Disconnections and Service Downgrade

Back in February EE upgraded the line from the old ADSL Max (8Mb) service to ADSL2+ without tell me they were going to do it. At the time if caused me some concern as the connection became erratic and poor, causing me to post on this forum. Since then I've had the fastest connection I've ever had on my line, it was actually stable for long periods (weeks) using my Bright Box, which had previously dropped the line multiple times a day on ADSL Max. However...

This past week I've been suffering multiple disconnections and my router reports I'm now on ADSL2 (NOT 2+) with a connection speed on around 3Mb, it won't go any higher and this is becoming a problem as it makes watching video on more than one device choppy at best. With a growing family I'm finding this reduced service very poor and a problem. The wife has complained that she has struggled to use it on some days in the last week while I've been at work. For a day (6 days ago) I even suffered a less than 1Mb service. Any ideas on what is going on here?

Some Stats as it stands...

Line Status --- SHOWTIME
Link Type --- Interleaved Path
Operation Mode Automatic G992.3(ADSL2)
Data Rate Information
Stream Type Actual Data Rate
Upstream 974 (Kbps.)
Downstream 3115 (Kbps.)
Defect/Failure Indication
Operation Data Upstream Downstream
Noise Margin 6.8 dB 8.8 dB
Line Attenuation 26.2 dB 43.5 dB
Indicator Name Near End Indicator Far End Indicator
Output Power 12.7 dBm 0.0 dBm
Fast Path FEC Correction NA NA
Interleaved Path FEC Correction 627103 4720
Fast Path CRC Error NA NA
Interleaved Path CRC Error 343 161
Loss of Signal Defect 35 0
Fast Path HEC Error STR NA NA
Interleaved Path HEC Error 759 286
Error Seconds 60779 1075
Statistics:
Received Cells 53342526
Transmitted Cells 8615433
Time Connected: 2 days 13:15:30

BTW: I did a software reboot last week after experiencing the less than 1Mb service and took some stats right after the restart...

Line Status --- SHOWTIME
Link Type --- Fast Path
Operation Mode Automatic G992.3(ADSL2)
Data Rate Information
Stream Type Actual Data Rate
Upstream 947 (Kbps.)
Downstream 3783 (Kbps.)
Defect/Failure Indication
Operation Data Upstream Downstream
Noise Margin 5.0 dB 2.9 dB
Line Attenuation 26.5 dB 43.5 dB
Indicator Name Near End Indicator Far End Indicator
Output Power 12.7 dBm 17.9 dBm
Fast Path FEC Correction 0 0
Interleaved Path FEC Correction NA NA
Fast Path CRC Error 1802 0
Interleaved Path CRC Error NA NA
Loss of Signal Defect 1 0
Fast Path HEC Error STR 13191 0
Interleaved Path HEC Error NA NA
Error Seconds 42 0
Statistics
Received Cells 1765
Transmitted Cells 739
Time Connected: 00:02:58

The log is full of IPCP and LCP entires with sending and receiving CONFACK, CONFREQ, CONFREJ. I believe some of these are errors about information loss (?) but I don't know much else than that.

Sun Jun 29 18:15:49 2014 PPP connection up (VC1)
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP up
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP received CONFACK
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP sending CONFREQ
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP received CONFNAK
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP sending CONFREQ
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP received CONFREJ
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP sending CONFACK
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP received CONFREQ
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: IPCP sending CONFREQ
Sun Jun 29 18:15:46 2014 PPP: CHAP authentication succeeded
Sun Jun 29 18:15:45 2014 PPP: LCP up
Sun Jun 29 18:15:45 2014 PPP: LCP received CONFACK
Sun Jun 29 18:15:45 2014 PPP: LCP sending CONFACK
Sun Jun 29 18:15:45 2014 PPP: LCP received CONFREQ
Sun Jun 29 18:15:44 2014 PPP: LCP sending CONFREQ
Sun Jun 29 18:15:44 2014 PPP: Starting daemon
Sun Jun 29 18:15:40 2014 WAN link up (ADSL)
Sun Jun 29 18:14:11 2014 PPP connection down (VC1)
Sun Jun 29 18:14:11 2014 PPP: Stopped daemon(0,1,5)
Sun Jun 29 18:14:11 2014 PPP: LCP sending TERMREQ
Sun Jun 29 18:14:10 2014 PPP: IPCP down
Sun Jun 29 18:14:10 2014 PPP: LCP down
Sun Jun 29 18:14:10 2014 WAN link down (ADSL)
Sun Jun 29 18:11:49 2014 PPP connection up (VC1)
Sun Jun 29 18:11:48 2014 PPP: IPCP up
Sun Jun 29 18:11:48 2014 PPP: IPCP received CONFACK

There is also the occasional... PPP: LCP received CODEREJ on it's own.

