Fibre question

kaotikuk · 23 Feb 2018 at 20:45

Hey guys, after some knowledge if possible. Im on Plusnet fibre at the moment, currently synced at 24999 down and 6000 up.

Fastest i had on my line was about 32mb down.. but it slowly dropped, setlled at 28mb for a month or so, then now sits at 25mb.. Plusnet say because its my "minimum line speed" they cant do anything about it. Frustrating as i know my line is capable of more.

I have done the BT dsl checker and get this:

VDSL Range A (Clean) 43.9 32.4 7.9 5.5 28.1 Available -- --
VDSL Range B (Impacted) 34.5 20 7.2 3.7 16.5 Available -- --

So im wondering, should i be expecting more? am i being mugged off? I have no clue what this stuff means really so just after some help! cheers!

bremen1874 · 23 Feb 2018 at 21:28

How do you know the line is capable of more? Just because it was previously faster than it is now doesn't mean much.

Log into the router and see if it displays any connection information (I believe that it does)? What does it have to say?

The BT DSL checker only provides an estimate. Your connection is still well within that range.

Plusnet will have provided an guaranteed minimum speed when you signed up. What was it?

Have you checked that your internal wiring isn't causing issues?

Have you checked that the line is completely quiet (Google 'quiet line test')?

kaotikuk · 23 Feb 2018 at 23:48

bremen1874 said:
How do you know the line is capable of more? Just because it was previously faster than it is now doesn't mean much.

Log into the router and see if it displays any connection information (I believe that it does)? What does it have to say?

The BT DSL checker only provides an estimate. Your connection is still well within that range.

Plusnet will have provided an guaranteed minimum speed when you signed up. What was it?

Have you checked that your internal wiring isn't causing issues?

Have you checked that the line is completely quiet (Google 'quiet line test')?

Hey, just assuming if it was running at 32mb once then its capable of it no?

The guaranteed minimum was 25mb, which is why im skeptical as it droped and dropped until it got there if you see what i mean.

Have tested in the test socket and its the same, had an engineer do all the wiring not long back so i think its ok, Havent done a quiet test will get round to that!

Just that dslchecker im in the impacted range, which could mean issues?

cheers

bremen1874 · 24 Feb 2018 at 00:54

Plusnet have nothing to gain by reducing the speed of your connection.

The line and equipment you're connected to locally belongs to BT Openreach not Plusnet. Plusnet only have have very minimal control over it.

Impacted doesn't mean faulty. They (Openreach) aren't going to run out and fix/replace it for you.

DLM (Dynamic Line Management) will adjust your connection speed (up or down) to keep things stable. A DLM reset can sometimes be advantageous but isn't something (unless things have changed) Plusnet can do directly. Things have to be serious before you'll get them to request it.

Something as simple as more of your neighbours getting connected could slow your connection due to additional cross-talk.

bledd · 25 Feb 2018 at 08:18

In your home .

Is your modem/router right next to the main wall port?

Which modem/router do you have?

How are you connected to that router?

Any other devices in the house?

How long is your RJ11 cable from wall to modem ?

What speed do your neighbors get?

Which master socket do you have? (Photo)

Who was this engineer and what wiring did he do?

https://www.tandyonline.com/electronics/telecoms-dsl/high-speed-rj11-dsl-cable-0-5m.html
these are great

kaotikuk · 25 Feb 2018 at 09:10

bledd said:
In your home .

Is your modem/router right next to the main wall port?

Which modem/router do you have?

How are you connected to that router?

Any other devices in the house?

How long is your RJ11 cable from wall to modem ?

What speed do your neighbors get?

Which master socket do you have? (Photo)

Who was this engineer and what wiring did he do?

https://www.tandyonline.com/electronics/telecoms-dsl/high-speed-rj11-dsl-cable-0-5m.html
these are great

Router right next to the socket, it's a netgear nighthawk router. Master socket is a 5c one where u don't need a filter. Connected via Ethernet cable to my PC, only my phone and my parents tablet who only web browse are on Wi-Fi.

My neighbours are getting 30-35mb with BT.
It was a BT engineer, he changed the master socket, and wiring externally to my house as it had errors apparently.

Sky fibre would save me 30 a month if I switched, and there line estimate for me is 32-40, where as planet and BT say 25-32.

Just not sure what to do as I have always been with planet, but 30 quid cheaper is a lot and potentially faster? One good thing with planet my line is always stable though.

pcfarrar · 25 Feb 2018 at 09:22

kaotikuk said:
Sky fibre would save me 30 a month if I switched, and there line estimate for me is 32-40, where as planet and BT say 25-32.

It won't make a difference what provider you use, the speed will be the same as it's due to the wiring and distance from the street cabinet.

Swifty55 · 25 Feb 2018 at 09:42

Post router stats.

kaotikuk · 25 Feb 2018 at 14:23

Swifty55 said:
Post router stats.

System Up Time 47:42:42
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoE 14102267 25637031 0 4655 15205 45:30:57
LAN1 Link down 28368257 15444442 0 623490 262198 01:14:08
LAN2 Link down
LAN3 1000M/Full
LAN4 Link down
WLAN b/g/n 600M 341820 268679 0 879 686 47:41:22
WLAN a/n/ac 1300M 1651862 827252 0 10781 596 47:41:17

VDSL Link Downstream Upstream
Link Rate 24999 Kbps 6000 Kbps
Line Attenuation D0( 22.3) D1( 64.2) D2( 90.3) dB U0( 8.5) U1( 51.0) U2(N/A) U3(N/A) U4(N/A) dB
Noise Margin D0( 9.4) D1( 9.5) D2(N/A) dB U0( 15.2) U1( 15.3) U2(N/A) U3(N/A) U4(N/A) dB
VDSL2 Profile Profile 17a

Sparx · 26 Feb 2018 at 20:03

Seems a rather odd figure what you're sync'd at, like a possible stuck profile of some sort. DLM reset may help if you can get Plusnet/Openreach to do one for you.

