Speed recently dropped to half

[#1]

PlusNet have just rung - I now have a contact name to speak to - he wanted me to plug the router into the test socket so I have done that and he's going to monitor the situation over the next 48 hours - so that means he won't be able to look at it until Monday since the weekend intervenes.
I have to say the filter is a VERY loose fit in the test socket - you can waggle it side to side over a centimetre.
What surprised me is that the call-out charge for an engineer is "only" £50 rather than the £130 I'd been led to believe previously. At that price it's almost worth having a health check and if I'd known I'd have done that before wasting £95 on a new router.

[#2]

sync or sync speed are commonly used (but technically not great) terms that refer to the speed or line rate numbers (the 208 Kbps in the last stats) reported by the modem.
DoS attacks reported by the router firewall are probably not the cause of the issue. The ones from Plusnet with port 44300 or other 443xx port numbers are due to some malfunctioning or mis-configured piece of Plusnet's network equipment, and you might get those whenever you access Plusnet webmail, the member centre, or if you use https for these forums.
The router getting hot is possibly because it's having to work hard struggling to maintain the connection in the presence of the line fault or whatever else might be causing the problem.
Trying a different modem/router is a standard step in the fault troubleshooting process, to help eliminate the possibility that the problem is a faulty modem/router. If the problem persists, in the test socket, using a different filter, different dsl cable, different modem/router, then that should help to rule out the filter, dsl cable, and modem/router being the problem.
Also, I thought sometimes a high resistance fault might temporarily clear after a line test or incoming phone call, due to the extra electrical current that is sent down the line for the line test or when the phone rings. That might explain why your line rate went up immediately after a line test, and why that speed didn't last for very long.

[#3]

Any suggestions please why almost all the disconnections that have occurred since I detected the problem (21 June) are occurring during the early afternoon when I'm at work? It's been hot recently and I can't stop the temperature in the house approaching 30degC since I can't leave windows open when I'm at work. New router fitted late AM on 5 July hence the gap there - can't explain any of the others.

[#4]

Thanks ejs - I would usually expect the down figure to be over 5000 giving me a 4+Mbps download speed. So does "poor sync" just mean it's a low number (compared I suppose to the theoretical one for the length of line) or does it refer also to the disconnections occurring?.
For info I complained about low speed a while ago when my usual 2+Mbps speed dropped well below 2Mbps and watching iPlayer and other videos became problematic. The engineer then as well as replacing the Master Socket said he's noticed I was on the "slow" line into the cabinet and had switched me onto the "fast" line in the cabinet - suddenly speed jumped to 4+Mbps, fine for what I need. Most people here report around 2Mbps.

[#5]

ejs - I'm no expert on REIN - that's Anotherone and Townmans area, but those RADIUS logs you have just posted, even to me, look like someone or something close to you is spitting out loads of interference.
I would suggest one or the other of these gentlemen need to get involved.

[#6]

Poor sync would usually be referring to the low number, compared to what you usually get, or compared to the theoretical or estimated figure.
Yes, those visual radius graphs showing the disconnections happening in the afternoons tend to suggest the "REIN" kind of issue, where there is some piece of electrical equipment, that when switched on or in use, outputs a lot of interference which disrupts your broadband. There's a lot of information on REIN here: http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/rein.htm

[#7]

Thank you for that link:
Tracking down REIN faults can prove tricky, and quite often it is down to us the user to diagnose these faults. Whilst BT special faults do have sophisticated equipment to help track down this type of fault, it should be remembered that REIN faults aren't always within BT's remit as it is outside their control.
REIN faults are also more common outside of working hours when more people are at home, turning on and utilising electrical equipment etc.
...
Typical REIN sources
This list is not exhaustive but known and common culprits are:
Faulty thermostats (Central heating, Immersion heaters).
Electrical power supply units (Laptops, Routers, Plasma, TVs).
Decorative electrical items (Christmas tree lights, Touch lights).
Digital Communication Receivers (Satellite and Freeview set top boxes).
Security systems (PIR lights switching on and off).
Fluorescence Lights & Faulty Street Lights
Powerline Adapters & Treadmills
Industrial/Commercial power usage (Electric Railways, Electric fences, Electric motors).
Internal power cables and telecom cables running close together.
A current imbalance between two power carrying conductors (Earth leakage fault).
Whilst there's a lot of that sort of thing happening in the evening - various lights on timers, stereo coming on at 5pm, cooking, TV/PVR etc. I can't think of anything except the temperature in the house that would be making an early afternoon problem. My desktop is left on 24/7 as is the NAS drive (very close to the router) and PVR but otherwise nothing's really happening...
The NAS drive was 1.2m from the router since the old router was on top of a bookcase alongside my laptop desk. The new router was sitting on top of the NAS drive until I moved it down onto the desk this evening. The NAS drive seems to be performing as usual.
The router has now been on three hours since reconnection and is still only slightly warm to the touch - so the overheating it's suffering seems to be connected to the disconnection periods.

