Orange Bband, Tel line rental & calls -no hiding place now!

Recent speed test result: http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/results/id/1...

Saturday evening ..................... and grinding to a halt @ one sixth of the download speed during the day:-
false

Edited by shrimper1 (Sat 22-Oct-11 19:04:14)

Speedtests are pointless without the line stats from the router.

Router stats are not going to change the "busy" time of the day. I'm trying to watch a prem footie match @ the mo, but it's not too exciting in "freeze frame"

When will they ever learn?

Then you are suffering from congestion as you've been repeatedly told. There is nothing we or you can do except nag your ISP or migrate

Hmmmmm .............. I've just tried a ping test. It first tried to connect unsuccessfully with a server in Rotterdam (never done that before!), then it defaulted to Milton Keynes, but has just "hung".
There's an announcement on thinkbroadband's home page about a massive "outage" this morning - maybe this latest glitch is connected ............ ?

Or maybe not? The outrage was Friday a.m. and you've always had this issue.

You are grasping for straws.

Their loss

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Then you are suffering from congestion as you've been repeatedly told. There is nothing we or you can do except nag your ISP or migrate

I've nagged, and they have requested I do the Tap 2 & Tap 3 BT Speedtester tests.
Only trouble is that my Livebox just won't take "speedtest@speedtest_domain" as a username with password left blank. I've also tried "testing" as a password - but still no go.
my current speeds are still deteriorating by 90% @ peak times; I've just taken my
speed data & router stats:
Download Speed 2408 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed 21000 Kbps

Download speed achieved during the test was - 2408 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 4000-21000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :15320 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 1104 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 13516 Kbps

2. Upstream Test: -provides background information.
Upload Speed 822 Kbps

ModulationType ADSL_2plus;
ATMEncapsulation VCMUX

ModemFirmwareVersion bcm96358_ADSL_PHY_A2pBT009c1.d17d

Status Up

LinkStatus Up

LinkType PPPoA

DataPath Fast

UpstreamAttenuation 119

DownstreamAttenuation 235

UpstreamNoiseMargin 45

DownstreamNoiseMargin 65

UpstreamMaxRate 4293747263

DownstreamMaxRate 18275

UpstreamCurrRate 1104

DownstreamCurrRate 15323

UpstreamPower 126

DownstreamPower 233

UpTime 87063

Stats.Total. Values


LinkRetrain 3

FECErrors 22280

ATUCFECErrors 11745991

HECErrors 52

ATUCHECErrors 953627

CRCErrors 54

ATUCCRCErrors 1141736

The British based Orange tekkie is calling me back within 48 hours, so it'll have to wait til then if no one has any advice to carry out the BT advanced speed connection tests.
My other bitter pill, is I've been billed both by Orange and BT for my home telephone rental and calls, after I transferred it all to Orange (who already was my ISP) 6 weeks ago. After I complained to BT, they pleaded with me to come back, even offered me a cheaper package! I turned the offer down, and requested a refund. Also cancelled my direct debit with my bank - which I've never had to do previously when dealing with BT.

The DSL side of things looks good, and IP Profile is good. So looks to be a wholesale network issue.

Back to ISP to pester the network people, with one caveat the number errors how long since you had restarted the modem? If say under an hour they might be affecting throughput, i.e. retransmits eating into capacity to finally get correct data through.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

how long since you had restarted the modem?

In reply to a post by shrimper1:

UpTime 87063

24 hours I should imagine.

Orange supplied you the Livebox. They should either tell you how to supply the BT Speedtest username & pwd or not insist that you run those Tap 2 & Tap 3 tests cuz it's impossible with their router.

Yep! I've even wiped the router's basic sign-on data, etc., .............. so started again from scratch - and the barsteward still would not accept the "speedtest@speedtest_domain" as a new username, or with "blank" as a password. I even tried "testing" as a new password ............... result hours invested ............. with sweet **** all as a result
However, I got the Livebox up and running again with our Orange email username etc.
Now I know why I did not like "Snakes & Ladders" as a child

I had another crack @ BT's Speed test No3 yesterday. Ended up with "locked up" Thomson Livebox, which after many wasted hours overnight, I gave up on, and replaced it with a NETGEAR which I'd only used for a few weeks, before Orange sent me the Livebox. Strangely it has taken my line up to another level of IP Profile, and actual max recorded download speed.
Orange have also arranged for a BT Engineer to come round this week, to investigate my low speeds @ peak time. As he's coming on a workday morning, all he will witness is a very good actual speed for my decent IP Profile ........... hopefully he will have some metering apparatus that will prove that my connection to the exchange is good, average or below average.

Stats on connection including errors are available without an engineer attending, so would be shocked if you get somewhere with this visit

Since Orange handed its network over to BT, they retain no technical BB knowledge themselves and mistakenly believe that commissioning an OR wiring engineer to look at user's wiring can diagnose connection speed issues, instead of getting a BTw BB engineer to look at it from the exchange.