I've got dozens of "Possible DoS attack detected" from everything on my network including several computers a couple on android devices and a so called smart TV.

BT wholesale speed tester says there is nothing wrong but it says my line is limited to 4Mb, which is a change! Under ADSL Max and ADSL2+ it said I could get up to 8Mb and under ADSL2+ my Bright Box has happily stayed connected for weeks at a time around 6-7Mb (Sync speed) with a throughput of about 5.5Mb.

As of now I'm switching over to my other EE provided router the DGN1000 to see if it makes a difference. Will I ever get my faster ADSL2+ connection back?

I am again, dismayed at my broadband service from EE!

Update since last post...

Have had the DGN1000 on since I posted before and the connection was initially...

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 4408 Kbps 1109 Kbps
Line Attenuation 44.9 dB 24.5 dB
Noise Margin 5.4 dB 5.9 dB

The following day it read...

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 5112 Kbps 1073 Kbps
Line Attenuation 44.2 dB 24.5 dB
Noise Margin 8.1 dB 5.7 dB

Nowl reads...

System Up Time 114:33:41
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 1313307 1681355 0 2507 70338 09:10:53
LAN 10M/100M 2889437 2872969 0 9008 544 114:33:28
WLAN 11M/54M/150M 1662078 1286701 0 58834 2350 11:01:54

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 5112 Kbps 1073 Kbps
Line Attenuation 44.2 dB 24.5 dB
Noise Margin 8.1 dB 6.1 dB

The connection had been idle all night and appears to have triggered an "LCP allowed to come up", with a "remove redirection rule, port 21828" either side of it. I changed nothing and don't have any firewall rules or the like that might change something, so I don't know what it's on about?

Does anyone know if these stats look normal? All I know is the connection is slow and still very sluggish. BT wholesale speed test shows 4.5Mbps down, 0Mbps up. (not a typo, it does read 0). On further diagnostics (TAP: 1) it says 0.7Mbps and that I don't have a problem. Despite showing 4.5Mbps download it says my service is still limited to 4Mbps. Why?

ThinkBroadBand Speed Test

You should be getting about 8 Meg on ADSL2 that you have now or about 7 Meg on ADSL2+ that you had before. However you have a load of ES, should be about no more than 1 per min, and discons.

Have you connected to the test socket? If not, do so.

The log is normal. It doesn't show any errors as such, but there is 1 discon as recorded in the stats in the last 3 mins.

Ignore the 'Possible DoS attack detected' from your own network. The BB just does that all the time, when devices are 1st connected, I think.

Please post full Further Diagnostics of BT wholesale speedtester, text boxes only.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Please post full Further Diagnostics of BT wholesale speedtester, text boxes only.

Re-run BT wholesale speed test and clicked on the diagnostics, although this time it did not report 0Mbps on the upload.

BT Wholesale speed test, Download 4.58Mbps, Upload 0.89Mbps, Ping 35
Further diagnostics displays...
Download 4.58Mbps (Maximum 4Mbps) (Acceptable range 1.2Mbps-4Mbps) Profile 4.45Mbps
Upload 0.89Mbps (Maximum 0.83Mbps) Profile 0.83Mbps

BTW BT Wholesale availability checker (and also EE's checker) say I should be getting 5-14Mbps on ADSL2/2+. I'm clearly below that at the moment.

I've had a resync downwards on the Netgear and it is showing...
System Up Time 139:07:44
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 636244 831110 0 1435 49315 06:41:03
LAN 10M/100M 3409561 3407527 0 73 560 139:07:31
WLAN 11M/54M/150M 821619 626736 0 62152 2148 05:18:14

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 5048 Kbps 1055 Kbps
Line Attenuation 44.3 dB 24.5 dB
Noise Margin 7.7 dB 6.3 dB

From your other post...

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Have you connected to the test socket? If not, do so.

Not yet. Should I switch back to the BB or stick with the Netgear, does it matter?

BTW I don't have any phone extensions and the router and my phone are plugged directly into a ADSL/Nation faceplate (forget the model) on the master socket.

I'd prefer the BB as it shows error counts, which is where you were getting hit. Both routers should be equally reliable.

As well as full stats please give Time Connected at same time.

Edited by XRaySpeX (Mon 07-Jul-14 22:44:05)

Doh! I've gone with Netgear, disconnected about 30mins ago, it's been up for about 15mins. I guess I'll have to leave it a while before switching to the BB or I might upset the exchange?

Stats...
System Up Time 00:16:45
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 25008 27155 0 1996 35567 00:15:29
LAN 10M/100M 27319 25853 0 33735 2144 00:16:32
WLAN 11M/54M/150M 0 0 0 0 0 00:00:00

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 4824 Kbps 1055 Kbps
Line Attenuation 44.4 dB 24.5 dB
Noise Margin 7.1 dB 6.1 dB

Thanks for the help so far. Been over 4 days now and nothing has changed, no re-syncs or the like, still stuck about 4Mbps. DGN1000 in test socket on a different in-line filter. Stats...

