Massive Drop in Sync Speed

Hey All,

I am after a bit of advice on how i could possibly proceed with this problem. I have had my ADSL2+ since June last year. Its always sync'd at a minimum of 12Mbits and normally around 14Mbits.

Yesterday - all of a sudden it drops and will now only sync at around 5Mbits.

My ISP (Freeola) have asked me to do the normal stuff to check things - Basically i have been able to change everything from the micofilter to the router and even to a different PC. No matter what i do the sync speed remains at a very low 5mbits.

These are my current line stats:

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 5706 kbps 440 kbps
Line Attenuation 23.5 db 10.5 db
Noise Margin 6.0 db 12.5 db

Considering that for over 12 months its been solid at between 12 and 14 Mbits, and all of a sudden dropping to 5Mbits - They are telling me this is within the acceptable limits and if i want a BT Engineer to be called out i will more than likely be charged for it.

I can understand a slight drop, but from 14 down to 5mibts - Thats a joke.

I have no idea what i can do now to try and get back to what i have been used to for the past 12 months.

Can anyone offer any assistance?

Rgds
Aidi

Edited by deleted (Tue 18-Jun-13 14:15:38)

The same happened to me - from 5/6 mbs now I can only sync at 3072 (2.4mbs real speed) with a 4mbs cap - and BT engineers et al say all is hunky dory.

I believe mine happened when the exchange went to the 21cn or whatever it is called last sept.

Basically, I have given up trying to get it how it was.

Also note the change in our sync speeds is about the same % wise... that is strange.

Nick

Edited by deleted (Tue 18-Jun-13 14:30:38)

If the line is testing OK and there's no crackles/noises when on the phone, and the Margin and Attenuation haven't noticeably changed from how they were before, it's possible 'something' is creating a lot of noise and so lowering the sync floor.

Look for something generating RF noise, either within your own premises or neighbourhood - particularly if it was sudden as it could be somebody has started using a new appliance.

If you are able to monitor and graph your modem stats, it will help in showing if it is constant or intermittent, such as something being switched on/off.

describe your home phone wiring setup

This is where is could be a little difficult to diagnose...

I am in MOD accommodation. The room has a port on the wall - with a BT Openreach box where the filter is currenlty plugged into the test port.

Easiest thing to imagine is the same sort of layout that a Travelodge would likely have.

The whole of the floor (16 rooms in total) all have the same and feed back to a central switch - from there it goes to the BT Exchange.

The other comment made about something having been turned on causing interference is a good possibility, however trying to identify what that could be would be a needle in a haystack.

Rgds
Aidi

so someone else might have had ADSL hooked up in the same cable bundle, or worse. Difficult.

You didn't say if the voice side of things was silent & crackle free, or if testing it with nothing but the router plugged in made a difference.

I would say that at least 1/2 of the rooms have and ADSL connection already.

As for the phone line, its as clear as its always been. With just the router connected i still get the same connection speed.

In reply to a post by akwilliams:

I would say that at least 1/2 of the rooms have and ADSL connection already.

Have any seen the same deterioration?

Have a read of this page. The 80% quoted for the FTR may be correct, or it may be 70%. Information sources vary and I think it started at 70% and was at some stage increased.

Once you have your head round that, ask them what the FTR for your line is. But as the others have pointed out, if the cause is new noise at your end you may have a problem with arguments about charging for callout.

That warning is something all ISPs give when discussing engineer callouts. Basically it relates to where the problem is wrt the demarcation point. The demarcation point is the test socket of your master socket, with you responsible if the cause is your side of it, and Openreach if the other side, whatever goes on elsewhere in the building.

By the "test socket", I assume you are talking about the one on the wall at the back as shown here.

Re the noise itself, has anyone around recently installed a Sky box or a plasma TV? New DECT phones?

In reply to a post by akwilliams:

Easiest thing to imagine is the same sort of layout that a Travelodge would likely have.

I'd imagine a hotel as having a Ethernet port in every room and the ADSL connection in the basement with the modem & router. Not a modem in every room as you seem to say. Do you mean it's a BT OR fibre modem or a BT Home Hub (nowt to do with OR) router?