I have spent the morning running the full BT Performance Tests and they confirmed the very slow download speed. At one point it registered as 0, I had changed the router id so that I could run the third level of tests directly to the BT Servers.

I then went through the Plusnet broadband performance checklist and it suggested I connect the computer directly to the router and ran the speed test. Download speed was 69mbs - so looking good.

I then connected the computer to the Samknows box and retested the speed - still 69mbs - so good.
So far I have not cycled the Samknows box.

Do ethernet plugs and sockets get corroded and so reduce the signal quality

Does BT / Openreach have a process where if a series of Level 3 speed tests (ie the one where you connect to the BT server) do not give a reasonable result are automated checking and fixing processes enabled to restore performance without a "man" having to be involved.

I will hold the Samknows power cycle for another time.

Thanks for your comments.

In reply to a post by DRW:

I then connected the computer to the Samknows box and retested the speed - still 69mbs - so good.
So far I have not cycled the Samknows box.

Maybe removing the Samknows box from the circuit for a while had the same effect as restarting it would have. I still think it's the most likely culprit.

In reply to a post by DRW:

Do ethernet plugs and sockets get corroded and so reduce the signal quality

Not if they're indoors I shouldn't think, it's never happened to me.

Hi

In reply to a post by DRW:

Do ethernet plugs and sockets get corroded and so reduce the signal quality

If the connection is a little suspect, or some interference or even a dodgy driver on the PC, I've seen a network connection drop to 10Mbps, which would become a bottleneck of course. Usually the switch or network card indicates the speed with a coloured LED, often Green for fast >= 100 Mbps and Orange for 10Mbps, and the OS should give an option to see the status of the network connection.

Disconnection and reconnecting will often cause a wiping of the connections and/or renegotiate the speed back to the fastest supported.

Regards

Phil

No change here, still getting full speed almost every time I test. I've had one instance of a really bad result (as per the ongoing network issues) but an immediate retest and it was fine. Looks like you have some kind of local issue. Exchange congestion or perhaps interference from Christmas lights.

THe performance is still OK

It looks as if I should do a weekly/monthly switch off of the Router and Samkknows box.

After all I do a daily power down of the Sky+ so that it gets a nice fresh startup.

In reply to a post by DRW:

After all I do a daily power down of the Sky+ so that it gets a nice fresh startup.

Heh, mine (now a Sky Q) is on a timer that cuts power overnight (and during the weekday). That daily reboot has saved me from several bugs over the years (and appears to have done so with the Sky Q at the moment, lol). It's also probably saved a fair amount of money in electricity as well. Sky boxes have always been shamefully wasteful.

Edited by Andrue (Sun 01-Jan-17 13:58:02)

In reply to a post by DRW:

THe performance is still OK

It looks as if I should do a weekly/monthly switch off of the Router and Samkknows box.

I don't see the Samknows box going wrong in this way (the slowdown). If mine is going to fail, it just stops running tests, but allows the line to run at full speed (80/20). That's on plusnet too.

My samknows box is the one based on the TP-Link WDR3600. A power-cycle fixes it.

I do get a different indication from the samknows tests though. If you display either the "hourly" or "raw test data" variants, you can see how each test ends. Almost all of my tests are either 72.5Mbps or 68.5Mbps, so the graph looks weird...

https://s29.postimg.org/k146sgyo7/Sam_Knows_Speed_Ra...

Anyone see similar results?

I have also never had a samknows box slow down in the way described, I have had occasionally where it will stop collecting stats (usually after internet downtime) which a reboot resolves but thats it.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

I have also never had a samknows box slow down in the way described, I have had occasionally where it will stop collecting stats (usually after internet downtime) which a reboot resolves but thats it.

I've seen this - and I've got the Cisco/Linksys one.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

I have also never had a samknows box slow down in the way described

Mine has done exactly that, twice, roughly a halving of download speed. That's why I made the suggestion, I wasn't just making it up. On both occasions I noticed after a week or two and a reboot of the Samknows box instantly cured it.

Edited by kasg (Sun 01-Jan-17 20:29:44)