Download speed dropped by over 50% since install

I had Infinity Option 2 installed back in December and was initially getting a steady 69 Mbps download.

I'm now getting 28-30.

I can understand a small change as my line settles but over 50% is crazy, isn't it?

Because I want to customise the DHCP to use OpenDNS, I did swap out my HH3 for a TP-Link TL-MR3420 300MBPS Wireless N 3G Router (which I had been using with a USB dongle while waiting for the much delayed install).

I am wondering if this has caused the drop in speed but I have tried plugging the HH3 back in and I still get ~30Mbps

Any tips or pointers to getting back to a better speed?

TIA

Shevek

Which modem have you got, and how long since you power-cycled it?

It's a grey one, supplied by the OpenReach engineer.

I'm at work right now so can't provide exact model specifics.

I don't think it's been cycled since the install.

Power cycle it tonight then. Give it a couple of minutes turned off. If that fixes things, fine. If not, if it's an HG612 it is easy to flash an unlocked version of the firmware and get the line stats. From those we can tell a lot.

Also please run the BT Performance Checker and post the contents of the two results text boxes. (All the contents, not just the speeds.

Thanks Roberto, I'll work through the list tonight and get back to you

run that bt speedtest (and get the profile) before you cycle it not after if you can.

He can do that before and after! There is no longer the 1 hour restriction, just ten minutes on the diagnostic part. I have just done two tests back-to-back - for te initial results.

Also, the second part of the test with diagnostics is now needed to get the profile.

Edited by MHC (Mon 14-Jan-13 18:12:13)

OK, I did the test before and after a reboot. I switched off modem, router and my gigabit switch, then switched them on, in that order, waiting for the connection lights before switching on the next one.

This is the result before:

1. Best Effort Test: -provides background information.

Download Speed
30.91 Mbps

0 Mbps 0 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed

Download speedachieved during the test was - 30.91 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 16 Mbps-0 Mbps.
IP Profile for your line is - 31.36 Mbps

2. Upstream Test: -provides background information.

Upload Speed
9.37 Mbps

0 Mbps 20 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed

Upload speed achieved during the test was - 9.37Mbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 20 Mbps


We were unable to identify any performance problem with your service at this time.
It is possible that any problem you are currently, or had previously experienced may have been caused by traffic congestion on the Internet or by the server you were accessing responding slowly.
If you continue to encounter a problem with a specific server, please contact the administrator of that server in the first instance.

And this is after:

1. Best Effort Test: -provides background information.

Download Speed
31.01 Mbps

0 Mbps 0 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed

Download speedachieved during the test was - 31.01 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 16 Mbps-0 Mbps.
IP Profile for your line is - 31.36 Mbps

2. Upstream Test: -provides background information.

Upload Speed
9.47 Mbps

0 Mbps 20 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed

Upload speed achieved during the test was - 9.47Mbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 20 Mbps


We were unable to identify any performance problem with your service at this time.
It is possible that any problem you are currently, or had previously experienced may have been caused by traffic congestion on the Internet or by the server you were accessing responding slowly.
If you continue to encounter a problem with a specific server, please contact the administrator of that server in the first instance.

And yes, the modem is a HG612 - can you provide details of the unlocked firmware please!

In reply to a post by Shevek:

And yes, the modem is a HG612 - can you provide details of the unlocked firmware please!

Start Here:

http://huaweihg612hacking.wordpress.com/about/

There is a link on the right to the Unlocked and Locked firmware versions

Thanks!

It will have to wait for a while tho, wifey is reading the news on her iphone at the moment. Not a good time to be interrupting the internet for too long

Is it possible to flash back to the BT stock firmware?

Will they be able to tell I have unlocked it if I have to contact them for support?

Yes the Locked firmware is on the same page - next down I think.

I don't believe that support can tell if you have unlocked the modem.

Sample, to encourage you .

Welcome Visiting Huawei Home Gateway
Copyright by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Login:admin
Password:
ATP>sh


BusyBox v1.9.1 (2010-10-15 17:59:06 CST) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

# xdslcmd info --stats
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY status
Status: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 15682 Kbps, Downstream rate = 63592 Kbps
Path: 0, Upstream rate = 14933 Kbps, Downstream rate = 54013 Kbps

Link Power State:       L0
Mode:                   VDSL2 Annex B
VDSL2 Profile:          Profile 17a
TPS-TC:                 PTM Mode
Trellis:                U:ON /D:ON
Line Status:            No Defect
Training Status:        Showtime
                Down            Up
SNR (dB):        6.3             6.7
Attn(dB):        0.0             0.0
Pwr(dBm):        13.4            6.8
                        VDSL2 framing
                        Path 0
B:              63              237
M:              1               1
T:              64              64
R:              16              16
S:              0.0377          0.5070
L:              16978           4008
D:              857             1
I:              80              127
N:              80              254
                        Counters
                        Path 0
OHF:            1490379372              755856
OHFErr:         533             4326
RS:             2684997663              3006999
RSCorr:         970006617               94520
RSUnCorr:       27801           0

                        Path 0
HEC:            8423            0
OCD:            0               0
LCD:            0               0
Total Cells:    1861293477              0
Data Cells:     118692845               0
Drop Cells:     0
Bit Errors:     0               0

ES:             130             3608
SES:            0               0
UAS:            19              19
AS:             2707262

                        Path 0
INP:            3.00            0.00
PER:            1.80            8.11
delay:          8.00            0.00
OR:             106.11          30.57

Bitswap:        1290433         290146

Total time = 1 days 8 hours 1 min 22 sec
FEC:            970006617               94520
CRC:            533             4326
ES:             130             3608
SES:            0               0
UAS:            19              19
LOS:            0               0
LOF:            0               0
Latest 15 minutes time = 1 min 22 sec
FEC:            6153            0
CRC:            0               0
ES:             0               0
...
...

Oh! As well as the command you can see in my stats just posted, it would also be very useful to see what you get from:-

xdslcmd info --pbParams

Can you describe your set up ?

I wonder if you've had an attack of the contractors, the install has been botched, and the speed has reduced as a result.

The tale of installation was a long one!

20/10, order

28/11, first engineer (phone & infinity, covering from a different county) came but found the line was not working, said something about having to lay a new one under the road and went his merry way

5/12, second engineer (phone only, fibre engineer from the office seconded to field engineer) came and found a disconnected line to the exchange, phone up and running

12/12, third engineer (infinity) comes and plugs it all in (gone in 15 mins!)

Initial setup: HG612 modem -> HH3 -> TP Link GBit switch

Was getting steady ~70 Mbit connection

When I discovered that the HH3 was locked down I swapped it for another router

Current setup: HG612 modem -> TP-Link TL-MR3420 -> TP Link GBit switch

I don't know at what point it switched down to ~30 Mbit but I am pretty sure that I was getting ~70 initially with the TP-Link router

OK, the wife is a bit tinker resistant and insisted I called BT before I did anything else

So, I called them and after some basic troubleshooting, they think there's a cap put on the line because its not been stable.

Could this be because the TP-Link defaults to a 15 min timeout, so it would have been disconnecting and reconnecting frequently?

I've since changed that setting to always on

Anyway, an engineer is coming out on Friday afternoon to remove the cap so I'll update after that with progress.

Cheers to all who have replied!

The engineer just left

There was 2 inches of bare copper in the cabinet!

He fixed that up and got the profile reset and I now have a toasty 74 Mb connection

Happy days!