What results do you get on the BTW speed test? http://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com/

Also sounds daft, but have you tried plugging in the stock Plusnet Hub into the test socket? See what speed and sync you get then. Curious if it's anything dodgy being caused by the Netgear router.

kaotikuk · 1 Mar 2018 at 12:23

Sparx said:
Seems a rather odd figure what you're sync'd at, like a possible stuck profile of some sort. DLM reset may help if you can get Plusnet/Openreach to do one for you.

What results do you get on the BTW speed test? http://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com/

Also sounds daft, but have you tried plugging in the stock Plusnet Hub into the test socket? See what speed and sync you get then. Curious if it's anything dodgy being caused by the Netgear router.

Best Effort Test:

-provides background information.

Download Speed
23.43 Mbps

0 Mbps 24.17 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed

Download speed

achieved during the test was - 23.43 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds

is 16.92 Mbps-24.17 Mbps .
Additional Information:
IP Profile for your line is - 24.17 Mbps

2. Upstream Test:

-provides background information.

Upload Speed
5.36 Mbps

0 Mbps 20 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed

Upload speed

achieved during the test was - 5.36Mbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 20 Mbps

-

I did try the test socket yea, pretty similar if not less if i remember right. Gah i dunno, i feel like im "capped" with those numbers also, but according to that bt thing im not. Yet minimum for my line according to plusnet is 25mb, and if it goes lower then its a fault.

Steveocee · 1 Mar 2018 at 16:12

Just because the line reached it once doesn't mean that it should be able to sustain that. BT's DLM increases and decreases line speed according to how stable your line is. If it was faster then it was probably unstable and has been slowed down to stabilise it. It's all about balancing speed vs stability.

There is a higher chance you'll be annoyed by it dropping out often than losing 6Mb off your speed.

kaotikuk · 1 Mar 2018 at 21:59

Steveocee said:
Just because the line reached it once doesn't mean that it should be able to sustain that. BT's DLM increases and decreases line speed according to how stable your line is. If it was faster then it was probably unstable and has been slowed down to stabilise it. It's all about balancing speed vs stability.

There is a higher chance you'll be annoyed by it dropping out often than losing 6Mb off your speed.

Yea for sure, makes sense i guess but have to say it never dropped when it was operating at a higher speed so yea not sure!

bremen1874 · 1 Mar 2018 at 22:12

If that was my connection I'd be tempted to give them a call and report an intermittently noisy line (crackling). It's important not to mention broadband at all as it only complicates matters.

They should then run line tests from their end. If they detect a problem it'll get fixed and that may in turn eventually (after DLM has done it's thing) restore the connection speed. If nothing is detected there's no real harm done.

Steveocee · 2 Mar 2018 at 08:27

Absolutely as @bremen1874 says, a phone call to the operator can't hurt. Get some checks done and see what happens from there. It could just be a bad joint somewhere. I think you've said you have already but make sure you've definitely ruled out the kit at your end though to save an egg on face situation.

Sparx · 2 Mar 2018 at 18:57

@kaotikuk did you try with the Plusnet Hub connected and not your own Netgear router? See what the Plusnet hub syncs at and speeds you achieve, just to rule out the Netgear router not being at fault. Could be a modem issue to the cab.

I find Openreach are constantly updating the wholesale checker and even try account for cross-talk. When I first got fibre, BT estimated 55-60 but I was the first FTTC customer on the cab and got the max 80/20 sync. It also helped we had brand new copper fitted as a new build. Over time it dropped to 65/18 which has been stable now last 2-3 years.

However your speeds fall in line with an impacted line. So possibly something else at fault. As mentioned could try claim to Plusnet you have crackling/noise to see if they can find any 'voice' fault which in turn may help with interference on your line causing a lower sync.

kaotikuk · 13 Apr 2018 at 17:42

So an update on this if anyones bothered. Got in touch with plusnet they werent helpful as they said because im getting the Minimum promised they cant look into it.

So i thought screw it, switched to sky fibre (saving myself £35 a month now).

I am now syncing at 32mb down, and 7mb UP. A massive difference.. been stable with no issues. So looks like my line is CAPABLE and plusnet must have been capping me? strange.

anyway happy days! thanks all

Swifty55 · 13 Apr 2018 at 18:13

kaotikuk said:
So an update on this if anyones bothered. Got in touch with plusnet they werent helpful as they said because im getting the Minimum promised they cant look into it.

So i thought screw it, switched to sky fibre (saving myself £35 a month now).

I am now syncing at 32mb down, and 7mb UP. A massive difference.. been stable with no issues. So looks like my line is CAPABLE and plusnet must have been capping me? strange.

anyway happy days! thanks all

Probably due to a DLM reset when being connected to Sky.

Since you wasn’t below your minimum then Plusnet probably wouldn’t have been bothered to raise it as a fault.

iwrox · 16 Apr 2018 at 08:28

As above, moving provider resets the port you are connected to at the DSLAM hence the DLM learning process starts again.

Worth noting by the way that Plusnet now have the ability to request a DLM reset as part of a trial, they recently did mine after redoing the internal phone cabling.