Safecom router, syncs, but no PPPoPvc session?

I have a Safecom 4114 ADSL router. For the past 6 months or so this has worked fine with my PipexGo account. Connecting within a couple of minutes normally.

However last week it synced, but the net didn't work. Looking at the diagnostic it said "Test PPPoPvc 0 PPP layer connectionFAIL" and looking at the log it tried to reconnect this every 5 minutes. After about an hour it connected.

The next day this happened again, I tried a spare USB ADSL modem I have and it connected immediately. The Safecom still won't connect straight away, it sometimes takes 10 minutes and sometimes hasn't after several hours. The USB one still works straight away.

What could be the problem? I've tried a hard reset and firmware update.

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I have a Safecom 4114 ADSL router. For the past 6 months or so this has worked fine with my PipexGo account. Connecting within a couple of minutes normally.

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That sounds slow

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The next day this happened again, I tried a spare USB ADSL modem I have and it connected immediately. The Safecom still won't connect straight away, it sometimes takes 10 minutes and sometimes hasn't after several hours. The USB one still works straight away.

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That sounds like it might be broken. I'm assuming that the connection to your phone line is exactly the same in both cases.Even so, it is probably worth comparing the line stats for modem and router, if only to see whether you might be on the limit of line length and the modem is coping better than the router.

It could be it connects a lot quicker than a couple of minutes. It

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It could be it connects a lot quicker than a couple of minutes. It

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Sorry, I meant from power up of the router and PCs. I tend to turn the power to the whole lot off at night (paranoid about fire), then back on next morning. By the time the pcs are booted or come out of hibernation the router has already signed in and the net is working (well that's how it used to be).

Yes, I can browse the routers pages fine, when the router eventually gets its PPPoPVC status to PASS I can then surf the net without changing anything on the PCs.

OK, I might give it another day to fix magically by itself then I'lll be on ebay for a new one, I was hoping for a quick fix for the router, oh well hopefully people are selling of wired ones really cheap now...

Thanks pitnicker

Edited by Lumo (Mon 05-Feb-07 12:19:27)

In an attempt to save it I did the firmware rescue flash. Take the top off, close a jumper and flash it from USB, it re-writes everything, even the MAC address, anyway that has (touch wood) fixed it. It now connects straight away, around a minute from power up to online. Maybe the firmware had some strange corruption that flashing it the other way didn

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I tend to turn the power to the whole lot off at night (paranoid about fire), then back on next morning.

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As a matter of interest, do you turn your cooker off at the control panel whenever you are not using it? Or, perhaps, you have gas in which case ...

When a (electric) cooker isn't in use there's nothing in it to generate heat like transformers or amplifiiers. Routers on the other hand can be quite hot, repeaters especially so. Cookers are rarely strewn with newspapers, magazines, electricity bills. Routers OTOH in a domestic environment will often sit on the carpet, or a wooden piece of furniture in a living room, strewn tidily or otherwise with all sorts of highly combustible materials, maybe even including hastily discarded items of clothing depending (or not) on one's marital status and proclivities.

Nothing wrong with a healthy bit of paranoia

Yes, the switch behind cooker goes off each night (or sometimes after each use). As does the electric shower.

My router sits on a carpet, under the drawers of a wooden desk, next to a row of folders and possibly some paper that has fallen down the back of the desk onto it. As for the flammable underwear... The router runs quite hot and there are various other transformers for my cordless mouse, speakers etc plugged in nearby, all from the one socket (1970s wiring). Like themidgieman says, I see this as more of a fire hazard than a cooker (which is not in use). Turning the power to the PC equipment off at night and on in the morning takes mere seconds. I would say it also saves some electricity, but I doubt the transformers and router draw all that much.