Sync speed dropping?

I got BT Infinity 2 installed at the end of January, and the initial sync speed was very good indeed - about 79Mbps down and 19.5Mbps up. I have noticed though that the modem (supplied HH5) seems to be reconnecting every few days - I noticed the other day that my sync speed had dropped to 74Mbps down, and today it's dropped to around 61Mbps. The HH log shows this information:

07:00:48, 18 Feb. (1303716.030000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=61926000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=6.4dB, Up=15.4dB

06:59:19, 18 Feb. (1303627.290000) PTM over DSL is down after 3691 minutes uptime
06:59:19, 18 Feb. (1303627.280000) PPPoE is down after 3691 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN Ethernet 2 -? Down)]
06:59:14, 18 Feb. (1303622.190000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request]

17:27:30, 15 Feb. (1082121.240000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=74670000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=4.4dB, Up=14.6dB


17:27:18, 15 Feb. (1082109.700000) PPPoE is down after 444 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN Ethernet 2 -? Down)]
17:27:13, 15 Feb. (1082104.590000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request]

10:02:56, 15 Feb. (1055447.670000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=74670000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=4.4dB, Up=14.7dB

10:02:45, 15 Feb. (1055436.170000) PPPoE is down after 4883 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN Ethernet 2 -? Down)]
10:02:39, 15 Feb. (1055431.040000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request]

00:38:36, 12 Feb. (762392.100000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=74670000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=7.0dB, Up=16.9dB

00:33:08, 12 Feb. (762064.620000) PTM over DSL is down after 12699 minutes uptime
00:33:08, 12 Feb. (762064.610000) PPPoE is down after 12698 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN Ethernet 2 -? Down)]

05:53:54, 03 Feb. ( 164.500000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=79995000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=7.7dB, Up=23.0dB

It looks like there has only been one actual reboot of my modem, due to a firmware update:

05:52:15, 03 Feb. ( 65.820000) System up, firmware version: 4.7.5.1.83.8.204 (Type A)
05:51:55, 03 Feb. ( 45.260000) System start TR069
10:28:04, 26 Jan. ( 11.850000) Booting firmware 4.7.5.1.83.8.173.1.6 (Type A)

My main question is why is the speed dropping? Is this possibly related to the dreaded crosstalk? The BT checker for my phone number shows 80 - 74Mbps down for "clean", and 80 - 61.9Mbps for "impacted" (and my down rate appears to be pretty much exactly 61.9Mbps now!).

I'm guessing it's not normal for it to be reconnecting every few days either - I'm not sure how often it reconnected before the reboot though as the WAN log runs out then, but the speed at least stayed constant then.

Just a bit miffed to have lost nearly 20Mbps of my speed in the space of three weeks - am I likely to get it back?

Thanks,

In reply to a post by orudge:

I got BT Infinity 2 installed at the end of January, and the initial sync speed was very good indeed - about 79Mbps down and 19.5Mbps up. I have noticed though that the modem (supplied HH5) seems to be reconnecting every few days - I noticed the other day that my sync speed had dropped to 74Mbps down, and today it's dropped to around 61Mbps. The HH log shows this information:

07:00:48, 18 Feb. (1303716.030000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=61926000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=6.4dB, Up=15.4dB

06:59:19, 18 Feb. (1303627.290000) PTM over DSL is down after 3691 minutes uptime
06:59:19, 18 Feb. (1303627.280000) PPPoE is down after 3691 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN Ethernet 2 -? Down)]
06:59:14, 18 Feb. (1303622.190000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request]

17:27:30, 15 Feb. (1082121.240000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=74670000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=4.4dB, Up=14.6dB


17:27:18, 15 Feb. (1082109.700000) PPPoE is down after 444 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN Ethernet 2 -? Down)]
17:27:13, 15 Feb. (1082104.590000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request]

10:02:56, 15 Feb. (1055447.670000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=74670000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=4.4dB, Up=14.7dB

