Intermittent slowdowns

[#1]

I have been getting a problem that my connection will drop down from my "super-fast" 17Mbps to dial up speeds for about five-ten mimutes.

By the time I send a HELP text to PN & get the reply, the line's back up to normal. So, of course, there's no problem and I should check my cables, WiFi, etc., that haven't changed for the past two years.

I am connected via an ethernet cable. WiFi doesn't drop, but the speed does.

I have tried:

1. Resetting the router (Hub2*).

2. Changing the DNS from auto to 8.8.8.8

*Which I paid for on my last renewal, as the Hub 1 kept  resetting!

[#2]

@hugonebula This sounds like a network (Openreach) issue to me.

For Community members to be able to help, information from these sites, as screenshots, posted as pictures within the topic, not as attachments:-

BT Broadband Availability Checker (obscuring your phone number), where a landline phone is no longer supplied or known use the address version BT Broadband Address Availability (obscuring your address)

BTW Performance Tester - Over a wired (Ethernet) connection if at all possible, please report the 'ADDITIONAL DIAGNOSTICS'. This test is recommended to be performed with only one device connected.

Sight of the broadband connection status from your Hub (with the 'Username' obscured) would also be of help.

For the Hub One -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Troubleshooting > Helpdesk

For the Hub Two -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Advanced Settings > Technical Log > Information

Where the phone line is still active, it may also be a good idea to report the results of a Quiet Line Test - dial 17070 option 2 from a (preferably corded) phone. After the confirmation of your phone number, there should be total silence apart from the regular 'Quiet Line Test' announcement. Any other noise - report a PHONE fault first.

If you are unsure about any of the above, please just ask - I am happy to help.

[#3]

All carried out when my line is fine:

BT Speedtest + Additional diagnostics using my landline number (I don't know the other numbers)BT AvailabilityTechnical log 1/2Technical log 2/2

I've carried out a quiet line test previously when I've been in the middle of an 'episode' and that was fine.

These 'episodes' tend to be about once a month (the previous one that I know about was 8th November and lasted at least an hour - I was trying to work from home so I had to give up and go into the office). Yesterday's lasted about an hour. The line was refreshed by the textbot, but it still slowed down afterwards.

[#4]

You are obviously a long way from the cab, but that is incidental, and won't be causing your issue.

However, a couple of things stand out to me from the Technical log - your download SNR is much too low for your Line/signal attenuation, it needs to be at least 6dB, and you also appear to be losing xDSL sync.

You need to contact PN (on Monday, I don't recommend weekends) and ask them to carry out manual tests, the bot can't handle situations like this.

Just to confirm my thoughts, can you export the error log, and post the resulting file - as an attachment - please?

[#5]

To expand on the 'symptoms' of these 'episodes':

About once a month, the BB speed will drop from the normal 16-18 mbps to a crawl - 0.05 mbps, or so slow a speedtest gives up. Wi-Fi and LAN is fine, everything stays connected.

This will happen for between three to ten minutes. After this it will go back to its normal speed, for about another ten to twenty minutes and then drop back down to virtually nothing again, And so on for about an hour or two.

At some point during one of these episodes, in lieu of throwing the router out of the window, I may reset the connection, restart, or factory reset the router. In response to a previous (Plusnet wide) episode, I changed the DNS settings from auto to 8.8.8.8. I also text Plusnet who refresh my line after a while.

I got a new Hub 2 router on my last renewal due to my previous Hub1 or Xyxel routers disconnecting at about the same frequency, or sometimes several times a day.

[#6]

The error log - is that the same as the event log? If so do you want the All? It's a 450 kB csv file?

[#7]

@hugonebula Wonder if our posts crossed - you have (I strongly suspect) an Openreach network issue.

[#8]

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@hugonebula wrote:

The error log - is that the same as the event log? If so do you want the All? It's a 450 kB csv file?

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Yes please - that is not too big to handle.

[#9]

Yes our previous posts crossed.

[#10]

@hugonebula Thanks for that log. It confirms my suspicions about DSL drops, but there are some entries in there that make a little suspicious that your Hub could be part of the issue.

