Sync Speed

I am trying to help my parents with their broadband speed. They have a Livebox.They should be able to get about 5mb, but they are only getting 1.95mb on speedtests.
I'm not there now, so I don't have full details, but the the livebox is saying that we have an attainable download speed of 7872 (if in the test socket) but the downstream rate is only 2272. If I use the front of the master socket I get an attainable speed of 6780, downstream rate still 2272, and if I use the extension run from the front of the socket, as they usually run it, the attainable speed goes down to 5700-6200 and the downstream is still always 2272.

I have spoken to orange technical support, but we have just been going round in circles, so wondered if anyone on here would be able to help?

In reply to a post by woodulike:

the downstream is still always 2272.

That's cuz it is fixed.

I'd say Orange have left you parents on an old fixed speed 2 Mbps service. Is the speed up 288Kbps by any chance?

How long have they been with Orange? If ages, they may need to take out a new contract to get unfixed.

What is their down attenuation (from test socket)? What exchange?

Thanks for the info, the upspeed is 288 and they have been with orange for quite a while, but apparently that isn't the issue.
I have called orange and explained that it is fixed, and now I have told them they tell me the account shows that. Seems strange that after more than an hour on the phone they couldn't have told me this straight away instead of running speed tests, checking the line etc.
They have now explained that because they are using the free broadband that Orange offer to their mobile phone customers the account is limited to 2mb.

Interestingly, their attenuation is 42db, noise margin is 23.3db and they could have 7648. My own connection is attenuation 30db, SNR margin is 6.5db and I I'm connected at 4014.

Thanks again for your help, at least we know why it is slow now, they'll have to pay if they want it quicker!

With a 30dB attenuation and 6dB SNRM you should synching at anything between about 7M and 16M.

That explains that! They will have to pay £s to get more.

They could get 7.2 Meg on ADSL2+ if their exchange supports it.

You are not doing so good yourself. You should be getting 15 Meg on ADSL2+ or even 8 Meg on ADSL1.

I have tried to get my speed better, had engineers vists in the past, but am just told that 4meg is a good speed for where I am. I get very erratic speed test results, some times as high as 10meg, or as low as 2meg, but trying to get someone on the other end of a phone to think there is a problem is nearly impossible.
The only thing I have been told by a bt engineer is that we have aluminum cable in the line somewhere, and that slows things down, our whole estate seems to have slow speeds. We are an ADSL2+ exchange, but it didn't help here when we changed.
We have just had FTTC enabled at our exchange this month, I'm going to try that as soon as I can get it, should be quick enough then.

In reply to a post by woodulike:

I get very erratic speed test results, some times as high as 10meg

Then you are not connected at 4 Meg!

I am looking on the router, at the sync speed, which gets up to 4.1, never higher. If I run a speed test here on the thinkbroad site, or the bbc iplayer test, it is always around 3.2-3.3mb, but if I use speedtest.net, or the talktalk site, it is very uneven, starting slowly, often around 2mb, and then spiking up, often upto 5 or 6, and sometimes over 10. I have just accepted it as the way our connection is, mostly it is ok, an engineer visit says it is all ok. Sometimes it goes very slow and I power-cycle the router and it works again, I'm just hoping FTTC will give us a stable line.

That would be nice, if I could get 10meg I wouldn't be looking for FTTC

Interesting update on my speed tests. I have changed my internet security from Kaspersky to ESET today as I have found the Kaspersky too intrusive. My speedtests are now running normally, I am getting 3.2/3.3 every time.

Better in that it fits your abysmal sync, but you should be getting higher sync, say 15 Meg.

Indeed. Was getting 16.7 myself with 34dB attenuation. And that was a pretty noisy line

The Kaspersky effect on speed tests is widely known.

Indeed! Tweaked no doubt.

So it sounds like I should be pushing talktalk to get my speed sorted out. Thanks guys for your posts, made me realise things should be better.

Mildly - Be LLU with 3dB SNRM instead of the default 6dB. Even with 6dB I was getting 15.7 sync.

In any case yes, the OP's is very very poor given the line length.

Been in contact with talktalk via their forum, and apparently my router is reporting the up and down attenuation the wrong way round. My down atten is reported on the router as 60db, but apparently this is my up attenuation. That would explain the 4mb sync speed I guess, but is it normal for the attenuation to be so different between the two. Is there anything I could do, or ask to be done, to try to get them both to a lower attenuation?

qasdfdsaq, sorry, don't understand the shorthand. LLU and OP's??

thanks.

In reply to a post by woodulike:

my router is reporting the up and down attenuation the wrong way round.

That's why we prefer you to post your stats verbatim and not just selectively quote them in text. We would have spotted that immediately.

Yes, Down attn. usually twice up. Your speed good for your attn.

Move nearer exchange?

LLU = Local Loop Unbundling when ISP has own kit in exchange rather than use BT's.
OP = Original Post/Poster, i.e. you.

Ahhhh,

thanks mate, I only live about a mile from the exchange, I think I have been told my line is about 1.5 kilometres.

Thanks

In reply to a post by woodulike:

I think I have been told my line is about 1.5 kilometres.

However the figures speak for 4.3 Km.

This checker here:

http://windows.mouselike.org/be/?DoAction=Checker

will tell you what length BT think your line is.

That's just a manual database. It is 30% out for my lines.

Attenuation is a much more reliable indicator.

Unfortunately that doesn't work for my line, I'm with talktalk so it's not a BT line. I'm certainly not as far as 4km from the exchange. I'll keep trying with the talktalk forum and see if they can discover why it is so slow for the distance we are from the exchange.

I have just checked on 2 friends numbers who live close by, one is 2.9km and one is 2.3. The 2.3 is closest to me, but the 2.9 lives closer to the exchange!

I have been looking on the thinkbroadband site and viewed the speed tests from my area. There haven't been many of them, but those recorded are similar to mine, the fastest being 4.5

Can you post a full set of your stats. The interplay between the different figures can reveal information not immediately obvious sometimes.

This is the current stats off the router

STATISTICS
Interface Transmit Receive
Bytes Pkts Errs Drops Bytes Pkts Errs Drops
LAN: 4065161180 2933353 0 0 113534668 1620877 0 0
WAN: 35009942 619261 0 0 1640029308 1171579 0 0
Wireless: 4173537789 2957974 0 0 268054051 2235277 0 0
ADSL STATISTICS
Mode
Routing
ADSL Mode G.dmt
ADSL Type Annex A
Status Up

Downstream Upstream
Rate(Kbps) 4352 800

SNR Margin(dB) 6.0 7.0
Attenuation(dB) 31.5 62.0
Output Power(dBm) 18 12

Super Frames 1099783 1099783
RS Correctable Errors 3139 142
RS Uncorrectable Errors 0 0

HEC Errors 0 0
Total Cells 52630 46379
Data Cells 51206831 2404576
Bit Errors 0 0


Thanks

You are getting very good sync from that high attn., if it can be believed having reversed it.

So is it usually a line fault that gives high attenuation, or is it just how some lines are?

No, it's principally line length.

As the ratio looks about right between the 31.5 62.0 figures, then sorry you appear to just have a long line with over 5.5km of cable between you and the exchange.