Broadband signal interrupting - any advice?

I have 5mb broadband and the signal keeps "interrupting" (that is, dropping out, then coming back).

The providers have sent their guys out, and they are very nice and I have great confidence in them but whatever they do doesn't seem to help.

They switched around the broadband/TV leads to boost the signal to the broadband, but that hasn't helped (it is stronger, even a bit faster, but still cutting in and out).

They want to drop a new broadband cable and drill a hole in my front wall to put it in. I don't want any holes drilled in my wall. I had the house completely rewired 2 years ago so old cabling is not the problem. Also, they say a new cable will boost the strength of the broadband, but the recent boost they gave it didn't make any difference, and I think a new cable will be fixing the wrong problem, and I'll end up with a hole in my wall for nothing.

Oh, and apparently nobody else in the area has the same problem, so it's not the main cable.

This problem seems to be unusual enough (at least the repair guys don't seem to have encountered it before). Has anybody here come across anything similar, and if so how did you fix it?

Why don't you get the cable guy to prove that there is no problem on the main cable by plugging in the router outside at the connector- If it's working well then it could be that when you were getting the house rewired the cable got damaged.

If it's still dropping - then it is a network problem out side of your house.

By the by they should be able to feed a cable in through your facia and soffit and drop it down the wall somewhere or leave the wireless router in your attic.. if they find it's the cable running through your house

Thanks for the reply. I think they have checked the main cable, and also nobody else in the area has reported a problem.

They have said they can attach a broadband-only cable to the main cable, run it down the front wall beside the drainpipe (so it will be near invisible) and then drill a hole in my wall and put the modem in my parlour instead of it's current convenient (and camouflagable) placement in the kitchen at the back of the house.

The tv/internet was actually put in after the rewiring, so that can't have damaged the cable.

I'm now wondering if some bad winds or something (I know we had some because my neighbour's palm tree got trashed) could have damaged the connection between my cable and the main cable, and that's why the connection is cutting in and out (like a loose wire in a plug). Does that sound in any way plausible?

You could ask them to run a new cable from the connector outside in through a window and hook it up to your router to see if that solves the problem. If it does, then you know you need to replace the existing cable, if not, then the problem lies elsewhere and no need to go drilling new holes in your wall.
Leo

Leo said:

You could ask them to run a new cable from the connector outside in through a window and hook it up to your router to see if that solves the problem. If it does, then you know you need to replace the existing cable, if not, then the problem lies elsewhere and no need to go drilling new holes in your wall.
Leo

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Thanks Leo, I'll say it to them and see if it sheds any (uninterrupted) light on the problem

Who's your provider, dubgem, as a matter of interest? I'm having a similar problem but they're not too quick to send someone out to check it; I must lean on them a little...

I am having the same problem too... I am with Eircom.

They sent me a new wireless router a few weeks ago but the problem is still ongoing.

Hi, I had a similar problem before, turned out it was a wireless tv sender we had kept cutting across the signal, I went into the router settings and changed the channel and it worked fine ever since, baby monitors are known for doing it, it could even be next door that could be causing the problem, I'm with eircom

That very well could be my problem. I am next door to an electrical shop(TVS etc..).

Is it a big job to change the channel?

I also have desperate Vodafone coverage on my mobile too even though I am in a main shopping area.

@DrMoriarty - I'm with UPC, and actually they were great about sending somebody out (repeatedly, as it has turned out).

@Sansan - They have already changed the channel, and I changed it to a third one myself, but it hasn't helped

I spoke to another technician and he said that they can monitor the flow through the cable into the modem, and through the cable out of the modem (I may be paraphrasing here!) but they coudn't measure the wireless signal coming out of the modem. He suggested I get the modem itself changed, in case that would help. @Armada, is the wireless router the same as the modem?

Thanks all - I will keep you informed of my progress!

Just an update - result!

They replaced my all-in-one modem with a modem and seperate wireless router, of a different brand. It seems to have done the job, so I'm very happy. If anybody else has the same problem see if they will do this for you, it worked for me.

Great — thanks for the update, dubgem.