[SOLVED] Unstable internet connection

[GateOPssss]

Before i say anything, i'll state a few things. I live in a village, my connection speed is 10 Mb/s down/ 1 Mb up, modulation type is ADSL_2plus.

It's been years and years that this problem bothered me so so much. Internet is very unstable and knows to disconnect itself like 30+ times a day, but there are days where it can remain stable for 2 or 3 days (in rare cases).

Internet speed used to be 1 MB/s download and around 0.7 Mb upload, but it was a headache. It was unusable and knew to disconnect around 15 times an hour. After some time it dropped to 700 KB/s down and 50 KB/s up, and it's still like that even today, but it still constantly keeps disconnecting and makes it unusable.

I have checked if this issue was on my end. I reinstalled my windows multiple times, moved my router close to the phone line and away from it, replaced the cables used to connect the phone line and the ethernet cable, tried to only keep the internet alive (removed the cables for TV and the phone, only ADSL cable was connected to the router) yet it didn't help at all.

I called the ISP service like.. god knows how many times. 50% of the time they came, later it's like they have given up on us. They replaced the cables, replaced the router, checked the connections inside my house and outside. When they would come, they would do all that, and the internet would be stable, until they leave, right at that moment the internet is unusable again.

I started kind of investigating around this and constantly checked the statistics on my router. When the internet reconnects, Noise margin is around 11 up and 20 down. And i've seen couple of times that it knows to instantly drop the up margin to around 6 dB and down remains at 20. The up margin knew to drop even to 2 dB but it knows to disconnect itself even at 8 dB which is very confusing for me and i don't understand why would that happen.

At one point i went away on a 2 day vacation. Came back home, checked the router and saw that the internet didn't disconnect itself for around 50~ish hours which was very surprising, but i also realized that my actual rate and attainable rate dropped from 1000~ish to 555 (actual rate went from usual 1000/9999 kbps to 555/9999 and attainable rate dropped from 1100~ish/22044 kbps to 555/22044).

I went to check the speed test and right away saw a stable 4 Mb/s download and 0.3 Mb/s upload speed which was very worrying and i wasn't happy with that whatsoever. The next day the internet disconnected again and i was back on track with the usual 7 Mb/s down and 0.5 Mb/s up speed and the internet was unstable again, even today it's a headache to use it.

I unfortunately cannot switch between ISP's since this is the only one i got. I can get a 4G home network capped at 200 GB data limit (which is not enough for me, i watch youtube a lot).


Is there any possible way to fix this issue? I gave up on calling my ISP again since they don't even care about this issue im having or just gave up, and i can't realize why is the internet so unstable at higher speeds, while when it dropped the speed, the internet was stable for 2 days until i got a higher speed again.


Sorry if i forgot to state anything else, i'll be glad to give you the required information, i just wanna fix this problem ASAP. It's just pure pain to use this internet.

 

[Ralston18]

ASDL:

Somewhere in the connection path from ISP to router there should be a small device referred to as a splitter or filter.

One line (from ISP) going in and two lines going out (one line to telephone and one line to router).

Those splitters are made very cheaply and can and do fail. If the splitter/filter has not been replaced - then do so

Another thing you can do is to inspect (as thoroughly and safely as you can) all of the cables, wall jacks, plugs, and ports for signs of damage, loose connections, tight bends/kinks, and so forth anything at all.

Also look for unused plugs and cables that are just dangling about or otherwise wrapped into a ball - maybe around other nearby wires - power cables for example. Or cables near a heat source: direct sunlight - furnace vent, or sources of moisture.

You should also examine any ethernet cables. Cat5e is recommended. Check the plugs and ports. Inspect for signs of damage. Cables should be all copper - no aluminum clad (CCA).

 

[GateOPssss]

ASDL:

Somewhere in the connection path from ISP to router there should be a small device referred to as a splitter or filter.

One line (from ISP) going in and two lines going out (one line to telephone and one line to router).

Those splitters are made very cheaply and can and do fail. If the splitter/filter has not been replaced - then do so

Another thing you can do is to inspect (as thoroughly and safely as you can) all of the cables, wall jacks, plugs, and ports for signs of damage, loose connections, tight bends/kinks, and so forth anything at all.

Also look for unused plugs and cables that are just dangling about or otherwise wrapped into a ball - maybe around other nearby wires - power cables for example. Or cables near a heat source: direct sunlight - furnace vent, or sources of moisture.

You should also examine any ethernet cables. Cat5e is recommended. Check the plugs and ports. Inspect for signs of damage. Cables should be all copper - no aluminum clad (CCA).

Thank you for your time reading and helping me out.

Splitter has been replaced 3 times by the ISP when they came over. I realized that those 3 times they replaced it, it was always replaced with some old and dirty splitters, from that point i decided to buy a new one, replaced it but no fix.

All of the cables, jacks, plugs and ports have been checked and they are in good condition. I even reconnected all the ports on the router, the cables on the splitter, the main line from ISP to the splitter etc etc.. just for the good measure, didn't fix it.


The cable that is connected from the splitter to the router (ADSL) had been actually sitting next to the power cables and other wires around. I have moved that cable to another secure place where it won't be interfered with other cables, and i have restarted my router, yet issue still remains. Cables are not near any kind of heat source or sunlight.

