If your router is unable to maintain a constant connection with the Broadband equipment in your local exchange you may suffer from intermittent disconnections.

This particular fault is often the result of either:

• Incorrect physical set up (wiring and filtering)
• A line fault (including high noise levels).
• Equipment failure (router/filter).
• Outside Interference.

The following is a list of items that have been found to interfere with broadband signals:

• Halogen lamps.
• Fluorescent lights.
• Scanners.
• 900 MHz cordless phones.
• Some Mobile Phones.
• AM or Home Built Radios.
• Dial Up Modem, Fax, or other non standard device on the telephone line.
• Microwave oven.
• Broadband modems connected to telephone extension cables.
• House security/Alarm system.
• The PC or peripheral devices (scanners, external drives etc.) if the modem is located on top of or directly beside these devices.
• Central heating thermostats.
• Christmas tree lights (yes really!)

With this particular issue it is important to note if you actually lose the broadband signal when the connection drops, the loss of the broadband signal is indicated by a flashing or completely absent DSL light on the router.

It’s also worth trying to see if there is any pattern to the connection dropping, such as occurring at a particular time of day, the frequency and the duration or anything that you are doing at the time (like sending a fax), as these may help identify the cause of the issues.

If you get intermittently disconnected but your DSL light remains solid then it's just the connection between your PC and the router that is dropping and not the broadband connection.

There are other checks and tests you can carry out.

Telephony

Test that your phone line is working OK by checking for a dial tone. If your phone does not have a dial tone this indicates a telephony problem which should be reported to BT directly on 151. Interference may be caused if you use cordless phones so make sure that the cordless' base unit is connected via a DSL filter also.

Check cabling

Check the connection sequence for your modem:
Your modem should connect to an DSL filter
This filter should connect directly to your phone socket ensuring there are no splitters on the telephone socket. More information on filter setup is available in the getting started section of the knowledge base.

Where possible you should always avoid using a phone extension cable to connect to your router. Most telephone extension leads are not capable of caring the higher and lower signals used by Broadband.

Note: It is important that all phone devices in your property are connected via filters. This includes equipment such as cordless phone base unit, satellite digibox, fax machine and some alarm systems.

Interference

To test for interference, first remove all other devices connected to the phone line in your property so that your router is the only device connected to the phone line via a DSL filter.

If this does not resolve the problem then switch the DSL filter in use with another filter to ensure the filter is not faulty.

If it still doesn't work connect the router to the main BT socket (The main BT socket is the point where the telephone line enters the building) to check if that works.