Orange Broadband Problems/ ADSL Confusion!

Hi Everyone,

I've been away from my parents house for Three years due to Uni and as I've just moved back I can't help but notice that our internet is REALLY dire!

Before I left we used to get a stable 1.5mbps (with BT broadband) my parents since moved to Orange and have had nothing but trouble. We get two weeks of 2mbps followed by two weeks of 0.1mbps and many variables in between.

During writing this this post I answered my (old school analogue corded) phone noticed a heck of a lot of noise on the line and swear I could discern some information like sounds?

I'm sure every telephone point in the house has a microfilter on it and thought that was supposed to clear that up? I have to receive large chunks of data due to my work as a sound designer and am panicking a bit as to how this can be resolved.

Any ideas?

Thanks very much in advance.

Here are the stats from my Orange Livebox.

In all of this variation our upload rate maintains 0.38mbps

Never ever changing. Really bizarre.

ADSL
Values


Description
Thomson Livebox 2 Mini uk v7.1-h323

Manufacturer
Thomson

SerialNumber
0839GH3UV9878CP

HardwareVersion
T-E.1.0

SoftwareVersion
6.3.9.6

DestinationAddress
PVC: 0/38

ModulationType
ADSL_G.dmt

ATMEncapsulation
VCMUX

ModemFirmwareVersion
bcm96358_ADSL_PHY_A2pBT009c1.d17d

Status
Up

LinkStatus
Up

LinkType
PPPoA

DataPath
Interleave

UpstreamAttenuation
280

DownstreamAttenuation
460

UpstreamNoiseMargin
210

DownstreamNoiseMargin
-6

UpstreamMaxRate
1028000

DownstreamMaxRate
1824

UpstreamCurrRate
448

DownstreamCurrRate
1664

UpstreamPower
119

DownstreamPower
176

UpTime
19248


Stats.Total.
Values


LinkRetrain
3

FECErrors
0

ATUCFECErrors
0

HECErrors
0

ATUCHECErrors
0

CRCErrors
464

ATUCCRCErrors
0

You are on ADSL1 (BT's IPStream ADSL Max) and getting 1.6 Meg, when you should be getting about 6 Meg. Your Down NM is suspiciously low @ -6 dB.

What exchange are you on? Post it's link from http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange_search

If you are hearing noise on your phones, do a BT Quiet Line Test on 17070 Opt 2 using a corded phone plugged with filter in the test socket hidden behind faceplate of master socket. If you hear any noise, report it to BT as a voice problem; don't mention BB.

Hi - Thanks for your help!

Here's my exchange link
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/WNDAW

1.6mb would be incredible, speedtest.net reports that whilst I have a ping of 47ms my download speed is 0.12mbps and my upload speed 0.38mbps.

The following is from the speedtester.bt website that Orange customer service go on about.

"Download speedachieved during the test was - 134 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 50-250 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :1984 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 135 Kbps"

I don't understand all this though as my connection is just unusable currently as even loading Facebook takes upwards of three minutes. Youtube is impossible.

The connection just always flicks between this unbearable speed and around 1.5mb - Is anything I'm doing causing this do you reckon?

you are suffering from the bt 'bras' profiling, which detects a slow line, and limits the speed to reflect that. it then takes a while to recover after line noise goes away.
you should find the cause of noise, (filters do fail for instance) or test from 'behind the master' socket

In reply to a post by squarewings:

1.6mb would be incredible, speedtest.net reports that whilst I have a ping of 47ms my download speed is 0.12mbps

I was talking about your router's Sync speed, not your actual throughput. Sort out your Sync speed 1st and the other may follow. Low relative throughput is indicative of congestion, which many IPStream platforms suffer from. You may be able to find an IPStream ISP who does not suffer this, like xilo or vivaci.

Have you done the Quiet Line Test? Your line could be very noisy.

Your exchange does not have any LLU ISPs providers except TT and I cannot recommend them for their awful customer service.

Low relative throughput is indicative of congestion,

sometimes, but:

IP Profile for your line is - 135 Kbps

is the reason

The connection just always flicks between this unbearable speed and around 1.5mb

Would sorting out the noise address the sync speed issue?

Sorry, I'm a bit new to this ADSL stuff - I've been lucky enough to have cable for the last three years - oh for that again now!

Thanks very much

IP Profile for your line is - 135 Kbps

Does this mean the line is basically rubbish? Once again, apologies for my ignorance.

the stats show it manages 1.5mb at most times, just its rubbish occasionally

try isolating 'internal' (house) wiring, by connecting a router and a single corded phone via a filter to the test socket behind the master socket. (disconnects house wiring while testing)
but these tests may take days to be conclusive...

Agreed, but I think he really needs to sort out his low Sync 1st , which the IP Profile seems to be reflecting by probably detecting variable noise.

Variable throughput is just as well indicative of congestion at peak times.

@OP: Noise will certainly damp your Sync speed. Why haven;t you done the Quiet Line Test yet?

In reply to a post by ggremlin:

the stats show it manages 1.5mb at most times, just its rubbish occasionally

Oh, I read it as about 50/50!

Had to ask a friend to bring round a corded phone tomorrow as my parents have gotten rid of all theirs!

Will attempt that test first thing in the morning.


Thanks guys.

Oh, I read it as about 50/50!

yea, drop to very low speed on one event and takes a while to recover, then work for a while... and cycle recurs. ok 98% time, but profiling drops so data rate slow >>50% of time

test from 'behind the master' socket

This is the crux of the matter, would the OP be so kind as to retest at the NTE test jack, with all else disconnected.

I did the quiet line test behind the master socket.

There was a much lower level of noise than previously audible when other phones and the router were connected. I removed a broken corded phone that was hidden away in the spare bedroom that for some reason was still connected and replaced the microfilters and tested the line from a regular telephone socket.

The noise situation is now much better although some is definitively still audible.

From what I gather now I just have to wait until my bras ip profile can improve which I've read takes three or four days? Is that at all accurate?


Thanks very much

Have a read of robertos site, in particular this page.

Ring wire can have a dramatic impact on a poor line. Removing this on my Mum's connection completely solved her disconnection problems.

Also as has been suggested a couple of times above if you plug your modem into the test socket it should give a good idea of the maximum your line can achieve, removing any potentially faulty extension wiring from the equation.

Post the stats after doing this.

If the speed goes up a lot then you can start looking at your internal wiring as the problem.

If you can still hear noise during the quiet line test in the test socket then also as mentioned previously, may be worth reporting that as a 'voice' fault (Don't mention broadband)


Edit as didn't see the quiet line test from test socket bit

Edited by deleted (Fri 24-Jun-11 09:30:28)