Faulty Thompson router?

[#1]

I'm using a Thomson TG585 v8 router, which has always performed reasonably well until recently.
Over the past week or so, I have had problems with my internet connection failing (both wireless and Ethernet), despite the fact that the router was not indicating any problems. On each occasion, restarting the router cleared the problem.
I have been running some checks today and find that although the Thompson itself is reporting a download speed of  15,763Kbps and upload of 448Kbps, if I run the BT Wholesale speed test, it shows results of  5.15Mbps download and 0.3Mbps upload.
Plusnet's estimate for my line speed is 14.3Mbps.
The DSL connection stats from the router are as follows:

DSL Connection
Link Information
Uptime: 0 days, 0:53:40
DSL Type: G.992.5 annex A
Maximum Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 21,632 / 16,340
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 15,736
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/GB]: 49.45 / 1.84
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.0 / 20.0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 12.5 / 23.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 27.0 / 7.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / TSTC
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): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 17,900 / 0
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 61,568 / 13
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 21,876 / 47

To my inexpert eye, this would seem to indicate that there is a problem with my LAN and this is most likely caused by a fault in the router. There are no error or warnings showing via the router LED's, all of which are green and behaving normally.
Can anyone confirm or debunk my theory and also suggest where I go from here please?

[#2]

Hi Gewitty,
As you should never need to reboot a router to bring a connection back up it does sound to me like there could be a problem with that router.
The best thing to do is just a factory reset, if that doesn't fix it you might need a replacement.
If you'd like to get a TG582n from us we can arrange that for £5.99 for you.

[#3]

Hi Gewitty,
Before you go chasing for a new router, can you please confirm the following...
What was the IP profile reported by the BTw speed test?
What is the current speed reported by PN here - https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed - you will be prompted to logon to the portal.  If they are different, then that is on potential source of your experience.
Was the speed test done over WiFi or Ethernet?
Can you be sure that nothing else was happening on your LAN / PC?

The synch speed is a little slow for the line's attenuation and the US error rate is a bit high for the connection duration.  Something I have not seen before though is a router reporting an US maximum bandwidth over 21Mbps... may be that is enough to suggest it is goosed?

[#4]

Thanks for that Adam. It sounds as if a new router might be the best solution. How do I go about ordering one?
Also, I might try a factory reset in the meantime. How do I do this and will it require me to re-enter all of the settings? If so, can these be saved as a file before the reset and then restored after?

[#5]

Hi Townman.
The results I get from the BT Wholesale speed test are as follows:
Download Speed : 5.32 Mbps
Upload Speed : 0.26 Mbps
PN are showing an estimated line speed of 14.3Mbps
The router is currently reporting up/down speeds of    448 / 15,736
The speed test was done over an Ethernet connection and nothing unusual was happening on either the LAN or PC at the time.

[#6]

Hi Adam,
Just took a look at reviews for the Technicolor TG582n. It doesn't fare too well and gets pretty low ratings for both performance and an 'appallingly bad' UI.
Are there any other options available?

[#7]

Hi,
Not from PlusNet.  It is a budget device which works well enough for the majority of people.  Remember only a minority are motivated enough to complain - satisfied people tend to say nothing.
I have used a number of TG routers from PN and have found them adequate, depending upon what you want to do.  I have covered a reasonable sized country pub with a single TG582n, though there was not a lot of WiFi signal competition.  The latest firmware has a few more features in it, the one I value most 9and have not seen in many routers) is the ability to time limit internet access on a per device basis, which is really great for curtailing the kid's internet activity hours!
I have found the TG to be better than a Netgear DG3300V2 with my Samsung WiFi printer and indeed the DNS service to be better than the DG, which would not resolve LAN device's IP addresses.
For £6 P&P the device makes (at least) a good back-up router and a bench mark device for BB fault testing.