[#8]

Today's update - hot day so trouble expected. I'm at home today but I've been trying to fix a leak in the bathroom so haven't been on the internet much today.
Seems to have been fine all night but I go to use the internet at about 3pm and find it's not working - surprise surprise.
Here's the log:
[Internet connected] IP address: 87.115.83.35 Friday, July 10,2015 15:28:01           
[DSL: Up] Friday, July 10,2015 15:27:58             
[Internet disconnected] Friday, July 10,2015 15:21:10           
[DSL: Down] Friday, July 10,2015 15:21:05             
[Internet connected] IP address: 212.56.115.67 Friday, July 10,2015 15:19:47           
[DSL: Up] Friday, July 10,2015 15:19:44             
[admin login] from source 192.168.0.8 Friday, July 10,2015 15:06:39           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.8)] to MAC address 00:0E:C6:8E:85:1E Friday, July 10,2015 15:06:25           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.5)] to MAC address B4:B6:76:21:F5:FC Friday, July 10,2015 15:06:24           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.5)] to MAC address B4:B6:76:21:F5:FC Friday, July 10,2015 15:06:15           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.5)] to MAC address B4:B6:76:21:F5:FC Friday, July 10,2015 15:06:11           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.5)] to MAC address B4:B6:76:21:F5:FC Friday, July 10,2015 15:06:11           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.3)] to MAC address 00:16:76:08:A9:5B Friday, July 10,2015 15:04:18           
[admin login] from source 192.168.0.3 Friday, July 10,2015 15:03:34           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.6)] to MAC address 70:8D:09:ED:84:1F Friday, July 10,2015 13:56:19           
[Internet disconnected] Friday, July 10,2015 13:31:14           
[DSL: Down] Friday, July 10,2015 13:31:10             
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.6)] to MAC address 70:8D:09:ED:84:1F Friday, July 10,2015 13:09:11           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.6)] to MAC address 70:8D:09:ED:84:1F Friday, July 10,2015 11:32:02           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.6)] to MAC address 70:8D:09:ED:84:1F Friday, July 10,2015 11:30:16           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.5)] to MAC address B4:B6:76:21:F5:FC Friday, July 10,2015 09:08:24           
[admin login] from source 192.168.0.8 Friday, July 10,2015 07:36:34           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.8)] to MAC address 00:0E:C6:8E:85:1E Friday, July 10,2015 06:17:35           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.3)] to MAC address 00:16:76:08:A9:5B Friday, July 10,2015 06:08:51           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.2)] to MAC address 2C:B0:5D:BF:30:23 Friday, July 10,2015 06:08:47           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.7)] to MAC address C0:D9:62:8A:52:67 Friday, July 10,2015 04:59:14           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.7)] to MAC address C0:D9:62:8A:52:67 Friday, July 10,2015 02:59:19
Disconnected 13.31 - and didn't reconnect so still down at 3pm.
Again when I tried to reconnect it reported:
No DSL Cable Is Plugged into the Router ADSL Port
Make sure that the cable is securely plugged into both the broadband modem port and the router Internet port.
After you have checked the DSL cable, click Try again.
So I did - and it connected - but then failed again almost immediately!
I've just done it all again and it's now reconnected again. I have replaced the brand-new filter with an older one.
I'm naively going to suggest that the problem is caused by the obviously loose test socket in the master socket and as the place heats up thermal movement is disconnecting the wiring, both as it is now with a filter plugged into the test socket and as it was with the master socket complete. Is that feasible? The Kitchen where the master socket is faces due south so does heat up although the sun doesn't actually fall on the socket. It's currently 27.5degC in the house despite windows being open front and back, and 26.2degC in the kitchen. The overhead wiring to the socket does however run through the adjacent conservatory which also gets very warm - it's probably well over 30degC in there.

