cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Something's Changed

u123072
Grafter
Posts: 42
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎30-05-2011

Something's Changed

For many years I have been syncing to my exchange at about 2200kbps giving me a stable rate of 1750kbps.
I have come to expect this as I am a good few km from the exchange.
However in the last couple of weeks things have changed. I have started to sync at up to 3400kbps giving me a 2500kbps profile.
Great I thought, maybe BT have improved the line. My pleasure was short lived. These higher speeds are interspersed with
random disconnections (noise?) and the router re-syncs at speeds as low as 160kbps. This drags down the line profile and
recovery can take some time - by which time another "event" is imminent. If this happens when I'm online I can sometimes
reboot the router a couple of times to get my sync rate back up. But if it happens when I'm out the line profile rate can take 3 days to recover
despite the sync rate being up again immediately upon discovery.
I have changed filters, I'm directly connected to the master socket (no test socket), no extensions and just one phone plugged into the filter.
I do not have a spare router.
My current profile is 250k. My sync rate is 3328k.
Please could I get a connection/disconnection log for the past couple of weeks.
Here are my connection deatils:
18 REPLIES 18
Gus
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 3,236
Thanks: 26
Fixes: 3
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Something's Changed

Having similar issues atm, not 100% certain but it did start once the new IP profiles were added to my exchange.  Have a new router and set of filters coming so will be testing with those soon.
It seems to be that I am on the 10 day testing period constantly, when ever I lose sync I get a new Higher profile so wonder if its an enforced re-sync by the DMT system, as a gamer I want stable more than faster.
FTTP 500 regrade from Tues 28th November
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Something's Changed

HI u123072,
Your profile is now 2500, so you should have seen the increase by now.
As requested, here's your last months' connection logs.
Jojo Smiley
u123072
Grafter
Posts: 42
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎30-05-2011

Re: Something's Changed

Thanks Jojo,
Yes my profile is now back up at  2500.
How come it is now returning so quickly - it used to take 3 days to recover after a sudden drop. Has the system changed?
As you can see I am not without reconnections generally but they've become more frequent over the past 10 days or so Sad
Most of the "events" occur when I'm out - so it's difficult to catch them straight away.
My router is linksys WAG354G which is lacking in logs / reporting capabilities.
If the "fault" is referred to BT no doubt it'll be fine when they turn up. Is there any remote constant monitoring of the line that can be done which can trap the cause?
What is your recommended next step?
Thanks
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Something's Changed

Hi u123072,
Not sure what we could do to pinpoint the cause. Have you tried as different filter/router?
Jojo Smiley
u123072
Grafter
Posts: 42
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎30-05-2011

Re: Something's Changed

I have tried four different filters.
Unfortunately I haven't got, cannot borrow and can't afford another router at this time.
Do PN provide test routers?
u123072
Grafter
Posts: 42
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎30-05-2011

Re: Something's Changed

Well sometime between going to bed and getting up my sync has plummeted to 440.
A reboot of the router has brought it back up to >3000
This is getting very annoying. Angry
It wouldn't be so bad if the profile recovered as quickly as it sunk.
Please re-set.
spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Something's Changed

My suggestion is to raise a dropping-connection fault through http://faults.plus.net/. Not having a test socket and spare router means you can't do those checks, but just say so and carry on to the end. Don't worry about the threat of being charged, Plusnet will lend you a router if they feel that is the most likely cause of the problem.
Since you don't have a test socket the best you can do is connect the router to the master socket and unplug anything else.
David
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Something's Changed

HI u123072,
I'm not sure what, if anything, you did since 9 o'clock last night, but it's looking better than it has. However I still think it would be a good idea to raise a fault.
Jojo Smiley
u123072
Grafter
Posts: 42
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎30-05-2011

Re: Something's Changed

Nothing changed. I am monitoring margins and connection sync rates to see what's going on.
u123072
Grafter
Posts: 42
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎30-05-2011

Re: Something's Changed

I've been monitoring my connection constantly for a while now.
The problem seems to have quietened down a bit.
I have noticed something odd though (or maybe it is normal and I didn't notice before).
After a period of inactivity (say while I am work), Immediately I go online (wirelessly) my "Noise Margin" drops instantly by about 8db.
This sometimes has the effect of the margin hitting 0 (or below) and results in a dropped connection. However this depends on what
my "baseline" margin is at the time. If, as is the case at the moment my baseline is 9/10db then a drop of 8db is "survivable" and the
margin quickly recovers. But if my baseline is lower (say 6db - when my sync rate is >3000) then the drop triggers a re-sync.
Is this the symptom of a noisy, unstable line or is it my router causing the initial "noise" and drop in margin?
Can the "baseline" margin be fixed at 9db (at the expense of sync rate) or is it an automatic thing?
Your thoughts please.
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Something's Changed

Hi u123072,
When are you seeing the drops? As you'll see from below the line seems to be quite stable now.
Jojo Smiley
u123072
Grafter
Posts: 42
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎30-05-2011

Re: Something's Changed

The connection has been stable now for a good few days.
This has corresponded with a rise in my noise margin to around 9db.
The problems with dropped connections were generally happening when my noise margin was around 6db.
Looks like the exchange has sussed this and given me a higher margin (and lower sync speed).
It is as if I was a new customer and going through the initial process to find a steady rate.
Perhaps something has happened with the exchange (EMBREAD) or the line in between which has forced
connections to be re-set as if from new?
I will continue to monitor.
houlton23
Grafter
Posts: 268
Registered: ‎22-05-2011

Re: Something's Changed

Hi u123072,
Sorry to hijack your thread but I just thought I would add that we are on the same exchange (EMBREAD) and have similar attenuation (50db) as you and recently had an engineer out who told me that a line card had recently been replaced in the exchange. Was wondering if this might have contributed to the recently increasing speeds as we never used to be able to stay stable at more than around 2,800 but now it is stable around 4,200.
Alex Smiley
u123072
Grafter
Posts: 42
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎30-05-2011

Re: Something's Changed

No problem Alex. Thanks for your interesting comments.
This might explain the change. My stable sync is now ~3000 wheras before it was ~2200.
So a 30%+ improvement shouldn't be sniffed at I suppose.
I wonder whether the change is a precursor to the roll-out of FTTC. I've noticed a location sprayed-marked DSLAM
a couple of hundred yards from me, which I assume is going to be the location of a new fibre cabinet?