Broadband slow and dropping connection!

[#1]

Here's the wiring for the entry socket

[#2]

Here's the extension socket, showing where the router is plugged in

[#3]

And a closer view of the wiring from the extension cable

[#4]

Cheers for the photos. Do you have a dialling tone on your phone handset in either of your telephone sockets (Including what appears to be the test socket in the bottom right hand corner behind the faceplate, looks like you've got two)?

[#5]

Hi there. 

the standard  of the wiring in this photo isn't acceptable if carried out by a trained bt engineer. I'd rip it all out and start again.   It's also obvious that the bell wire , the orange cable , has been connected to pin 3 on the extension and this will almost certainly interfere with your broadband connection. edit  : neither socket appears  to be connected to the  AB input terminals on the backplate and the socket at the point of entry appears to be backwired   from the extension. Is there a microfilter for the extention and also how long is your lead from the extension to the router ? What's the wiring like on the extension backplate? 

If you paid BT to do this I would demand your money back. Although the  extension cable is of the right quality I can't understand why the engineer decided to use jelly crimps . Edit : ( was  the work in fact completed by a BT engineer? ) 

Ideally you need a new nte5c mk 4 master socket with filtered faceplate at the point of entry and no extension wiring at all. Plug your router into that and I bet the difference will be immediate. 

[#6]

I've checked a phone on the sockets:

- Entry socket - the outer socket works (dial tone), the inner doesn't

- Extension socket - both outer and inner have a dial tone.

I've barely used the broadband at home this past week, though other family members have reported variable performance (Netflix on the TV goes through periods when it freezes). When I've noticed poor performance (< 5mbps, sometimes < 1mbps), by the time I've done the wired connection to check, the wifi connection is back to 25-35mbps so the comparison is pointless. Several 30 min stints of standing next to the router, but not managed to catch it in a period of bad performance!

The cable from the extension to the router - about 1 meter. Wireless on the router is turned off with the Netgear Orbi providing the wireless.

BT refund - it was an Openreach engineer, but it was through my plus net contract (which is why I'm here). The sign up offer included an engineer coming to do the new connection, which is why I signed up as it meant I could get the internal wiring checked/replaced and also have the line between the house and cabinet/exchange checked - I'd previously had problems with the line with the previous ISP (BT) which is why I wanted it checked. So, the internal wiring was replaced (one new extension from the entry socket) and the line checked, which is where I got the info that there was a problem on the line.

Clearly, based on the feedback here, I now doubt the competence of the Openreach engineer, but I'm still in the same place - erratic (and unacceptable/unusable) broadband performance!

[#7]

Hi @rsd

what you report re dial tones is what I'd expect from the pictures of how your sockets are wired up.  Such a system might  be ok -ish for a phone service but is hardly ideal for broadband.  

It has in effect made socket no 1 where the line enters you property the extension and socket no 2 is the main socket

Socket no 1 is by-passed by the feed pair from the DP. They are jelly crimped to the orange / blue pair in the extension cable. 

The feed for socket no1 is backwired on the green / brown pair of the extension cable.Connection has been made to the terminals for an extension output on the midle removable part of the backplate,  again using a couple of jelly crimps and some further untidy wiring! This pair should be connected to terminals A & B on the backplate. These are visible and there is no good reason why they were not used

Your photos don't show enough of the backplate of the 2nd socket to show how it has been wired up.  The line feeding it is through the blue / orange pair and  should be connected to A and B treminals on the backplate of socket no 2.  It does not look like that's what's been done.

I'd just ask for your sockets and wiring to be replaced.  It's a mess and it's wrong. I honestly do not believe an Openreach engineer carried out this work. It bears all the hallmarks of an electrician at work!   In any case it  was someone who has only the vaguest idea of how phone wiring is meant to be carried out.

Any thoughts anyone ?

[#8]

I can't say what credentials the engineer had, but they were the one sent by Openreach, came in an Openreach van and wore an Openreach uniform - PlusNet made the booking.

Sounds like I'm going to have to pay more to get the mess fixed - how do I book/pay for an Openreach engineer, or given that I will resent paying them to come fix a mess that they created, how do I find a phone engineer with the right credentials?

Again, as I started this thread, I am somewhere between extremely frustrated and angry with PlusNet over this - the silence constructive support from them is deafening.... it may have been Openreach that did this, but I'm a PlusNet customer, I pay them and this was part of their service delivery to me!! A little support from them would not be amiss.

And yes, I have logged a fault!

[#9]

You need to log a fault and request an engineer visit. @Gandalf Or @SammyM , can you look into this for @rsd?

The work on his installation documented here which he is sure was carried out by Openreach should be recorded on a ticket somewhere in his account history and an engineer with the right credentials should be booked to put this mess right. 

While you're at it why not specify that  a more up to date master socket , a NTE mk four with filtered plate is fitted. The ones in his photos don't look at all decent . I'd also be suspicious of the multi pair  DRopwire  feeding his property. Again typically the master socket would be fitted to a flush mounted back box , not  a recessed metal back box sunk into the plaster work  

[#10]

@runhare, thank you very much for all the help, its very much appreciated.

