EE VDSL - Ping issues

I would post this in the EE subcategory but it seems to be a bit dead in there. Does anyone know of anything I can try to get rid of my annoying ping issue. It's not effecting browsing as such but online gaming? Forget it! Obviously with Christmas fast approaching I have a feeling people won't be too pleased if they can't play online!

I'm getting good speeds of 70/18 and in this particular test a low ping but the ping fluctuates up and down a lot

https://www.speedtest.net/result/8848180025.png

Here is a link to my BQM - https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/...

I have tried changing routers from the supplied Smart Hub to a Netgear D6400 which didn't make any difference. There are no known issues in my area and according to EE who did a line test there is no fault. I have a NTE5C MK4 master socket, tried a separate filter and plugging into the test socket to no avail. No crackling or noise of any type on the line. I've changed the WiFi password in case of a piggy backer and I've turned off every device in the house in case something was "hogging" it but it has made no difference.

Line stats are below

Data rate:20.00 Mbps / 79.61 Mbps
Maximum data rate:21.37 Mbps / 79.42 Mbps
Noise margin (up/down):6.3 / 3.5
Line attenuation (up/down):19.4 / 15.1
Signal attenuation (up/down):19.4 / 15.1

Here are some pings to Googles DNS server

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=47ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=78ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=74ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=78ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=18ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=59ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=37ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=139ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=112ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=118ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=140ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=132ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=136ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=127ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=126ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=105ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=131ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=117ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=103ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=117ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=47ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=55
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=55

Are you testing wired or wireless ?

You seem to have spells of heavy downloading. During those your ping will go haywire. As will upstream data speed.

Or is it heavy uploading you are doing?

Are any cloud storage apps running like Dropbox or Google MyDrive or Windows Drive, that sort of thing?

Nope, no downloading happening, as I mentioned above, it even happens with every single device turned off. I've turned the WiFi off on the router and unplugged the only wired device but I still get random ping spikes. I've even tried unplugging the Xmas tree on EE's advice as that can apparently cause interference but that didn't do anything either.

In fact if anything, my router is syncing to the cab even faster now at the max 80/20 - All pings and speed tests are done wired through a Gigabit network card

Any uploading? BQM really does look like there something using the connection

Nope, absolutely nothing. Every device is turned off and even the Smart Hub reports less than 15GB of data has passed through it in the 17 hours the DSL has been up https://i.ibb.co/dJKH0th/EEWeb.png 9GB downloaded and 5GB uploaded - It would take 20 mins at max speed to download 9GB and 40 mins at max speed to upload 5GB

This is todays BQM https://i.ibb.co/JKGvdRq/PingWeb.png I'd imagine the connection would need to be constantly saturated to get a graph looking like that on a healthy connection?

Edited by ChefExcellence (Mon 16-Dec-19 12:23:44)

I've just had an Openreach engineer out who tested the line and couldn't find any faults with the actual line, but he then went to the cab and moved me over to another port (whatever that means) and he told me that the line would need to stabilise over 5 days as it will think its a new connection...

The only problem with this is, my connection didn't drop once whilst this port swap happened. When rebooting the router, it also syncs straight away at 80/20 without DSLAM throttling it down like it usually does with a new connection - So far, the pings are exactly the same as well

Should the connection have gone off whilst this port swap happened? I can't help but wonder if he swapped the port for another property by accident!

VDSL2 does not throttle down new connections anyway.

If a lift and shift happened in the cab then a resync would have been needed.

Port swap would 100% cause a resync.
That can be as little as 1 minute though and can return at the exact same sync rate with no change of IP.

A port swap is the same as a DLM reset or a new line in that DLM will start from scratch and in some cases will take a few days to return to full speed IF DLM changes are needed but shorter lines will go full sync straight away.

In short if there was no resync there was no port swap. You may just not have noticed it though.

Edited by j0hn83 (Thu 19-Dec-19 15:34:52)

Hi

Perhaps the engineer swapped the wrong pair!

Regards

Phil

Nope, it can�t be ...

If the engineer ID�d the wrong pair, then after the lift and shift was complete the correct port would be out of sync, and test so.

Can't see any logical reason not to use an oscillator when leaving a customer's home to help identify the pair at the cabinet.

Needs some serious retraining if they did that.

Hi

I guess we will never know what exactly was done.

Although if the engineer identified the wrong pair and shifted it, it would still have a VDSL modem on the end of it so would still sync up.

It wouldn't be the first time or the last time that an engineer has worked on the wrong pair in a cabinet We lost our phone line once because of such a mistake a few years ago.

Regards

Phil

Not every pair in the PCP connected to an FTTC tie cable will be active so wouldn't necessarily sync like you suggest.

... or just apply a CPI tone via the FT2 app, easier still.

Hi

Not every pair no, but then the pairs not connected to VDSL will not be on the IDC block he is working on. Yes there may be some still connected that no longer have an active service, but this will be few as once people are on FTTC, they tend not to migrate away in any big numbers.

The likely hood is there would be a live modem. Just accept it jOhn83, you didn't give full consideration to your reply and you are one of the many that frequent here that just can't accept being wrong and will argue and labour your point until we've all given up This place never changes.

Regards

Phil

Edited by deleted (Thu 19-Dec-19 17:04:29)

To be honest these debates about pairs are not helping the OP, I think everyone agrees for a VDSL port shift there should have been a resync everything else is speculation.

Thank you for trying to bring us back to the topic and away from the final heats of the 2019 pot and kettle championship.

In reply to a post by PhilipD:

The likely hood is there would be a live modem. Just accept it jOhn83, you didn't give full consideration to your reply and you are one of the many that frequent here that just can't accept being wrong and will argue and labour your point until we've all given up This place never changes.

Regards

Phil

LOL! Where the [censored] did that come from?

My post was very correct. I couldn't give a flying [censored] what you think.

I corrected your inaccurate comment, no matter how common/uncommon it is.
Any ceased FTTC line remains connected to the tie cables/IDC block until that port is reused.

My former FTTC line is still connected to tie cables in e PCP. I only joined Virgin last week. Same goes for everyone else who switched from FTTC to Virgin.