Broadband speed deteriorating

[#1]

Quote from: Anotherone

Do you normally leave the modem/routert on 24/7 or switch off periodically?

It normally stays on 24/7

Quote from: Anotherone

Can you hear/have you heard any crackling or other noises on the line when using the phone?

No

Quote from: Anotherone

Have you had any problems with incoming or outgoing calls?

No

Quote from: Anotherone

Dial 17070 select option 2 for the Quiet Line Test..

The silence was deafening!

Quote from: Anotherone

Do you have any extension phone sockets, and where are you currently plugged in?

I have two extension sockets, but the router is connected to the main socket.
Next question, please ...

[#2]

Do you have a Master Socket like the one on the left?
Are you using Microfilters that look like this on any sockets with things plugged in, including Sky boxes, faxes etc.

[#3]

Quote from: Anotherone

Do you have a Master Socket like the one on the left?

Yes

Quote from: Anotherone

Are you using Microfilters that look like this on any sockets with things plugged in, including Sky boxes, faxes etc.

I lied earlier - I only have one extension socket, not two.
Both the master socket and the extension have microfilters; the master socket has connections to a phone and the router, while the extension socket only has anther phone.
No faxes, Sky boxes or any other such rubbish ...

[#4]

Yes I concur, Sky boxes are rubbish.
OK, as you have a TG582n, when you log into it, you'll see a Box called Broadband Connection/Internet with a "Disconnect" button (which changes to Connect if you have previously disconnected). If you click that, it drops the PPP Internet session (not the sync). Wait about 30 seconds and then power off the 582n.
On the master socket if you remove the lower front plate, you will see a test socket behind. Having removed the plate, there should be the wires to your extension socket connect to the back of this plate - if you can say what colour they are and which terminal numbers they are connected to (or take a pic) and also try the phone at the extension which should now be dead.
Can you also swap filters and plug into the test socket and the power up the modem/router, login into it when it's booted and click Connect.
If your then post the TG582n Full DSL stats and info about the wires.

[#5]

Quote from: Anotherone

... as you have a TG582n, when you log into it, you'll see a Box called Broadband Connection/Internet with a "Disconnect" button (which changes to Connect if you have previously disconnected). If you click that, it drops the PPP Internet session (not the sync). Wait about 30 seconds and then power off the 582n.

I've already done all that - see reply #5
As far as your other suggestions are concerned, I'll give it a whirl - but a bit later - then will post again.
I'm pretty ignorant about all the jargon associated with broadband connections (what on earth is a "Vis. Radius" for goodness sake?), but what mystifies me is what could have happened on or about October 17th to cause the rot to set in?  As far as I am aware absolutely nothing has changed at my end.

[#6]

Sorry, reply #5 said nothing about being in the test socket, so I suspect you have misinterpreted what I'm asking.
The purpose of logging in and clicking Disconnect etc is not just for the purpose of rebooting - although doing that and powering off for 10 minutes is a good idea and the best way to do it when you have problems and are investigating, it's so the exchange DLM (Dynamic Line Management) does not think that the loss of sync was a dropped connection.
In cases where that is happening because of a fault (not that there's any evidence of sync loss at this time on your connection) the user isn't always aware, and it may only take one more "drop" for the exchange DLM to decide to "Band" a connection and/or raise a target SNRM both with the consequence of (sometimes severely) reduced speed.
It's a precautionary approach that I always adopt - and also bearing in mind this is a forum that can be (and is) read by the public, it wouldn't be very good if someone in a predicament with their connection, read something that didn't adopt a precautionary approach, followed what was said and ended up in a worse state than before they started.
A "vis.radius" is something well known to CRT (Customer Relations Team) members. It is a graphical (hence visual) representation of your PPP Radius Server (Internet session) logging. In a prefect situation, it would be continuous, except where you choose to disconnect or do anything that drops sync (eg. reboot). It will not be continuous when there is BT maintenance somewhere at/or between your exchange and/or at Plusnet, or, more to the point, when there is something faulty.

Quote from: kbturner

As far as I am aware absolutely nothing has changed at my end.

Ah, you do not know for certain. Things can go faulty. The purpose of the checks is to eliminate as much as possible - or find what is faulty.
Filters can go faulty, so could the modem/router - I know you've only had them a short time, but early failures can happen, and if so would be replaced FOC anyway.
Your internal wiring may have developed a fault - and don't believe it can't happen - I would have said / did say mine wouldn't - but 4 days ago it did and I lost Internet, but that's another story.
Oh, and when you are connected to the test socket, remain there for a while so we have some stats shortly after you connect, and then more some time later. And whilst you are plugged in there, can you please check that the silence is still deafening with the one phone that's connected

[#7]

The point of trying the test socket is that if that shows an improvement when the extension socket is disconnected there is a simple route to take. You can fit a filtered master which sits between the main socket and the small lower half. You then have a ADSL socket which doesn't need a dangly filter and the extension is connected to the filtered side and won't affect the ADSL. Also you no longer need a filter in the extension.

[#8]

Sorry about the delay in responding to your suggestions, guys,  I hope to get round to trying the tests later today.

