BE/O2 intermittent service

I started out with BE and the service was great, good speed with 2M upload my website, run from home, was very usable. Then it went wrong. I was using their router and for no reason the service became intermittent. It would go down something like 10-20 times a day and re-connect. I contacted BE and they would test the equipment and just tell me everything is fine. This went on and on and on. Eventually I decided to move off BE to O2. I was aware they are basically the same but I thought the change over may fix the problem. It didnt. Firstly O2 told me I would have to pay extra to get my router configured with port forwarding, they had it set so I couldnt configure this my self. I purchased an adsl2+ router, dlink, and configured it my self port forwarding worked but I was a bit miffed that my upload and halved and the intermittent problem still exists. I rang O2 and they said we can do a trace, but by the time I got past the phone menu my adsl link had re-established. The told me to ring every time it happens but that is like every hour and I have a job and they take so long to answer the phone the problem has gone by the time I get through. Trace proved nothing.
This is two routers exhibiting the same problem. BT fault on the line checks show nothing!
This problem is bigger now I have a PS3 and COD, I cant afford drops during online gaming!
Exchange is Thatcham, Berks.
Can anyone recomend an ISP other than O2 or BE that offer good service/speed or a suggestion on how I can get this fixed or what it might be? My contract with O" expired yesterday!

Sounds like RFI - noise - on the line or a line fault.
Maybe you have poor internal extension wiring, which you can fix.

Do you have a sky box?
How many telephone extensions?
Does your router plug into a filtered faceplate on the master socket, or do you use microfilters?

Can you post your line stats reported by your router?

Cheers

Hi

I have plugged the router directly into the BT master socket with all other devices unplugged and it shows the same problem.

I have tried numerous filters as well.

I have a sky box.
I have one extension in addition to the master socket.
I use filters.

Ill have to post the stats when I get home, ive lost connectivity to my rdp host at home

Is the sky box filtered?

Have you removed the ring wire from your internal wiring?

Can you remove the front cover of the BT box and plug directly into the test socket?

Batboy will certainly help once you provide the router stats!

I have tried this with no change to the service stability.

Yes the sky box is filtered.

The what?

The ring wire.

But if there is no difference using the test socket, the ring wire is unlikely to be the problem.

However, have you checked that no extensions work when you are using the test socket? Occasionally DIY'ers or house wiring electricians wire extensions direct to the rear of the master socket, instead of the back of the faceplate. This is incorrect and often causes trouble.

This is a DIY extension that plugs into the front of the master socket.

Ah. In that case the wiring is technically OK, but the plug-in extension could very well cause trouble.

First, it probably contains a ring wire, and second it is almost certainly ordinary cable where even the signal wires can pick up noise.

What happens with the router plugged into the test socket without the extension being into the filter? (Edit - looks like you have already answered that).

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 02-Mar-11 15:21:03)