Is a small bit of downtime or router reboot to update firmware an issue for the majority if its in the small hours? There is a reason they happen in the middle of the night, as most people are asleep.

Im just trying to think of a scenario where it would be

Just thought of something, I did not have a email from Zzoomm this time saying it would be down, normally they do. I got the info from their site while looking for something else.

It did go off according to my router and my Switchbot hubs. Everything seems to have reconnected.

My router I check for updates every couple of months or so, not been a update for months now, I expect TP-link have decided there is no need for one, the router or a V2 version of it is still produced.


I have put it on little legs to lift it off the shelf, just to get some more air under it.

In reply to a post by BLaZiNgSPEED:

Example, I joined Community Fibre in March and in 5 months the connection has been rock solid except for one time the Linksys SPNM60CF Pinnacle 2.0 Mesh Router showed that the connection Uptime had been reset.

Initially I thought it was a network fault. But then I checked and noticed the firmware was updated!
The number changed (increased) to FW Version: 1.01.18.26050112. The problem is that despite the fact that I had marked to disable automatic firmware update, the ISP does not seem to respect that setting in the router and decided at night to reboot the router for a firmware update.

If its the ISP's router its their asset to protect so you shouldn't be disabling the automatic updates, if its your router then they shouldn't be updating it without your consent.

In reply to a post by BLaZiNgSPEED:

the ISP does not seem to respect that setting in the router and decided at night to reboot the router for a firmware update.

A good thing, imagine driving a car with a known hole in the windscreen, you'd want that fixed ASAP.

If you don't want the ISP updating the router, then either use your own, or put your own on the inside of the ISP one. I do that with Virgin Media as I have to use their box to connect to the coax cable.

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

I just don't remember being told about updates and issues, but I presume they just did not tell us. I don't remember my router telling me it lost connection on FTTC.

AAISP used to have a web page showing all the BTwholesale and exchange work, that impacted ALL ISPs using the BTw backhaul. I suspect most work at 2am on Plusnet and BTw and Openreach, so it impacts least number of users.

Not all Openreach based ISPs use BTw, and they will have different maintenance schedules.

Edited by jchamier (Wed 12-Aug-26 10:26:32)

I had an outage this morning on Plusnet FTTP at 12:15AM for 20 minutes. Presumably upgrading something like an edge router.

Indeed, it is the ISP router.
However, from the settings as you can see from my screenshot there is a toggle button to switch it on and off...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55459463962_fb47...

Unlike all the other ISPs that I had from Sky, Plusnet, TalkTalk, BT, etc under both FTTC and ADSL2+ they didn't have the toggle button to disable Automatic Firmware. Naturally of-course a firmware upgrade was more obvious. But as always, those ISPs never notify their customers when they will update their routers. It is random and it happens at night.

But under Community Fibre, they use the official Linksys routers but these original Retail versions have been modified using Community Fibre software branding. So, despite the toggle button being there, it is superficial and has no effect as they have full control to bypass this toggle switch.

The old Linksys MX4200 for Community Fibre can be reflashed using the original official retail firmware software version! That opens the way to use it for other ISPs and gives the option to now disable the firmware without it being auto-updated.

This is the router Community Fibre Supplied https://support.linksys.com/kb/article/8606-en/?sect...
If the Linksys SPNM60CF Pinnacle 2.0 Mesh Router has an official firmware I could then potentially reflash it.

I have no problem with updating the firmware, I just want to be able to have complete control over it and do it when I want to! That's one reason I use Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise 21H2 as this gives me the option to manually update Windows without Microsoft automatically updating Windows. And if I want to install security updates, I can always do it when I want to.

The toggle switch button is deceiving and may make the customer think the connection dropped out due to network outage or router fault. Albeit, this was only for a couple of minutes and at least I was aware of it as the number was changed. But for less technically informed users they won't know and will blame the ISP for being unreliable.