[#9]

OK, here's some results:
Connections on the master socket :
2:  Blue
3:  Red
4:  White and red
5:  White and blue
I changed the microfilter on the master socket to a spare one I had lying around.
The 17070 silence (using the test socket) is still deafening.
First router statistics using test socket:
Uptime: 0 days, 0:05:37
DSL Type: ITU-T G.992.1
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 7,648
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 53.33 / 76.23
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.6 / 19.9
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 12.0 / 19.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 28.0 / 5.7
System Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ----
Chipset Vendor ID (Local/Remote): BDCM / TSTC
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / -
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / -
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / -
Loss of Link (Remote): -
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 0 / -
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 1,585
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 0
HEC Errors (Up/Down): - / 0
Second router statistics using test socket (30-minute delay):
Uptime: 0 days, 0:35:09
DSL Type: ITU-T G.992.1
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 7,648
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 2.33 / 23.38
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.6 / 19.9
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 12.0 / 19.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 28.0 / 6.0
System Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ----
Chipset Vendor ID (Local/Remote): BDCM / TSTC
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / -
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / -
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / -
Loss of Link (Remote): -
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 4 / -
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 9,297
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 6
HEC Errors (Up/Down): - / 5
Anything useful from this?

[#10]

Well at least three things to note here.
This spare micro-filter may not be as good as your others, as the sync speed is a bit lower, and as previously mentioned your connection should be going flat out at 8128. Is this filter also the rat's tail type?
The CRC errors are more than I would have expected in such a short timescale, but we'll keep an eye on that.
The wiring to the extension - you may well find (it depends a bit on the cable manufacturer) that the Blue wire actually has a faint white trace on it, the Red is generally nearer Orange and may also have a faint white trace. But no matter, that's a bit by the by.
The wires on 3 & 4 are not needed in a broadband situation, the wire on 3 is called the "bell" or "ring" wire. All wiring should be twisted pair, which it seems this is, the pairs being Blue and Orange (in some cables there's a 3rd Green pair - also not needed).
Now the bell wire which is connected to one side of  the line by a capacitor acts as a nice aerial picking up interference which disrupts the broadband signal.
You should gently remove the two wires from 3 & 4 by gently pulling them vertically from each terminal being careful not to pull out 2 & 5.  Curl them together and back away from the terminals. You can do the same on the extension socket whilst you are still connected to the test socket.
Should you accidentally pull the wire from 2 or 5 don't push them back in with a screw driver or similar as it would open the terminal jaws and give a bad connection. The terminals are IDC - Insulation Displacement Connectors, and work by displacing insulation and gripping the wires.
Use something, maybe like tweezers to push the wire down either side (outside) of the terminal.
In a broadband situation, each filter recreates it's own local bell wire which is isolated and filtered from the main pair, but in any event most modern phones only use two wires and don't need it anyway.

[#11]

btw, this won't necessarily have an immediate effect, but when you've disconnected the bell wires post some more stats from the test socket (so we can have a quick look at errors and SNRM) then use the disconnect method, and power off, disconnect from the test socket. Replace the faceplate and plug back into the master socket but please use the filter that you has on your extension socket and leave the extension phone unplugged for the moment.
When you have powered back up please post some more stats.

[#12]

The spare microfilter is one of the two which came with the router, whereas the one that was there previously is one that I've had since the year dot.  Both look similar, a bit chunkier and squarer than the one in the picture, so I'm not sure whether that satisfies your 'rat-tail' description or not.  Based on what you say, I think I will put back the original one.
Just to be doubly sure about wire removals: I'm removing the red (all right, orange) from 3, and the white with bits of red (orange) from 4, leaving the blue in 2 and the white with bits of blue in 5.  Correct?
How important is it to do the same on the extension socket?  It's a bit fiddly to access, so I' rather not bother ...
Anyway, gotta take the dog for a walk just now, so I'll have another go at this a bit later on.

[#13]

Yes, you have it correct. That's fine.
The extension socket is not as important providing it is a genuine extension socket (and not a master) similar to http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/images/phone/LJU3-3A.jpg with no yellow ring capacitor, and I'm afraid the only way you can tell that is to have a look at it, so you may as well remove the wires there whilst you are about it.
The reason I wanted you to swap filters about as I'd suggested (with the extension disconnected) was to try and eliminate potential filter problems . Although you used a spare at the test socket it may not be as good (or faulty) in view of the reduced speed. I'd rather you tried the one previously on the extension when you return from the test socket leaving nothing plugged in at the extension initially.

[#14]

OK, I'll do as you suggest.

[#15]

I've just had a look inside the extension socket (which I have never had occasion to do before), and it looks as though it is also a master socket - i.e. with a test socket inside.
It's slightly different in that instead of one connector numbered 2, 3, 4 and 5, there are two, numbered 1,2 and 3, and 4, 5 and 6 respectively;  the wires are the same colours as on the original socket, and are likewise connected to numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Now there is some doubt in my mind as to which is the 'true' master socket, and have I been using an extension for my broadband since the year dot?  How can I determine definitively which is master and which is slave?
Does any of this alter your recommendations?