cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Slow Speed both ways

penneck
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,089
Thanks: 79
Registered: ‎03-08-2007

Slow Speed both ways

My broadband has been very slow for 2 or 3 days. I've done a speed test (both the old Plusnet Test and the BT Wholesale Test), and the results are 0.18Mbps Down, and 0.71Mbps Up. According to BT Wholesale my speed should be up to 6Mbps Up and up to 8Mbps Down
I've seen OldJim's guide to this, and I dont know how to get some of the data he asks for. My Router (modem?) is a Netgear DG834G.
Just in case there is some unexpected side-effect that may be affecting things, I replaced my telephone about a week ago with one that (a) has a built-in answer phone, and (b) can block nuisance calls. I'm making use of both these facilities, so maybe I need to adjust any settings on it.
Does anyone have any suggestions that would help solve this, please?
Thanks
32 REPLIES 32
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

ejs
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 5,442
Thanks: 631
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: Slow Speed both ways

Quote from: penneck
up to 6Mbps Up and up to 8Mbps Down

That doesn't sound right, I think it's more likely than the range of down speeds is from 6 to 8.
penneck
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,089
Thanks: 79
Registered: ‎03-08-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

Thanks to OldJim and ejs.
Went to OldJims web-link, found Netgear DG834G, clicked on "Show statistics" and got this:-
System Up Time 00:58:34
Port          Status        TxPkts    RxPkts    Collisions  Tx B/s      Rx B/s      Up Time
WAN        PPPoA          5405        4944              0              191        1336      00:57:29
LAN      10M/100M      5088        5278              0            1379          221      00:58:31
WLAN  11M/54M          298          459              0                16            48        00:58:20

ADSL Link                    Downstream          Upstream
Connection Speed          284 kbps            828 kbps
Line Attenuation                31 db                  10 db
Noise Margin                      20 db                    9 db

The BT Wholesale info for broadband speed to my home states all sorts of things, and you need to know which line of data is specific to what I actually have here. By my best guess, from that data the Download speed to my home is <6Mbps, and the Upload speed is 4-8Mbps.
I went through the Plusnet Broadband Test, and it seemed to end without telling me the result, so I don't know whether the test found no fault, or took the results away and someone would look to see why my expected results are so different to what I should have
Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,923
Thanks: 9,542
Fixes: 159
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

Hi Penneck,
Putting you attenuation through Kitz, suggests that you should get 7.8Mbs DS on CN20 (ADSL1) or 14.5Mbson CN21 (adsl2)
Your router reports the DS to be slower then the US which is quite screwy.  Have you followed the fault fining guides at the top of this forum?  Changed filters, plugged into the master socket / test socket / disconnected all other phone devices / sky box etc., etc?
The on-line fault checker does go off to do detailed tests and reports back later.  Keep an eye on your tickets.

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.

penneck
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,089
Thanks: 79
Registered: ‎03-08-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

have just disconnected my phone at the junction with the feed from the router, and the speed is just as bad. The problem could be my router, or the cabling between the phone-point and my router, but I would like to check the phone network (if you know what I mean) before I go buying new bits to try fault finding. I dont think it is between the router and my pc, because my wife's laptop has the same problem when connected via the wireless link to my router
ejs
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 5,442
Thanks: 631
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: Slow Speed both ways

Your line has probably been banded, and to the lowest possible band. The sync speed will not increase until the banding is removed. But whatever caused the instability that resulted in the banding needs to be fixed first.
penneck
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,089
Thanks: 79
Registered: ‎03-08-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

BT has spent some months working on the whole network around here because they had run out of numbers so they may have done something to cause a problem (I don't know that they have caused it, but you know how sometimes you move things and they develop faults). How do I find out about this banding, and check progress on fixing the fault?
Also, if I have a "ticket" raised at Plusnet as a result of what I did earlier, where would I find it?
penneck
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,089
Thanks: 79
Registered: ‎03-08-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

