BT Speedtester - is it broken?

[#1]

tonight's rubbish

Download speed achieved during the test was - 7841 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speedsis 1000-7150 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :16402 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 1142 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 7150 Kbps
The throughput of Best Efforts (BE) classes achieved during the test is - 8.09:15.15:76.77 (SBE:NBE:PBE)
These figures represent the ratio while sententiously passing Sub BE, Normal BE and Priority BE marked traffic.
The results of this test will vary depending on the way your ISP has decided to use these traffic classes.
2. Upstream Test: -provides background information.
Upload Speed
357 Kbps

0 Kbps 1142 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed
>Upload speed achieved during the test was - 357 Kbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 1142 Kbps

[#2]

Hello,
I am having trouble with the final step on speedtester.bt.com perhaps somebody can help please?
It requires that I change me broadband settings to the BT server ones from my PlusNet ones,  it give the required password as "no password".  However, my Belkin router won't accept the address w/o a password!
It is really infuriating, the instructions on the BT site seem to have not been updated since early XP days.  I am using OSX here so the "help" is non-existant.
Incidently, I am trying to run this test as my 2.5 Meg broadband has been at 0.125 Meg since 15 September!! I posted a ticket yesterday - 35262212 - I was hoping for a response today as it is really frustrating, no reply as yet....
At the moment the BT speedtester is failing for me on the first upstream test due to 'technical issues'. Clearly there is a problem... I wish PN would hurry up and reply and sort it out please!

[#3]

could the problem be that the BT speedtest site not being compatible with windows 7? 
if you read the small print windows 7 not listed
i am runing win7 64bit and my test results look correct for me though
puddy

[#4]

welcome to the Forum
Plus Net have next to no control over the BT test, it is run by them and is giving stupid results recently

[#5]

@purdy
what is your synch speed, It seemed to work OK on mine ADSL with 8128 synch, but is rubbish on ADSL2

[#6]

Quote from: OrsonX

It requires that I change me broadband settings to the BT server ones from my PlusNet ones,  it give the required password as "no password".  However, my Belkin router won't accept the address w/o a password!

Try using a password of btstink
(I believe it ignores the password so you can put in anything you like - but that seemed appropriate!)

[#7]

Many thanks for your reply.
Strangely after 5 days at 124kbps I am now back at my normal 2272kbps, huurray (I guess).  Hope that Gremlin will stay off the wire!
I tried the BT test again, and this time it didn't offer me the 3rd test (where you changed the login), I tried clicking in various pages on the screen but I just couldn't access the 3rd test, so wasn't able to try your suggestion...... thankfully for the moment at lease I am up & running again so don't need to
jim:quote

[#8]

PS:  Firewall question please.
When I loged my fault on Friday 17th the PN instruction told me to turn my Router firewall off & my PC firewall... I still have them turned off 3 days later waiting for PN to respond...
This surely can't be secure? 
How long am I expected to leave the firewalls off so that PN can run their tests?

[#9]

If your router still responds to pings when it's firewall is on - turn it on.
If you have no port forwarding set up in your router and you are using standard NAT (this is how the vast majority of users will be running) there is no way Plusnet can run any test that can reach your PC, so turning your PC firewall off makes not a scrap of difference.
I suspect that this requirement dates back to the days when many people were using modems rather than routers when turning off the firewall would make a difference. But in those circumstances if a user didn't have a problem with their PC it's very likely that he soon would have!
Asking people to turn off there PC firewall is crazy, dangerous and unnecessary and I wish they would stop telling people to do it!

[#10]

Why don't Plusnet use UDP "pings"?

[#11]

The BT speedtester works just fine on 20CN It's 21CN that's the problem. However It don't ask me my user-name either anymore which is a bit worrying.

[#12]

Good to see from this discussion that it's the BT test that's at fault as I just got some really stupid results from it.
Was testing to see if my profile had gone up to 8000 as I've been connected at 9200 for over 3 days but PN profile is still 7150 from when connnection speed was only just over 9000.
BT's tester claims my download IP profile is 3500, yet downstream speed comes up as 6269 and acceptable range of speeds 1000 and 7150.
LIkewise it gives my upstream profile as 448 yet upload speed is showing as 937!
Assumed it's either because I'm on 21CN or because I'm using a Mac and no mention is made of Macs in the list of compatible computer systems. From post above I'll take it to be the former, which begs the question of why isn't there a BT tester for 21CN?

[#13]

There is a BT tester for 21CN, the one you are using. Unfortunately its software has recently been "improved"; hopefully soon it will be improved some more and give sensible results.

[#14]

Quote from: puddy

could the problem be that the BT speedtest site not being compatible with windows 7?

Doubt it, it's worked fine for me in the past using my x64 Windows machine.
We've actually a problem open on the BT Speedtester at the moment (ref: 63490). I've been chatting with our Wholesale account manager about it as Wholesale themsleves are yet to acknowledge a widespread problem (although one clearly exists).

[#15]

Guys,
The next time any of you experience a problem with the Speedtester returning spurious results, can you post the time and date that you ran the test alongside the results?
This will help with Wholesale's diagnosis of the problem.