Noob needs help please

[#1]

Hi folks,
Just wondering if somebody can help me with a problem I'm having. Don't know what info you need so please feel free to ask.
I've just switched from the BT Voyager ADSL USB modem issued by PlusNet to a Sitecom WL-174 modem/router due to my son wanting to get onto Xbox Live so I thought this could be my ideal way to justify having a go at wireless. After a few problems (ie not putting full user name in  :-[) I finally found myself with a connection and all seemed fine. However last night I tried downloading a file (approx 30Mb) which would normally have taken around 1-2 minutes. Last night it took in excess of 50 minutes and a download rate of around 15Kb/s. Went onto the speed checker which reported 15.6Kb/s download and 9.5Kb/s upload. I have the router wired into my network card but also tried with the wireless adapter onto pc but got same result.
Does anybody know if there's something I need to do? Sorry for being vague as I don't know what info you need.
Thanks
Russ

[#2]

Have you exceeded your quota?
What tariff are you on and have you enabled automatically paying for extra use (if you want to do that)?

[#3]

Hi Russ,
Good timing   Your speeds will be fine tonight.
Basically, the product that you're on allows 4GB peak usage (4pm - midnight).  Towards the end of your last billing month, you exceeded this amount and your speeds were restricted as a result of this.
If you think you'll be going over this repeatedly, it might be an idea to have a look into our current product line, which you can find here:
http://www.plus.net/residential/broadband/
I would recommend looking at Option 3 and if you're happy to commit to 12 months with us, I'd be happy to knock £5 off your first 6 months subscription.

[#4]

Hi Russ,

Quote

Last night it took in excess of 50 minutes and a download rate of around 15Kb/s. Went onto the speed checker which reported 15.6Kb/s download and 9.5Kb/s upload.

Looking at your account it appears you went over your usage allowance last night which will have caused the slowdown. You can see the product you are currently on here:-
Broadband Plus
You may find one of our new BBYW products more suitable, the peak times on these are now 8am-midnight and you can find information on these here:-
BBYW

[#5]

So that explains it  - how stupid am I! . Sorry, I thought I had more allowance than that for some reason. I'll have a look at the other packages and see what's best.
Many thanks

[#6]

Be aware that not all packages have the same peak-time periods. All the BBYW ones have 8am -> midnight whereas some of the legacy ones had 4pm -> midnight. Can't remember what BB+ has.

[#7]

Plus and Premier were both on 4pm to Midnight.
PAYG and all of the Broadband Your Way ones are 8am to Midnight.

[#8]

Quote from: Jameseh

I would recommend looking at Option 3 and if you're happy to commit to 12 months with us, I'd be happy to knock £5 off your first 6 months subscription.

mmm...sounds tempting. I also see there's a free router in that package. Would that, combined with the old BT Voyager USB modem, allow me to set up as I want or would that not be possible due to it being USB?

[#9]

Hi there,
Due to the costs involved I wouldn't be able to other you the free router aswell as the £5 off for 6 months deal.
You wouldn't need to use your USB Voyager if you were using a Wireless Router.

[#10]

You wouldn't need the USB one at all - you would just use either the new router that PN would send you, or you would continue using the Sitecom WL-174 modem/router you have now.
So long as you kept hold of one of the other routers/modems other than the one you were using in case you needed to test a fault using alternative hardware, you'd be fine.

[#11]

Quote from: James_H

You wouldn't need the USB one at all - you would just use either the new router that PN would send you, or you would continue using the Sitecom WL-174 modem/router you have now.

I'm confused again now  ;D. I was under the impression that I needed a modem/router to be able to receive broadband and share this with xbox. If it's just a router that PN send out, how do you receive broadband?

[#12]

The 'router' is actually an all-in-one router and broadband modem built in!
B.

[#13]

Quote from: Jameseh

I would recommend looking at Option 3 and if you're happy to commit to 12 months with us, I'd be happy to knock £5 off your first 6 months subscription.

I think this is the way we'll go. Is the upgrade simple enough? Before you do the upgrade would it be possible to let me know details of payment dates etc, if these are going to change from our currrent plan. Do I still have to pay the extra for my domain?
Also I've looked at recent usage. Is there any reason why it shows a small amount of broadband phone useage when I don't have one?
Thanks all for your help
Russ

[#14]

Hi Russ,
There won't be any changes to your billing date or your domain.
The upgrade path is nice and straightforward, but if you could let me know once you have had your account upgraded, I'll ensure that the discount is applied.

[#15]

Thanks for that Jameseh, just a couple more stupid questions....
Will I receive notification when account has been ugraded or do I need to keep checking on PN site?
How do I let you know? Post on here or another way?
Also, do you see any logical explanation as to the broadband phonecall useage? It's just a concern that I haven't got network secured correctly. I've set the WPA option but, being new to the world of wireless, sometimes doubt myself 
Thanks