This happened to me and it was a wasted visit; until it was eventually fixed at the exchange by altering my profile. However my issue was with a lowish sync rather than low throughput during peak times which is the OP's issue.

Not just orange, that is common with many providers, as the number of tech staff who understand the market and technology are very few...am available for the appropriate six figure sum

In reply to a post by shrimper1:

I had another crack @ BT's Speed test No3 yesterday. Ended up with "locked up" Thomson Livebox, which after many wasted hours overnight, I gave up on, and replaced it with a NETGEAR which I'd only used for a few weeks, before Orange sent me the Livebox. Strangely it has taken my line up to another level of IP Profile, and actual max recorded download speed.
Orange have also arranged for a BT Engineer to come round this week, to investigate my low speeds @ peak time. As he's coming on a workday morning, all he will witness is a very good actual speed for my decent IP Profile ........... hopefully he will have some metering apparatus that will prove that my connection to the exchange is good, average or below average.

BT Open Reach engineer turned up on time this a.m. Did some tests, then replaced a reasonable length of wire, that links the overhead cable from the pole across the main road to my 2nd storey gutter board, down to my main phone socket. Apparently I had INTERNAL wire OUTSIDE, so replaced with 5 metres of heavy duty external wire. Now, download speed has tweaked up by about 1 Meg, to 16.3 Meg, but the true test will be what speeds I'll register this evening, during peak usage time. I'll post these later, along with Router stats.
If this fix proves not to work during peak time, then the engineer confirmed that my line connection @ the Exchange would be transferred to another section of apparatus, which translates as ...... some other poor local individual will cop my dodgy connection All this will happen via a call by me to UK Orange customer service.

Tonight has been dreadful, everyone using the net to watch Spurs, Fulham, Stoke City or Birmingham in Europe ???

My last BT speedtest @ 22.30pm:-


Test1 comprises of two tests

1. Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
Download Speed
1076 Kbps

0 Kbps 21000 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed

Download speed achieved during the test was - 1076 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 4000-21000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :18860 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 1108 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 16639 Kbps

2. Upstream Test: -provides background information.
Upload Speed
918 Kbps

0 Kbps 1108 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed

>Upload speed achieved during the test was - 918 Kbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 1108 Kbps

My NETGEAR router stats:-

System Up Time 55:11:55
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 11040 12138 0 2612 9066 00:19:40
LAN 10M/100M 1660990 1097820 0 10176 1170 55:11:36
WLAN 11M/54M/150M 230618 167538 0 1206 135 55:11:40

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 18860 Kbps 1110 Kbps
Line Attenuation 21.9 dB 11.2 dB
Noise Margin 2.6 dB 6.3 dB

Note: If system up time represents 55 hours 11 minutes & 55 seconds, then something wrong, as my connection was literally cut off this morning around 9.30 a.m., when the BT Open Reach engineer cut out a bad section of cable to my master socket, and replaced it with a new piece of external wire.

Surely you never believed that someone messing with your wiring would in any way affect the congestion/throughput issue you have on your perfectly good stable sync connection, after all that you have been advised here?

In reply to a post by shrimper1:

Note: If system up time represents 55 hours 11 minutes & 55 seconds, then something wrong, as my connection was literally cut off this morning around 9.30 a.m., when the BT Open Reach engineer cut out a bad section of cable to my master socket, and replaced it with a new piece of external wire.

All that means is that the router itself has been up for 55 hours. The connection time up is given by this:

In reply to a post by shrimper1:

WAN PPPoA 11040 12138 0 2612 9066 00:19:40

Your last re-connection to the WAN was 20 mins ago. You should be able to see this in the router's log. Sometimes a re-connection resets the System Up Time and sometimes it doesn't. I suspect it's the diff between a re-sync at the exchange and a LCP/CHAPS event at the ISP's authentication server, but I'm still trying to suss it out.

Quote: "Surely you never believed that someone messing with your wiring would in any way affect the congestion/throughput issue you have on your perfectly good stable sync connection, after all that you have been advised here?"

Agreed, but Orange arranged this check by BT Open Reach @ their/BT cost (NOT MINE, as I've already been caught by BT Open Reach for £100+ in the last 6 months

As I think I've said already, this latest Orange/BT Open Reach initiative involves the check & work carried out (now yesterday!), with the next step to be taken - which is "a lift & shut" (or some such phrase!), by my local Exchange swopping me over to another connection ............. (@ the expense of some poor sod getting my "wonderful" slot).
Thanks for your input, and I will keep this thread updated as progress, or regress transpires ......

That's lift'n'shift

It wasn't the cost I was thinking of but your unfounded optimism

When the BTOR engs commissioned by Orange wasted a visit coming to me they knew nothing of the exchange end and I had to badger Orange again to sort out my profile at the exchange end. Perhaps since then they have got their act together to coordinate things.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

That's lift'n'shift

Thankyou ............... turned 65 the other day, Eeeer wot day woz it?