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ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

LoliR
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎25-02-2016

ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

Long story short:
My retired mother's ADSL has been running fine at 'up to 20Mb' speed for around 4 years. In the last few months it's gone down to 0.1Mb, basically unuseable for anything but plain text emails. Running all diagnostics and BT wholesale speed test gives a line speed of 0.1Mb.
Contacted PlusNet support, who put us through all the usual mudane tests, and now want to send round an engineer, that may cost my mother £50.
Given she doesn't have money to splash, and connection fees for setup with another competitor only cost around £20... why should she put up with that threat and stick with this terrible service?

Full info:
ADSL is running on a fixed phone line extension from the main point into the house, into a spare room.
I modifed the settings on an ADSL modem from a previous supplier to connect to plusnet. This is ethernet wired to a LinkSys router, where the PC is wired via ethernet, and there are devices such as a Roku streaming stick + mobile phones that run from Wifi.
Again, for 4 years, there have been no problems at all. High bandwidth services like 720p iPlayer via Wifi worked without issue.
The problem has only happened since late 2015.
During troubleshooting we removed the LinkSys router entirely to exclude the Wifi (connected PC directly via ethernet cable to the ADSL modem), and plugged the ADSL modem and filter directly into the main house phone socket in the porch to exclude the phone line extension. We tried an alternative ADSL filter with little to no difference in performance. Same BT speed test results.
Nothing has changed in terms of local network hardware or settings. And yet performance is around 100x slower.
I am aware that any recently trained engineer will look at the following as issues, and probably point the finger of blame at them:
- ADSL running on phone line extension
- ADSL modem that is not 'PlusNet' branded, nor is it a single combo ADSL modem & router box that is more commonly seen these days

However, my mother doesn't have the money to start fitting new phone lines into another room or replacing routers. And this setup worked fine for years?!
Is anyone aware of any protocol settings that may have changed recently on the plusnet ADSL connection that may require tweaking on the ADSL modem itself? Given that my mother's internet worked -fine- for the last 4 years, that's about the only thing that I can think of that would cause a 100x speed decrease almost overnight.
Any help appreciated!
11 REPLIES 11
LoliR
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎25-02-2016

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

And yes, we removed the master socket faceplace and connected the filter directly into the internal socket, as here:
https://youtu.be/qwYaA6n-FN0
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

when you did that what were the sync speeds reported by the router
LoliR
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎25-02-2016

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

No difference in any speeds. Still getting 0.1Mb BT wholesale speed test result, & from 'broadband speed tester' website.

Ticket reply:
BT wish to send an engineer to your premises to further investigate your home phone fault.
If you have done all the above checks and the issue is still evident then we can arrange to send an engineer to you. However, if an engineer visits your premises and the issue is found to be caused by your equipment, internal wiring or as a result of damage to BT equipment a charge of £50 may apply. This is why we advise of the above checks.
If you wish to proceed with an engineer appointment we need the following information:
* Agreement that if the issue is caused by any of the above that you may receive a £50 charge.
* An alternative contact number preferably a mobile
* Availability should an engineer need to attend the premises, between the hours of 8am-1pm & 1pm-6pm Monday - Friday.
You can reply to this ticket at http://contactus.plus.net, by chat www.plus.net/update (Mon to Fri 10:00 - 18:00) with the requested information. Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 432 0200, pressing the option to raise a new Home Phone Fault.
Kind regards,
Christopher Johnston
[Sms Message: Plusnet:To progress your fault, we need to arrange an engineer visit. Please reply to this message with 3 available timeslots for an engineers visit. The available timeslots are weekdays either between 8am & 1pm or between 1pm & 6pm. If the fault is with your internal wiring or equipment a charge of £50 may be applied]
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

I didn't ask about speed test results but the sync speed - can you post the full stats from that router - noise margin, attenuation and sync speed
LoliR
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎25-02-2016

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

Unfortunately I was in Shropshire next to the router at the weekend, but I'm back down in Surrey now, so can't deal with it directly.
A ticket back from plusnet has revealed some stats but of course they are of the line and not router stats themselves. This is mentioned:
"NF03 - The Copper Line test has failed. MFL :- (CA) BTW cannot progress this fault as the root cause is the PSTN failure. Please report to your Copper Line Service Provider."
But the same 'if it's your fault, £50 fee still applies'.
ejs
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 5,442
Thanks: 631
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

£50 is less than half of what other providers would charge you with if it was a fault with your equipment.
Mustrum
Community Veteran
Posts: 3,554
Thanks: 1,055
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Registered: ‎13-08-2015

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

Forget the £50 bit, its just standard, and by the sound of it you have eliminated any issues that might have existed in the internal wiring. The sync speeds Jim mentions would help confirm that, but an engineer visit has to be the next step.
It could be the router, it does not sound like one of the later ones, a good low cost but reliable alternative is the old BT Business 2 Wire routers, readily available from that well known bidding site.
LoliR
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎25-02-2016

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

Thanks for the sanity checks. Worth mentioning that mum's phone line is perfect (there was no crackle at all) and she's still able to receive and make voice calls without issues. So no idea what the copper line fault is!
I'll try to get back up there and dump out some diagnostics from the modem / router now I'm a bit more clued up. The ADSL modem is a Huawei SmartAX MT882.
I'd try to set up some kind of remote teamviewer connection, but at 0.1mbs it's going to be a tad tricky getting that installed and working, if it even works!
Mustrum
Community Veteran
Posts: 3,554
Thanks: 1,055
Fixes: 76
Registered: ‎13-08-2015

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

One thing just slightly confused me, you are running an ASDL model, and a router? Has the modem been checked/replaced? Or did misunderstand?
LoliR
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎25-02-2016

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

Yes correct.
So the ADSL modem is just that. It has no wifi or additional ethernet ports - just line in (from micro filter), and ethernet out Smiley
The LinkSys router is just a router and has no cable modem or ADSL modem capability. It has 1 ethernet port 'in' and has 4 ethernet ports out, and delivers the WiFi of course Smiley
I appreciate these days most people (myself included) have all this in one box.
I excluded the router as being any part of the problem, by connecting the PC directly into the one single ethernet port (out) of the ADSL modem.
I haven't been able to try a 2nd ADSL modem - this past weekend was my first knowledge of the issue, so was trying to resolve things with limited spares available.
Anoush
Aspiring Hero
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Registered: ‎22-08-2015

Re: ADSL in Shropshire gone from 12Mb -> 0.1Mb for the last few months

Hello there. If you try a different router connected directly into the test socket and the sync speed is still too low, then there should be absolutely nothing to worry about in regards to the engineer charge as these are the only two checks that we ask you to do before booking an engineer.
The only other instance where the charge would apply is if the booked appointment was missed or cancelled within 48 hours. In this scenario, our suppliers would charge us £150 for the failed visit, so Plusnet would absorb two thirds of that cost.
Even so, the charge would first be reviewed by our billing team over 90 days and only if it is absolutely justified would we accept the engineer charge and pass on the £50.00.
Hope this helps
This is my personal Community Forum account to help out around these parts while I'm at home. If I'm posting from the 1st March 2020, this means I'm off-duty with no access to internal systems.
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