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Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

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rjhazeldx
Grafter
Posts: 38
Thanks: 8
Registered: ‎19-08-2016

Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Used the broadband trouble-shooter Sunday because speed had dropped markedly. Fault found and question created ( #182908892). Various responses putting the question in a queue, on hold, Off hold, awaiting advisor. Nothing has happened since. No indication what the fault is or steps to resolve. Tried to call support but 40min wait time which is ridiculously long and I certainly haven't got that long to hold a phone waiting for a response hence this post. Just how can one find out what a fault s and when a question is going to be addressed? (tried the chat but it doesn't work).

Just to put this in context when I signed up for Unlimited Fibre Extra in July 2016 estimated download speed was 60-78mbs. I have never had better than 54mbs and that was soon after the connection. Last year when I had a problem it was down to mid 40mbs. on Sunday it was 17.7mbs. Last night it was 14.5mbs and Tuesday it was 12.7mbs. Upload is 4-5mbs.

Out of curiosity I ran the DSL Checker which reported that the VDSL Range A  - down is 51.2- 35 and upstream 10.9 - 7.1, Range B 40.8-25.4 and 10 - 5.1. Considerably lower than I was quoted when taking the service up. This probably means I am paying for a service that Plusnet cannot deliver. Nothing in the internal cabling etc. or BT cabling and cabinet positions has changed. I use a TPLink Archer VR900 router.

The slowdown is causing timeouts and some services not to start and whilst, as instructed, the router is plugged alone into the test socket per the trouble-shooter I have no phone extensions.It is bad enough that there is a fault of some sort without it being so difficult to find out what is being done to resolve it.

 

 

15 REPLIES 15
EmilyD
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
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Registered: ‎26-03-2018

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Hi @rjhazeldx,


I'm sorry that you are experiencing problems with your connection speed and that you've not yet received an update on the fault ticket that was raised. You should have received an update within 72 hours of when the ticket was raised - I will pass on feedback to our faults team internally about this not being picked up within that timeframe.

 

I've tested your line and can see that it's currently syncing at 31.6mbps, which is below the line's estimated speed, but the test isn't picking up the cause of this. For reference, today's test result is as follows:

 

Test Outcome Pass
Test Outcome Code GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_0000
Description GEA service test completed and no fault found .
Main Fault Location OK
Sync Status In Sync
Downstream Speed 31.6 Mbps
Upstream Speed 5.0 Mbps
Appointment Required N
Fault Report Advised N
NTE Power Status PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result Pass
Bridge Tap Not Detected
Radio Frequency Ingress Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise Not Detected
Cross Talk Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres 759.3
Upstream Rate Assessment Low
Downstream Rate Assessment Low
Interference Pattern Regular Interference Observed Daily
Service Impact No Impact Observed
Interference Duration Longest Occurrence From 05:00 to 15:45
Interference Location Customer Premise
Home Wiring Problem Not Detected
Downstream Policing Discard Rate 0.0
Customer Traffic Level Upstream and Downstream Traffic Detected
Technology VDSL
Profile Name 0.128M-80M Downstream 5dB, Retransmission High - 0.128M-20M Upstream, Error Protection Off
Time Stamp 2018-09-14T16:15:00
Parameters MIN MAX AVG
Down Stream Line Rate 31.6 Mbps 39.3 Mbps 36.1 Mbps
Up Stream Line Rate 5.0 Mbps 5.5 Mbps 5.2 Mbps
Up Time 0.0 Sec 900.0 Sec 898.1 Sec
Retrains 0.0 3.0 0.0
Current and Last 15 Minute Bin Performance
Parameters Last Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins) Current Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)
Start Time Stamp 2018-09-27T14:43:29Z 2018-09-27T14:58:29Z
Ingress Code Violation 0 0
Egress Code Violation 0 0
Errored Seconds 0 0
Severely Errored Seconds 0 0
Unavailable Seconds 0 0

 

I've added an update to the fault ticket with the next step towards getting this issue resolved for you. You can view this here.

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Emily D
 Plusnet Help Team
rjhazeldx
Grafter
Posts: 38
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Registered: ‎19-08-2016

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Thanks, Emiliy,

 

I have replied to the ticket entry.

As I have said there I am curious how the estimated line length gets to 759.3 metres. Google Earth measure the distance from the FTTC cabinet to my house as 482metres. I know the cable ducts follow the same route, there will be a little extra as the pole is 20m or so beyond my house and the cable from the pole to the house will be extra but no more than 30-50m. This perhaps explains why the estimated speeds have fallen so much. How is the estimated line length in the report below determined?

Look forward to hearing from you re engineer appointment. 

TheMightyAJ
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 2,511
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Registered: ‎26-03-2018

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Hi @rjhazeldx,

I've taken a look into this issue today and raised a response to the fault ticket on your account today, which can be viewed here. If there are any issues with this, please let us know and we'll pick this back up as soon as possible.

