3bb intermitent drop connection problem

[gillap]

Hello everyone… my router interminently drops my connection and reboots itself several times a day at no fix time. I've called 3bb many times on the issue and they seem to be unable to get a fix on the problem! I would like to know if anyone else is or has experienced this issue with a 3bb router. Is anyone able to suggest a fix… could the problem be the router? Curiously my problem went away when the mbps speed went down very low… I called 3bb and they fixed immediately but when the mbps speed came back to normal my intermitent problem also came back! Any help would be much appreciated!

[manarak]

ask them to replace the router - might be a faulty/overheating chip

[Borzandy]

It's worse with TOT...

[bark]

3 hours ago, manarak said:

ask them to replace the router - might be a faulty/overheating chip

yes, good idea. But they will charge. Buy the best one you can afford. 3-5,000 bt.

[elgordo38]

I have the exact same problem in Chiang Mai. Its a periodic thing happens at least once or twice a day. I call the 3BB office and they said they will send a repair person. The repair person calls and asks if the internet is OK. I say yes at present but upon asking if the problem is fixed the answer gets vague. It happened first thing this morning. It seems to get more prevalent in nature.  How is Sinet operating in Chiang Mai?? 

[johnjohn2]

I had this problem not here but when I was living in Hawaii. I assume that you are using cable connection and not fiber? I put a few buffer plugs (not sure actual name of the thing) on the back from the cable to where it connects to the router. The problem was packet/signal spikes. The router would get confused and reboot itself.  After three weeks of going through different routers, etc turned out that putting those buffer things in the back made everything work as it should again. 

 

[arithai12]

I have 3BB, and I used to have the disconnections (they would last a few seconds, but still quite annoying if you are e.g. in the middle of a skype) but I never had the problem you mention about the router - few years old now. In the last couple of months these disconnections have become rarer, or maybe gone completely. I suspect it has to do with the quality of the connection and perhaps with the dynamic IP allocation, not with the router.

 

Another problem I have been having, is that occasionally 3BB goes completely off for a day or two. This is rare, maybe once per year. I did not keep track, but it might have had to do with speed upgrades. When we started our contract it was 6 down 0.5 up, now it's 20 down 4 up for the same price. Still, it would be good if 3BB was so kind to inform us in advance.

 

Overall, I am not too dissatisfied. When I call for a problem, they usually follow up right away or if a technician needs to come in person he shows up the next day. However, I have been pondering SiNet... any comments about that (CMai)?

 

 

[alant]

same problem chiang mai 3bb fibre. can make a mess of my iptv service from i like hd

[Lamkyong]

55 minutes ago, johnjohn2 said:

I had this problem not here but when I was living in Hawaii. I assume that you are using cable connection and not fiber? I put a few buffer plugs (not sure actual name of the thing) on the back from the cable to where it connects to the router. The problem was packet/signal spikes. The router would get confused and reboot itself.  After three weeks of going through different routers, etc turned out that putting those buffer things in the back made everything work as it should again. 

 

interesting please tell me what is a buffer thingy and where would on find them ??

[gillap]

Thank you all for the feedback… I think I will try a new router. I bought one 2 months ago online…  but it came only with an ethernet connection. Need a phone jack type connection with 3bb… would an adapter ethernet to phone jack work?

[KittenKong]

11 minutes ago, gillap said:

Thank you all for the feedback… I think I will try a new router. I bought one 2 months ago online…  but it came only with an ethernet connection. Need a phone jack type connection with 3bb… would an adapter ethernet to phone jack work?

 

Certainly not. You bought a router. You need a modem/router (or a modem plus the router you bought).

 

Are you certain that the existing router is rebooting? This is very rare. Are you certain that it isnt just re-syncing?

 

If it is rebooting then it is almost certainly knackered and needs replacing, though resetting it may help and is worth trying. Do not reset it unless you know your 3BB access/login codes.

[gillap]

It seems like it's rebooting. When it's working normal it will have 4 green lights with the third light flashing. I can tell it's rebooting or recycling by 2 green lights going off, the second and third, after a few seconds the second light comes back on and finally the third woll come back flashing normal signal!

[rapom]

Intermittent disconnect can be caused by to much download speed trying to be pushed thru cable.  I had ATT Uverse internet and phone service installed in the States. The download speed was over 20 mbps. Worked good for about 2 days then the connection started failing, several times a day. Tech came and checked the installation, couldn't find anything wrong, but replaced the router.  It worked okay for 1 day, then started dropping again. A different tech came and connected testing equipment to outside junction box. He told me that the maximum distance that my package speed could be pushed was thru approx. 4500 feet of cable and I was over 6000 feet from the server.  He reduced the speed to max 16 mbps  and that fixed the problem. 

