G.INP and ECI Modem on Zen internet

Looks like I've been affected by a large speed drop and increased latency caused by G.INP and ECI modem issues being reported in the Fibre Broadband discussion heading.
I have a ECI modem which was installed Jan. 2014 by BT when I regraded to FTTC and until Sunday I had a stable 74Mb/s download - 7ms ping. Now I get 63Mb/s and 15-17ms ping.

Normal speed and ping: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4200894764

Latest speed test: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4258231004

just now sent Zen an e-mail regarding this issue and how can I get back to normal speed and ping.

I have a spare HG612 I purchased in Dec. 2013 or early Jan. 2014 before regraded to FTTC, I don't know which firmware it has.
If I swap the installed ECI modem with the HG612, will the hg612 auto update to the latest firmware that supports G.INP and I can get back to the normal speed and ping.

Edited by knight01 (Wed 01-Apr-15 19:28:24)

That looks like interleaving. My connection did the same last week.

Leave things as they are and it should sort itself within the next couple of days.

My latency increased last week after a 'national outage'. I've been told I'm now routed via Manchester instead of London (I'm in Brighton), and this may or may not revert back sometime.

Simon.

Edited by bet_here (Wed 01-Apr-15 21:26:24)

Coming from the other thread in Fibre Broadband, I've emailed Zen again this morning about this.

It isn't Zen's fault but I just want to know what's going on, and I think they're in a better position to hassle BT than me!

The problem you are seeing is the ECI modem not being compatible with G.INP which has been rolled out to every Huawei cabinet in the UK which was completed at the end of March.

The symptoms are reduced speed (about 12mb) and increased ping by about 15 to 20ms.

This is not caused by DLM or Interleave - it's the modem not being compatible with BT's G.INP transmission.

An engineer visit will NOT fix the issue (trust me I have gone this route) DLM will be reset by a BT engineer, the connection will be great for a day or so and then it will revert back to same as before with G.INP being reapplied to the line.

Possible fixes..

1) Wait for BT's modem management team to deploy firmware updates to affected ECI modems - which BT claim will happen in the coming weeks. (I personally don't believe them)

2) Buy a HG612 modem from various sources such as eBay etc. The HG612 is compatible with G.INP with SP08 firmware and you will get your speed and ping back to normal.

3) Buy a compatible all in one solution like Billion routers and zyxel routers.


Other than that there is no other option. Don't not get a BT engineer out for this as you will only incur your self charges and hassle.

Edited by lockyatlrg (Fri 03-Apr-15 12:58:27)

Thanks for the clarification Chris.

My plan of action is here: http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/t/4400507-re-...

Shall wait and see what transpires over the next month or so.

I hate BT.

I emailed Zen regarding the issue few days ago, I received a reply from them.

Zen are aware of the issues affecting ECI modem and G.INP.

Here is the quote from their reply:

"Unfortunately, we are seeing problems being reported when the modem on a line does not support G.INP. These lines automatically have interleaving applied, even if they previously did not require it. This can result in lower sync rates and high latency.

Connecting a device compliant with G.INP should see an improvement. The only Zen supplied device that is not compliant is one type of ECI modem, which would need a firmware update to ensure compliance. Unfortunately you do appear to have this modem on your line."

They said BT are remotely sending out Firmware updates to these devices and will take few weeks to process.

I have a HG612 3B, I installed the unlocked SP08 firmware. But I'm still undecided if I should replace the ECI with the HG612 or stick with ECI for now and see if the firmware gets updated.

Edited by knight01 (Fri 03-Apr-15 13:23:43)

BT can not push firmware to modems through lines that already have G.inp applied, unless they have another way of doing it, me personally doesn't believe it.

Which version of the ECI modem do you have ? B focus V-2FUb/r rev B or a different version , as the reason for it not aquiring the G.inp FW following a reset of DLM may be down to which version of the ECI you have, just a theory

But as you say the ECI won't be able to upgrade it's fw remotely without G.inp being de actvated first (DLM reset) most BT engineers should be aware of this problem,
Some with the ECI modem have been left without internet access because of this, where the modem appears to sync (dsl led lit) but isnt

Is there a technical reason thst stops new firmware being sent?. Just trying to understand

The modem syncs but no data is transmitted.

In reply to a post by tommy45:

B focus V-2FUb/r rev B

I've got that one.

A DLM reset will only work for a few days, then the line will get G.INP re-enabled without the firmware update and you're back at square one. Trust I have already been there and done that

In reply to a post by knight01:

I have a HG612 3B, I installed the unlocked SP08 firmware. But I'm still undecided if I should replace the ECI with the HG612 or stick with ECI for now and see if the firmware gets updated.

Personally I would just switch to the HG612 as it would support the G.INP and also have a matching chipset to the DSLAM..

Is their any reason that you don't want to switch from the ECI?

It does seem a bit odd to have a backup modem and then not use it when it's needed.

FTTC regrade has a 12 month contract and the ECI modem was supplied by MJ Quinn - a BT contractor at time of install. I didn't want to break any clause in the T&Cs by replacing the supplied modem.
Originally I purchased the HG612 to unlock it (also because it has a Broadcom chipset) and to use as a modem for my ADSL service, I ended up keeping it as a backup because I couldn't get it to work with ADSL.
I'm out of contract now (just checked in the portal - finished in mid. Jan. 15), I'll end up installing the HG612 to get my speed and ping back to how it was.

I was just exploring the possibility that the earlier version of the eci modem may not accept the new fw , which just maybe the underlying reason why your modem didn't have it's fw upgraded unless the bt system responsible for fw upgrades didn't work as intended

In reply to a post by kadison44:

In reply to a post by tommy45:

B focus V-2FUb/r rev B

I've got that one.

same here , that is afaik the latest version

mine is the latest ECI

I connected the HG612 with unlocked B30SP08 firmware and got my speed and ping back to before this issues started.
New speed test with HG612 connected: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4271409499
Speedtest with ECI modem: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4258231004

I'm on a Huawei cab and won't be going back to a ECI modem anytime soon.

These are my stats: http://i.imgur.com/LAuGhDU.jpg

In reply to a post by knight01:

I connected the HG612 with unlocked B30SP08 firmware and got my speed and ping back to before this issues started.
[snip]

I'm on a Huawei cab and won't be going back to a ECI modem anytime soon.

I am also on a Huawei cabinet with an ECI modem.

I have now bought a Huawei from eBay, I wasn't really bothered about the ability to monitor the speed and stats (my line speed is 10 times faster than it was under MaxADSL) but the G.INP issue decided me on being able to in parallel with TB BQM. I will leave the ECI modem alone in case I need to re-use it if I get a fault on my line, I had an OR FTTC install it so really it's theirs!

Maybe if I ever reconnect it the firmware will get updated once there is a G.INP compatible version.