Ethernet cables have been checked once more, no damage has been found anywhere, and the cables are copper. As for Cat5e, nowhere to be bought around here, i can only order them. But i don't really wanna waste much money since, again, the connection gets much more stable when the speed is dropped significantly, yet fails to remain stable when its set to the speed i've bought.


Thank you again, hoping for another reply that may help with my issue!

 

[Ralston18]

If the ethernet cable fails to perform at the rated speeds and only works at lower speeds my thought is that the cable is substandard in production, misleading with respect to labeling, or counterfeit.

What Ethernet cable are you using?

If you look along the length of the cable there should be some labeling continually printed along the cables length.

Another possible culprit would be the plugs on each end of the cable. They may not be properly terminated; use the wrong connector or poorly/sloppily connected.

First do some reading about the termination process and what is indeed correct. Example links:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Terminating-an-Ethernet-CAT5eCAT6-Cable/

https://www.cableorganizer.com/learning-center/how-to/network-instructions.html

https://www.lifewire.com/definition-of-rj45-817872

https://www.truecable.com/blogs/cable-academy/selecting-the-correct-connector

You can easily find other similar links to help get a sense of the specifications, requirements, and what is "good" vs "bad".

E.g., per the last link - you might discover that your cables are shielded RJ45 - not for general home use....

Examine the plugs very carefully. Use a bright flashlight and a magnifying glass.

Only takes one bad connection/plug/cable to cause problems.

 

[GateOPssss]

If the ethernet cable fails to perform at the rated speeds and only works at lower speeds my thought is that the cable is substandard in production, misleading with respect to labeling, or counterfeit.

What Ethernet cable are you using?

If you look along the length of the cable there should be some labeling continually printed along the cables length.

Another possible culprit would be the plugs on each end of the cable. They may not be properly terminated; use the wrong connector or poorly/sloppily connected.

First do some reading about the termination process and what is indeed correct. Example links:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Terminating-an-Ethernet-CAT5eCAT6-Cable/

https://www.cableorganizer.com/learning-center/how-to/network-instructions.html

https://www.lifewire.com/definition-of-rj45-817872

https://www.truecable.com/blogs/cable-academy/selecting-the-correct-connector

You can easily find other similar links to help get a sense of the specifications, requirements, and what is "good" vs "bad".

E.g., per the last link - you might discover that your cables are shielded RJ45 - not for general home use....

Examine the plugs very carefully. Use a bright flashlight and a magnifying glass.

Only takes one bad connection/plug/cable to cause problems.

I just wanna apologize first if any inconvenience happened, but it's not exactly the ethernet cables that are the main problem here. I might have not explained it very well since i was very stressful of how many times my internet disconnected, it was crazy.

I just wanna repeat again that it disconnects at random times. One time it'll work for 2 or 3 hours, and then start disconnecting few times, then it comes back, works for another maybe 30 minutes and then starts disconnecting again.


If i am not wrong, it's not the ethernet cable that is the main problem here, i think it's the cable that is connected from the splitter (ADSL) and goes to the router DSL input. Even devices that are connected through wifi cannot access internet, not only my computer.

I will state that both the ethernet cable and the DSL cable don't have any kind of labeling on them, and they are not shielded.

I examined the DSL cable and i'm not entirely sure what could be wrong. They look perfectly fine to me. I even started wiggling the DSL cable (i tried wiggling it on the splitter and on the router) and it didn't disconnect me from the internet at all, it just happens randomly.

For what i have realized (if this information may help you), i have 2 LED's on the router (DSL and Internet). Internet is blinking green and thats a good sign for me, it works. When the internet stops working, both DSL and Internet LED's stay green (without blinking) for the next 5-10 seconds, and then all of a sudden, the internet LED goes off, and DSL starts blinking until it reconnects again. But when i actually take the router and remove the DSL cable from it, both the internet and DSL LED's go off at the same time (This can also happen as well when it disconnects at random times, both LED's will go off instantly, and after a second DSL will start blinking again until it reconnects, but that happens rarely). I'm wondering, why when it disconnects at random times, the internet LED is still green (not blinking) and goes right off after 5-10 seconds?

I apologize if i'm quite annoying with this, each reply i make is a mess, but solving this issue that has been bothering me for years would definitely make me more than happy.

 

[Ralston18]

" i think it's the cable that is connected from the splitter (ADSL) and goes to the router DSL input. "

Have you tried another known working cable from splitter to router?

The cable should be just a regular RJ11 telephone cable.

Make and model router?

 

[GateOPssss]

" i think it's the cable that is connected from the splitter (ADSL) and goes to the router DSL input. "

Have you tried another known working cable from splitter to router?

The cable should be just a regular RJ11 telephone cable.

Make and model router?

Just to let you know that i've called it quits and decided to give my ISP a call to report my problem, and told them right away to reduce the internet speed. They reduced it, and the internet has been stable for a day, no problem. I do feel bad about it, but i'll most likely switch to another ISP that'll give me a router with a 4g sim card and a data limit of 200 GB, that'll cover me.

As for your question, my router is a ZTE ZXHN H168N V3.1, some kind of a chinese router that ISP gave me. It's the same router my friend has, but his internet is much more stable, and what i've seen is he doesn't live far away from the central since his modulation type is VDSL.

Thank you for trying to help me!