Why is speed getting slower

[#1]

Perhaps I misunderstood.  How do you connect your router to the phone line when it is not plugged in to the test socket (i.e. normally)?

[#2]

Hi again mapletree,
I have 4 sockets (including the one with the test socket in it). Why I need 4 i'll never know!  It's a brand new housing assoc flat and the landlord put 4 in!  The master (test) socket is behind the front door (a really stupid place and no electrical sockets!) so I never use it, there's 2 in the livingroom and 1 in the bedroom. I normally use one in the living room because it's beside a plug socket and that's also where I have my desktop (as I sometimes have to use the ethernet cable). Yesterday I tested the speed in all the sockets the speed in the normal socket and the speed in the socket where the test socket is both were under 1000 (later going down to 76!) and the speed in the other 2 was around 5000 each. I haven't tested today (as i'm really fed up!) but I suspect they' ve gone down (I don't even know if the results are significant). Last week the test socket was 11500 and this week it;s 5000. last week the normal socket was reaching about 5000, but this week it's went as low as 76!  Does this mean anything to you!!!!  I'm lost. Thanks for you help

[#3]

Hi rena,
I've been running some checks and there is an inconsistency with your profile. There are two parts to your profile, the BRAs and the DSLAM, which are both showing different figures. I'll get onto them this afternoon and get back to you.
Jojo

[#4]

I don't want to confuse you with me giving different advice from Jojo but the speeds you are quoting look like actual download speeds from a speed tester.  We need to take this a step at a time.  Your actual download speed will be limited in several ways and we need to eliminate each possible cause.  The problem is with the way BT control the speeds.  They can limit you for days even if the problem has gone away (i.e. BRAs and IP profiles)!
First step is to establish whether you have a good/bad sync speed.  This is the actual speed that your router connects at and is not the speed of downloads.  Until this is sorted out I don't think there is any point considering BRAs or IP profiles. 
Connect your router into your normal socket and then ask the router for the speed (as you did in your post of 25/01/2011, 16:12).  Report back here with the results.  Then we take it on to the next step.  I do suspect that your internal wiring is not very good.

[#5]

Hi mapletree,
Thanks for the input but I need it to stay where it is. I have run a check and the current sync rate is 15000+ with an ip profile of 13000 showing. The reason rena is not seeing this is because the BRAs and the DSLAM are inconsistent. I am currently on to BT getting this rectified.
Jojo

[#6]

Hi rena,
I've had a few faults guys looking at this and been on to BT. we can't see anything at this end that would be causing you to get slow speeds now. The line was dropping an awful lot but as you can see from the graph below it has stabilised since you plugged into the test socket. The last speed test result we can see on your line was reporting throughput of over 9Mbps so we would need you to do one when it is performing badly. You will need to do the test on the BT speed tester
Jojo

[#7]

Hi Jojo,
I couldn't see a graph below?  And i'm confused - do you want me to do a speed test when it's in the test socket or a normal socket, because it's when it's in the normal socket that the speed drops from 5000 to 76? And when I put it in the test socket it was 5000 but went up to 11000ish!  And I don't know that the speed will drop because it's now in the test socket? But I can't leave it in the test socket forever for reasons i've explained. I also lost connection about an hour ago. I know I have to use the Bt speedtester because they are the 'real' ones but in my experience all the other ones are usually more accurate - I feel that when my computer is running slow and I test the speed on a site that's not bt it reflects what I think (that the speed is slow) but the bt one gives a more favourable result. But I know folk will say that's rubbish!
I'm sorry if I appear annoying and ignorant but can you please tell me what BRA (underwear??) and DSLAM are? What are they meant to be? Are they meant to be the same? How long do I keep it in the test socket? If I take it out and put it in the normal socket will it go down again? Why are test socket speeds higher than normal sockets anyway?


I have just used the bt speed tester and the results are fine just now but I believe that's because it's been in the test socket for a while (I put it there last night and it has gone up from about 5000), but what happened the last time was I took it out the test socket and put it in the normal socket and the speed went from about 5000 to 76. Tthe speed was running at 3000-5000 since I got broadband almost a month ago until I had to change things like 21cn, asdl2+,wpa and upgrading the flashware - is that just a coincidence? But I was orginally told that  I should be speeds or between 7-17, with and average of 12mbps
 

    FAQ

Test1 comprises of two tests
1. Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
Download Speed
10934 Kbps
 
0 Kbps 21000 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed
Download speedachieved during the test was - 10934 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speedsis 4000-21000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :15360 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 13000 Kbps
The throughput of Best Efforts (BE) classes achieved during the test is - 2.19:26.65:71.16 (SBE:NBE:PBE)
These figures represent the ratio while sententiously passing Sub BE, Normal BE and Priority BE marked traffic.
The results of this test will vary depending on the way your ISP has decided to use these traffic classes. 
2. Upstream Test:  -provides background information.
Upload Speed
313 Kbps
 
0 Kbps 448 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed
>Upload speed achieved during the test was - 313 Kbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 448 Kbps

We were unable to identify any performance problem with your service at this time.
It is possible that any problem you are currently, or had previously experienced may have been caused by traffic congestion on the Internet or by the server you were accessing responding slowly.
If you continue to encounter a problem with a specific server, please contact the administrator of that server in the first instance.
Please visit FAQ section if you are unable To understand the test results.

