my bt voyager 210 adsl router keeps on disconnecting

[curtis]

Hello i wonder if any 1 of u could help me. I have a new modem bt voyager 210 adsl router and when im on the internet or downloading music or playing my ps2 online the modem seems 2 lose its connection for 10 seconds then reconnects but by the time it reconnects i have 2 start the download again or start the game again. The thing is it doesnt do it all the time. Im just wondering if it could be some think 2 do with my phone line socket or my pc.

[Zer02004]

Test by removing the lower faceplate from the BT master socket (Assuming NTE-5) and plug the router directly into the previously hidden test socket.

Aaargh. I have the same problem! I am connected at the moment, but after about 10 minutes the connection will be lost. I have been talking to BT for over 1 month now (ISP) and at first they detected a line fault then the wholesale (local) engineer came round with his equipment and decided it was the router. I am awaiting a new one from BT but am considering switching to a different ADSL router.

Same thing has just happened to me. Got Know where with Bt. My router was getting hot. If i switched it off for for a while to let it cool down it would work for a while then crash after about 15 mins. I have now put a fan near it and it works fine.

Same problem, only I'm with Madasafish. They suggested the micro filter, but the modem power light goes red and I can't even connect to the modem - it seems to completely reset.

It seems that there is a direct link to the router getting hot, if it is allowed to cool down by switching it off you can connect again for a period of time until it heats up again. I think I will have to look for another make. Anyone with any ideas for an alternative please.

[foxcote]

My problems started around the beginning of April, just six weeks after the expiration of my Router's warranty period. Since then, I, too, have spent hours talking to the BT Broadband Helpdesk and the BT Broadband Line Testers. I was also given some ridiculous story about the BT engineers taking over my line from time to time so that they could test its suitability for a service upgrade, thus causing an intermittent line break. I finally managed to convince BT that the problem lay with my Router overheating. Of course, they wouldn't offer me a free replacement. Having seen that I'm not alone in suffering from a device with a life of 13 months, I feel only slightly better.

Mine has also started doing the same after 14 months. A nice chap in India currently has me faffing about with the stuff at my end, moving filters etc.. I think you've now solved it, as my router always runs hot enough to make a cup of tea. Maybe a fan under it will sort it out.

[foxcote]

I finally had to throw in the towel. I couldn't instal a fan, nor did I want to. So I replaced the 210 with a 220 at a cost of £25. This time, I'll keep a very close eye on its performance. So far, the only effect I've noticed is that my machine now takes for ever to open an Excel or Word document, but that's another story!

Good and bad reading the posts on this forum. Good that I now don't feel like such an IT idiot and realise it actually is the router, but bad because I don't want to have to position a fan or replace the router. Better to know though...

I have had the same problem and have had two 210 routers faulty. Back to a Voyager 105 for the time being. Have been given the run around with BT for months and months. Engineers visiting, Indian call centre nonsense, order for new router took 50 minutes between Ireland, UK and India. Can you hear the screams?

Can anyone recommend alternative make to Voyager 210? As with so many other it seems, mine gets hot and just packs up.

[foxcote]

See my earlier post. I threw out my 210 and replaced it with a 220, at a cost of £25. So far, so good. Oh, and I solved the (unrelated) slow opening Word/Excel problem.

Having exactly the same problem. After about 5 to 10 minutes of being on the internet it just seems to disconnect. Have had this problem for about 2 months now and am fed up with speaking to Indian call centres. After reading the comments on this site decided to check my router and it was extremely hot. Hopefully looks like I may have finally isolated the problem. Strange thing is I know very little about computers but suspected it was the router all along, something that the so called experts did not pick up on. I think BT have alot to learn about customer service.

[jamesmcnicholas]

Thank God for this thread.

Just to confirm, was the problem you were having as follows:

Router seems to work perfectly, then after somewhere between five and fifteen minutes it disconnects. Sometimes it will reconnect automatically shortly afterwards, sometimes you have to reboot it etc.

That a familiar tale?

I've had a line test done and it's all fine. The problem appears to the router. Here's hoping.

[jamesmcnicholas]

Same problem here.

What would you folks recommend as an upgrade from Voyager 210? Do I have to get a BT router?

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

It seems that there is a direct link to the router getting hot, if it is allowed to cool down by switching it off you can connect again for a period of time until it heats up again. I think I will have to look for another make. Anyone with any ideas for an alternative please.

Originally Posted by 4212XD77

Same here.I used to leave it on overnight but now switch it off with the computer when we turn in for the night. It has helped. BT so far have ignored my requests for a replacement.

[jamesmcnicholas]

Mine heats up within about half an hour, which is a real pain.

If anyone has a recommended router as an alternative, do let me know.

I too am having problems with my voyager 210 adsl router.Like others my router seems to lose its coonection, after 5 to 10 minutes. It gets very hot and only works when left to cool .Is it just a coincidense that the router has just come out of warranty? Having spent hours on the phone to India, i have come to the conclusion that i need to buy another router.Can any one recommend an alternative to use with bt broad band? Thanks

my problem was pretty similar and having read your forum i bought a new 210 router. alas, i found i couldnt install it and thus it didnt solve the problem. however, having taken my computer (an HP Pavilion) to the excellent 'solar computers' shop in northampton, they informed me i was riddled with spyware and viruses which was causing the problem. they cleaned things up for me, removed the symantec protection, replaced it with panda protection and i brought the computer home. the problem persisted - aaaagh. following a call to solar however, i found that i was able to install the new 210 router and everything is fine now. Im no computer expert but my problem seems to have been caused by the two factors of spyware/virus plus a dodgy 210 router.

