Exchange or internal problem?

I have been suffering from low connection speeds lately.

It all started in the beginning of the week with frequent disconnections. The connection speed stayed the same after the first few disconnections, but then it started to drop. My average connection was 6MB, now it is 135KB. I have of course reported this to my ISP (ADSL24), and they have checked with their supplier (Murphx) and apparently there are no problems there. So my ISP asked me to check my wiring and cabling, microfilter, do a quiet line test, see if the wireless is secure, etc, etc.

Well, for starters, I'm connected with a cable to the router, so no wireless there. As for the wiring of the socket, it has never changed since I first connected. And yes, I did check the BT Master Socket. Only 2 wires are connected, white and blue. The cable from the microfilter to the router is the same, so is the microfilter. But, just to satisfy them, I changed the microfilter and cable on Friday just in case.

No change. Maybe it is the router (Belkin), but as my support contact said it can take up to 3 days for the IP Profile to sync itself, it is best to leave the router on for 3 days. I do have a spare router which I will use come Monday when the 3 days are over, if needed.

Technical data.

I did various BT Speedtests during the week, and checked the router stats.

Tuesday 15th:

Your DSL Connection Rate :1344 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 1000 Kbps
Download speedachieved during the test was - 882 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 200-1000 Kbps.

Wednesday 16th:

Your DSL Connection Rate :5792 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 1000 Kbps
Download speedachieved during the test was - 885 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 200-1000 Kbps.

Data Rate Upstream: 448
Data Rate Downstream: 5792
Noise Margin Upstream: 27 dB
Noise Margin Downstream: 9 dB
Attenuation Upstream: 58 dB
Attenuation Downstream: 47 dB

Thursday 17th:

Your DSL Connection Rate :6208 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 500 Kbps
Download speedachieved during the test was - 458 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 50-500 Kbps.

Data Rate Upstream: 448
Data Rate Downstream: 6208
Noise Margin Upstream: 26 dB
Noise Margin Downstream: 8 dB
Attenuation Upstream: 58 dB
Attenuation Downstream: 47 dB

Same day but in evening:

Download speedachieved during the test was - 92 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 50-135 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Assured Rate IP profile on your line is - 135 Kbps

Data Rate Upstream: 448
Data Rate Downstream:160
Noise Margin Upstream: 16 dB
Noise Margin Downstream: 19dB
Attenuation Upstream: 60 dB
Attenuation Downstream: 45 dB

Friday 18th:

Download speedachieved during the test was - 83 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 50-250 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :6176 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 135 Kbps

Data Rate Upstream: 448
Data Rate Downstream: 6167
Noise Margin Upstream: 27 dB
Noise Margin Downstream: 6 dB
Attenuation Upstream: 58 dB
Attenuation Downstream: 47 dB

Today:

Download speedachieved during the test was - 100 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 50-250 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :6208 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 135 Kbps

Data Rate Upstream: 448
Data Rate Downstream: 6208
Noise Margin Upstream: 26 dB
Noise Margin Downstream: 5 dB
Attenuation Upstream: 59 dB
Attenuation Downstream: 47 dB

----------------------------------------------------

Now I'm seriously beginning to suspect that the problem is at my exchange, unless it is possibily the router?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Three and a half hours for a 200MB download is no fun.

does your router log sync speeds etc ? looks like it is connecting at a wide range of speeds and the lowest ones have led to the 135k profile which will take a while to lift. Do phone calls or similar make it resync ?

I would leave it off for an hour or overnight to make sure the profiling system spots the high sync speed you currently have.

With the line rate changing from next to nothing, to what you'd expect on the line - it does indicate an issue somewhere on the line, or with your equipment.

Try another router first and then see if the pattern is replicated. Also, use a new filter with that new router.

If the problem goes away, you know what the issue is. If not, it is likely to be between the house and exchange and may need an engineer.

Matt

This is interesting.

As soon as I tried to read your replies, the internet light on the router went out and wouldn't come back on. I plugged the spare router in, and the light came on. Went back to the old router, no light. So it seems that the Belkin router was on it's way out? I'm now using the spare router (Thompson Speedtouch TG585 V7) and will keep an eye on things.

So should I disconnect the router overnight for the sync settings?

The stats from the router:

Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 6,368
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 0.00 / 0.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.0 / 19.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 29.0 / 46.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 25.0 / 9.5

Edited by DoctorJellybean (Sat 19-Jun-10 20:09:19)

You might as well leave the router in over night.

Matt

Also - what is the sync rate on the new router?

Matt

In reply to a post by uno:

Also - what is the sync rate on the new router?

Matt

Link Information

Uptime: 0 days, 0:12:53
DSL Type: G.992.1 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 6,368
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 0.00 / 0.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.0 / 19.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 29.0 / 46.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 25.0 / 9.5
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / TSTC
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 13 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 1 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 1 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 335
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 1
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 0

That looks about right.

BT may have only notched up the SNR to 9 - so that isn't too bad. It may go down over time.

Matt

Hmm, sounds like the modem side of your primary router's given up the game!

If you're able, you might like to try the Belkin router on a known-good connection, see if it can connect there? If not, it looks like the belkin will need to be sent somewhere. Depending on its warranty that'll be either to the bin or to the manufacturer

My first look at this thread, and my immediate reaction to the first set of stats was that the upstream attenuation was up the creek and to try a different router.

Later on of course this was forced .