Internet (WIFI/LAN) connection randomly dropping

[chriz123]

Hi,

My internet has been randomly dropping out for at least a month or so now. Before that it was fine for over a year so It cannot be my setup.

I am using the Virgin Hub 3 in Modem mode and using my own netgear router for wifi.

I think it started happening around the time Virgin notified me they would be merging 5ghz and 2.4ghz bands together??

Here is a chart I setup last night when I kept getting kicked off my session on my PS5 which is connected directly to my router... (ignore the red block) but you can see I have had spikes of packet loss randomly (annoyingly it happened when I woke up and had a work meeting!!)

Here is my network log, you can see when it times out: (I have redacted my MAC addr)

02/09/2021 09:40:0	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:39:39	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:38:6	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:37:38	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:25:10	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:24:46	critical	No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:24:12	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:23:57	critical	No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:17:17	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:16:21	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:13:22	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 09:12:53	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 08:22:42	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 08:20:59	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 07:58:8	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 07:54:2	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=CMTS-MAC=CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 06:50:50	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 06:50:41	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 06:35:38	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
02/09/2021 06:35:4	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=;CMTS-MAC=0CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. This is super annoying, and this service is not cheap so I expect it to work 24/7. It was working fine up until maybe a month ago so I do not believe it is a fault on my part. I have not tried a "pin hole" reset, I would rather not have to reset the modem to defaults because I would then have to reset my router etc... and quite frankly I should not have too, if this has been working for over a year and then suddenly, it does not, it cannot be due to my configuration....

Thanks!

[chriz123]

Here is my downstream:

Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) SNR (dB) Modulation Channel ID

1	139000000	0.5	36	256 qam	1
2	147000000	0.5	38	256 qam	2
3	155000000	0.5	38	256 qam	3
4	163000000	0	38	256 qam	4
5	171000000	0	38	256 qam	5
6	179000000	-0.2	38	256 qam	6
7	187000000	-0.2	38	256 qam	7
8	195000000	-0.5	38	256 qam	8
9	203000000	-0.7	38	256 qam	9
10	211000000	-1	38	256 qam	10
11	219000000	-1.2	38	256 qam	11
12	227000000	-1.2	38	256 qam	12
13	235000000	-1.2	38	256 qam	13
14	243000000	-2	38	256 qam	14
15	251000000	-2.2	38	256 qam	15
16	259000000	-2	38	256 qam	16
17	267000000	-1.7	38	256 qam	17
18	275000000	-1.5	38	256 qam	18
19	283000000	-1.7	38	256 qam	19
20	291000000	-1.9	38	256 qam	20
21	299000000	-1.5	38	256 qam	21
22	307000000	-1.5	38	256 qam	22
23	315000000	-1.9	38	256 qam	23
24	323000000	-1.7	38	256 qam	24

Downstream bonded channels

Channel Locked Status RxMER (dB) Pre RS Errors Post RS Errors

1	Locked	36.8	1912856	1158366
2	Locked	38.6	903307	39926
3	Locked	38.9	1362450	574170
4	Locked	38.6	1919736	1133364
5	Locked	38.6	129195	8427
6	Locked	38.6	2075798	880863
7	Locked	38.6	1476171	515964
8	Locked	38.6	15077	36
9	Locked	38.6	1908	33
10	Locked	38.6	695	43
11	Locked	38.6	675	44
12	Locked	38.6	6707	33
13	Locked	38.9	8488	33
14	Locked	38.9	1175	103
15	Locked	38.6	1019	143
16	Locked	38.9	1712	161
17	Locked	38.9	44329	98
18	Locked	38.6	3588	122
19	Locked	38.6	725	105
20	Locked	38.9	1149	73
21	Locked	38.6	31318	1
22	Locked	38.9	6478	0
23	Locked	38.6	160	0
24	Locked	38.9	212	0

Here is my upstream:

Upstream bonded channels

Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) Symbol Rate (ksps) Modulation Channel ID

1	46200000	48.5	5120	64 qam	3
2	53700000	49.3	5120	64 qam	2
3	39400000	48	5120	64 qam	4
4	60300000	49.8	5120	64 qam	1

Upstream bonded channels

Channel Channel Type T1 Timeouts T2 Timeouts T3 Timeouts T4 Timeouts

1	ATDMA	0	0	0	0
2	ATDMA	0	0	2	0
3	ATDMA	0	0	0	0
4	ATDMA	0	0	1	0

[lotharmat]

Upstream power is borderline high - may cause problems

PostRS errors are horrendously high but with an acceptable SNR and RxMER

WHen was the hub last rebooted? - As you are in Modem mode - the merging of the wifi bands will not have affected you! (Should.... Should not have affected you)

Power off the hub at the wall and leave for 5 minutes - let's get the error count reset and see how quickly they build!

Also can you share the direct link to your BQM - that;ll help!

[lotharmat]

Ah the BQM image has been approved!

The drops are quite evident!

[chriz123]

Hey thanks for your reply!!! really appreciate it! I last rebooted it last night when I kept getting kicked off my play station party ... I unplugged it from the power and left for 5 minutes like you suggested, which seemed to help for an hour or so but then I got disconnected again.... and again this morning 😞

[lotharmat]

Woah - in that case - the PostRS errors are incredibly bad and indicate a serious noise ingress problem!

I'd say VM need to book a tech visit to investigate this!

2 options:

1. Wait here for forum staff to pick it up (could be a day or so)
2. Call it in as a fault on 150 (or 0345 454 1111 from a non VM phone) and mention the postRS errors that are less than 12 hours old!

(or do 2 while leaving 1 here as back up if the off-shore call centre are as horrendous as usual... 😉 )

[chriz123]

Thanks mate! I will do just that.... something definitely does not seem correct! And since I am fully working from home now I rely on a stable internet connection quite a bit! I will probably do both and wait for a reply here while trying to get in touch via phone!

[Gareth_L]

Hello chriz123

Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention on the forums 

I have been able to locate your hub from here 

It appears to be an issue with the downstream power levels 

It can be fixed bit we will need to arrange for a Technician to attend 

First though, I will need to send you a private message to pass security 
If you can check the purple envelope top right of your screen that would be great 
Regards     
Gareth_

[chriz123]

Thanks for your reply ! I have sent you a PM

[Gareth_L]

Hi chriz123

Thanks for those details 

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you 

I have booked the first engineer appointment we have available
You can check and reschedule this appointment through your online account if you need to
You can also cancel it if the fault has gone 
Can you please let me know how the visit goes 

Also I shall make sure your name is amended as well 
Gareth_L