Unfortunately, my knowledge is not brilliant in that area, so I may tag someone who could have a greater understanding. If you could hold off any action until @Dan_the_Van could possibly pass his thoughts on that log?

[#11]

For my own education, can I ask; what is it in that data that makes you think it's DSL drops, or the router? 

[#12]

The reason I suspect the router is because of the 'BOOT', 'PERIODIC' and 'DIAGNOSTICS' entries in the Error log - they shouldn't appear, and the reason I suspect the DSL drops is because they shouldn't be happening that often, without raising the download SNR figures.

I suspect these things are inter-related, but stand to be corrected by someone with greater knowledge.

[#13]

All the event log messages are the Hub reporting/recording it's actives

CWMP: Session start now, server: https://pbthdm.x.x.x, Event code: 0 BOOTSTRAP - This message is reported on a cold boot

CWMP: Session start now, server: https://pbthdm.x.x.x, Event code: 1 BOOT - This will be reported on a reboot

Event code:8 DIAGNOSTICS COMPLETE - this follows a cold or warm boot.

CWMP: Session start now, server: https://pbthdm.x.x.x, Event code: 2 PERIODIC

This is the HUB contacting the management system as a "I am here message" 

There was a mention of 9th Nov;

10:15:31, 09 Nov. DSL Link Down: duration was 91381 seconds, this is caused by a line disconnect between the Hub and Green Cabinet. The connection was up 25.3 hours after the hub was powered off.

08:52:10, 08 Nov. System start Button press (PowerButton)

These are old events from the point of view for real time system where many dynamics can change from day to day

The logs does not tell a story of DSL link Down but many DSL link UP which would be associated with Hub reboots around 20 odd since the Hub was factory reset early September. The last system start from the attached log was, which I suspect was the fault BOT running tests and rebooting the Hub.

22:38:31, 01 Dec. Upgrade and system start TR069 
22:38:31, 01 Dec. System up

As to your problem, your Hub always connects around the same speed with no DLM reset's overnight noticed.

DSL Link Up: Down Rate=20883kbps, Up Rate=947kbps; SNR Margin Down=3.1dB, Up=6.1dB.

Are you seeing the speed issue on the wired connections, wireless connection?

Edit: are you rebooting the Hub to clear the slowness?

You have three devices (I'm guessing your TV and associated add-on devices) connected to LAN1 how is this achieved, ethernet cable to a switch?

With a slow connection are there other devices using the bandwidth at random times?

[#14]

> 08:52:10, 08 Nov. System start Button press (PowerButton)

This was a day of an 'episode'. One of the first 'fixes' was to "turn it off and on again".

As I was supposed to be WFH that day, I didn't contact Plusnet but gave up and went into the office.

> The logs does not tell a story of DSL link Down but many DSL link UP which would be associated with Hub reboots around 20 odd since the Hub was factory reset early September. 

I was having work done around late September -early October which involved turning off the electrical sockets occasionally during the day. None of these episodes coincided with these power outages.

> You have three devices (I'm guessing your TV and associated add-on devices) connected to LAN1 how is this achieved, ethernet cable to a switch?

TV, STB & soundbar connected via a powerline adapter.

>Are you seeing the speed issue on the wired connections, wireless connection?

Both. WiFi doesn't drop, but streaming via TV (wired) or phone (WiFi) slows to a crawl or fails.

>With a slow connection are there other devices using the bandwidth at random times?

Not that I know of. There's just me here, and when an episode happens, I'm only aware of it when I can't view a webpage, stream, or when it takes three seconds for each keystroke to appear via work's VPN.

At these times, speed drops to about 0.03-0.05 mbps, so even if a neighbour is sponging off my WiFi, it surely wouldn't siphon off that much bandwidth? Also, wouldn't it be an unknown connection in the logs? I recognise all the devices connecting during these episodes.

[#15]

There could be an external disruption causing your issue.

As the fault bot is not finding any issue it might be worth using this link https://faults.plus.net I believe it gives the option to add free text.

Dan.