VODAFONE fibre broadband E480 drops frequently and intermittently,

mckaysoftware

My VODAFONE fibre broadband E480 drops frequently and intermittently, it is not possible to determine a pattern to it. I am paying €44.29 per month for this failing service, plus €20 per month for a mobile broadband backup, which I am using far too much.


I was talkiing to a customer service rep on the phone, that phone call cost me €10 and went along the lines of "ME: my broadband is not working, REP: oh yes it is".


Later I was chatting on facebook with a rep, who was very pleasant but unable to provide any insight or help in any way.


I had Vodafone broadband over the phone line before this and there was never a problem. The only change was moving to fibre b/band.


I am locked into a contract until September at the earliest, and Vodafone have more financial and legal resources I have to defend their unreliable fibre broadband in the courts than I have to fight them.


Is there any way I can get this resolved or have I another caes of "Tough luck, you signed our one-sided contract, pay us your money and F off.


Regards,
John McKay

BuzzG

John, Was the service working without problems when installed ? Could you elaborate further on the behaviour you're observing ? Is it loss of wifi or drop in speed or slow loading of web pages ?

mckaysoftware

The service worked successfully at the start. For the last month or three it has been dropping on an increasing number of days during the week, this week it was down for three days, including today. Today it is down all day. The symptom is a loss of wifi. I have not noticed a drop in speed or slow loading.
I am seeing three different conditions when it is not working. Either it dos not appear in the Network & Internet Settings pop-up panel, or "Secured", or a phrase along the lines of "Cannot find".

I am on an ACER V5-573 laptop, running Windows 10 version 1903

mckaysoftware

Now for the second time, I have been chatting on FB with someone from Vodafone - theie €44.29 pm b/band came back on again, as it sometimes does, they claimed credit for fixing it and disappeared. IT IS NOT FIXED.

CALLING VODAFONE (and when you do call them you pay loadsamoney for the waiting waiting waiting in a queue) - FIX MY €44.29pm BROADBAND !!!!!

Lewis_Benson

Hold on a second here,
Is it an issue with your broadband (internet),
Or just that the wifi is dropping (local network/router)?

Those are 2 completely different types of problem.

Di you have an ethernet cable you can connect to the Vodafone router with to test this?

It could be.simply wifi interference which is not something Vodafone or any ISP can help with.

mckaysoftware

2 different types of problem, maybe, but they both stem from a common source - the vodafone e480 fibre b/band. The previous b/band from vodafone worked perfectly, the mobile b/band works perfectly (within its limits), so interference is unlikely, unless the fibre is weaker or more sensitive.

And no, I do not have any test equipment.

Lewis_Benson

"2 different types of problem, maybe, but they both stem from a common source "


They dont actually.
It sounds to me like wifi Interference.


"the vodafone e480 fibre b/band."
Is e489 the model of the hardware they have provided?
Sorry I'm not familiar with what Vodafone supply.


"The previous b/band from vodafone worked perfectly, "

This isnt really relevant as that was different technology.


"the mobile b/band works perfectly (within its limits), so interference is unlikely, unless the fibre is weaker or more sensitive."

This is completely irrelevant here, mobile connectivity and fiber to your home have nothing whatsoever to do with each other.




"And no, I do not have any test equipment."

Ok, it will be difficult to troubleshoot.


Can you advise, when you experience connectivity problems,
Does it occur with all devices?
Does the wireless network show up as a network to connect to?
Can you see any activity at the router, does it look like its rebooting or anything?

mckaysoftware

Vodafone -E480 is the brand name they have for this particular product, their fibre broadband.

Lights are stable, I have done a reset with a pin, and turned if off/on again twice.

And I agree, there is interference form somewhere. For example it is ion now, but was off for all of yesterday. It is completely unpredictable whether if is on or off.

lawred2

If the connection drops to the modem them you will usually see a wan connection led (light) flashing orange or red..

Does that happen when your internet is down?

Lewis_Benson

mckaysoftware wrote: »

Vodafone -E480 is the brand name they have for this particular product, their fibre broadband.

Lights are stable, I have done a reset with a pin, and turned if off/on again twice.

And I agree, there is interference form somewhere. For example it is ion now, but was off for all of yesterday. It is completely unpredictable whether if is on or off.

