If your internet connection dies at precisely the same time every day, you’re not alone. Thousands of UK households experience this maddening pattern where broadband works perfectly fine—until it doesn’t. At 9:30 AM or midnight or 3 PM like clockwork, everything goes dark for anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes.
The predictability makes it even more frustrating. You can set your watch by these dropouts, yet your provider’s standard troubleshooting never seems to identify the cause.
This guide explains exactly why scheduled disconnections happen and what you can actually do to fix them.
The WAN Lease Renewal Problem (Most Common Cause)
The single most common reason for daily dropouts at fixed times relates to your WAN (Wide Area Network) DHCP lease renewal.
Your router doesn’t own its IP address permanently. Instead, your ISP’s network assigns it temporarily through something called DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). This lease typically lasts 24 hours exactly.
When that 24-hour window expires, your router must renew the lease. Most routers handle this seamlessly without dropping your connection. But some router models—particularly older BT Home Hubs, certain Virgin Media SuperHubs, and budget ISP-supplied routers—disconnect completely during renewal.
How to check if this is your problem:
– Log into your router admin panel (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1)
– Navigate to WAN settings or Status page
– Look for “DHCP Lease Time” or “WAN Lease Duration”
– Note the time shown
If the lease time is 24 hours (86400 seconds) and your disconnection happens exactly 24 hours after your last router reboot, you’ve found your culprit.
The fix:
Network Congestion at Peak Times
If dropouts occur during specific hours—commonly between 6-10 PM or during lunch hours—you’re likely experiencing network congestion rather than a technical fault.
ISPs build networks for average usage, not peak capacity. When everyone in your area streams Netflix simultaneously, the local infrastructure gets overwhelmed. Think of it like rush hour traffic on a motorway.
ADSL and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) connections suffer most from congestion because they use copper cables for the final connection. These have limited capacity shared among multiple households.
Signs you’re experiencing congestion:
– Slowdowns happen during predictable busy periods
– Speed tests show significant drops during these windows
– Connection rarely drops completely, just becomes unusable
– Weekends often worse than weekdays
The solution:
Unfortunately, there’s no DIY fix for ISP network congestion. Your options:
– Upgrade to full fibre (FTTP) which has dedicated capacity
– Switch to a different provider using alternative infrastructure
– Adjust your internet usage to off-peak hours
– Complain to your ISP—if enough customers report issues, they may upgrade the network
Scheduled Maintenance Windows
Many ISPs perform routine network maintenance during low-usage periods. While they’re supposed to notify customers, these emails often get ignored or missed entirely.
Virgin Media, BT, and Sky all schedule regular maintenance typically between midnight and 6 AM. These usually last 5-30 minutes.
How to verify:
– Check your ISP’s service status page
– Log into your account and review notifications
– Search Twitter for your ISP name + “maintenance”
– Check community forums for your provider
If maintenance causes your issues, you can’t prevent it—but at least you’ll know why it happens.
Electrical Interference on a Schedule
This sounds unlikely, but it’s surprisingly common. Scheduled electrical devices can interfere with your broadband signal, especially on ADSL connections using copper phone lines.
Common culprits:
– Central heating timers switching on/off
– Neighbour’s electric vehicle charging on a timer
– Industrial equipment at nearby businesses
– Street lighting circuits
– Economy 7 meters switching tariffs
Copper phone lines act like antennas picking up electrical noise. When high-power devices activate, they can temporarily disrupt your ADSL signal enough to drop the connection.
How to test:
The permanent fix:
Upgrade to full fibre (FTTP) which uses glass fibres immune to electrical interference.
Router Overheating and Scheduled Tasks
Cheap ISP-supplied routers often overheat, especially when tucked away in cabinets or covered with dust. Some models perform scheduled maintenance tasks—firmware checks, log cleanup, or traffic analysis—that coincide with overheating to cause crashes.
Warning signs:
– Router feels very hot to touch
– Dropouts more common during warm weather
– Position of router changed recently
– Router enclosed in cabinet or behind TV
Solutions:
– Ensure router has clear airflow on all sides
– Don’t stack other equipment on top
– Clean dust from ventilation holes
– Elevate router off carpet or soft surfaces
– Consider a cooling fan or repositioning
DNS Server Problems
Some ISPs use DNS servers that reset or rotate on fixed schedules. When your router loses contact with the DNS server, your internet appears “down” even though the connection technically works.
How to test:
When the dropout occurs, try accessing a website using its IP address instead of domain name:
– Open Command Prompt or Terminal
– Type: ping 8.8.8.8 (Google’s DNS)
– If this works but ping google.com doesn’t, you have a DNS issue
The fix:
Change to public DNS servers:
Automatic Firmware Updates
Modern routers often update firmware automatically during low-usage periods. Some ISPs schedule these updates fleet-wide, causing simultaneous disconnections across their network.
BT, Sky, and Virgin Media have all been caught pushing updates that temporarily disconnected thousands of customers.
How to check:
– Review router logs for “firmware update” or “system update” entries
– Check the date/time stamps against your dropout times
– Contact your ISP to ask about their update schedule
What you can do:
Most ISP-supplied routers don’t let you disable automatic updates. You can:
– Request ISP exclude your router from auto-updates
– Use your own router instead of ISP hardware
– Schedule important work outside update windows
Fixing the Problem: Action Plan
Step 1: Gather evidence
– Document exact times dropouts occur over 7 days
– Note duration of each outage
– Record what you were doing when it happened
– Check if it affects all devices or just one
Step 2: Check the basics
– Reboot router and note new dropout time 24 hours later
– Run speed tests before, during, and after outages
– Check all cable connections are secure
– Test with ethernet cable instead of WiFi
Step 3: Contact your ISP
With your evidence, contact support and:
– Provide specific dropout times and durations
– Mention you’ve tested with different devices
– Request line quality tests
– Ask about known issues in your area
Step 4: Consider upgrades
If your ISP can’t resolve the issue:
– Check if full fibre (FTTP) is available at your address
– Research alternative providers using different infrastructure
– Invest in a quality third-party router
– Consider 5G home broadband as backup
When to Escalate
If standard support doesn’t resolve the issue after 30 days:
– Request escalation to technical team
– File formal complaint with your provider
– Contact Ofcom if ISP doesn’t address complaint within 8 weeks
– Consider Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme
Your rights:
– Compensation for service not meeting agreed standards
– Ability to exit contract without penalty if service remains faulty
– Refund or bill credit for periods without service
Prevention: Choosing Reliable Infrastructure
When selecting broadband in future, prioritise:
Full fibre (FTTP) eliminates most scheduled dropout causes:
– No copper interference
– Dedicated capacity reduces congestion
– More stable technology overall
– Symmetric upload/download speeds
Better routers handle scheduled tasks properly:
– Quality brands: ASUS, Netgear, TP-Link
– Look for dual-band support
– Ensure WAN lease renewal doesn’t drop connections
– Better heat management
Reliable ISPs based on Ofcom complaints data (Q1 2025):
– Zen Internet: 1 complaint per 100,000 customers
– EE: 3 complaints per 100,000
– Plusnet: 5 complaints per 100,000
Avoid ISPs with high complaint rates like TalkTalk (13 per 100,000).
Scheduled broadband dropouts usually stem from predictable technical causes rather than random failures. The clockwork nature of the problem actually makes it easier to diagnose and fix.
Start with the WAN lease renewal check—it solves about 60% of cases. If that’s not it, work systematically through the other causes. And remember, if your ISP can’t fix a persistent daily dropout, you have every right to switch providers without penalty charges.