One question that I am curious about, on the cable coming into the house there seems to be a couple of dozen wires, this isn't typical, is it? If not, what could be reason for this?

[#11]

That's known as the dropwire. It might contain a few as 3 pairs (6 wires), or many more pairs.  All depends on the kind of property you live in. If your property or business needed multiple phone lines then you might need a lot of  pairs. Also the dropwire typically will require to contain some spare pairs in case a pair becomes faulty. I'd suggest the dropwire looks oldish too and replacing it with new cable between the DP ( distribution point) , probably on a pole or in a manhole with a new 3 pair cable would be a better option. 

[#12]

Thanks.

I think that for the purposes of diagnosing the issue this thread is coming to an end. I will now continue to lobby Plus Net (as a customer) to get the issue resolved - I find it shocking that I have been battling this since 29/1 (for a problem that I had a similar 'battle' over last year - apologies then, and an assurance they would fix the issue, but no resolution!).

The fault ticket received a response from Plus net on 6/3 agreeing that there was a fault. That asked me (again) to do the same tests that I have done here (did last year, etc), and said that they acknowledged the thread on this forum. Anyway, no response to that ticket. I have updated it today so that it doesn't expire (they kindly warn you that they will close the ticket if they ignore it for 14 days!).

I have also raised a formal complaint, in fact 2: (1) why is the fault not being resolved, (2) why am I not receiving support. I've kept all records and so have a decent package to forward to the ombudsman. Now, I don't want the hassle of the ombudsman, and I suspect Plus Net don't either, so wouldn't it make it easier for all of us (though, I have already put significant time and effort into this, both on here and privately - on hold time, etc) if you just look at this issue and resolve it, or tell me definitively that you disown it so I can privately get it investigated - your call if you want to take that risk!

So, thanks for all the help provided by volunteers, its about time that Plus Net provide the service that I am paying for.

[#13]

Hello @rsd,

I am really sorry to hear you are experiencing a problem with your speed. I have updated your fault here. Please let us know how you get on. 

[#14]

I have replied to the fault report. You're asking me to repeat the tests that I have already done repeatedly.

1) test socket - I have done this, but as you can see above, there is confusion over which one this is due to problems with the internal wiring

2) Reconnecting cables - this has been done repeatedly, I've bought new cables, new routers, etc.

3) Damage to the cables - none in my equipment, but there are questions over the internal wiring (see above)

4) Btwholesale test - that has recorded v. slow speeds and says there's a problem and that I need to contact my ISP. It also says that everything is perfect - this is a sporadic/interim issue!

[#15]

Hi @rsd,

We have asked you do a wired test socket check as you mention you've yet to capture the intermittent speed issue happening in this set-up which leads us to believe it could be something internal.
From the looks of your internal wiring and asking with a few more tenured colleague than I we believe the previous engineer relocated your master socket which used to be the "entry wiring" to the "extension socket" from the images you sent leaving the original socket on the old master socket which seems to be causing the confusion. This is backed up by the fact the test socket doesn't work in the "entry wiring" socket but doe sin the other so in regards to testing we'd advise to use the test socket of the "extension socket" when running the speed tests form here then.

In regards to your wired speed tests (USB to RJ45) we would really advise a Ethernet cable as using a USB to RJ45 will only be adding more things into the equation that internally could be causing the intermittent issue.

The BTWholesale speed tests after running capturing the slower intermittent throughput speed should be submitted through to our side with the "further diagnostics" steps at the bottom of the results. This allows us and our suppliers to see the lower throughput and allow us to go down the route of a engineer to come and investigate further. By all means though if it's easier taking a print screen/photo of a speed test result and then posting it either on here or on the ongoing fault this would suffice also.

The connection looking form our side:

GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_0000
Description	GEA service test completed and no fault found .
Main Fault Location	OK
Sync Status	In Sync
Downstream Speed	47.3 Mbps
Upstream Speed	8.1 Mbps
Appointment Required	N
Fault Report Advised	N
NTE Power Status	PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result	Pass
Bridge Tap	Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise	Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres	577.8
Upstream Rate Assessment	Low
Downstream Rate Assessment	Low
Interference Pattern	Not Detected
Service Impact	No Impact Observed
Home Wiring Problem	Not Detected
Technology	VDSL
Profile Name	0.128M-80M Downstream, Interleaving Low - 0.128M-19M Upstream, Error Protection Off
Time Stamp	2018-03-09T10:00:00

Parameters	MIN	MAX	AVG
Down Stream Line Rate	47.2 Mbps	47.5 Mbps	47.4 Mbps
Up Stream Line Rate	8.1 Mbps	8.5 Mbps	8.3 Mbps
Up Time	710.0 Sec	900.0 Sec	899.5 Sec
Retrains	0.0	2.0	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	2018-03-22T09:32:06.792+00:00	2018-03-22T09:47:06.792+00:00
Ingress Code Violation	0	0
Egress Code Violation	0	0
Errored Seconds	0	0
Severely Errored Seconds	0	0
Unavailable Seconds	0	0

As seen above, everything is looking spot on with the connection as a whole from this side with no real sign of intermittent issues either and why we are thinking it could be throughput issue.
Let us know how it goes with the wired speed tests in the "extension socket" test socket.

Kind regards,

Ben