[johnjohn2]

34 minutes ago, Lamkyong said:

interesting please tell me what is a buffer thingy and where would on find them ??

Should have said filter. Its been a while but the repair guy who came out had them. They didnt look like the long ADSL filters you see but small and round. Sorry not more helpful on that. 

 

[gillap]

12Mbps right now showing… if I were home I would get a technician in and resolve the problem but here in Pattaya… not speaking Thai  is a different story!

Edited September 26, 2016 by gillap

[KittenKong]

5 minutes ago, gillap said:

It seems like it's rebooting. When it's working normal it will have 4 green lights with the third light flashing. I can tell it's rebooting or recycling by 2 green lights going off, the second and third, after a few seconds the second light comes back on and finally the third woll come back flashing normal signal!

 

Turn the power off to the router. Then turn it back on. Carefully watch the way the various lights go on and off as it restarts. This is what happens when it reboots. Without more information it is hard to tell what is happening, but what you describe sounds more like re-syncing to me. Re-syncing is usually caused by poor line quality. Rebooting is not.

 

If at all possible, beg borrow or steal another modem. See if it solves the problem.

 

Another option is to access the modem configuration webpage. A look at the logs will tell you whether it has rebooted recently, and when.

[gillap]

Thank you Kittylong for great technical insight… I will buy another router from 3bb… only 1200 baht! If worse comes to shove I will have a spare router/modem has you say. If that doesn't solve the problem I will call 3bb and have the line checked.

[Suradit69]

47 minutes ago, gillap said:

Thank you Kittylong for great technical insight… I will buy another router from 3bb… only 1200 baht! If worse comes to shove I will have a spare router/modem has you say. If that doesn't solve the problem I will call 3bb and have the line checked.

 

I bought a moderately expensive router and had a problem with the connection dropping several times a day. Then got a less expensive D-Link router/modem and I no longer experience losses of connection, although at times the connection can be sluggish ... 3BB in Pattaya.

 

When you are having a problem use 3BB's own checker for download speed and save a screen shot or two showing how bad it is. Inevitably when a technician appears on the scene he'll find things working well, but you'll have proof to show him how bad things get sometimes. It's a bit like making a doctor's appointment for something that's been bothering you for weeks. As soon as you get in to see the doctor the symptoms will have disappeared.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Suradit69

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, gillap said:

Thank you Kittylong for great technical insight… I will buy another router from 3bb… only 1200 baht! If worse comes to shove I will have a spare router/modem has you say. If that doesn't solve the problem I will call 3bb and have the line checked.

 

The 3BB technician should be able to call round with another modem to test it for you for free. I have always found them to be helpful, and I speak no Thai.

[alocacoc]

2 hours ago, johnjohn2 said:

Should have said filter. Its been a while but the repair guy who came out had them. They didnt look like the long ADSL filters you see but small and round. Sorry not more helpful on that. 

 

The ADSL filter is only useful when u use also a telephone on the line. The filter divides only the adsl and the telephone signal.

[remobb]

Am having this with True at the moment. So its not just 3bb. I have cable with high speed.

[Autonuaq]

have the same problem at 3 locations with 3bb.

connection suddenly stops.

fibre on all locations.

 

any better the true and tot if I may believe my neighbours.

[cauldlad]

I have been having the same problem with 3bb for 4 weeks now ever since I upgraded to 50/10. They gave me a new router and that is when the problems started. Had 13/3 previously for 2 and a half years with old router no problems.

 

The connection drops off for about a minute then automatically comes back on several time a day which is frustrating if you are in the middle of something.

 

Got so annoyed last week got DTAC internet back on my phone.

 

Technician been out twice gave the impression he didn't know what he was doing.

 

First he said connection problem will fix!!!

 

Then problem with "electricity on cable" whatever that means.

 

Been ok the last 36 hours so maybe fixed.

 

I have to say though 3bb here in Pattaya have provided good customer service. They have phoned back straight away and when the technician has had a go at fixing the problem they call back to check up.

 

Got technicians mobile now and he responds to any sms straight away.

[mran66]

I had mixed problems with by 3BB for couple of weeks, sometime connection drop temporarily, sometime very slow, sometime got a 3BB prompt on my screen asking some password (their system password of some nature I guess) etc. On Friday I accidentally clicked Save on the password screen, and the whole system stopped working, saying that password incorrect too many times or something like that. Called 3BB service and a guy came by yesterday to reset the password (could not do myself as no computer with LAN port). He got the password done, but connection did not work properly, was very very slow (like 0.2M or so), intermittent, and at the end stopped work completely. The guy went to look the 3BB switch box and came back sometime later telling that a cable is broken between my house and the 3BB box, being able to isolate to about 15m part of the line based on his investigation. I hopped on my bike to get a new cable to replace that 15m section and voila the networks works like a charm since.

