[SOLVED] Bizarre internet connectivity issues (Router parental control feature)
Hi,
We've been having some bizarre issues with our connection over the last few days. The problem's severity varies over the course of the day, with sometimes our ability to connect to any websites disappearing completely.
We are living in Malvern (WR14) and we are on a 70Mbps fibre optic contract.
The symptoms are the following:
* All websites take several seconds to load.
* The more separate connections the website requires to load (e.g. ad servers, google analytics, etc.), the more sever the issue.
* Connections to websites are dropped during loading, leading to incomplete web pages displayed, and JPEG images with graphical anomalies.
* Similarly, connections dropping causes streaming video to frequently fail in the middle of the video.
* The router's landing page and all further pages or actions each take several seconds to action.
* Sometimes, the router's admin interface is completely inaccessible.
* Maximum download speed via ethernet is down to around 10 to 24 Mbps from the 70Mbps we were obtaining when the router was first installed (03/09/2014).
* Maximum upload speed via ethernet is often down to around 0.5 Mbps from the 2 to 5 Mbps we were obtaining when the router was first installed.
Speed test performed right now over ethernet connection
* Interestingly enough, video games seem relatively unaffected; the problem definitely seems to be with creating new connections, the magnitude of simultaneous connections and the periodical dropping of connections.
This may be confirmation bias but it seems that the problem increases the longer we go without resetting the router.
What is definitely true is that resetting the router causes the problem to become less significant for at least a few minutes.
Furthermore disabling the wireless access point (cutting down the number of devices connected from 5 to 2) also makes the problem less severe.
Tests we have already performed:
* Replacing ethernet cables has not changed the situation, including the one between the BT box and technicolor router.
* The problem is consistent across all devices, and persists when only one device is connected, so it is not any single machine that is somehow hogging all the bandwidth / connections.
* The router does seem to get quite hot when it remains on for a decent period of time, although it has access to decent ventilation and is not on top of anything giving off heat. The performance does not increase when the router is turned off and allowed to cool.
In conclusion we suspect that the router may be faulty. However if the operating of the admin control panel is supposed to take several seconds, then maybe the issue is with the exchange. But whilst we have backgrounds in computer science, we are not professional engineers and so are hoping you can shed some light on the situation.
Further diagnostics:
BT Wholesale Test Results
Could not perform the Tap3 Test Configuration test, all we got was a firefox error saying the page was redirecting in a way that would never complete.
We've been having some bizarre issues with our connection over the last few days. The problem's severity varies over the course of the day, with sometimes our ability to connect to any websites disappearing completely.
We are living in Malvern (WR14) and we are on a 70Mbps fibre optic contract.
The symptoms are the following:
* All websites take several seconds to load.
* The more separate connections the website requires to load (e.g. ad servers, google analytics, etc.), the more sever the issue.
* Connections to websites are dropped during loading, leading to incomplete web pages displayed, and JPEG images with graphical anomalies.
* Similarly, connections dropping causes streaming video to frequently fail in the middle of the video.
* The router's landing page and all further pages or actions each take several seconds to action.
* Sometimes, the router's admin interface is completely inaccessible.
* Maximum download speed via ethernet is down to around 10 to 24 Mbps from the 70Mbps we were obtaining when the router was first installed (03/09/2014).
* Maximum upload speed via ethernet is often down to around 0.5 Mbps from the 2 to 5 Mbps we were obtaining when the router was first installed.
Speed test performed right now over ethernet connection* Interestingly enough, video games seem relatively unaffected; the problem definitely seems to be with creating new connections, the magnitude of simultaneous connections and the periodical dropping of connections.
This may be confirmation bias but it seems that the problem increases the longer we go without resetting the router.
What is definitely true is that resetting the router causes the problem to become less significant for at least a few minutes.
Furthermore disabling the wireless access point (cutting down the number of devices connected from 5 to 2) also makes the problem less severe.
Tests we have already performed:
* Replacing ethernet cables has not changed the situation, including the one between the BT box and technicolor router.
* The problem is consistent across all devices, and persists when only one device is connected, so it is not any single machine that is somehow hogging all the bandwidth / connections.
* The router does seem to get quite hot when it remains on for a decent period of time, although it has access to decent ventilation and is not on top of anything giving off heat. The performance does not increase when the router is turned off and allowed to cool.
In conclusion we suspect that the router may be faulty. However if the operating of the admin control panel is supposed to take several seconds, then maybe the issue is with the exchange. But whilst we have backgrounds in computer science, we are not professional engineers and so are hoping you can shed some light on the situation.
Further diagnostics:
BT Wholesale Test Results
Quote 1. Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
Download Speed
18.63 Mbps
0 Mbps 77.44 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed
Download speedachieved during the test was - 18.63 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speedsis 40 Mbps-77.44 Mbps .
Additional Information:
IP Profile for your line is - 77.44 Mbps
2. Upstream Test: -provides background information.
Upload Speed
0.99 Mbps
0 Mbps 20 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed
Upload speed achieved during the test was - 0.99Mbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 20 Mbps
This test was not conclusive and further testing is required.This might be useful for your Broadband Service Provider to investigate the fault.
If you wish to carry out further tests,please click on 'Continue' button.If not, please close the window using 'Exit' button and contact your ISP for further assistance with these results.
Could not perform the Tap3 Test Configuration test, all we got was a firefox error saying the page was redirecting in a way that would never complete.
Quote from: aika
It may be worth reporting this to whomever in your company it may concern.
It's a known issue and has been for some years now, it's reported in Technicolors R8 firmware release notes.
I haven't checked if it's still reported in the R10 release notes.
Edit after rechecking the release notes:
Release notes for firmware R8.4.5 states:
Using Parental Control, i.e. URL- or content-based website filtering, negatively impacts the Technicolor Gateway
download performance.
Release notes for firmware R10.2.6.9 and R10.2.3.0 makes no mention of this issue.
