Virgin media line speed advice

Hi there

We have been with Virgin for several years and had no issues at all except we have only ever been able to get a 1Mbps connection. THey have tried upgrading it twice but it has kept disconnecting each time so we have had it reduced back to the 1Mbps. This was fine - we have played games, watched videos etc etc with no problems. Until summer of this year that is...

We are now having frequent disconnections and webpages timing out before they load. We can no longer watch even the shortest video clips either. Games are just a joke! My emails keep getting jammed up and it is taking several minutes to download emails more often then not.

I want to leave Virgin media but will have to pay around

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What I am wondering though, is whether our problems are liklely to be virgin related? Common sense says yes because we have had no issues before but could there be other issues going on? I realise there can be no definitive answer to this - I'm asking for opinions rather than concrete advice!

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You are right to wonder and to get to the bottom of where your problems come from before ditching them, because if you get it wrong, you take your problem with you.

Problems with speed can arise in 3 places

• In your premises wiring
• In the line to the exchange
• In the connection between the exchange, via the ISP to the internet.
  

As you are suffering disconnections, it's more likely to be in your premises wiring or the line to the exchange, but thta's not conclusive.

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Attenuation: Up 56db Down 15.5db
SNR: Up 14db Down 8db

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Mixed your Up and Down? You ought to get a reasonable 1Mbit/s connection if up and down are mixed.

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I haven't repeated this using the main BT socket but do know it made no difference to our surfing experience when we did had the laptop connected directly into that a few weeks ago. Unfortuately we have no space in our hallway and so can only use the laptop on the kitchen worktop if we use the main socket. I hope that makes sense!

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For diagnostic purposes you need to get the linestats as above from the master socket - which if it is an NTE5, you need to use the test socket behind the faceplate - this requires a screwdriver - google on NTE5 and facplate, and you should get some pics of where you need to test.

The other issue to think about is christmas tree lights - if this problem has started with the Christmas season - because it is known to be a factor in some ADSL problems.

Thanks for replying.

Yes, I did mix the up and down - sorry!

At present it is:

Attenuation - down 57 and up 15.5
SNR - down 2 and up 10

"For diagnostic purposes you need to get the linestats as above from the master socket - which if it is an NTE5, you need to use the test socket behind the faceplate - this requires a screwdriver - google on NTE5 and facplate, and you should get some pics of where you need to test."

That is how we had it when the laptop was in the kitchen. We didn't test it as we didn't know we could then but I do know it made no difference to our surfing experience - it was still cutting out and painfully slow at times. It was ok for a short while but then we find that anyway. It will be ok sometimes for days and just when we start to relax it starts being a pain again!

This problem began in the summer but has been particualrly bad since around October time so I can rule out the xmas tree lights.

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That is how we had it when the laptop was in the kitchen. We didn't test it as we didn't know we could then but I do know it made no difference to our surfing experience - it was still cutting out and painfully slow at times.

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As you have a laptop, it should not be too much of a pain, now you know how.

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This problem began in the summer but has been particualrly bad since around October time so I can rule out the xmas tree lights.

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Street lights?

Thanks.

Do I just need to test it the once, or over several days?

Streetlights??? Lol, surely not?

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Do I just need to test it the once, or over several days?

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Depends. If you have a daily pattern of issues, try to capture the full extent

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Streetlights??? Lol, surely not?

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Less of a mickey take than your ID. Several reports here over the years