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Re: Sudden download speed drop

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vaper
Grafter
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Registered: ‎17-05-2016

Re: Sudden download speed drop

Same problem here.

I have been getting an already paltry 5Mbps (ca. 600kB/s data throughput) until recently. Now it's dropped to ca. 3.5Mbps (ca. 400kB/s data throughput). I've verified this slow speed by cable connection to the router i.e. it's not a wifi problem.

21 REPLIES 21
Strat
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

Moderators Note.

Post split off to it's own topic for clarity.

 

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adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

Hi Vaper, your speeds have dropped as the connection has been dropping out fairly frequently.

 

Diagnostics are indicating that's due to a fault so I'd report that over at http://faults.plus.net

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
vaper
Grafter
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

Thanks

I had noticed the recent drop-outs you referred to but have no idea why they started.

I've used the reporting link you provided and it would seem that I should try replacing my router before progressing any further. Unfortunately I only have the one provided by PlusNet when I first joined - it's a Thompson TG585 v7.

Any particular router I should go for or are they all compatible?

 

 

Townman
Superuser
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

Hi @vaper A warm welcome to the forums.

Grrr! That trouble shooter can be a bit of a pain!  Try a different router is sometimes not overly practical.  Personally, I prefer to look at the figures - they will often more clearly point to the issues.

Please perform a quiet line test - dial 17070 select option 2 using a corded phone plugged into the test socket behind the face plate of the master socket. It should be silent. A noisy phone line (or no dial tone) will have a marked adverse impact on the performance of broadband.

If the line is noisy or there is no dial tone, then a PHONE LINE fault needs to be raised with your phone provider. If this is PlusNet, you can report a fault on line using the button below.

 

Please post your router stats; for PN TG582n and 2704n routers use the buttons below, for other routers look at the Kitz link.

Also run a BT Wholesale speed test (ideally using an Ethernet wired PC with the WiFi turned off) then run the further diagnostics and post the results here. DO NOT REBOOT the router!

Also find your CURRENT SPEED (PlusNet line profile) from the PlusNet user portal - you will need to log in.

 

Note you can skip the "I've used a different router" step, but it could increase the risk of BTOR finding (or claiming to have found) a fault in your equipment.  Are you able to correlate drops in BB with the use of the phone?

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

vaper
Grafter
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

Thanks townman.

Silent test was really quiet.

No correlation between drop-outs and phone use.

Sorry for the delay - it was a devil of a job logging into the gateway but here goes :-

----------------------------

DSL Connection

Link Information
Uptime: 0 days, 11:06:59
DSL Type: G.992.3 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 969 / 5,910
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 0.00 / 68.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.5 / 0.0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 26.5 / 45.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 7.5 / 3.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / IFTN
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 11 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 2 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 34 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 4,294,967,264 / 540,491
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 4,294,967,264 / 11
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 10

---------------------------------

Mostly double-dutch to me but hope it tells you something useful.

aesmith
Pro
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

What does your Plusnet line speed say?

 

https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed

vaper
Grafter
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

PlusNet speed estimate is 5.2 Mb

www.speedtest.net reports 3.32Mbps D/L & 0.7Mbps U/L

So there is a significant difference between what I should get and what I am getting.

Looking at the DSL stats above, is it possible that the up-link is noisy? I wouldn't be able to hear that on the phone.

aesmith
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

PlusNet speed estimate is 5.2 Mb

The figure that's relevant is the "Current line speed" at the bottom of that Plusnet page.   That's the speed that Plusnet limits your download to, it should match the rate that your line is capable of passing.   If that's 5.2meg and you're only getting a throughput of 3.2, then I think it would be worth disconnecting and reconnecting to make sure the settings are in effect.   If your router has a Disconnect option on the web page, that would be better than rebooting or physically disconnection.

Townman
Superuser
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

@vaper

@aesmith is referring to dropping the PPP session, which as he states is preferable to restarting the router.  Restarting the router could result in a slower synch speed and will reinitiate the profile setting process.

That said, looking at the error count, I'm not surprised that the measured throughput is so slow.  Those error counts are massive.  The synch speed is also slow for the line's attenuation.

What router is in use?

Is it plugged direct to the master socket?

Are there any phone extensions?

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

aesmith
Pro
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

I was suspicious of the error figures, the exact same figure 4,294,967,264 for both upstream FEC and upstream CRC.   That looks like misreporting to me, especially as ES is only 34.   Would be interested to see if the error counts have changed when looking at the router again.   Does that model have an option to clear or reset the counters?   

vaper
Grafter
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Registered: ‎17-05-2016

Re: Sudden download speed drop

Hi towhman,

From the DSL stats, is it normal for the attenuations of the up and down links to be so different?

The router is a Thomson Gateway 585 v7

There is only one socket - the BT main socket - into which is plugged the base station for cordless telephones and the microfilter.

What's a PPP session?

 EDIT

From the DSL stats :-

FEC Errors (Up/Down): 4,294,967,264 / 540,491
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 4,294,967,264 / 11

These error numbers look a bit like a full counter register: 4,294,967,264 = 0xFFFFFFE0

vaper
Grafter
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Registered: ‎17-05-2016

Re: Sudden download speed drop

Does that model have an option to clear or reset the counters?   - No idea, I'm afraid.

aesmith
Pro
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Re: Sudden download speed drop

If you can't reset the statistics, just grab that page again and we can see how many errors have accumulated since the previous lot.

vaper
Grafter
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Registered: ‎17-05-2016

Re: Sudden download speed drop

New stats grab (18/05/16 @ 16:30

DSL Connection

Link Information

Uptime: 1 day, 3:59:50
DSL Type: G.992.3 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 969 / 5,910
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 0.00 / 172.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.5 / 0.0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 26.5 / 45.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 7.0 / 3.5
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / IFTN
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 11 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 2 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 34 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 4,294,967,264 / 2,024,408
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 4,294,967,264 / 31
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 28