FTTP nightmare!

No clue if this is the right area to post in! Apologies if it's not, but I need to vent!

Recently moved into a property where I can only get over 100Mbps with Virgin Media. I do a lot of heavy uploading and downloading, gaming, working from home etc. I have a partner who does the same. Realistically the only packages we'd be able to survive on are those over 100Mbps. Assuming it wouldn't be too much of an issue, I chose Virgin Media based on the fact that they were my only option and I'd been with them a few years prior without many issues.

Long story short, I've had an ongoing issue with them since having it installed. I've had two engineer visits and whilst the problem gets fixed for a short while after their visits, it returns the following day. Internet is essentially only good for basic web browsing (although I do get the advertised speeds!) - anything more than that and it starts cutting out completely.

Going with any other company would mean it's more expensive and would achieve speeds far under 100Mbps. CityFibre, whilst they are building in my city, have no plans to build in my specific area (despite it being in the city centre).

Openreach say that they plan to build in my postcode between now and 'December 2026'. I emailed them for a bit more information on that and they have claimed that the build plan for my postcode has actually now been completely cancelled and they have no plans at all to build here at all. What's most frustrating about this is that both streets next to mine have had their builds completed with fully functioning FTTP!

Any ideas what I can do here?

Cheers

Hi rockywashboard and welcome to the forum!

If the fault has been ruled out by engineers, then I would start looking at the devices you are using. Does the issue occur on all devices, e.g. does it occur on Ethernet and Wi-Fi or just Wi-Fi?

Cheers,

Will

Hey, thank you for the welcome! The fault hasn't been ruled out - it gets resolved, occurs again, gets resolved, etc. I'm in a constant loop of engineers at the moment. The latest engineer I had noticed an issue with the upstream channels which he resolved although this hasn't resolved the disconnect issue. The issue affects both wifi and ethernet and occurs on all devices. I honestly believe it's something to do with the Hub as the network log gets spammed with timeouts every time a disconnect happens. Virgin seem to be extremely reluctant to replace the hub for some reason.

Edited by rockywashboard (Thu 16-Mar-23 14:16:58)

Hi,

What Hub were you given? Hub 4? It might be a Hub issue. Maybe you could ask for a more up-to-date Hub like the Hub 5.

HTH,

Hub 3! Which is where I think my issue lies...

In reply to a post by rockywashboard:

Hub 3! Which is where I think my issue lies...

What speed are you buying? I'm on 250/25 with a hub 3 and only issues are when its a hot summer and the box in the street gets too hot. (north east hampshire).

Do you know if you are a traditional cable area, or an RFoG area (where its fibre down the street, and a convertor typically on the outside of your home to coax). The hub3 and any TV box will connect to coax.

Might be also worth posting in the Virgin Media forum here: https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/virgin_cable.html

Edited by jchamier (Thu 16-Mar-23 18:38:16)

Hey, I'm in an RFoG area. I'm on the 125 package and whilst I'm getting the desired speeds, the latency issues are making it unbearable.

The network log gets spammed with every possible timeout message that there is (SYNC Timing Synchronisation Failure, RCS Partial Service, etc) every time it cuts out. I'd previously posted in the VM forums but didn't get a response for a little while - then I got a response from a member of staff asking to book an engineer.

My complaint submitted via their 'complaints procedure' (basically saying that 2 engineers haven't managed to 100% diagnose the issue) was responded to with the generic troubleshooting advice of 'restart the hub' and then marked as resolved so I decided to call them again and somehow got through to their UK suport office. The person who answered immediately said 'oh goodness' and noted that there was an issue with the hub and a new Hub 5 is on the way.

Hopefully this resolves it! I had a Hub 3 a good few years back and didn't experience anything quite like this.

In reply to a post by rockywashboard:

The network log gets spammed with every possible timeout message that there is (SYNC Timing Synchronisation Failure, RCS Partial Service, etc) every time it cuts out.

Interesting reuse of the word spammed. I hope you get to the bottom of the issue.

Hope it arrives soon and solves the problem. If not, I suggest the Virgin forum on here, as things like power levels can be discussed. I suspect they are different in an RFoG area due to the convertor being on the side of your home.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

Might be also worth posting in the Virgin Media forum here: https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/virgin_cable.html

Yes, but before you, Rockywashboard, pop over, please setup a BQM. Also have your power levels ready to copy and paste as text into the post, as screenshots are very hard to read sometimes.
Post the link to your shared live BQM btw.

Edited by Adduxi (Fri 17-Mar-23 10:45:25)