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE

Hello,

We're carrying out emergency maintenance on our network. This means Customers in Hereford, Henley & Sandhurst will experience service interruption on 11-08-2026 whilst we work to resolve a fault within our network.

When: 11-08-2026

Time: Between 01:00 - 04:00

Expected downtime: 20 mins

What do I need to do?

Please do not switch off your zzoomm equipment during this time.
If you have trouble getting back online after 06:00, simply restart your zzoomm Hub.
Thanks for your patience while we make these improvements!

The Zzoomm Team

It don't happen often, and it is early in the morning, but i don't remember FTTC having this. I presume other networks must do this now and again including Open reach on their Full fibre networks.

I am not bothered, as i said it is early in the morning, but would be a pain if I had something that needed to stay connected., I do, but it is not essential.

What does their TOS state about uptime and connection availability? Pretty sure they won't claim 100% uptime to allow for things like this! The hint that the works were an Emergency, sort of gives you the impression that they weren't expecting it either. The fact they published it should be commended; instead, I kind of get the impression from your post that it was inconvenient to you.

In reply to a post by BLaZiNgSPEED:

That's one reason I use Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise 21H2 as this gives me the option to manually update Windows without Microsoft automatically updating Windows.

If I recall correctly that is EOL in less the 6 months time (don't suspect you are licenced to use it as its only available through the volume licence process), the obsession with being in control is overrated especially with those sitting at home thinking they know best. I appreciate you don't want to be an early adopter of patch releases but picking and choosing updates is crazy. I'm out of the loop now but when Windows 10 was about to launched I had a private week long workshop with the techies from Microsoft with their best guys coming over from Redmond, learned some really interesting stuff not available to the general public.

There are a few good reasons why I chose to switch to this version. Telemetry can be turned off normally, no Microsoft Store (where you had to deal with Candy Crush Saga being auto-installed), Microsoft Edge can be uninstalled normally without a script! No new Windows feature update that often resets your settings back to default.

Oh and no Gamebar Presence Writer, that process is known to cause stuttering and fps drops in certain games.

You can indeed tweak the regular Home/Pro version and eradicate these nuisances with registry editing. I have Windows 10 Pro license key as well. But it is a very big job to have to disable automatic Microsoft Store Update, telemetry, Cortana (of-course later removed). Every time you reformat Windows you have to go through all that hassle again from scratch.

This LTSC Enterprise version as well as the IoT is probably one of the best versions you can get without having to go through the hassle of tweaking things from scratch.

When a new feature update gets pushed out, it resets many of the settings back to default. You suddenly find that the Microsoft Store reinstalled Candy Crush Saga, etc without your consent.

All we really need is security updates. This version only pushes security updates and no feature updates. The problem is that if Windows suddenly gives you a notification that you must restart your computer while you are in the middle of a game, especially online chess, this can be a disaster. You can postpone the restart but if you accidentally click on it while it pops out, your PC will restart and you could end your game progress, (whatever you are doing that's important).

The same goes with Router firmware updates. I remember once this happened while I was on Lichess at night in the middle of an online game. Luckily both Lichess and Chess.com gives you 30 seconds to 2 minutes to return to your game before it forfeits you. I quickly logged from my Android phone and used my SIM Network Data to rejoin my chess game and that way I rescued myself from getting a loss. That's how I have zero disconnections in online chess as I am prepared for this unexpected event and have my phone always placed on my PC desk table.

But if you play FIFA (now EAFC), eFootball or other video games you have no choice, it will mark as defeated.

I am generally happy with the ISP routers except for their auto firmware updates. On FTTC and ADSL2+, this was a problem as this could trigger DLM or make the speed fluctuate. The copper line doesn't know the router was rebooted for a firmware and thinks there is a line issue. But on Full Fibre now at least we don't have to worry about DLM, Noise Margins, etc. I'll never return back to FTTC unless there is a major outage issue with Community Fibre that goes beyond repair. Just wished there were more wholesale options and would be nice if in future I get at least a second FTTP option available.