10:02:45, 15 Feb. (1055436.170000) PPPoE is down after 4883 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN Ethernet 2 -? Down)]
10:02:39, 15 Feb. (1055431.040000) PPP LCP Send Termination Request [User request]

00:38:36, 12 Feb. (762392.100000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=74670000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=7.0dB, Up=16.9dB

00:33:08, 12 Feb. (762064.620000) PTM over DSL is down after 12699 minutes uptime
00:33:08, 12 Feb. (762064.610000) PPPoE is down after 12698 minutes uptime [Waiting for Underlying Connection (WAN Ethernet 2 -? Down)]

05:53:54, 03 Feb. ( 164.500000) PPPoE is up -? Down Rate=79995000Kbps, Up Rate=19999000Kbps; SNR Margin Down=7.7dB, Up=23.0dB

It looks like there has only been one actual reboot of my modem, due to a firmware update:

05:52:15, 03 Feb. ( 65.820000) System up, firmware version: 4.7.5.1.83.8.204 (Type A)
05:51:55, 03 Feb. ( 45.260000) System start TR069
10:28:04, 26 Jan. ( 11.850000) Booting firmware 4.7.5.1.83.8.173.1.6 (Type A)

My main question is why is the speed dropping? Is this possibly related to the dreaded crosstalk? The BT checker for my phone number shows 80 - 74Mbps down for "clean", and 80 - 61.9Mbps for "impacted" (and my down rate appears to be pretty much exactly 61.9Mbps now!).

I'm guessing it's not normal for it to be reconnecting every few days either - I'm not sure how often it reconnected before the reboot though as the WAN log runs out then, but the speed at least stayed constant then.

Just a bit miffed to have lost nearly 20Mbps of my speed in the space of three weeks - am I likely to get it back?

Thanks,

Is that an exact cut and paste? It seems to show you are getting 62Gbps down and 19.999 Gbps up!

Heh, yes, that is an exact cut and paste - I guess the 'K' shouldn't be in there!

Time maybe to source an Openreach VDSL2 modem and use that connecting to the Ethernet WAN port on the HH5.

The openreach modems are generally very stable, and avoid some of issues with random reboots of the HH5 that some seem to suffer from.

Instability in the first day or two will be interpreted as errors by the DLM and lead to slower speeds invariably

Hmm, the Home Hub sits in our living room by the TV (near the master socket), and it might be hard to run that past the wife, given she already thinks I have too many cables and things plugged in behind the TV! If speeds continue to drop though, it might be something I'd have to look into.

ADSL/VDSL modems behind TV's are often not a good idea, the electronics are a great source of interference

In reply to a post by orudge:

Hmm, the Home Hub sits in our living room by the TV (near the master socket),...

As MrSaffron says, that is possibly the problem. FTTC (VDSL2) is much more sensitive to noise than ADSLx is, plus the much higher speed compared to ADSLx makes it more obvious when there is an effect.

Unfortunately I'm not sure how to get round it. The first try would be to get the HH5 as far away from the TV as possible, using a high quality modem cable, but that may make very little difference and the resultant marital discord could be unpleasant. A power cable would also be needed.

Have you got any extension sockets in the house? If you have, it may be a good idea to use one of those for the Home Hub. Just make sure the ring/bell wire(s) is/are removed at the master socket.

I think most broadband problems could easily be solved by removing authority from the wife to dictate where cables and boxs go

I can certainly try to move the router away and see if that makes any difference. There are no extensions in the house.

If my speed has been dropped by DLM, will it go back up again, or is it permanently lowered now unless poked by an Openreach engineer?

Thanks,

If error rates improve than after a couple of weeks the DLM will give back speed, my FTTC has dropped to 15 Mbps and then just left it alone and rose again to 19 to 20 Mbps, and one of the lines has risen slightly more to 21 Mbps now on a good day.