Thanks for all your recent comments, and I'm pleased to say that I have BT man coming to check my wiring & line to the local exchange tomorrow morning (sorry today morning!) - sent by Mr Orange !
I'm probably getting yet another new router from them as well, as the wifi from this one is pants! Well that's my son's cleanest comment about it

Xray will love or hate me for this one ................ on checking yesterday why I don't have a hidden socket behind my so called BT master socket, I found a funny old oblong shaped small junction box near the ceiling of my front porch - wot's the betting that it is my MASTER SOCKET? ............. and that my wiring on "the outside" is a pile of poo?

Good luck!

That junction box is just that. You should still have a master socket on the house side of it.

Eternally grateful to hairybarsteward's recent recommendation, and not to mention XraySpex for sharing his Bband knowledge and his longstanding support & advice ................. we now have, after said "free" BT Engineer's visit, a new BT socket with built in filter
........... and yet another Router arrived today while Mr BT was here - it's an Orange Livebox, so with all fixes in place the first speeds recorded (with the BT Engineer looking over my shoulder) were: 2.9 Meg D/load & 0.7 Upload. Mr BT said "that's better than you had, but I don't see it going above 6 Meg download" A couple of hours later it's now ..........

" Test1 comprises of two tests

1. Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
Download Speed
12829 Kbps

Max Achievable Speed
21000 Kbps
Download speed achieved during the test was - 12829 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 4000-21000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :16064 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 1088 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 14000 Kbps

2. Upstream Test: -provides background information.
Upload Speed 879 Kbps

Max Achievable Speed 1088 Kbps

>Upload speed achieved during the test was - 879 Kbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 1088 Kbps

We were unable to identify any performance problem with your service at this time.
It is possible that any problem you are currently, or had previously experienced may have been caused by traffic congestion on the Internet or by the server you were accessing responding slowly.
If you continue to encounter a problem with a specific server, please contact the administrator of that server in the first instance."

And to avoid a reprimand off Xray, here are the router stats:

ModulationType ADSL_2plus; LinkType PPPoA; DataPath Fast
Upstream Attenuation 120 Downstream Attenuation 240
Upstream NoiseMargin 56 Downstream NoiseMargin 61
Upstream MaxRate 4293747263 Downstream MaxRate 16064
Upstream CurrRate 1088 Downstream CurrRate 16064
Upstream Power 125 Downstream Power 233
UpTime 21465

So Mr BT would have been ecstatic, if he'd hung around

Only blot on the landscape, is I can't get my wifi computer upstairs to connect to this router, but a phone call after dinner to Orange Customer Support should put that right

That's more like it & a whole different kettle of fish

Lat's hope it stays like that or even improves a bit.

What was your old router? Looks like a Netgear. Might be worth trying that if you were happier with the wireless and it's probably the wiring changes that improved things.

Cheers Xray! .......... the "old" router was/is a NETGEAR N150 Wireless ADSL2+ Modem Router DGN1000SP. At least it had an external aerial, this White Livebox must have an internal one, it's that or the security software that's preventing contact with my old Packard Bell computer upstairs. If my son gets his new Dell laptop wifi going when he gets in from work, it may crack my little remaining problem.
p.s. I still have as well an Orange SIEMENS router and an old D Link router that I purchased some years ago ........... must be careful we don't become a modem day Steptoe & Son

Hi shrimper1,
It may be that your old Packard Bell only supports WPA-PSK or WEP and not WPA2-PSK. Orange also sent me a Livebox despite me specifically telling them that anything without the 4 RJ45 ports on the back was useless, the tech guy (Rob) also claimed that the Livebox would handle wireless streaming of HD Video with no problems at all.....
Hence my stance of bothering the Executive Office when faults need resolving because Orange staff just make it up as they go along.

Glad to hear your speeds are better and the Netgear wireless does perform much better with the firmware update, not ideal but far better than the state its in when Orange ship it to you.

You are very informed! I was up to God knows when last night/this morning working out how to get rid of two BT neighbours routers' signal from my upstairs computer's broadband connection (one of the BT's was unsecured), as they were taking first & 2nd priority on my ISP list. I finally found out how to, and also fudged around with the WEP security. It now works fine (well, as best a knackered Packard Bell can), as our standby family computer. It would have helped if one of my family had stayed by the downstairs Livebox to press the wifi button every 10 mins! to make it an earlier night for me Guess it improved my fitness though
Speeds are still good @ off-peak times but download was only 2.6Meg, with upload 0.9Meg around 8pm tonight. Currently 4.3Meg D/load & 0.9Meg Upload.
My line IP maintains @ 14Meg D/load & 1.1Upload, regardless of time of day - which is encouraging. Thanks once again for all your help & support

In reply to a post by shrimper1:

You are very informed! I was up to God knows when last night/this morning working out how to get rid of two BT neighbours routers' signal from my upstairs computer's broadband connection (one of the BT's was unsecured), as they were taking first & 2nd priority on my ISP list. I finally found out how to, and also fudged around with the WEP security. It now works fine (well, as best a knackered Packard Bell can), as our standby family computer. It would have helped if one of my family had stayed by the downstairs Livebox to press the wifi button every 10 mins! to make it an earlier night for me Guess it improved my fitness though
Speeds are still good @ off-peak times but download was only 2.6Meg, with upload 0.9Meg around 8pm tonight. Currently 4.3Meg D/load & 0.9Meg Upload.
My line IP maintains @ 14Meg D/load & 1.1Upload, regardless of time of day - which is encouraging. Thanks once again for all your help & support

Hi Shrimper, to control your home wireless network connections, configure the Windows wireless-zero-configuration programme, you tell the wireless connection where to connect.

Wireless Zero Configuration in Windows XP http://www.home-network-help.com/wireless-zero-confi...

WLAN AutoConfig Service in Windows Vista http://www.home-network-help.com/wlan-autoconfig.html

Orange the biggest bunch of idiots ever, that technical support is unreal.

I seen more technical lumps of jelly!

Is it not about time Ofcom or whoever got them to pull into line, I don't agree with some indian robot reading a script out that is utter garbage!

Congratulations! A very helpful contribution!