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Dreadfully low speeds (ETA, but now seeming to improve)

lexhamilton
Grafter
Posts: 47
Registered: ‎26-09-2010

Dreadfully low speeds (ETA, but now seeming to improve)

Oh dear - low speeds seem to be a common complaint at the moment.
I'm on a 8128 sync speed, and I am getting a mighty 776Kbps download speed according to the BT Speedtester.
My IP profile is 7150, but that's not being reflected in the download speed.
A quick check of the forums suggested that a fix would be to disconnect, power down and restart after a while - ensuring connection to a a different gateway.
So I am currently connected to the gateway known as pcl-ag06, but getting some shockingly slow speeds.
I'm guessing that this is a wider problem as my line is fine - no issues seen at the exchange, and nothing had changed with my connection, and up until yesterday I was getting between 5 and 7 meg download speeds.
Although, looking at the graphs from the broadband speedtester, it really does seem that my download speed really is all over the place - would be great to get an answer from PN on this.

16 REPLIES 16
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Hi lexhamilton,
Is it still the same today, as we did have some speed issues over the weekend which we've posted a service status about today.
Jojo Smiley
lexhamilton
Grafter
Posts: 47
Registered: ‎26-09-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Hello Jojo - It's strange. 
Yesterday there was a speedbump back to more normal speeds, and now, it's crashed back to a less than impressive 800k or so.
I did log a ticket, but there's not yet been any feedback.
Router stats / line noise etc.etc. all seem fine, so I'm pretty puzzled.
The router is plugged into the new Openreach socket (installed recently), and as you can see, yesterday speeds were fine.
Any suggestions?
lexhamilton
Grafter
Posts: 47
Registered: ‎26-09-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

And as of this morning, speeds have increased to the range I'd expect when on a 7150 IP profile with line sync of 8128.
My speed this morning is six times faster than it was last night.  Should I be seeing such a dramatic variation in throughput?
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Hi lexhamilton,
It looks like you're having some issues at peak time. I've just checked the VP at the exchange and this is what it said...
"BT is reporting that some of the virtual paths at this exchange are not operating within BT Wholesale's planning guidance, although they are still operating within the product specification.
At busy times, your ADSL connection may operate at a reduced speed, although not all customers on your exchange may be affected"
See how it goes tonight an run some BT speed tests before and during the peak hours.
Jojo Smiley
lexhamilton
Grafter
Posts: 47
Registered: ‎26-09-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Hello Jojo - it does appear that way - peak times are very poor.
My last broadband connection also suffered a period of bad throughput as you can see from the ticket here:
Question #35503627
The outcome on that ticket was:
----------------------
"We have identified that the problem is with the VP (virtual path). We can solve this issue by re-providing your service on a new VP, however the down side to this fix is that you would be without service completely for 72 hours. "
----------------------
So virtual path capacity isn't a new thing at this exchange. 
Is the only fix a re-provide on a new virtual path?  Or is there anything else that can be done to help?
Even now (1400 ish), I'm only getting speeds of 2.3 Meg download, which isn't great.
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Hi lexhamilton,
There's a product called max premium which is designed to increase upload speed. Some people have also used it to combat issues such as yours and found that they get better priority over the network. The downside is we have to pay for it and have to pass the cost on to the customer.
Jojo Smiley
lexhamilton
Grafter
Posts: 47
Registered: ‎26-09-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Well, funny you should mention max premium Jojo.
On Feb 3 I requested it to be added to my account: it's logged here as Question #39520838
I remote work a great deal and a speedier upload and better network priority would be great.
Any chance you can see how this ticket request is progressing?
I know there is a charge, but if this fixes the service and relieves the congestion, I'll be very happy.

jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

HI lexhamilton,
Ok, I'll get that picked up for you today.
Jojo Smiley
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Quote from: lexhamilton
The outcome on that ticket was:
----------------------
"We have identified that the problem is with the VP (virtual path). We can solve this issue by re-providing your service on a new VP, however the down side to this fix is that you would be without service completely for 72 hours. "
----------------------

Why the 72 hours down time? Surely it's a case of the engineer moving wires. The only rational reason I can think of is if there is a choice of satellite exchange buildings and the line is to be moved to a different exchange building.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
lexhamilton
Grafter
Posts: 47
Registered: ‎26-09-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Quote from: Joanne
HI lexhamilton,
Ok, I'll get that picked up for you today.
Jojo Smiley

Thanks very much indeed - will be interesting to see if the higher priority helps matters.
I do appreciate you looking into this.
lexhamilton
Grafter
Posts: 47
Registered: ‎26-09-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

@Jelv - that puzzled me as well.  Our local exchange is just one building, maybe this timescale is the standard worst case scenario from BT / Openreach or whoever does the re-provide.
I've got my fingers crossed that moving to Max Premium will improve my upload speed and also normalize my connection / throughput rates.
When you start doing much more remote and VPN working, the upload speed does become a limiting factor sometimes.

jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Hi lexhamilton,
I placed this order for you yesterday, it should complete this afternoon.
Jojo Smiley
lexhamilton
Grafter
Posts: 47
Registered: ‎26-09-2010

Re: Dreadfully low speeds

Thanks Jojo - I was looking at my router stats just now and it seems that there was a loss of sync this a.m. at about 0730 ish and now my upload rate is 832 (downstream is still 8218).
Do I need to reboot the router at some point when the order completes?
I'll be very interested to see if the Max Premium product makes a difference (esp. at peak times).
Appreciate you expediting the order.
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Dreadfully low speeds (ETA, but now seeming to improve)

You don't need to reboot as you are already syncing at the higher speed.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)