When its "off"

Can you try opening a command prompt on your laptop or pc and tryp in the command below.


Ping 8.8.8.8 -n 50

It will send 50 pings to the Google DNS servers and will determine if there is internet connectivity.

Paste the results here once it completes.

Lewis_Benson

Have you had any issues since?

Did you get a chance to run the above command ?

mckaysoftware

I was getting different results when i did it over about half an hour. B/band worked successfully since then until yesterday morning, down today as well.

Lewis_Benson

mckaysoftware wrote: »

I was getting different results when i did it over about half an hour. B/band worked successfully since then until yesterday morning, down today as well.

Can you try it now while its down and post the results.

mckaysoftware

I use https://broadbandspeedtest.ie/ - and I got "server not found" Am back on the mobile wifi.

Lewis_Benson

Ok,
Unfortunately that doesnt tell us if your issue is related to the internet or your router.
Can you connect to your broadband wifi again and try a ping to 8.8.8.8

Open a command prompt, type ping 8.8.8.8, and press enter.

Let us know the results here.

mckaysoftware

Latest saga in this vodafone incompetence... they sad I had the wrong cable between the siro box and the modem, so i got the
one they suggested, CAT6 ... NO RESULT. I turned the modem on and off, no result, I reset the modem, now password is gone. HOW DO I FIX THIS !!!

mckaysoftware

The ping will tell nothing relevant !!! Who do I have to talk to to get someone out to FIX this disaster ?

Anyway, since time-wasting and delay tactics are important to you, here are the ping results ...
Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
PING: transmit failed. General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

lawred2

You won't get many to help you with that attitude really

mckaysoftware

That attitude comes from Vodafone's unwillingness / determination not to help me !!!

Compare their attitude to the customer service from Virgin Media recently, the conversation went along the lines of...
ME: My tv has no signal
VIRGIN CS REP: Did you check the cables at the back of the set, sir?
ME: Yes
VIRGIN CS REP: Ok, sir we will send a technician out to you

(a short while later)

VIRGIN CS REP: Our apologies, sir, we will not be sending a technician out to you. the fault was at our side. It is rectified now. Your tv should be working now

lawred2

You have virgin tv? Why not get internet from virgin then?

mckaysoftware

I probably will, when this Vodafone contract runs out.

mckaysoftware

I just did a cold start on the lap, the b/b is working, and the ping shows ...

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> ping 8.8.8.8

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=53
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=53
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=53
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=53

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 6ms, Maximum = 9ms, Average = 7ms

mckaysoftware

broadbandspeedtest.ie shows ping = 8, jitter = 25, diownload = 12.0 mbps, upload = 739 mbps

mckaysoftware

upload = 7.9 mbps

mckaysoftware

b/b e480 gone again

mckaysoftware

PROBLEM SOLVED - no thanks to Vodafone however.

The location of the modem was the cause. It was placed on the floor in a downstairs bedroom in a corner against an outside wall and between a bed and a partition wall.

I have three issues with Vodafone now.
1) The action of the installing technician or his training as to where to place these modems.
2) The inability or unwllingness of the various customer service / support people I was in contact with to diagnose this as being the reason for the failing signal.
3) The shocking and frustrating determination of Vodafone to NOT send any one out to investigate this on the ground for themselves.

lawred2

huh? did you never do a speedtest in the same room as the modem?

either close proximity for wireless or even better direct connect to the modem?

it's like the first bit of advice given when investigating broadband issues at home... rule out poorly performing wireless issues by carrying out a speed test physically connected to the modem...

mckaysoftware

Q1 .. no I did not, I expected the installing technician to install the modem to give good all round reception. That is why he was installing it after all !

Q2 ... if "it's like the first bit of advice given when investigating broadband issues at home", why didn't one of the many Vodafone people I was in contact with suggest it?

lawred2

I don't know why they didn't but it was one of the first few suggestions on this thread

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=113391816&postcount=5

mckaysoftware

I am closing this thread now, I have the issue resolved satisfactorily.

Lewis_Benson

So the issue was not with your broadband.
It was wireless coverage around your house.

This isnt a Vodafone issue, they provide connectivity from the internet to your router, what happens after that is not their remit, unless the device is faulty, in this case it was not.

I asked you earlier in the thread of this was a wireless problem.


Btw, you have a woeful attitude.