Slow broadband and occasional drops

[#1]

I can't see post numbers on my phone so I'm assuming you mean this?


Your Plusnet adviser may ask you for the following information:
1 - Product name: Plusnet Router
2 - Serial number: N7183061B004860
3 - Firmware version: 7.275.11_F2704N_Plusnet
4 - Board version: F@ST2704N
5 - Mode ADSL
6 - Uptime: 0 days 00:08:05
7 - Data rate: 847/13076
8 - Maximum data rate: 836/13828
9 - Noise margin: 7.3/6.8
10 - Line attenuation: 9.7/19.0
12 - Data sent/received: 1.5M/9.7M
20 - Broadband username: xxxx@plusdsl.net
21 - Wi-Fi network/SSID: PLUSNET-HGFJ69
22 - Wi-Fi connections: Enable(802.11 b/g/n(up to 144 Mb/s))20 MHz WPS enabled
23 - Wi-Fi security: WPA2
24 - Wi-Fi channel: Automatic (Smart Wireless)
25 - Firewall: Default
26 - MAC Address: d0:6e:de:08:1d:f5
27 - Software variant Version 1.0
28 - Boot loader: 7.275.11

The quiet test I've done today sounded quiet apart from a noise similar with an old fax machine once in a while.

Moderators Note: Personal information removed

[#2]

Okay, having re-read the thread:-

(1) @Gandalf / @MasterOfReality / @TheMightyAJ  - any chance of a Radius log, please?

(2} @Mjan Maybe it's not a phone fault then. Your noise margin certainly has improved since last time and is now at a reasonable level - so that's another theory out of the window. I assume your router is left on 24/7?

What result do you get from: https://www.dslchecker.bt.com/

[#3]

Yes, the router is on 24/7. I did try turning it off and on and restarted it recently but it didn't make a difference.

[#4]

OK- not your fault then, at least from that angle.

Did you see my edit re: the dsl checker?

[#5]

I missed your edit. I attached the deal checker results

[#6]

Well, the connection speed from your router details, and the DSL checker report agree, so no problem there.

Next question - I assume the phone and router are connected to the phone line via a filter? Are all the plugs in tight to the sockets? Do you by any chance have a spare filter - they can fail?

[#7]

Yes, correct. I was doing the online troubleshooting earlier and tried 2 different filters. At the moment the phone and modem are connected to a different filter into the test socket but it doesn't make a difference. The only thing I can't try is a different modem as I don't have one.

[#8]

If you are at home now, could you try a (preferably wired) speed test and post the results?

[#9]

Ok, here's a wired test just done on my laptop

[#10]

Thanks for that - certainly not very good, is it?- from your router stats earlier and the dsl checker report, you should be getting much better.

As a double check,  and because I, and others, don't entirely trust those results, can you run this one - https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest and report it, please?

Another thought struck me while out for some exercise - you say using the phone disrupts the broadband - is it possible to disconnect the phone from the filter for 24-72 hours and see what effect, if any, that has. I'm just wondering if you have a dodgy phone.

[#11]

Thanks for getting back to us @Mjan and a big thanks to @jab1 for your support on this one.

As you've completed all of the troubleshooting as well as accessed the test socket, I think the best option is going to be to arrange for an engineer to attend the premises to investigate.

Due to this, I've just sent you a ticket, accessible here.

Please let me know here when you respond and I'll get the soonest available appt. booked in.

[#12]

Hi everyone,

Looking over this topic, I noticed that in the first set of router stats the DS SNRM margin was very high, as though the line had been banded.  It rather looks as though the SNRM has been reset as the latest figures suggest a target SNRM of 6dB.

Doing quiet line tests as a one off is not assurance that there is not a noise issue on the line - it simply means that there is no noise when tested.  We have had a substantial amount of rain recently, which is when bad joints can cause more issues, which go way as the weather gets drier and possibly also after using the phone line.

The report of one noisy line test points to the potential of an intermittent noise issue which is likely to be a bad joint … which might not be there when tested, or the act of testing it can 'sure' the fault until the join gets damp again.  The DS attenuation has jumped 2dB which is a lot at this level - it is a 16% increase in effective line length. However even at that value, this line should see 20Mbps.

For the avoidance of doubt, can you please confirm that removing the phone socket faceplate to access the test socket does remove all extension wiring, if there are indeed any extensions?  Extension wiring should be wired off the faceplate.  I have seen BT installations where such wiring has been to the back of the main socket, thereby defeating the purpose of eliminating extension wiring when testing.

The act of using the phone causing the ADSL session to drop might point to a damaged filter OR IIRC a problem with a splitter card in the exchange.

After all of those potential issues have been eliminated, we could be looking at RFI or REIN - sight of the radius log would be very interesting to see if there are any time clusters of when the link drops which might be correlated to electrical activity in the household.

Keep looking at the stats regularly, note when there has been a reset.  Look at the SNRM when the line seems to be performing badly.

[#13]

@jab1 here's the other speedtests attached

I'll try to disconnect the phone for a couple of days to see if it makes a difference

[#14]

@Mjan - thanks for those, they are still low. As @Townman has said, you should really be getting closer to 20Mbps, so something is wrong somewhere. I'd take @OskarPapa up on his offer of an engineer check if I was you.

[#15]

Revisiting these stats, something is a bit off here!

In post #9 the MAX rates (indicating the line's potential) point to the expected performance level of the line - 1.2 up and 21 down, the actual being something markedly different!

We could be looking at substantial line noise here - bad noise when the router resyncs (at a slow rate) which when the noise goes away the SNRM rockets.

Leaving the phone disconnected might avoid issues, but will not help fix the issue nor (potentially) prevent the link being dropped if someone calls the phone number.

At this juncture there is no merit in running data transfer speed tests - you need to stay focussed on the router stats (do not post line 20 onwards - we do not need to see that part and it discloses your account name which I asked the mods to redact - thanks mods!).

Unfortunately the 2704n does not lend itself to being monitored automatically.  Do you have access to another router please?  I am not suggesting that there is an issue with the router, but wondering if you have some other model which might be capable of being monitored by something like router stats.

@Gandalf  - any chance of a visual radius plot please and a CLT report?  What does the error history look like please?