Download speeds dropped considerably

[#1]

Hi
For the last 6 months we've had download speeds of around 4.3 mbps since a BT engineer rerouted our connection at the cabinet to a copper line to the exchange rather than the aluminium one that it had been on.
Last night and today however we are now only getting 1.6 mbps which was the maximum speed achieved prior to the swap. I've tried and Openreach test this morning and the further diagnostic test indicates there is a fault (red) and the IP Profile is shown as 4.58 mbps. I have attached a screen print of that test and a csv file showing the download speeds for the last 4 months. Do I presume a BT engineer has swapped us back to the old line?
Regards
Malcolm

[#2]

If you'd have been moved back to the aluminium line then I'd have expected the IP profile to have dropped. I'm just going to test your line and see what's going on.

[#3]

A few disconnections showing:

One of those disconnections caused a low sync, which in turn caused the profile to drop to 1700. This hadn't yet recovered but I've now nudged that and if you disconnect/reconnect your should see your speeds improve again.

[#4]

Hi Chris
You're a genius.
Reset the router and retested with BT Openreach and download speed is back to 4.5 mbps. Many thanks for your swift action.
Kind regards
Malcolm

[#5]

Hi Chris
I knew it was too good to last  A couple of times since your "fix" the download speed has dropped to around 2.8mbps but a router reset has put things right but this morning after several disconnects the download speed is 2.7mbps and resetting the router has no affect. The diagnostics  from the Openreach tester show an IP Profile of 2.9mbps instead of the 4.5mbps it has been for the last 6 months. We have seen numerous Openreach engineers around local cabinets over the last couple of weeks which we presume is to do with the forthcoming fttc which has been repeatedly delayed since last September!
Is there anything you can do to remedy the dropped speed?
Kind regards
Malcolm Moore

[#6]

Hi Malcolm,
A warm welcome to the forums.  In situations such as yours, running speed tests is not overly helpful - you need to be inspecting the synch sped and other router statistics.
The speed issues thread link below will help you get more information on how your line is performing.  There is clearly an instability issue here, which needs to be bottomed out before anything else is done.
Is the router plugged into the master socket?  Is there noise on the line?  Dial 17070 option 2 using a corded phone in the master socket.
Kevin

[#7]

Hi Kevin
Thanks for the reply. The noise test (17070) does indicate some noise on the line and yes the router is connected to the master socket.
The router stats are pretty steady at:
Fri 07 Aug 2015  15:23:19 Rx-Noise=3.0 Tx-Noise=5.7 Rx-Sync=5669 Tx-Sync=998.
Thanks again.
Malcolm

[#8]

Hi Kevin
Further to the problem the Openreach speedtest still shows a download speed of 2.5mbps but the IP Profile has gone up again to 5mbps.
Regards
Malcolm

[#9]

you need to go into the router and click on disconnect then connect on the DSL page I think

[#10]

Quote

The noise test (17070) does indicate some noise on the line and yes the router is connected to the master socket.

We're not picking up any faults when testing the phone line, although any noise can cause problems with the broadband.
When you test for the noise was that with a single phone handset plugged in?

[#11]

Hi Chris
Yes I tried a normal handset in the master socket - the line wasn't exceedingly noisy but now I am experiencing quite a few disconnects with a DSL signal still showing.
Regards
Malcolm

[#12]

Hi Malcolm,
Can you please post the full set of modem stats?  It is the data other than speed and SNRM which informs the operational boundary of your line.
When you say not exceedingly noisy, what do you mean?  Noise does not need to be loud or continuous to cause big problems for ADSL operation.
Kevin

[#13]

Hi
All seems back to normal again this morning with a Download speed of 4.4mbps.
The info from the RouterStats program for the Router Stats Page is:
          Uptime: 0 days, 7:58:45    DSL Type: ITU-T G.992.5    Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 1,005 / 5,113    Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 25.98 / 232.45    Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.6 / 0.0    Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 25.3 / 50.0    SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 5.5 / 3.6    System Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ----    Chipset Vendor ID (Local/Remote): BDCM / IFTN    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0    Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0    Loss of Link (Remote): -    Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 321 / 0    FEC Errors (Up/Down): 29 / 92,875    CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 464    HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 2,055 generateTasks() 
Many thanks
Malcolm

[#14]

Quote from: morsoft

Uptime: 0 days, 7:58:45    DSL Type: ITU-T G.992.5    Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 1,005 / 5,113    Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 25.98 / 232.45    Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.6 / 0.0    Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 25.3 / 50.0    SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 5.5 / 3.6    System Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ----    Chipset Vendor ID (Local/Remote): BDCM / IFTN    Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0    Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0    Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0    Loss of Link (Remote): -    Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 321 / 0    FEC Errors (Up/Down): 29 / 92,875    CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 464    HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 2,055

Hi Malcolm,
Those figures are looking good, albeit a little low (250kbps maybe) for that attenuation at a SNRM of 3dB.  That speed at 6dB would be right on the nail.
Keep a watch on the phone line noise.
Kevin

[#15]

Hi Kevin
Many thanks for the info. All still OK this morning but will keep a watch on the noise.
Malcolm