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Very poor speed and intermittent connection for the last 14 hours

MikeBz
Rising Star
Posts: 196
Thanks: 17
Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Very poor speed and intermittent connection for the last 14 hours

My broadband connection has varied between unusable and almost unusable for the last 14 hours or so.
I have tried the troubleshooting wizard, but I don't have another router to try so I'm not going beyond the step where it warns me I may be charged if there is a fault with my equipment.
I have run the BT speed test:
Download speed: 0.91Mbps
Max achievable (download) speed: 7.15Mbps
Acceptable range of speeds: 2Mbps - 7.15Mbps
IP Profile for your line: 6.55Mbps
Upload speed: 0.01Mbps
Max achievable (upload) speed: 0.83Mbps
If I tracert to www.plus.net:
Tracing route to portal.plus.net [212.159.9.2]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
  1    1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  voyager.home [192.168.1.1]
  2    *        *        *    Request timed out.
  3    *        *        *    Request timed out.
  4    *        *        *    Request timed out.
  5    *        *        *    Request timed out.
  6    *    3763 ms  3668 ms  po2.pcl-gw01.plus.net [195.166.129.41]
  7    *    3996 ms  3193 ms  gi5-8.ptp-cr01.plus.net [84.93.224.48]
  8  3023 ms  2773 ms  3430 ms  vlan2658.ptp-elb02.plus.net [84.93.224.45]
  9  2593 ms  2483 ms  2388 ms  portal.plus.net [212.159.9.2]
Trace complete.

Sometimes I just get "Destination host unreachable".
Is there anything else I can do before I go out and buy another router?
If I connect to a nearby BT WiFi hotspot (my employer has BT Business Broadband which entitles me to do this) then my speed is fine (or as fine as can be expected given the signal strength), so I can't see that this is a generic problem with my local exchange.
Mike
4 REPLIES 4
chrispurvey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 5,369
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: Very poor speed and intermittent connection for the last 14 hours

Hi Mike,
Have you tried that over a wired connection with your current router?
If you complete the questions we'll be able test your line, even if you're not able to try another router yet don't worry as this is more of a necessity if we get to the point of booking an engineer.
MikeBz
Rising Star
Posts: 196
Thanks: 17
Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Very poor speed and intermittent connection for the last 14 hours

Yes it was the same wired & wireless.
However...
I went and bought a new router at lunchtime.  Tried to configure it but it won't connect to the DSL (maybe the password isn't what I thought it was).
Then saw your  reply above and reinstated the old router to continue with the fault finding wizard.  When it got to the bit about using the test socket I unscrewed the faceplate, pulled it off, and all the wires pulled out of the connector (it's an ADSL 1.0 type of socket which I now know doesn't have a test socket behind the faceplate).  Put the wires back in where I thought they should go, check the 'phone works, put the socket back together, run the speed test wired and get 6Mbps download which is a massive improvement (was down to 100kbps at lunchtime).  Remove the ethernet cable, run the speed test wirelessly and still get 6Mbps.
So the problem has 'gone a\way' after nearly 24 hours.  I find it very hard to believe that pulling the wires out and pushing them back in has solved it, the socket was professionally wired a few years ago and is hidden away in a cupboard where it never gets touched.
Anyway, I'll press on and see if it reoccurs.
Back to configuring the new router (might as well now I've bought it),  if I have forgotten my DSL password (I was under the impression that this doesn't have to be the same  as my account password - am I wrong?) then what can I do about that?
Mike
MikeBz
Rising Star
Posts: 196
Thanks: 17
Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Very poor speed and intermittent connection for the last 14 hours

Update!  Password remembered (or typed correctly) and the new router is now up and running.
All a bit of a mystery, but thanks for your time Chris.
Mike
chrispurvey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 5,369
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: Very poor speed and intermittent connection for the last 14 hours

Hmmmm strange one, I'd continue to monitor it and if anything changes then let us know.