More internet/Freebox problems

[Gyn_Paul]

I know most of you out there are Orange/Livebox folks, and of the few Freebox people I don't suppose you will have had this problem, but here goes anyway...

Subscriber to Free for some 10 years now. Box changed after storm damage a couple of years ago.

We are on the end of 6kms of copper so half a meg is the best we can hope for. Nevertheless it does work - albeit slowly. The box feeds this pc in the kitchen by wifi, and 2 others and a radio or two via a cat5 cable network.

Now, at last, our long-awaited fibre-optique reached the village a couple of fridays ago and into my inbox pinged a 'welcome to your new Free high-speed ADSL' email. We are still on the end of a piece of copper, but hardly more than a km now.

And of course 5 minutes later the internet went off and stayed that way for the weekend and the bank hol. After a lot of messing about and soft/hard re-booting (in case the new - but still copper - connection somehow needed a software update), I lost patience and dragged the box downstairs and connected it directly to the incoming black dropwire. No better running solo, so added the master filter (which then feeds all the phones) back in circuit and went to bed.

No better in the morning so rang FT and (after all the usual line testing business) booked a service call for 2 days hence.

The following morning it worked! and stayed connected right up to 10 minutes after I cancelled the service call the following day!

Now, after a little more investigation, it seems the box will work (although it does seem to take a God's age to synchronize, stop scrolling and show the clock) back upstairs in its proper place, but only on wifi. If you plug a network cable in the back (either directly to a laptop or PC, or to the network distribution box) it crashes within the following 2 minutes. 

Why should a faster signal be more fragile? What could the change have done to the box?

I know if I go back to FT they will just say, "well your line is working: you have both phone and ADSL... what more do you want?"

Thoughts please anyone.

And before you ask, I've upgraded the 12v power supply to the box (the supplied one does seem to run rather hot) and I've taken the capacitor out of the FT junction box.

paul

[Chancer]

You have done all the things that I have needed to do occasionally over the years, what Freebox do you have?

 

I have 3 or 4 ethernet cables connecting into mine, one to the guest router, one to my PC (I get the weakest Wi-Fi signal) one to a Wi-Fi transmitter in my dwelling which the phone and tablette connect to but I find the PC is still more stable using the ethernet connection and one to a internet radio which at the moment refuses to connect either by ethernet or Wi-Fi.

 

On mine there is an additional ethernet socket for the Freebox HD (television) I no longer have the service so dont use it, could you be plugging into that by mistake?

 

Re the power supplies, I ran on a car battery while waiting for a new one and also bought a spare for the future, they were dirt cheap and came quickly from Free, if you are using a generic one or have any doubts then powering it from a car battery will remove any doubts as to voltage smoothing, transients etc.

 

good luck, I reckon its something to do with the box that converts the fibre over to the old copper, maybe in remaking the terminations yours is barely making contact. Sorry cat recall the terminology, I should be getting fibre optic to my building very soon.

 

Editted, the addition or removal of the ADSL filter will not connect or disconnect the other phone wiring, I would remove the filter also disconnect the capacitor in the master socket and physically disconnect the wiring to the other dead legs, plugging the Freebox cable directly into a correctly wired late type conforming master socket (I forget the correct name) will in doing so disconnect all the wiring to phone extension points if it has been correctly connected but I would not assume anything.

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="Chancer"]

You have done all the things that I have needed to do occasionally over the years, what Freebox do you have?

The one the free website call 'crystal' - white plastic with a '1' on the LH front. unlike the previous one this is ADSL only: not scarts or HDMIs or anything else to confure one. Not had a problem with it until now.

I have 3 or 4 ethernet cables connecting into mine, one to the guest router, one to my PC (I get the weakest Wi-Fi signal) one to a Wi-Fi transmitter in my dwelling which the phone and tablette connect to but I find the PC is still more stable using the ethernet connection and one to a internet radio which at the moment refuses to connect either by ethernet or Wi-Fi.

 On mine there is an additional ethernet socket for the Freebox HD (television) I no longer have the service so dont use it, could you be plugging into that by mistake?

see above

 Re the power supplies, I ran on a car battery while waiting for a new one and also bought a spare for the future, they were dirt cheap and came quickly from Free, if you are using a generic one or have any doubts then powering it from a car battery will remove any doubts as to voltage smoothing, transients etc.

 I use good-quality German ones at least 500mA higher rating, but - you're right - nothing but a 12v mattery will really exclude the possibilty that it's suffering from transients etc. I'll give that a go.

good luck, I reckon its something to do with the box that converts the fibre over to the old copper, maybe in remaking the terminations yours is barely making contact. Sorry cat recall the terminology, I should be getting fibre optic to my building very soon.

 

Editted, the addition or removal of the ADSL filter will not connect or disconnect the other phone wiring, I would remove the filter also disconnect the capacitor in the master socket and physically disconnect the wiring to the other dead legs, plugging the Freebox cable directly into a correctly wired late type conforming master socket (I forget the correct name) will in doing so disconnect all the wiring to phone extension points if it has been correctly connected but I would not assume anything.

In effect I' did that.  Perhaps I didn't make it clear earlier. When I brought the box down from the studio, I undid the junction box where the FT black pair (what we in OB's who had dealing with BT engineers call 'drop wire') comes in to the house, disconnected it from the junction box and connected it directly to the freebox on a short trailer lead - no filters, no caps - using literally none of the house wiring, and the bugger STILL didn't work !

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