New NBN 100 HFC connection - constant dropouts

[lunchbox99au]

Connected to NBN 100 via HFC last Tuesday. When working the performance is excellent but I keep getting random dropouts. Sometimes it will be a few minutes between dropouts, other times several hours with no problems.

During a dropout, all 4 modem lights are solid green (ie not off or flashing) but the router internet LED goes off and the following appears in the router logs.

1	2019-01-27 10:35:09	PPP	Error	ppp3
2	2019-01-27 10:35:09	PPP	Error	ppp3 Timeout waiting for PADO packets
3	2019-01-27 10:34:15	PPP	Error	ppp3
4	2019-01-27 10:34:11	PPP	Error	ppp3 LCP down

If I power cycle the modem, it connects to the internet again. I have tried a factory reset of the router, which unsurpisingly did not fix the issue.

TPG - can you please advise and/or escalate to engineering team. This is very frustrating.

EDIT: Standard house install, no pay TV splitter.

[lunchbox99au]

I reconnected both ends of the white coax cable (ie wall socket to modem) and it seems to be greatly improved. No dropout since I did this.... fingers crossed the installer just didn't screw it in properly.

EDIT: Nope, still drops out.

[lunchbox99au]

Dropping out every couple of minutes.

On hold on the TPG phone support number - booking a technician.

[Erika]

Hi @lunchbox99au, 

Welcome to the Community! 

I've located your account using your Community details and has seen the checks that you've done previously with our technician to isolate this issue. 

Our tests currently does not show any physical fault on the line outside and our Engineers has noted that there has been a huge improvement on the stability of your connection. 

Can you please monitor the connection and let us know if the issue persists? 

Cheers, 
 

[lunchbox99au]

So I spoke with TPG who assured me they would refer to NBN to investigate. I explained to them that the dropouts can occur every few minutes (usually several in quick sucession) or every few hours. In between the dropouts my performance is great.

I wake up this morning to an sms saying "your service now appears to be working normally". NO IT ISN'T. It's dropped out again. I already explained that it's random and of varying time between dropouts. Yesterday afternoon I had several dropouts in one hour.

There is a whirlpool thread of exactly the issue I'm having. https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2628728&p=14#bottom

Arris modem dropouts that are due to NBN cabling issues. I guess it's true I've only had one dropout today after I reconnected the white coax cable to the modem and wall socket.

[Erika]

I'm sorry to know that there remain some issues in getting a stable connection. 

I've now coordinated this with our Engineering team as a priority. 

They'll be contacting you on your mobile today for updates via SMS or phone call. 

Regards, 

[lunchbox99au]

Thanks Erika.

As I said above, the connection did not dropout all last night. yes I will monitor and let you/TPG know if it continues. I'm happy to leave it a couple of days and see if anything has improved.

[Riezl]

Thanks for letting us know, @lunchbox99au.

Our Engineering Team is monitoring the case and you will be contacted by the case engineer regarding its progression.

Let us know should you require further assistance. Thank you.

[lunchbox99au]

Just to update. NBN tech came out today. Testing my line from the pit to the wall socket. Replaced a tap in the pit. Tested the signal at the wall socket. All fine.

We did a couple of speed tests. Nearly max speed (92Mbps down, 33Mbps up). NBN tech left. Less than 5 mins after he left the connection dropped again.

Once again all 4 lights were solid green on the modem. Internet light out on the router. Rebooting the router doesn’t help, reboot the modem gets connection back. Same ppp error in the router log (PAD0 timeout).

TPG called - relayed all of this information and asked what to do now. They suggested monitoring the connection but I could need a new modem. See how it goes over a couple of days.

[Erika]

Hi @lunchbox99au, 

Thanks for looping us in. 

Based on the report from the NBN technician, they've replaced a faulty connector and this should fixed the issue. 

Currently, our line tests shows that your modem is connected to our servers for 3hrs and 8mins. 

Our Engineers are continuously monitoring this case and will contact you further should a replacement for the modem is needed. 

If you ever need additional help, please feel free to reach out.