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Alex H
 Plusnet Help Team
rjhazeldx
Grafter
Posts: 38
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Registered: ‎19-08-2016

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Openreach Engineer(?) came on Monday morning as agreed and ran tests on the line which he said was fine. He calculated the line length at 600m 150m less than the diagnostic output above. He said the problem was probably REIN which isn't Openreach's problem.

Since Monday I have had more problems including dropped connection several times yesterday. As a result I have set up a raspberry pi to run a speed test every 15 minutes to try to identify any patterns. I will also run the BT Wholsesale speedtest from time to time for comparison purposes although I am dubious about the data it produces (see attached). 

I have updated the question and will monitor the connection for now

deank
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
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Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Hi @rjhazeldx

 

I've checked the BT Wholesale speedtest that you sent, and unfortunately it has issues when user a browser other than Internet Explorer at times and can produce some wonky results.

 

Can you please provide us with the spreadsheet results after 24 hours so that we can take a look at how the connection performed.

rjhazeldx
Grafter
Posts: 38
Thanks: 8
Registered: ‎19-08-2016

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Sorry for the radio silence, my father had a stroke last week.

I have updated the question and added the spreadsheet of test results run at 15min intervals. It also includes some snapshot data from my router. I also added a screenshot of a DSL Checker test run late yesterday from Firefox.

The better news is the connection has been stable and useable since the engineers visit the bad is that it is nowhere near what it should be at this distance from the cabinet (50mbps/600m) or what I am paying for. 

The speedtest results show many instances where download is below 30mbps but there seems no pattern to the drops.

My next door neighbour had been suffering lots of connection drops which strangely ceased after the engineer visit.

I hope you can make some sense of what's happening and why speed has dropped off since fibre went live.

MatthewWheeler
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
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Registered: ‎01-01-2012

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Glad to hear it's stable and hopefully your fathers on the mend

I'm not glad to hear the speeds are still low. Unfortunately as our tests still aren't showing a cause the only way we can proceed is to book another engineer

 

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Matthew Wheeler
 Plusnet Help Team
rjhazeldx
Grafter
Posts: 38
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Registered: ‎19-08-2016

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Thanks Matthew,

It appears that my father's stroke is very mild but I will have to go and keep tabs on him and his carers for a few days but I don't know exactly when that will be yet. I will leave the Raspberry pi running for now to provide more data and then get back to you regarding an engineer appointment as soon as I know when I will be away rather than arrange one and then have to change it. I should know in a couple of days all being well.

 

Gandalf
Community Gaffer
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Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

No worries at all, come back to us when you can.

Please pass on our best to your father and hopefully he has a positive recovery.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
rjhazeldx
Grafter
Posts: 38
Thanks: 8
Registered: ‎19-08-2016

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Now back home and have updated the question and added an updated pdf copy of my spreadsheets. The speed tests have shown the same pattern whilst I was away although the router synch speed has dropped a bit.

I have added some information on availability re engineer visit

TheMightyAJ
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 2,511
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Registered: ‎26-03-2018

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Hi @rjhazeldx,

I can see that a member of our Faults Team has contacted you today regarding this issue and has updated the ticket on your account to reflect the next course of action. Please let us know if you have any further queries or issues in the meantime and we will be happy to assist further.

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Alex H
 Plusnet Help Team
rjhazeldx
Grafter
Posts: 38
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Registered: ‎19-08-2016

Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Progress!! engineer arrived on time and listened!!! he then checked the line all the way to the cabinet found it wasn't as good as it ought to be and switched it to a 'spare pair'. Router is showing better than 50mbps down and 11mbps up (was mid 30mbs/4mbps). I have updated the spreadsheets and upload them to the question. The upload speedtest result has doubled to over 10mbps. However, there has been no change in the download speed test results which are mid-30mbps.

I have swapped router, connected the machine running the test direct to the router and disconnected everything else without any improvement in download speed results. The connection between testing machine and router is gigabit ethernet (windows adapter status shows 1gb performance).

Seems that download speed is being throttled by something between the exchange and through the plusnet systems - I'd expect the speedtest to be showing mid to high 40mbps when synch speed is well over 50mbps. The product is unlimited fibre extra.

Hopefully there is a simple answer and solution!!

Mustrum
Community Veteran
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Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Probably just needs your profile to catch up, if it does not happen overnight, then hopefully one of the helpful PN staff can give it a nudge.

MatthewWheeler
Plusnet Help Team
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Re: Question bounced around queues how do I find out when it will be addressed?

Fix

Glad to hear the engineer made a improvement.

I've updated the profile on our end so you should see a improvement shortly

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Matthew Wheeler
 Plusnet Help Team