 

I pulled the old cable off the bush (completely covered by plants) and it indeed was damaged so that the copper was visible (though did not see where it was cut or whether it was cut or just exposed), I guess due to the foliage causing too much stress on it over time.

 

Anyway, I assume, though can not be  sure, that all the issues I had with the access were caused by the damaged telephone cable that initially caused intermittent problems as described (maybe not completely broken, just intermittently connected to ground or plants esp when wet), then finally totally stopped working completely.

 

So you might want to check/have checked that the telephone cable from 3BB box to your router is not damaged. If can not find any other explanation and still have intermittent issues, you might just replace the cable to exclude the possibility (was 20bt per meter in hardware shop). I guess the 3BB guys should be able to measure the the cable though. Might be so that on dry day no issues, but on wet day (when damaged insulation has more meaning) have.

 

Overall I am pretty happy with 3BB service when problems occur (as they do every now and then as the last mile installations not really that well made), guy normally comes within hours and helps solve the problem.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2016 by mran66

[Dexlowe]

Nice to see someone getting service from 3bb. I'm getting zip and am ready to kill. I have phoned them every day for a week and they won't even call me back (just once - ). My router is fairly new (bought this year), and is the same model I have used for 2 years (last one got fried). 

 

I had service for about an hour today, then nothing since. Is there any way to threaten these rude sods for breach of contract?

[thhMan]

On 9/30/2016 at 8:13 PM, Dexlowe said:

Nice to see someone getting service from 3bb. I'm getting zip and am ready to kill. I have phoned them every day for a week and they won't even call me back (just once - ). My router is fairly new (bought this year), and is the same model I have used for 2 years (last one got fried). 

 

I had service for about an hour today, then nothing since. Is there any way to threaten these rude sods for breach of contract?

I find I get better customer support when I confront them in person.

Unfortunately they are so arrogant that you have to be sweet and polite to get things sped up.... You have to approach them as if they are children.... Utter disgrace...

[moonseeker]

Most often a line problem. If you live in a condo, 3BB uses existing phone lines (4 wires/2 used for ext. or internal phone, 2 left for ADSL or VDSL) & often these cables are poor quality or run via various boards. 3BB can trace the fault with their equipment / signalmeter from your condo and it will show them how far into the cable the problem is. Then you have an idea what cable to check or replace. I am doing a lot of troubleshhoting for friends and I just go ahead and we replace entire sections inhouse with indoor quality phone cable, outdoor with special ADSL (black) cable, can be bought top left Pattaya Nua / North Pattaya Rd. Electro-Shop.

In serious cases run directly from entry point 3BB (gate?) to your router w/o interruptiona nd you won't have that problem again.

Another case I see often is a bad plug/socket, often corroded. I now eliminate plugs and connect wires directly, various options there. In 20 years only seen a couple or so of routers/modems going bad. Got some 10 years running w/o any problems. Obviously the newer the better the standards and speed etc. etc. And yes, your case does not sound like re-booting, it sounds like loosing the signal (the steady light), then finding it again and starting to send data again (the flashing light).

Good luck & Merry Christmas.  MS>

 

 

Here how to check your signal quality, if you wanna try yourself & the link one of many tests to see quality of line:

 

http://freeola.com/line-test/

 

How to find my signal attenuation, SNR and sync speed ?

Tags: DSL, attenuation, SNR, DSLAM

Most DSL modems/routers have admin interface that allows for viewing the actual attenuation, SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) and sync speed (or ATU-x) values.

1. Find your router's IP - type ipconfig in command prompt (cmd/typed to "start") and note the IP address value listed as the "Default Gateway". This is your router's IP address.

2. Connect to your router's admin interface - type your router's IP address into the address field of your web browser. You may have to use the default password to login to your router, we have an extensive list in our routers database.

3. Locate the status page - once you login look through the menus for something named "WAN", "Status", or "Connection". It should contain the values you're looking for:

* Signal Attenuation (Measured in dB) - may indicate the maximum sync speed you can get
* SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) (Measured in dB) - higher is better
* TX Power Level (Measured in dBm) - current/available transmission power levels, max 20dBm
* Sync Speeds (or ATU-x) (Measured in kbps or bps) - bitrate from the exchange to the modem

Edited December 22, 2016 by moonseeker