So frustrating! Still no phone cable connected but still it's disconnecting:

4. Board version:BT Hub 5A
5. VDSL uptime:0 days, 00:11:38
6. Data rate:20000 / 38328
7. Maximum data rate:24483 / 80918
8. Noise margin:9.4 / 19.4
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 20.9
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 20.9

Maybe with 19.4 noise margin it'll stay connected.

Maybe a good time to try that fault test again

Still nothing.

So now it's disconnecting irrespective of whether the phone is in use or not and you are still hearing noise on the phone line when using a corded phone?

Not sure about noise on phone line will check it soon but it's been disconnecting without phone activity. Currently connected at:

5. VDSL uptime:0 days, 01:33:33
6. Data rate:19999 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate:22049 / 80826
8. Noise margin:6.3 / 33.0
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 17.2
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 17.2

The corded Land Line Phone that you normally have plugged in; and probably been using for the QLTs - Could there be a fault in that itself?


Possibly you should buy or borrow a cheap replacement; and try the tests using that, the original unit being completely disconnected.


No guarantees; but it is looking like possibly being the culprit.

But it's disconnecting without the phone plugged in

Agreed, Batboy - but I am getting the impression that it is worse with his present corded phone plugged in, ie there is a line fault and there may be a separate phone hand-set fault.

Obviously, I am not sure, as we are not directly at the location to observe in detail.

I would welcome a simple solution like that but unfortunately it isn't the handset. Like I said before I'm reasonably confident the corded handset is fine because I've tried other handsets. Currently the broadband immediately disconnects when answering a call or hanging up regardless of the handset I use.

I tested and there is a brief crackling/popping noise when I first answer the call but it disappears quite quickly.

Would that be a battery related fault?

Sometimes a shhhhhhh sound with occasional crackling noise appears during longer calls to BT offshore support. They heard it too but most of the time they shrug it off as not being that loud.

When the noise first started weeks ago it was very loud and we couldn't hear the other person very well. The offshore level 1 agent's test system found a fault but he had issues escalating it and after three attempts he told me he would do it manually or something like that. The offshore team have also looked at the broadband disconnection and error rate stats but it appears that isn't enough of a fault to book an engineer who can do more than just the basic tests.