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Logging ISP downtime

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331X2
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Joined: 10 Jul 2013
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PostPosted: 00:43 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Logging ISP downtime Reply with quote

We've been with Sky broadband over a BT line for a year now and it's been patchy since we got it, the speed is good enough for what we need but it's the seemingly random downtime we get that I can't handle any more. I've got my suspicions that the line coming from the pole to our house is past it's best due to age (probably 50+ years old) and the fact that the downtime seems to be more consistent with wind and rain but I'd like some kind of log of the downtime so I've got some kind of evidence when I ring Sky/BT and start demanding answers. Unfortunately we can't get Virgin so we're stuck with whatever comes down the BT line.

What I think I'd like (I'm not particularly techy) is an app/program that can send/receive small packets of data say every 30 seconds and log when the connection has fallen over, even better if it could differentiate between internal (wifi/ethernet) failure and anything past the router.

Hardware wise would ideally be Android or windows as I've got gear that I could leave running just for that purpose.
Edit: Also have an Ubuntu machine I could dedicate to the cause...

Thanks in advance Thumbs Up
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M.C
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PostPosted: 02:28 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sky broadband (over a BT line) was probably the worst service I've ever had, and that included being with AOL Laughing It wasn't downtime that was the issue though, just consistently slow speeds (0.2/0.3mb), so I left.

Were you previously with o2 (only way I know to get Sky broadband with BT)? I suspect they want people to leave so put you on some peasant service.
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Stoker
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PostPosted: 02:43 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

A friend of mine who lives in a small North Yorkshire village has a similar problem, will try and find the name of the app on my android device that proved ( well, at least logged) that there was zero internet connectivity at times, but be prepared for them not to actually give too much of a fuck.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 08:47 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you have a relatively stable IP address (or possibly if you set up a https://freedns.afraid.org or similar), you can do it from outside-in, and even get a purty graph.

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality
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owl
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Joined: 21 Oct 2016
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PostPosted: 12:39 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

just use a ping log tool, there's a couple of free ones

set ping to gateway (router), a sky ip and another external like google dns (8.8.8.8) set log failures
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Pjay
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PostPosted: 14:50 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Be prepared for Sky and BT to blame each other ad infinitum.
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Jayy
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PostPosted: 14:54 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm with Sky fibre+ and have been since Be There got taken over by Sky. House is only 15 years old so the wires can't be much older and as such, always had a great connection (even on ADSL 2+ it used to get 22 of 24mb).

When the fibre was fitted it was great but over time it started cutting out. Had an engineer come out who said there was mega noise on the line and did a load of test (no drilling or anything) and eventually replaced a face plate and cleared the noise.

We did some speed tests whilst he was here and got lower than expected results. He changed the line profile and it shot up to pretty much max speed.

I can't fault the service but it's fucking pricey @ £49.99 a month for just fibre.
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CBFcarl
Nearly there...



Joined: 29 Oct 2013
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PostPosted: 16:12 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Give Sky a call.

When you say that your line is BT, do you mean BT Wholesale (and pay line rental to Sky) or BT Retail (and you pay line rental to BT)?

If you pay line rental and broadband to Sky, the first thing that they should be doing is a Line test, and potentially an enhanced line test.
This tells you if there is any degredation on the line. If that is the case, it doesn't matter who you are with (cable provider notwithstanding), because the problem is with the infrastructure. If there is a problem, whoever you pay your line rental to should take care of it.

If you pay your line rental to BT, they don't care if your Sky broadband is slow, so call them, but tell them you have a crackly telephone line, especially when it is cold / wet / etc.


Once the underlying problem is solved, Sky can (rarely do, but certainly can) reprofile your line. The official word is to reinstate line management that will improve your speed as the line stays stable, but get someone who knows what they are doing, and they can reprofile, and reinstate DLM for fine tuning.

tl:dr - problem will follow you, get that line tested.
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M.C
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PostPosted: 16:44 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jayy wrote:
When the fibre was fitted it was great but over time it started cutting out. Had an engineer come out who said there was mega noise on the line and did a load of test (no drilling or anything) and eventually replaced a face plate and cleared the noise.

Did they charge you for that? BT told me (a while ago) if it was the line outside the house, they'll fix it, if it was inside they'd charge me Confused
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CBFcarl
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PostPosted: 17:11 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

M.C wrote:
Jayy wrote:
When the fibre was fitted it was great but over time it started cutting out. Had an engineer come out who said there was mega noise on the line and did a load of test (no drilling or anything) and eventually replaced a face plate and cleared the noise.

Did they charge you for that? BT told me (a while ago) if it was the line outside the house, they'll fix it, if it was inside they'd charge me Confused


The rule of thumb is that Openreach cover everything from the faceplate to the exchange. If it was found that you have a dodgy second socket somewhere else in the property that was causing the issue, you would be liable for any callout costs, but proper troubleshooting would get you to remove the faceplate (that secondary sockets are wired into) which rules out internal wiring. The only exception is "star wiring", where the secondary sockets are spliced into the main line into the property.
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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 18:53 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find PingPlotter handy at work.

https://www.pingplotter.com/fix-your-network
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P.
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PostPosted: 18:56 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Days like this I love my wireless home connection. Only noise on the line would be someone smacking the AP with a hammer Laughing

Will use that tool Rogerborg, looks pretty good... unsure if it'll work in this side of things though.
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Jayy
Mr. Ponzi



Joined: 08 Jun 2009
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PostPosted: 21:54 - 13 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

The plate was the master socket and the extension socket running upstairs to my router. He did replace the splitters too as they were pretty ancient.

There was no charge for any of it, was all taken care of by Sky / Openreach.

Been sweet ever since and that was maybe 18 months ago.
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331X2
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PostPosted: 14:41 - 15 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the help folks. Installed and ran 'PingInfoView' by Nirsoft which did exactly what I wanted, ran for half an hour before getting on the phone to Sky customer services just to see how much resistance they were going to put up.

Wednesday 7.45PM Called customer services and spoke to an adviser about the issue, he did a line test at their end and said there was an issue with the line, is Friday 10-12 OK for an engineer visit?

Friday 10.10AM Engineer turns up, get a phone call off my mum (as me and the Mrs are at work) spoke to the bloke, confirmed there is loads of noise on the line and he'll sort it if he can, if not he'll book an appointment with Openreach at our convenience.

Friday 11AM Mrs rings to tell me they've sent her a message saying it's all sorted, master (only) socket replaced, monitor it for a few days and let them know if there's an issue.

Sat at home now and all seems hunky dory so hats off to sky for getting it sorted and not trying to fob us off with bullshit excuses.

Thanks again for the help, much appreciated Thumbs Up
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owl
World Chat Champion



Joined: 21 Oct 2016
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PostPosted: 02:42 - 16 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

had sky broadband for number of years and couldn’t fault the service, clowns on customer service are script monkeys, but fortunately didn’t have to deal with the. Only thing that made us move was the cost, but if you’re on a decent deal should be fine for at least 18months
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