Since I moved flat, I have been having a problem with my internet connection dropping and the router going through a restart. Someone suggested it could be due to electrical interference from something in the flat, but I have no idea what that could be, or even if that is feasible. I don’t have any electrical stuff near the router, no power lines etc.

Does this make sense? Any idea how to locate the source, if there is one? Thanks for any advice – this is really annoying!!

First off do you have a filter on the phone line?

Second are you sure the power in the flat is okay? Any problems with set top boxes etc? Have you tried a different socket?

Also disconnect any power hungry appliances like the fridge/freezer as when the motor kicks in they can cause problems.

Could be. Connection dropping is more likely to be a crap phone line or indeed internal phone wiring that runs close to power lines.

Can you log into your router and view and line stats? There is usually a bit that tells you about “Line Attenuation” and Signal-to-Noise” or “Noise Margin”.

Do your neighbours have powerline adapters for their network? Can play hell with ADSL.

Move router and plug into test socket behind BT master socket faceplate.

some routers can also have wifi affected by video sender receivers as they seem to work on a similar wave length, might be in your flat or a neighbours

phenomenon called “REIN” leccy motors, security lights and others are all knows causes. (BT actually have rein engineers but they are few and far between.

lots of detail HERE

some routers can also have wifi affected by video sender receivers as they seem to work on a similar wave length, might be in your flat or a neighbours

Any domestic radio transmission will be in a similar wavelength (cordless phone, TV sender, Bluetooth, baby monitor, wireless doorbell etc) cos that is the “derestricted” bit,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_interference_at_2.4_GHz

But that shouldn’t cause the internet connection to drop, only the wifi (assuming the OP knows the difference?), and it shouldn’t cause the router to reboot.

Thanks for the info 🙂 The connection drops even when I am using a wired connection, so it’s not just the wireless. The internet company are sending a tech round next week so hopefully he will be able to find out if this is in fact the problem – if it turns out to be neighbours then I guess I’m a bit stuffed 🙁 Do different routers have different sensitivity? Would putting it in a different room help?

Groan – bit crap to not have a stable internet connection in the 21st century.

Your adsl filter may be pants, or if you have one of the new filtered faceplates the connection onto it maybe pap.
Is the router connected via a cheap cable? A website called adslnation (amongst others) sell high quality shielded RJ11 cables – the type that goes between filter and router which could help.
Using one helped me get an extra Meg on my broadband, I also use one of their higher spec. master socket faceplates.

Try putting the router next to the master socket and testing there, as mentioned above.

FWIW, my internet sometimes drops out when our landline phone is used. We’ve changed phones but it hasn’t helped, so I suspect a sketchy line connection somewhere.

FWIW, my internet sometimes drops out when our landline phone is used

Have you got filters on ALL your sockets (not just the one that the ADSL is plugged into)?

Do you have many telephone sockets in the flat or just the one?

Can you see the phone line comming into your flat from a telegraph pole?

If say the phone line from the pole come in at your hallway window to the little BT box can you see how it is cabled from there to your main phone point?

check that you have plugged the right wall-wart power supplies into your router – they all look the same so check the voltage and current on the router and the PS.

Some good info on sockets, filters and wiring here:
http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/socket.htm

I removed the ring-wire from our internal wiring as suggested and it did improve our Noise Margin a bit.

FWIW, my internet sometimes drops out when our landline phone is used

Have you got filters on ALL your sockets (not just the one that the ADSL is plugged into)?
We only have 1 socket – the master socket, that’s where the phone’s plugged into, into the filtered faceplate.

It’s not a BT HH2 is it? They have a habit of dropping out after a limited life span.

the router going through a restart

Is the whole router rebooting, or just the connection restarting?

What Cougar said.

If the router is rebooting itself, I would be very surprised if had anything to do with the phone line.

If this is the case, try a different power socket to see if this cures it. If not, most probably the router and/or PSU for the router (presuming it is an external one) which is goosed.

RM.