Virgin.net just dropped my connection AGAIN!

[Zak33]

No reason....merrily surfing away....been solid for days.

gone

Rang them and what's the response?

"It often happen at this time of day, as people get home and log on their broadband modems, the traffic kills the system"

So...is it BT or Virgin to blame?

Cos if it's BT there's no point changing ISP to Zen.

But if it's Virgin's fault...I will.

Right.....what's the truth?

[Splash]

Check your exchange capacity at www.samknows.com (it's under the VP Status section) - if it's green it's unlikely to be a problem at your exchange. Personally I have no issues with the problem you describe, but I'm with Plusnet. Granted my connection is a little slower of an evening, but not noticably so.

Personally though I'd be looking elsewhere purely on the basis of their answer - that's a sucky one, and doesn't show any form of customer service. They may as well be saying "We know there's a problem, deal with it"

[peterb]

One random disconnection isn't really much to worry about!! If it happens on a daily basis, or more frequently, then it may be a problem.

What is your exchange VP status? (www.samknows.com) If it is red or amber, the problem probably lies with BT, and will be corrected as part of BT's upgrade program. If it is green it is more likely to be a fault with Virgin or,( as I think they are a virtual ISP) whoever runs the service for them. If you do migrate to Zen, threy only have a one month contract, so you can change again if the problem persists.

[shiato storm]

i use virgin. no problems... maybe you're in a funny part of the country where everyone truns on the internet causing it to be sucked off certain servers.
look at it this way, stops all that canned meat...

[chinny]

I had loads of problems with Virgin a while ago - couldn't connect, getting disconnected etc so moved ISPs. Am with adsl4less and don't have any probs now.

[5aboy]

well, if you are losing sync (seems to be what you are describing) i agree its not a substantial issue unless it happens often!

if you are using a router you should be able to find the line stats (sync speed, SNR, attenuation, errors if available), and if you have a marginal line(~6dB SNR), consider changing the microfilter (adslnation microfilters are the best in the country) and if that doesnt work then changing the router (last resort, can become quite expensive).

if you do as peterb mentions and realise how far you are from your exchange, couple this with your connection speed, you may be able to realise that you are very far from exchange and have marginal line. if this is the case then you need to think a little more carefully before ringing virgin.

also, virgin dont seem to be a proper adsl company (nildram, easynet, metronet, bulldog, plusnet - see adslguide.org.uk) who have loads of users and know what they are talking about. we all lose at lease 1-2db on SNR at night when more people are using it - its just how it works.

hope ive helped.