[1eyedjack]

Problems throughout the day, connecting both to BBO to play, and to the forums.

Is there a third party utility that I can run on my PC (Windows 8) that would diagnose where the problem lies, running simultaneously as I try to connect? I would expect it to be at some hop between my ISP and BBO server, about which I can probably do nothing except satisfy my curiosity.

I am pretty sure that there must be something out there. Where there is a desire, it will have been thought of before. A long time ago.

[ArtK78]

I have been having increasingly severe connection problems with BBO lately. Just now I was in an ACBL Robot game when everything froze. I got out and attempted to get back in. This usually solves the freezing problem. But I have had no success in getting back in, and this is going on 25 minutes.

What is worse is when I am playing an ACBL pair game on BBO and I freeze. It takes a minute or so to realize that I have frozen. Then I get out and get back in, but I have been replaced at the table by a substitute. I don't have anything bad to say about substitutes, but I rarely get a reasonable score on any hand when they play for me or for my partner (who is having similar connection problems).

And this is not due to inferior internet connection. Both of us have cable modem connections.

I have not had any problem accessing the forums.

EDIT: Just after I posted this I was able to gain access to BBO and finish the Robot game I was part of at the time. There were 15 minutes left on the clock when I got back in, and I was the last player finished.

[steve2005]

I don't know if this information helps. I find I need a good to excellent connection on my wireless connection and sometimes good isn't enough. can stay connected to almost any other site at less but bbo needs at least a good connection. this makes me think there is more information being exchanged by bbo than other sites which is not surprising.

[ArtK78]

I got the following response from BBO when I sent a note to support@bridgebase.com complaining about the poor connection:

Hello !
If you are experiencing lags and disconnections on a regular basis there could be something wrong in certain settings of your computer or your browser or your carrier, such as proxies, pop-up blocker, router/modem issues, pending updates.

I suggest you try each of the following (one at a time) to rule out some of the causes of your problems:

1) Delete all the cookies, temporary files and browsing history from your browsers.http://www.wikihow.c...ar-Your-Browser's-Cache. Do it on a regular basis. Downloading an alternative browser and trying to connect from it may also help:

GOOGLE CHROME: https://www.google.com/chrome
EPIPHANY (now called WEB): projects.gnome.org/epiphany/
MOZILLA FIREFOX: http://www.mozilla.org
Any would be convenient.

2. Clear the cache of the Adobe Flash Player. The settings for window size are stored in Flash cache memory, and in order to re-set them you can click on the link below (or copy it into your browser if it is not active) then read the instructions carefully:

http://www.macromedi..._manager07.html

You will see there a menu that is NOT a screenshot. It is the actual menu that resets websites visited by you and that have info stored on your computer. Search everything related to www.bridgebase.com and delete. Thus, the next time you visit www.bridgebase.com you will be back to default settings.

3. Disable software acceleration: Log into Bridge Base Online. In the home page Right-click on the screen, Click Settings, click the left-most tab. Uncheck the 'Enable hardware acceleration' checkbox. (see attachment)

4. Click on the folder in the middle and increase the storage limit to the maximum. Click close

5. Also place wireless routers where they can broadcast an uninterrupted signal. Avoid placing the router on top of other electronic devices that can interfere with the router's signal.

6. Run any pending Windows or Java updates

7. Re-start you computer and reset your router and/or modem.

If none of these steps solve your problem, contact your Internet provider and request them to run 'ping' and 'tracert' tests to our site ( www.bridgebase.com ) and let us know the results.

Please send me your feedback

Best regards,
Caelin
BBO Customer Support

I did try something. I uninstalled Google Chrome and then reinstalled it. This got rid of a lot of clutter. So far tonight, I had no disconnection problems.

[donviejo]

I have constant connection problems when the site is busiest. I have inquired and been given a reply that suggests it surprises them. The platform has fatal flaws and needs to be redesigned.

[gbb483]

Lots of threads here regarding connection problems - essentially its the ISPs getting overloaded and slugging a background handshale between the client (you) and the server (them). I have fibre and I still have problems. The 3G network seems better than the landline network.