System Up Time 113:05:12
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 6686948 8579727 0 995 8309 113:03:56
LAN 10M/100M 2998436 2717524 0 9700 575 113:04:59
WLAN 11M/54M/150M 2084381 1215675 0 115064 5200 07:14:28

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 4824 Kbps 1055 Kbps
Line Attenuation 44.4 dB 24.5 dB
Noise Margin 8.2 dB 5.9 dB

BT Wholesale speed test, Download 4.38Mbps, Upload 0.85Mbps, Ping 25
Further diagnostics displays...
Download 4.38Mbps (Maximum 4Mbps) (Acceptable range 1.2Mbps-4Mbps) Profile 4.26Mbps
Upload 0.85Mbps (Maximum 0.83Mbps) Profile 0.83Mbps

Thinkbroadband speed test, Download 4.13Mbps, Upload 0.90Mbps

Seen as nothing was changing I've taken the DGN1000 off and installed Bright Box again (fun afternoon ) Stats...

Broadband State: Connected
Internet State: Connected
Time Connected: 00:22:20
Downstream Rate: 4595kbps
Upstream Rate: 1055kbps

ADSL Status
Configured Current
Line Status --- SHOWTIME
Link Type --- Fast Path
Operation Mode Automatic G992.5(ADSL2+)
Data Rate Information
Stream Type Actual Data Rate
Upstream 1055 (Kbps.)
Downstream 4595 (Kbps.)
Defect/Failure Indication
Operation Data Upstream Downstream
Noise Margin 5.8 dB 9.1 dB
Line Attenuation 25.9 dB 48.0 dB
Indicator Name Near End Indicator Far End Indicator
Output Power 12.8 dBm 0.0 dBm
Fast Path FEC Correction 0 0
Interleaved Path FEC Correction NA NA
Fast Path CRC Error 8 1
Interleaved Path CRC Error NA NA
Loss of Signal Defect 0 0
Fast Path HEC Error STR 18 0
Interleaved Path HEC Error NA NA
Error Seconds 7 1
Statistics
Received Cells 976402
Transmitted Cells 205933

First thing that stood out to me is that it is back on ADSL2+ but is on "fast path". I've always been on interleaved as far as I can remember. Ran a few speed tests again...

BT Wholesale speed test, Download 4.08Mbps, Upload 0.91Mbps, Ping 38.13
Further diagnostics displays...
Download 4.08Mbps (Maximum 4Mbps) (Acceptable range 1.2Mbps-4Mbps) Profile 4.05Mbps
Upload 0.91Mbps (Maximum 0.83Mbps) Profile 0.83Mbps

ThinkBroadband speed test, Download 3.9Mbps, Upload 0.9Mbps

Not sure if any of this helps to work out what has happened but they seem to have changed things a bit at their end for no reason at all. They sell the service as upto 17Mb/sec and claim I should get between 5-14Mbps on my line, then another part of their page says I can only get upto 8Mb. In reality at the moment I'm struggling to keep it at 4Mb which matches none of the above. I've been rating EE service as bad to poor in all questionnaires, I'm not happy with them at all. I'm getting pestered to switch to Fibre which I can't afford just yet. If they can't even get copper ADSL right what chance have I of getting the alleged 32Mb they say my line will do on fibre?

Will I ever get my fast connection back? Help much appreciated.

After 1 hour, noticed increase in errors on the downstream...

DSL Status
Configured Current
Line Status --- SHOWTIME
Link Type --- Fast Path
Operation Mode Automatic G992.5(ADSL2+)
Data Rate Information
Stream Type Actual Data Rate
Upstream 1055 (Kbps.)
Downstream 4595 (Kbps.)
Defect/Failure Indication
Operation Data Upstream Downstream
Noise Margin 5.1 dB 9.1 dB
Line Attenuation 25.9 dB 48.0 dB
Indicator Name Near End Indicator Far End Indicator
Output Power 12.8 dBm 0.0 dBm
Fast Path FEC Correction 0 0
Interleaved Path FEC Correction NA NA
Fast Path CRC Error 27 42
Interleaved Path CRC Error NA NA
Loss of Signal Defect 0 0
Fast Path HEC Error STR 74 22
Interleaved Path HEC Error NA NA
Error Seconds 25 34
Statistics
Received Cells 1368103
Transmitted Cells 251053

Broadband Type: ADSL
Broadband State: Connected
Internet State: Connected
Time Connected: 01:05:30
Downstream Rate: 4595kbps
Upstream Rate: 1055kbps

In reply to a post by Kail:

If they can't even get copper ADSL right what chance have I of getting the alleged 32Mb they say my line will do on fibre?

ADSL speeds have no bearing on fibre. Former depends on line length from exchange while latter depends on length from cab.