 
     



Notes:
The Download Speed is the average rate that was achieved during this test.

Notes:
Your line is configured to the maximum rate that it can support or at your chosen fixed rate, this is known as the line rate and would be viewed through your CPE software or in your router configuration.
Your IP profile is always less than the line rate and is normal on any network.
The Upstream Test rate figure quoted will always be smaller than the assured rate profile. This is because in order for the throughput to reach its destination, it requires an overhead which explains the difference between the two.


Notes:
If your download speed lies in this range then your connection seems to be working fine.

Notes:
The Download Speed is the average rate that was achieved during this test.

Notes:
Your line is configured to the maximum rate that it can support or at your chosen fixed rate, this is known as the line rate and would be viewed through your CPE software or in your router configuration.
Your IP profile is always less than the line rate and is normal on any network.

[#8]

Hi rena,
[quote=rena]can you please tell me what BRA (underwear??) and DSLAM are? What are they meant to be? Are they meant to be the same?
A little info here about the BRAs and some info about the DSLAM here. Yes, they both should be set the same. Occasionally they can be different which will cause the customer to see an IP profile that doesn't reflect the correct speed.
[quote=rena]How long do I keep it in the test socket? If I take it out and put it in the normal socket will it go down again? Why are test socket speeds higher than normal sockets anyway?
If you have a problem with your internal wiring then the speed may go down again. The test socket is the direct line to your exchange and this is why you will get the best speeds as there is no interference from any internal wiring.
Jojo

[#9]

Hi Jojo, Hope you had a lovely weekend. I was a bit concerned that no one got back to me over the past few days to tell me how long to keep the router in the test socket, so I decided to take it out anyway! It was in the test socket for 3 days *Thurs night t0 Sunday night) but I put it back in the 'normal' socket last night because it was too impractical and dangerous to leave it like that. So what do I do next? I did try to do the Bt speed tester thing a few but every time I tried I got the same message  "The system is currently busy. Please try again shortly, however if this problem persists, raise the issue with your service provider".

 

[#10]

HI rena,
you could always try another speed tester. I've heard a few people say they've had issues with the BT speed tester in the last few days.
Jojo

[#11]

Hi Jojo
I have now managed to do a bt test
Test1 comprises of two tests
1. Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
Download Speed
5085 Kbps
 
0 Kbps 21000 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed
Download speedachieved during the test was - 5085 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speedsis 4000-21000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :7064 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 13000 Kbps
The throughput of Best Efforts (BE) classes achieved during the test is - 12.92:25.85:61.25 (SBE:NBE:PBE)
These figures represent the ratio while sententiously passing Sub BE, Normal BE and Priority BE marked traffic.
The results of this test will vary depending on the way your ISP has decided to use these traffic classes. 
2. Upstream Test:  -provides background information.
Upload Speed
351 Kbps
 
0 Kbps 448 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed
>Upload speed achieved during the test was - 351 Kbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 448 Kbps

We were unable to identify any performance problem with your service at this time.
It is possible that any problem you are currently, or had previously experienced may have been caused by traffic congestion on the Internet or by the server you were accessing responding slowly.
If you continue to encounter a problem with a specific server, please contact the administrator of that server in the first instance.
Please visit FAQ section if you are unable To understand the test results.

 
     



Notes:
The Download Speed is the average rate that was achieved during this test.

Notes:
Your line is configured to the maximum rate that it can support or at your chosen fixed rate, this is known as the line rate and would be viewed through your CPE software or in your router configuration.
Your IP profile is always less than the line rate and is normal on any network.
The Upstream Test rate figure quoted will always be smaller than the assured rate profile. This is because in order for the throughput to reach its destination, it requires an overhead which explains the difference between the two.


Notes:
If your download speed lies in this range then your connection seems to be working fine.

Notes:
The Download Speed is the average rate that was achieved during this test.

Notes:
Your line is configured to the maximum rate that it can support or at your chosen fixed rate, this is known as the line rate and would be viewed through your CPE software or in your router configuration.
Your IP profile is always less than the line rate and is normal on any network.


Could you please tell me what these results mean? When I signed up I was told I should be able to get between 7000-17000, with an average of 12000. Does that mean there is a problem with my wiring, or equipment or something else. I'm sorry I just don't understand these things!

[#12]

Quote from: Joanne

Hi mapletree, Thanks for the input but I need it to stay where it is. I have run a check and the current sync rate is 15000+ with an ip profile of 13000 showing. The reason rena is not seeing this is because the BRAs and the DSLAM are inconsistent. I am currently on to BT getting this rectified. Jojo

Hi Jojo,
I am comletely lost on this thread.  Please, please, I am also a Techno novice and I do not understand what BRAs and DSLAM mean.  What does it mean?  And, while I am at it Adam keeps refering to "send me the PM" in one of the other threads.  What does PM mean?
I will appreciate it if can get me acqauinted with these Jargon, please.

[#13]

BRAS is explained here
DSLAM is explained in this article
A PM is a Private Message and you can send one to someone by clicking the icon under their forum name.

[#14]

Hi Jojo Again,
Sorry, I did not go far enough in the thread to find out about BRAs and ADSLAM.  So, please skip this lot but what does PM mean, as I asked in my previous post.
Thanks for your help.

[#15]

Thanks, Start.  I am happy that I am being educated.