cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

New House - Connection speed seems low.

Robskiwarrior
Grafter
Posts: 74
Registered: ‎22-02-2008

New House - Connection speed seems low.

Hi
Just moved in to a new house - Connection speed is very slow indeed compared to estimates of about 17Mbs down and 1.5Mbs up
here are my details Cheesy
ADSL
  Type Interleave Path
  Status SHOWTIME
 
Downstream Upstream
  Data rate(Kbps)
3776Kb 448Kb
  Noise Margin
7 17
  Output power(dBm)
123 199
  Attenuation(dB)
43 21
The band checker for my phoneline is:
Quote
Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL2+ broadband line speed of 18.5Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 12Mbps and 20.5Mbps. Our test also indicates that your line could support an estimated ADSL 2+ Annex-M broadband upstream line speed of 1.5Mbps and downstream line speed of 18.5Mbps; typically the downstream speed would range between 12Mbps and 20.5Mbps.

We are very close to the exchange Smiley
Thanks!
41 REPLIES 41
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

Can you post those stats with the router plugged in to the test socket please.
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)
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

It is low for the reported attenuation
Do you have an NTE master socket.
If so can you try the router in the test socket - preferably during daylight hours and using the method recommended here for doing it
Quote from: Anotherone
Login to the modem/router as you do for getting the stats - on yours, click on Connection Status and you should see Connect & Disconnect buttons. Click Disconnect, this drops the PPPoA Internet session (not the sync), pause, then power down the modem/router. Wait a minute and then unplug it from the line. Make whatever changes, swapping things etc., taking at least 10 minutes before reconnecting and powering up. Log in and take a copy of the stats as soon as sync has occurred (they will indicate the Target Noise Margin) and you will probably also need to go to Connection Status and click Connect to re-establish a PPPoA Internet session.
Best not to do this method more than 5 times in an hour and then leave it for the rest of the day, the is to help prevent the Exchange DLM from thinking you have a dropping connection which can result in a raised Target SNRM resulting in lower sync speeds, and/or capped sync speeds (on 21CN).
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

Quote from: Oldjim
It is low for the reported attenuation

It is not that low for 43 dB of attenuation.  But 43dB is about 3km from the telephone exchange on decent wiring.  Reminds me a bit of this case http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,109348.0.html where it turned-out the router was connected to the socket by a duff extension lead.
Any noise on voice calls?  Your could try dialling 17070 then option 2 for the Quiet Line Test if you want to have a good listen.
Edit:  Let me rephrase that.  Yes the speed is quite low if you believe the attenuation figure is accurate but the attenuation figure is absolutely massive if you believe you are very close to the exchange.  I totally agree that plugging the router into the test socket and looking again at the stats is the right way to go and I would not be suprised if this made a huge difference.         
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

RR, It IS that low for 43dB attenuation, about half what a top quality line will give. The problem may be related to internal wiring which is why jelv and OJ have asked for stats (full stats with error figures ideally) from the Test socket.
chrispurvey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 5,369
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

Hi Robskiwarrior,
Your line is on 20CN, we have placed a modify order to move you across to ADSL2+ which will complete by the 12th December.
Your speeds are still low at the moment on 20CN. Can you try and connect into your <a href="http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/master-socket-guide.shtml#whatsTest">test socket</a> with no other devices connected to your phone line.
Robskiwarrior
Grafter
Posts: 74
Registered: ‎22-02-2008

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

Thanks guys - will be trying the test socket asap and will give you feedback. 
Yea 3k from the exchange is impossible as it is a few roads away, we would have to run round the village 3 times to get that kind of distance Smiley
Oh thanks for the line upgrade Chris Smiley
Thanks again guys!
- Rob
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

Are you sure that the building in the village you identify as the telephone exchange is still operational?  Many small telephone exchanges were abolished in a consolidation exercise in the days before broadband. 
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

That isn't exactly true RR  Roll_eyes  Even if a small rural exchange was replaced by an RCU when linked numbering was introduced, the DSLAMs are usually still in the same building.
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

I was guided by the small rural exchange in my village which has been converted into a tiny house.  I'm pretty certain it is not a tiny house with DSLAMs.
Robskiwarrior
Grafter
Posts: 74
Registered: ‎22-02-2008

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

Hi guys -
Yup my village exchange is still very much active Smiley  And if I walked directly to it, it would be 643 meters away Smiley
My other issue is Identifying my master socket - it seems I don't have a master socket like I did in my last house - they all look like the extention sockets.  I have traced the line in and it comes in the back of my house and the first socket next to that is in the living room.  This is pretty much an extension socket though - I have taken the front off to have a look and nothing special lurks under it.
So tips on a possible old system in the house or pre-master socket?  I suppose that tells us a lot anyway... probably need an engineer out to pop in a new socket or something.
This is from the socket closets to the inlet.
ADSL
  Type Interleave Path
  Status SHOWTIME
 
Downstream Upstream
  Data rate(Kbps)
3424Kb 448Kb
  Noise Margin
7 17
  Output power(dBm)
122 195
  Attenuation(dB)
44 21  
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

Quote from: Robskiwarrior
My other issue is Identifying my master socket - it seems I don't have a master socket like I did in my last house - they all look like the extention sockets.

I am given to understand that in this situation if you take the cover off you will find a large capacitor inside the master socket that is not there inside the extension sockets.
Quote from: Robskiwarrior
... probably need an engineer out to pop in a new socket or something.

Absolutely, but the question is whether you can get this done free of charge of have to pay BT around £150 for the privilege.  If you try to report your slow speed as a broadband fault you may be told that there is no fault because your line has never gone significantly faster than it does now. If you can find a way around this I would be very grateful to know because I have several clients in exactly your situation (except that their exchange is about 4km away). 
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

I'm going to face this issue in the near future. We hope to be buying a house soon. Looking round I couldn't find a single socket with a split across the middle, but there seems to be a socket in practically every room (I think around 6 or more sockets)! The lady who is selling the house is clueless about anything technical and the broadband wasn't working for a few months which I sorted out for her (sorting through the mess of wires behind the desk and plugging the Home Hub in to the mains made a big difference!). I was able to run the BT speed test and ascertain the IP Profile was about 2Mbps below what I would have expected from the BTw availability checker for her telephone number.
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)
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

Don't forget to check for lurking NTE5b's (same as the NTE5a Master Socket except the lower half is a blank plate with no outer socket, just the IDC terminals on the back of it and test socket behind) or External NTE's inside them looks like this
Quote from: jelv
.......and plugging the Home Hub in to the mains made a big difference!

That's what you might call a smoking connection  Grin
@Robskiwarrior
If you don't have any of the aforementioned, have a look at the Line Jack Units (LJUs) on this page as RR has mentioned the Master should have the "Ring" (bell) capacitor.
Tell us what colour wires there are on the incoming BT cable which should be going to terminals 2 & 5 and what colour wires on which terminals there are going to the extensions.
Robskiwarrior
Grafter
Posts: 74
Registered: ‎22-02-2008

Re: New House - Connection speed seems low.

More info - thanks guys, I will have a another look - there was no capacitor when I checked Cheesy