interferring with the signal

Solutions: Add a wireless access point that is dual-band or replace the existing router on the line with a better dual-band wireless device.

I do have a dual band router, its a 5GHz netgear D62100 about 3 days old! I have the booster (as mentioned above) and I have the TP link now too so I'm guessing to find/sort out the wifi problem will be like looking for a needle in a haystack? [shrugs]

Generally 5GHz will have less range than 2.4G but should give higher speeds and is unlikely to be affected by what may be affecting the 2.4G kit

Time to do things like wireless network scans to see what are best channels to use, and also try naming the 5GHz channels with a different name, then its obvious when you connect to them.

well I spoke too soon yday. Even though PC is hard wired this morning every other page "server not found"
soooo frustrating!

Check the router stats and from a DOS command prompt run

ping -t www.thinkbroadband.com

Do you get a constant stream of replies or are some timing out. Press CTRL C and ping will finish and give you some statistics.

What exchange are you connected to