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Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Following faults due to lightning in our area, on 13 January at 2303 our speed reads
Phone exchange: PORTHTOWAN
Estimated line speed:18Mb (This may vary between 17Mb and 20.5Mb)  -
Checked on 2013-12-06 13:54:15
Current line speed:1 Mb

I gather leaving the modem plugged in for three days might cause the speed to return to normal, but again it might not, and then there is another three days wasted. It would be far more sensible to have some other means of telling the exchange to renegotiate the speed, for example unplugging the modem for half an hour.
I would like to "raise a question" or "raise a ticket" about this, but there is nowhere on the web to click, or at least I can't find it.
We won't use the voice telephone because the queuing makes it impractical.
It is best to queue the messages not the people, but Plus Net management doesn't appear to realise this.
I think Which? magazine does, considering their campaigns last year.
Anyway, an answer through the forum would be helpful, and probably to other people who have had similar problems.
The "notify me of replies" box would be better is displayed prominently at the end of each message box rather than hidden behind an "additional options" button. There are only three of them anyway. All three option boxes could be on one line instead of the drop down menu button.
20 REPLIES 20
ITWorks
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 2,107
Thanks: 756
Fixes: 9
Registered: ‎05-11-2008

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Hi, if you can post the  information asked for here, people will be able to help Smiley
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,96155.0.html
If you want to raise a question you can do so here
http://www.plus.net/wizard/
Regards
Mike

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Many thanks for that.
I have attempted to attach a jpeg of the modem's report
jim:quote
quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

I also attempted to post a reply on the page linked, but the reply button did not appear.
The jpeg attachment opf the modem's report did not appear. It can be found on
http://www.quantium.plus.com/speed.jpg
which I have checked works.
jim:quote
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Quote from: quantium
I would like to "raise a question" or "raise a ticket" about this, but there is nowhere on the web to click, or at least I can't find it.

http://faults.plus.net
The attachment did appear. You can't reply on the linked topic - this forces each person to raise their own topic which makes it mush easier to follow.

It looks like your connection has been put on a banded profile: http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/speed_guide/broadband_terminology.shtml#bandedProfiles
The stats you've posted only show just under 11/2 hours system up time. Don't do any reboots etc. as Plusnet will want to see if the connection stays stable.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Thanks for the advice about leaving the router connected. Yes, it has remained stable. But it is still very slow.
The only other thing that has occurred to me is that I am supposed to be on unlimited usage, and I am wondering whether there could be some fault that still keeps me on limited usage. The "view broadband usage" page is quite strange. That says product = PlusNet Unlimited (Contract). Youv'e used 29.71GB of your 0KB allowance. Surely it should say that I have used 29.71 of my infinite allowance.
I have attached pictures of the router's  statistics and another of the broadband usage page.
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

As that field only accepts a number they have put in zero as any other number would indicate a limit
The speeds won't change until the line gets reset - the Digital Care Team should be able to help on Monday assuming your line has remained stable
quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

And here is the router's report
quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

The speed increased on Sunday evening. Not a working day, so obviously some automatic process. However it is still about half what it was before the storms. I di download a 2GB file during the evening, though, starting before the change. Could this have triggered it?
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Those stats look a candidate for a SNR reset which should restore your speed. Hopefully someone from Plusnet will spot this.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Yep, I'm going to try an SNR reset for you. This should work within 10 minutes.
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

That seems to have worked, your line is now connected at 23018 so I've updated your profile on our side to 88.2% of that at 20300.
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Yes, confirmed. Thanks for sorting it out.
The incident has made me wonder about these modems with 3G backup. On account of the fact that the 3G would only ever be used in the event of a wired failure, the usage needn't be that great. However there are time limits on at least some 3G services, so once initiated the usage allowance runs out even if not used.
Maybe this is a premium option Plus Net could consider, "broadband secured with 3G backup"? If PN supplied the 3G link then the fact that someone would be using it somewhere would get around the time limits. Considering that a broadband link is required for much of modern living, such a service could be popular. People won't miss their eBay auctions, tax filings or medical services on account of difficulties with the wired network. The extra monthly cost of such a service  would be seen as insurance.
There was a trial with Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). How reliable was this service? Was it immune from lightning down the BT line? Logic suggests it should be, unless the fibre has a metal sheath that is somehow connected to something that is struck.
BT have recently laid trunking down our road, but as far as I can gather Fibre to the Cabinet is the only service that is on offer. Does the presence of trunking suggest that FTTP will be with us soon?
quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Strange fault this morning. Connection with exchange OK, FTP OK, no HTTP and no email.  I have never seen this before.
Disconnected modem for about 10 mins and then reconnected, and all well even though it negotiated 4 times. I noted that "line attenuation" was up a bit.
There was no mention of local outage either on the status site or on the local faults site.
Again it makes us wonder about a modem upgrade, or just a new one of the same type (so settings can be uploaded).
quantium
Grafter
Posts: 30
Registered: ‎20-08-2011

Re: Loss of speed due to storms not rectified

Fault occurred again last night (21 Jan 2013) about 11pm. Physically disconnecting and re-connecting of the router cleared it. I also noted very slow connection on Yahoo web sites such as finance.