Read with interest the history todate on what is obviously a very common problem with the voyager 210. My question is and I know it has been already asked -

Has anyone found a router that is not a voyager that will do the job successfully ????

Hey guys, I have been trying to set up BT Option 1 Broadband with Voyager 210 router for my parents for over 2 weeks.

The Indian Helpdesk range between slightly helpful and completely useless and I have been transferred everywhere within BT but always sent back to India! Last night I was actually asked by India not to call them again?!

The router's power light was red from first install and eventually they agreed it was faulty - if anyone knows how to get a replacement (it is now nearly 1 1/2 weeks) please let me know - I have been told varying stories of low stock, it'll be there in 2 days etc. and am now very close to cancelling order and going to another isp.

Aghhh

Same here. Really crap! But hey, prop it up vertically as opposed to a horizontal lie and all ok! No fans required.

[grumpy old man]

The real reason for this problem seems to be dodgy capacitors within the 210. Briefly, I have had all the same issues identified by others: intermittent line down problems after a year or so, too late for warranty, endless fruitless calls to India, two BT engineer visits, but no progress. Then I was made aware of dodgy capacitors unleashed in millions onto the market a few years ago. See www.badcaps.net for full story and pictures of the symptoms to look for in your 210. Two 220 uF capacitors in mine show the tell-tale swelling of the cap. If you decide to get into the 210, you need to remove the rubber feet, to remove small cross-head screws, and then prise off the top. At present, my 210 now runs ok with the top off, allowing the heat to escape, but I plan to replace the dodgy caps. My advice re the ‘badcaps’ affair comes from a North American relative where I am told that Dell also had problems with these capacitors in their motherboards, prompting them to issue a recall. Nobody at BTBroadband that I spoke to ever mentioned this problem, but surely they must be aware of it. I would like to think that there is a clear case for BT to recall and replace these dodgy 210 routers, whether the warranty is still valid or not, since the goods were arguably of faulty construction.

Just found this forum - glad (and of course sorry) that others are having problems with the 210. Mine has just started to develop the same symtoms detailed here.
BT drones are no help - just issued their standard advice e-mail from India about electo-magnetic interference, dimmer switches, halogen lights, someone using a TV within 20 mile radius etc. etc.

Overheating 210 is clearly the problem yet BT do nothing to help. Don't they ever read forums like this?

BT - What is the point?


JF

Same here. What I find pretty disgusting is that this is clearly a common problem with identical symptoms yet the Indian 'support' service is either unaware of it or in denial.

I had to suggest the router was the problem before they acknowledged it.

Like everyone else I experienced useless email advice, broken promises about return calls and a totally inaccessible telephone number.

Eventually I just went down to PC World, bought a new router and plugged it in. That fixed things immediately.

I'm just waiting now for one of those 'How did we do ?' surveys.

[Frantic]

Hello all - newbie (and pc duffer) here.

Just to resurrect this thread - having suffered the same problems myself over the past couple of weeks - and glad to find it's 'not me' - I have been in touch with BT Broadband by email and thought you might be interested, and slightly amused, to read their latest reply.

After the usual politeness of the opening 'speech' they say :-

"The router will get hot only if you are using it for more time or keeping it switch on more hours hence be ensure that it has not been used for more time. Also if the issue persists, provide us the convenient date and time with 24 hour time frame to arrange call-back with one of our advisors."

I am currently keeping everything crossed! After reading these threads, I have changed the filters, stood the router on it's end, and disabled Comodo firewall - at least temporarily - as I read on another forum that that was another possible cause. So far, this is the longest I have been able to stay on line, so we'll see.!!

[foxcote]

Further to Grumpy Old Man's post (for which, many thanks), I dismantled my 210 and observed that the two tallest capacitors (marked G-LUXON 1000uF25V, SM105*C and 509H(M)) seem to be normal. The two slightly smaller caps (marked TEAPO, 220uF10V) also seem to be normal. But the pair of short, dumpy caps both show swelling at the top, and are standing clear of the baseboard. One shows sign of leakage on its top. Could these be the culprits?

[JohnnyReb51]

Hiya.

If a capacitor is swelling and/or leaking a clear sticky substance, then it is probably going to fail shortly and also cause problems. The leaking can also leave a Rust like stain on the metal parts, this is the electrolyte eating at the metal. Wash your hands thoroughly if you have touched the substance, it may cause you harm if ingested and/or contacted your skin.

I have a spare PC that has a Socket A Jetway motherboard in it, with the same multiple Capacitor problem in the Power socket area, this has now got to be replaced.

[Frantic]

Thanks for that, Johnny Reb.

To add to my last post - after reading BT's reply - I again emailed them to ask if they were suggesting I should turn my router off. This is their reply:

I understand from your e-mail that you like to know whether to turn off the router when you turn off my computer. I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

You should turn on the router only when you need access to or you have work with the Internet. It would be recommended to turn off the router when not required. I trust that this now resolves the matter satisfactorily, but should you have any further queries, please contact us with the above mentioned reference number.

Thank you for using BT Total Broadband.:

shrug: