Slow Fibre Broadband

Hi.
(apologies if this is in the wrong category)

I'm on fibre broadband but am getting slow speeds. Using a computer plugged with a LAN cable plugged into the router and running a speed test, I usually get a download speed of about 14mbps. My package is a 38mbps package, which is apparently the fastest available to me at my local exchange.

Can I do anything to improve my speed or is it just hoping that one day my local exchange is upgraded?

I�m guessing this is FTTC ?

Are you able to provide any stats from the modem/router ?

Can you describe what�s connected where and how in your property ? Extensions, filters, etc.

In reply to a post by sobeitjedi:

I usually get a download speed of about 14mbps. My package is a 38mbps package, which is apparently the fastest available to me at my local exchange.

Is that TalkTalk broadband?

Could you run this test and post your result you don't need to put your postcode in just click "Run Test" twice. https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest

.

Edited by deleted (Wed 17-Oct-18 17:21:59)

The 38 Mbps suggests the maximum speed on a 40/10 product and what was in the adverts, the most important part is what speed did the provider suggest you should get when going through the order process.

The reason being that the distance between the home the cabinet in the street that is providing the service is important, and if that small green cabinet is over 1 km away you will not see 38 Mbps type speeds, but if it is outside the front door you should.

Given the router stats as suggested by the other poster e.g. attenuation, connection speed and noise margin figures people can get an idea of things and advise accordingly.

The need to click twice has gone (for now and went a couple of months ago), i.e. was to encourage people to enter a postcode.

With your postcode we can usually better identify the type of connection and also compare your results to others within the same region of the UK on the same type of broadband technology.

Also helps when doing analysis of what is wrong with a connection and doing manual checks for people, as can very quickly get an idea if the speeds are right or wrong for the expected distance to the green street cabinet.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

The need to click twice has gone (for now and went a couple of months ago), i.e. was to encourage people to enter a postcode.

Thanks.

What speed does your router say that it is connected at? In the case of FTTC it is the cable distance between your property and the cabinet that matters. Generally the link from the cabinet to an exchange is adequate but the backhaul from the exchange may be under configured. A common problem for unlucky Vodafone customers,

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

I�m guessing this is FTTC ?

Are you able to provide any stats from the modem/router ?

Can you describe what�s connected where and how in your property ? Extensions, filters, etc.

What stats would you like? My router is Asus RT-AC88U. The router is connected to a modem, modem goes into the master socket. No other phone sockets in the house in use.

As Mr.S says, attention, downstream and upstream sync rates, SNR, error rates. These will, in your case, be from the modem.

The setup sounds OK.

In reply to a post by Chippy_Tea_:

In reply to a post by sobeitjedi:

I usually get a download speed of about 14mbps. My package is a 38mbps package, which is apparently the fastest available to me at my local exchange.

Is that TalkTalk broadband?

Could you run this test and post your result you don't need to put your postcode in just click "Run Test" twice. https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest

.

EE fibre broadband.
Here are the speed test results: https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/15398035485...

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

What speed does your router say that it is connected at? In the case of FTTC it is the cable distance between your property and the cabinet that matters. Generally the link from the cabinet to an exchange is adequate but the backhaul from the exchange may be under configured. A common problem for unlucky Vodafone customers,

Where do I find that on my Asus RT-AC88U?

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

As Mr.S says, attention, downstream and upstream sync rates, SNR, error rates. These will, in your case, be from the modem.

The setup sounds OK.

Not sure how to login to the modem, never tried. It's a standard BT openreach issue.

dslchecker results https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ljzh5s3z45xvri/dslchecker...

Ah, then it will need �unlocking� ....

For that you�ll need someone else�s input, not my area of experience. Hey

So the checker reckons 30 to 40 meg .... summats amiss.

Those stats may help .....

Is there good clean dial tone on the telephone line ?

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

So the checker reckons 30 to 40 meg .... summats amiss.

Those stats may help .....

Is there good clean dial tone on the telephone line ?

Sounds ok to me, I mean, the landine works fine, but hardly ever used

You don't, since the RT series is just ethernet routers without a built in modem

What modem do you connection to the VDSL2 line?

BT Openreach v3 modem (made by Huawei I believe)

Or the checker is wrong...

Phone line distance to the cabinet looks to be 1km so while 30 to 40 is possible (figured that out from speed test), something in the 20 to 30 would be more realistic.

So may be scope to squeeze some more speed but I would not set expectations too high

Okay unless you've hacked it then you cannot easily see the stats

Or the checker is wrong...

Could be ....

Okey doke, just a thought ...

Did EE provide a modem/router you might try and glean stats from ?

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Did EE provide a modem/router you might try and glean stats from ?

Yes, but I binned it

Done some more digging, looks like it is an ECI cabinet and for those at 1km would downgrade estimate to 20 to 25 Mbps

With the speed test the suggestion is that the sync speed is around 14.8 to 15 Mbps so might be a little more to be gained somewhere but not a lot.

That was foolhardy.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Done some more digging, looks like it is an ECI cabinet and for those at 1km would downgrade estimate to 20 to 25 Mbps

With the speed test the suggestion is that the sync speed is around 14.8 to 15 Mbps so might be a little more to be gained somewhere but not a lot.

So, nothing I can do to increase my speed then?

Not without seeing stats .... or maybe replacing the VDSL modem with something that will achieve a better sync rate. Those Openreach modems are a little �old school� these days.

Ok, just purchased a TD-W9970 to run in modem mode. Will let you know when it arrives and we'll see if I can get some stats for you guys.

1. Check that speeds are not improved when using the test socket, reason being some homes have extensions people forget about
2. If using a flat profile cable with RJ11 plugs then a twisted pair cable (round profile) might help to stop some noise creeping in locally e.g. https://amzn.to/2RXWPt1
3. If you've been switching off/on a lot i.e. a few times a day then you might have triggered DLM that will slow you done for stability and if you leave alone and line behaves you might see speeds increase after some weeks/months

NOTE: I have two lines perhaps 100m longer, but with a better cabinet (Huawei) but on one I can only get 17 Mbps, the other is at the higher end of the range at 27 Mbps.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

1. Check that speeds are not improved when using the test socket, reason being some homes have extensions people forget about
2. If using a flat profile cable with RJ11 plugs then a twisted pair cable (round profile) might help to stop some noise creeping in locally e.g. https://amzn.to/2RXWPt1
3. If you've been switching off/on a lot i.e. a few times a day then you might have triggered DLM that will slow you done for stability and if you leave alone and line behaves you might see speeds increase after some weeks/months

NOTE: I have two lines perhaps 100m longer, but with a better cabinet (Huawei) but on one I can only get 17 Mbps, the other is at the higher end of the range at 27 Mbps.

1) Test socket???
2) Already using
3) Been a few reboots over the last day or two, but before than no, I'm not a regular rebooter

Test socket

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/assets/guides/orderin...

i.e. socket that you find underneath the small removable part of the master socket.

The procedure for unlocking and getting stats from the Huawei HG612 is described here.

You con't need a router connected to the modem just to get the stats.

OK, so I have my new tp-link TD-W9970 modem in place. Still getting the same speeds, so it hasn't improved anything in that respect.

How can I get stats of the new modem to share with you guys?

I also unscrewed the face plate to see the test socket underneath, but I don't have an adapter to plug my rj11 cable into the bt test socket

Does this mean anything?

DSL

Yes, it reveals a lot.

The downstream is very heavily banded/capped at 15Mb but should get nearer 35Mb (or about 31-32Mb if interleaving is active).

Call the ISP immediately and report the line as banded/capped by DLM.

This takes months and months to remove on its own, if ever.

This is almost always caused by multiple disconnections in a short time period. Restarting modems over and over or turning the power on/off during works etc are a common cause.

And if the line is allowed to sync freely - looks like it will outperform expectations by some margin.

I've had lines go banded before, and have not pestered anyone, but just left things alone i.e. not fiddled with modem and you do after a month or two see the speed coming back.

Last time this happened was what drove me to get the TP-Link W9970 I use, and it took my 'good' line from the 17 under the cap to its 27 Mbps today.

So try the ISP, and if no traction then just keep an eye on the router stats. Something to watch out for is the SNR margin dropping a lot lower when its dark, if that is happening then we know why the line is banded, i.e. probably was unstable before due to noise fluctuations.

In reply to a post by sobeitjedi:

I also unscrewed the face plate to see the test socket underneath, but I don't have an adapter to plug my rj11 cable into the bt test socket

You just need a micro-filter.