cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Some general queries

ed89
Grafter
Posts: 43
Registered: ‎06-06-2008

Some general queries

Hi,
I'm new to Plus.net, just completed my order a day or two ago.
Turned on my router, configured it all, but could not get connected. Came back from playing football an hour or two later and managed to get online, but it cut out after about 5 minutes. Removed services I run locally which could have interfered (apache, EPG service) but still couldn't get online. Tried again later that evening and successfully was online for about 4 hours straight. Went to answer the door, came back a minute later and had been disconnected and could not reconnect! This was at about midnight last night. Undecided
I wonder if this problem is only happening because my order has only been complete for about 1 day?
I checked my usage last night about 30 minutes before being disconnected, it was sitting at 49mb. I checked this morning and it said I used 506mb!! Quite literally my usage involved viewing a few photos, browsing some sites, reading some short text e-mails and uploading a few small HTML files. At one point I connected using RDP to my office computer for about 3 minutes to find an email. I viewed one or two streamed videos but they were each only around 5 minutes long. I'm not saying the system is lying, I just don't know how I could have used that much data in a few hours.
It's a bit of a worry, as I live with 3 others who are not so web-savvy and will probably spend most of their evenings on YouTube and the like, when I need the connection most for keeping an eye on work stuff when not at work.
I read after clicking the 'upgrade' button on the 'view usage' page that once you have used your allowance your connection is downgraded to 128kbps. Is this unlimited?
Thanks again
Ewan
6 REPLIES 6
MickKi
Grafter
Posts: 543
Registered: ‎30-09-2007

Re: Some general queries

I have to assume a lot here as the required information is scarce.
If your connection is currently undergoind 'training' with the BT exchange then disconnections will occur at random times, as the exchange is trying to maximise your speed.  Within 10 days your max stable speed should have been set and such disconnections should not happen thereafter.  Rebooting the router once or twice a day will help with your line training process.  Otherwise, I would leave the router on at all times to allow training to happen quicker.
The rate of download of the streaming videos will determine if 506mb is a lot, although 506 Megabits is only 63.25 Megabytes.  Have you got your units correct?  If indeed you're counting in bits then this corresponds to a constant download rate of 254 kbps.  This could be perceived as relatively low, but without your routers stats (Attenuation and Noise Margin) we can't tell.
If other persons are sharing the connection, then your throughput speed will be lower when they are caning it.  This could be more profound if you are using WiFi - depending on the number of users and if you (or your neighbours!) are using 2.4GHz cordless phones, or if the neighbour's WiFi is on the same channel like yours.  Channel clashes could also cause you to lose your WiFi signal.
You connection is downgraded during peak hours to 128kbps until the next month starts.
Hope this helps.
ed89
Grafter
Posts: 43
Registered: ‎06-06-2008

Re: Some general queries

Hi Mick, thanks for your words, which confirm a few of my suspicions. I'll continue to reboot once or twice a day.
I took the stats from the PN usage graph. Sorry I can't provide any sort of router info at the moment. I'm not the most clued up on these kind of issues as you can probably gather. Smiley
Quote
Paid-for usage  506.52MB  8am - Midnight
ed89
Grafter
Posts: 43
Registered: ‎06-06-2008

Re: Some general queries

I have had a private telephone engineer take a look at my phone socket and in particular the master socket. He has tested it and the DSL light still flashes - status and internet fail to light up. He tested the router plugged into the wires themselves rather than through the socket, but still the lights do not appear.
He said that the problem is with the line coming into the house, rather than with the hardware or the master socket and that it is up to BT to maintain this, for which to fix I should not incur a fee.
We have tried all micro filters and tried the router on sockets other than the master socket, so it can't be a hardware failure.
Undecided
paulby
Grafter
Posts: 1,619
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎26-07-2007

Re: Some general queries

@ed89
Looks like you'll need to raise a fault. 
You'll need to start here (login required).
ed89
Grafter
Posts: 43
Registered: ‎06-06-2008

Re: Some general queries

Paul,
I've noted this information in an open support question related to the same thing. Should I also report a fault?
cheers
paulby
Grafter
Posts: 1,619
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎26-07-2007

Re: Some general queries

I think I'd raise a fault and cross reference it on your current open ticket.
You could also PM one of the comms guys (Jameseh, Bob) for advice.