[#9]

I posted that at 15.40 and the internet connection then almost immediately  failed again - here's the recent log:
[Internet connected] IP address: 87.114.128.79 Friday, July 10,2015 15:44:29           
[DSL: Up] Friday, July 10,2015 15:44:25           
[UPnP set event:AddPortMapping] from source 192.168.0.8 Friday, July 10,2015 15:44:09           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.5)] to MAC address B4:B6:76:21:F5:FC Friday, July 10,2015 15:44:07           
[DSL: Down] Friday, July 10,2015 15:43:25           
[Internet disconnected] Friday, July 10,2015 15:43:20           
[Internet connected] IP address: 87.114.164.195 Friday, July 10,2015 15:43:08           
[DSL: Up] Friday, July 10,2015 15:43:05           
[Internet disconnected] Friday, July 10,2015 15:42:09           
[DSL: Down] Friday, July 10,2015 15:42:04           
[Time synchronized with NTP server time-h.netgear.com] Friday, July 10,2015 15:41:02           
[Internet connected] IP address: 146.200.99.215 Friday, July 10,2015 15:35:47           
[DSL: Up] Friday, July 10,2015 15:35:41           
[Internet disconnected] Friday, July 10,2015 15:34:55           
[DSL: Down] Friday, July 10,2015 15:34:51           
[Time synchronized with NTP server time-g.netgear.com] Friday, July 10,2015 15:31:58

I have replaced the used filter with another used filter and plugged it back in - it reconnected. I don't think it's the filters - I think it's the loose socket and the heat.

[#10]

Speed has been really low all weekend - down to 0.17Mbps download at one point - and today has returned to around 2Mbps - the speed it was when I opened this topic and the support ticket. I still await it being returned to 4Mbps. No response from Plusnet since Thursday.
[admin login] from source 192.168.0.3 Monday, July 13,2015 22:27:52           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.6)] to MAC address 70:8D:09:ED:84:1F Monday, July 13,2015 19:12:58           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.6)] to MAC address 70:8D:09:ED:84:1F Monday, July 13,2015 18:16:38           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.2)] to MAC address 2C:B0:5D:BF:30:23 Monday, July 13,2015 18:08:49           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.7)] to MAC address C0:D9:62:8A:52:67 Monday, July 13,2015 17:41:20           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.6)] to MAC address 70:8D:09:ED:84:1F Monday, July 13,2015 17:30:28           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.6)] to MAC address 70:8D:09:ED:84:1F Monday, July 13,2015 17:30:23           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.3)] to MAC address 00:16:76:08:A9:5B Monday, July 13,2015 15:04:22           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.2)] to MAC address 2C:B0:5D:BF:30:23 Monday, July 13,2015 06:08:49           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.7)] to MAC address C0:D9:62:8A:52:67 Monday, July 13,2015 04:59:13           
[Time synchronized with NTP server time-h.netgear.com] Monday, July 13,2015 04:18:25           
[Internet connected] IP address: 87.113.133.220 Monday, July 13,2015 04:15:17           
[DSL: Up] Monday, July 13,2015 04:15:11           
[Internet disconnected] Monday, July 13,2015 04:14:25           
[DSL: Down] Monday, July 13,2015 04:14:21           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.3)] to MAC address 00:16:76:08:A9:5B Monday, July 13,2015 03:04:22           
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.7)] to MAC address C0:D9:62:8A:52:67 Monday, July 13,2015 02:59:17

[#11]

If your router is Belkin, it has a lifetime warranty and they replaced ours with no problem.

[#12]

Thanks - my original router - which it appears might be perfectly OK - was an Asus. The box says Three Year Warranty - but of course since the new router - a Netgear - was also getting hot, the Asus might be perfectly all right.
Connection stability has now returned albeit speed is still down at the lowly 2Mbps it was when I started this Support issue.
An engineer is booked for Friday afternoon.

[#13]

The Openreach engineer's just left.
He says the problem was in the cable between the cabinet and the exchange. He's switched me onto another one and the connection speed is presently 6215Kbps according to the router report (see below) though he says this will drop slightly shortly. A Speedtest.net check shows 2Mbps currently but he says that will rise in a few days time. He didn't find any problems in the house.
Looks like I shouldn't have bought a new router!

[#14]

That looks like ADSL2+. You want the upstream sync uncapped as well :).

[#15]

So nearly a month after reporting the problem of low speed it's been restored today - in fact slightly better than previously.
I'd been on 4Mbps - it dropped to 2Mbps at which point I reported it - it then got as low as 0.17Mbps at one point - and now it's over 5Mbps this evening.

I am however considering a compensation claim...