Update on my speed problem. Have connected my router direct to the telephone point, and done the speed test from a laptop via the wireless link. No difference, so I fitted a new router that I had obtained, and used a new filter. These were connected direct to the telephone point, but still no improvement, so I am back with my Netgear router, the old filter, and the  telephone extension lead (I have a splitter in the telephone point, with the telephone on one branch, and the extension lead filter and router in the other branch). This setup has worked for years without problem until last week.
I did fit a new telephone a couple of weeks ago - I hope that is just co-incidence. Before that I also had an answerphone machine, but the new phone has a built-in answer machine. I have had my telephone service supplier test the line, but they didn't find a fault.
How do I get Plusnet to check their broadband service? I have gone through their fault finder process and it hasn't made any difference
penneck
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,089
Thanks: 79
Registered: ‎03-08-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

I've just run BT Speed Test, and the Further Diaqgnostics Test gave the following:
"1. Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
Download  Speed
0.18 Mbps
 
0 Mbps 0.25 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed
Download speedachieved during the test was - 0.18 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 0.1 Mbps-0.25 Mbps.
IP Profile for your line is - 0.25 Mbps
2. Upstream Test:  -provides background information.
Upload Speed
0.88 Mbps
 
0 Mbps 0.83 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed
Upload speed achieved during the test was - 0.88Mbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 0.83 Mbps

We were unable to identify any performance problem with your service at this time.
It is possible that any problem you are currently, or had previously experienced may have been caused by traffic congestion on the Internet or by the server you were accessing responding slowly.
If you continue to encounter a problem with a specific server, please contact the administrator of that server in the first instance."
I'm sure I was getting around 4Mbps about a year ago (or is my memory playing tricks). Certainly things don't seem to be as quick as they were
gofaster
Rising Star
Posts: 369
Thanks: 16
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

Quote
(I have a splitter in the telephone point, with the telephone on one branch, and the extension lead filter and router in the other branch

This is wrong. It is the telephone that needs to be filtered not the router. i.e.a filter needs to be connected between the phone and the master socket.
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

The filter MUST be the first thing plugged in to the socket. ALL telephones and extensions used for telephones and anything else (especially Sky boxes) must go through filters.
Also running the router on the end of a plug in telephone extension lead is almost always really bad news as they will not be good quality twisted pair cables.
Please describe the equipment and the locations within your house of everything and we'll give you advice on how to set it up.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
penneck
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,089
Thanks: 79
Registered: ‎03-08-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

My system has worked perfectly well since I joined Plusnet, several years ago (at least 5, possibly 10). Its only recently that there has been a problem.
The telephone point is in the hall, with a splitter in it. The telephone is connected to the splitter. The 10m telephone extension lead is connected to the splitter, with the filter at the other end. The filter is connected by a standard cable to the modem, then via an RJ45 cable to the pc
However, I shall reconsider how to rearrange it. First thoughts are to move the filter to the telephone point, then replace the telephone extension cable with something suitable for connecting from the filter to the modem. This cable would need to be at least 10 metres long - I cannot move the modem - no room for it by the telephone point.
I don't know what sort of connector would be required on this lead - are they RJ11? Does this type of cable have a generic name or description? How could I make sure that it is a good quality lead? Where would I get it?
Any useful answers to the above gratefully received.
Jaggies
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,700
Thanks: 34
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎29-06-2010

Re: Slow Speed both ways

See the attachment - there's plenty of on-line and local stores will supply you with a suitable cable.
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Slow Speed both ways

If you have a second filter available, putting a filter in to the splitter and then the telephone in to that would give you an immediate improvement (if you do that you'll probably then need Plusnet to reset the line). How you've got away with it for so long I haven't a clue!
If you look for ADSL leads (there's plenty on Amazon) you should be OK. The one thing to watch out for is that they should be twisted pair not parallel cores in a flat cable, if the cable looks like it might be flat in the picture I'd avoid.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)