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2860 keeps dropping Plusnet VDSL connection

  • markvoip
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25 Jan 2019 13:26 #1 by markvoip
I have an incredibly basic home setup. An elderly (2013) 2860n connected to Plusnet VDSL.

I've noticed I'm getting a lot of connection drops, up to 20+ per day. First batch was Christmas day (I wasn't even at home), then OK until Jan 11 when a dozen or so. Then OK until about a week ago when it started dropping 10-20 times per day, at any/all hours.
Strangely, very few drops on Saturdays and none on Sundays. Which would make you think it's a line or exchange issue.
But when I revert to BT OR modem and Plusnet Technicolor router, no drops (so far).

I was on 3.8.9.2 BT but yesterday upgraded to 3.8.9.3 BT (made no difference). Here is a log extract of a typical drop:
<166>Jan 25 03:48:35 DrayTek: WAN1 PPPoE <== Protocol:LCP(c021) EchoReq Identifier:0xFF Magic Number: 0x73be 19 05 ##
<166>Jan 25 03:48:35 DrayTek: WAN1 PPPoE ==> Protocol:LCP(c021) EchoRep Identifier:0xFF Magic Number: 0x0 00 00 ##
<174>Jan 25 03:48:38 DrayTek: ADSL_Status:[Mode=17A States=SHOWTIME UpSpeed=17000000 DownSpeed=75498000 SNR=4 Atten=17 ]
<166>Jan 25 03:48:51 DrayTek: WAN1 PPPoE ==> Protocol:LCP(c021) EchoReq Identifier:0x07 Magic Number: 0x0 00 00 ##
<158>Jan 25 03:48:58 DrayTek: PPP Closed : Remote Terminating (PPPoA)
<166>Jan 25 03:48:58 DrayTek: WAN1 PPPoE ==> Protocol:LCP(c021) TermReq Identifier:0x08 ##
<166>Jan 25 03:48:58 DrayTek: WAN 1 is down.
<150>Jan 25 03:48:58 DrayTek: [WEB]Dynamic DNS Setup> Force Update
<166>Jan 25 03:48:59 DrayTek: DSL: Modem Shut Down from ADSL Phy Layer (0)

Any suggestions?

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  • hopkins35
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25 Jan 2019 22:46 #2 by hopkins35
Replied by hopkins35 on topic Re: 2860 keeps dropping Plusnet VDSL connection
I had a similar experience with my Vigor 130 recently, it was actually one of two because I've bonded two VDSL lines. I was convinced that the line was faulty, Openreach engineer spent ages struggling to find the fault and eventually found high resistance on the line, they ended up replacing some of the cable back to the cabinet and he left me with a perfect line according to their error stats. After plugging the Vigor 130 back in I had a couple of good days and then back to 10-20 resyncs in a day. Plugged in an old Openreach HG612 and it held stable for 14 days before I then swapped it over to a Zyxel VMG1312-B10A which has been just as solid as the OR modem. Turns out that the Vigor 130 uses a Lantiq chipset which can be temperamental on a long line with a Huawei FTTC cabinet, Hawei cabs use a Broadcom chipset and modems using Broadcom chipsets, like the OR HG612 and the VMG1312-B10A, often have less issues when paired with them. I have a feeling that most of the later Drayteks use a Lantiq chip which would work well with an ECI cabinet but maybe not so much on a temperamental line from a Huawei cab.

PS the other Vigor 130 on my 1st line is rock solid, no resyncs in 40+ days

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  • markvoip
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26 Jan 2019 09:14 #3 by markvoip
Thanks for your reply. As mine has previously been stable for years, I suspect it isn't a chipset issue.

I did a full factory reset and then painfully re-did all my config manually (see other post about whitelist not restoring) as I read that had solved an identical problem for someone else. Looked good for 13 hours (never been up for that long for weeks)... but has dropped 3 times this morning.

Interested to hear if anyone is using a 2860 in the UK on anything other than the _BT firmware.

Also I see the _BT firmware has 2 different modem codes available (576d17_572810 and 574307_571801), with 'default' selected (but which one is the default).
Would it be worth trying the non-default codec?

Any suggestions gratefully received. All the drops have already resulted in sync speed dropping from 20/79 to 17/74 and it's only getting worse.

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  • silverstreak_2006
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28 Jan 2019 14:37 #4 by silverstreak_2006
Replied by silverstreak_2006 on topic Re: 2860 keeps dropping Plusnet VDSL connection
Interesting, I use ADSL2 as backup to VM. When the weather is cold, it tends to hold up better than in milder weather, keeps dropping out.

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  • hopkins35
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28 Jan 2019 15:30 #5 by hopkins35
Replied by hopkins35 on topic Re: 2860 keeps dropping Plusnet VDSL connection

silverstreak_2006 wrote: Interesting, I use ADSL2 as backup to VM. When the weather is cold, it tends to hold up better than in milder weather, keeps dropping out.



In warmer weather the cables expand which will increase your line length, reducing your signal to noise margin as well as placing extra stress on any dodgy joints in the cable

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  • markvoip
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29 Jan 2019 17:03 #6 by markvoip
How do I progress? I've tried various different firmware versions back to 3.8.8. I've done full reset on many occasions. Still my 2860n is constantly disconnecting from WAN1 VDSL.

On the last 2 resets, it stayed up for 8-12 hours (very promising) but then reverted to dropping WAN1 on average around 6 times per hour.

Currently running using a BT OR modem connected to WAN2 and that is rock-steady which seems to prove the Vigor modem is the source of the fault.

How can I determine if it's a hardware fault?
It has been running 24/7 since 09/2013, but with a very light workload.

Thanks.

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