Technicolor Software

[#1]

The Gateway can affect the BT Speed test, it shouldn't but can. If you get a speedtest result you don't expect, I always do a repeat test. If it's still odd, I use another tester. If that gives the same, and connection stats look ok, sync ok etc, then check your Current Line speed (Login required) to make sure that's consistent with the IP Profile.
If all that looks well, Check which Gateway you are on then try a Gateway hop, log in to your modem/router and go to the Broadband Connection Internet Box as shown here if you don't see the Disconnect button after logging in, then click Disconnect. This drops the PPP Internet session to Plusnet. Wait about 30 seconds and then Click Connect.
Then check you are on a new Gateway, sometimes it doesn't change, but try the speedtest again first before trying to hop again if needed.

[#2]

Quote from: Anotherone

The Gateway can affect the BT Speed test, it shouldn't but can. If you get a speedtest result you don't expect, I always do a repeat test. If it's still odd, I use another tester. If that gives the same, and connection stats look ok, sync ok etc, then check your Current Line speed (Login required) to make sure that's consistent with the IP Profile.

Yup, did all of that, several times.  
Just didn't hop gateways.
In my mind, currently, the finger is pointing at the router.
If it happens again I'll hop gateways as well (before touching the router) and report back.  

[#3]

Have you got any custom settings? Or did you have which you've since undone without a factory reset?

[#4]

All standard; the only things I've changed are the default admin password, and the wireless SSID and key.
That was all I had to re-enter after the firmware update.

[#5]

What time this morning did you notice the slow speeds and high latency? Was it around 9am coinciding with the larger than usual chunk out of the users online graph?

[#6]

http://usertools.plus.net/status/archive/1418816000.htm
http://usertools.plus.net/status/archive/1418816086.htm

[#7]

I was still asleep at 9am (don't ask, but note I'm around after midnight!), so I rebooted nearer 11am and had observed slowness for an extended period, probably 10am to 11am.

[#8]

Just a little update on this. Today I noticed that some printer sharing wasn't working.
Investigating further it appeared that ALL devices on my network could communicate to t'internet but not each other.  
So I rebooted the router which had been up and running untouched for some time.
All working fine after the reboot (nothing else was restarted, just the router). And the VPN-connected laptop is running OK today after "hibernating" over Xmas/NY.  

Any thoughts on that, it's obviously not something that should happen.

[#9]

Try allocating it a Fixed IP on the LAN.

[#10]

Which "it" do you mean? Nothing could see anything, no PC could see any other, it wasn't just the printers that that were inaccessible, general file/resource sharing had gone too.
It was as if the device/wireless isolation had been switched on, though I don't even know if the PN-supplied router has that as an option (most do).

[#11]

I was thinking specifically of the printer at the time as we don't know what caused this, it's a bit of wet finger in the air.
Is the printer wired or wireless btw?

[#12]

As it happens both the printers I was trying to access (from a W8.1 PC) are connected to the same W7x64 PC by cables and shared.
They are also accessible to Apple devices via Airprint services running on that W7 PC.
But printing was not the fundamental problem as nothing on the network could see anything else, just t'internet which continued to perform normally.
What may possibly be significant (as you've alluded to) is that all the networked equipment was running wirelessly at the time.

[#13]

Interference?

[#14]

Just a little resurrection of an old thread.
A little while ago some kind soul donated me a HomeHub 5, configurable to run on PlusNet.
It's been running sweetly and has the bonus of dual-band Wi-Fi, which seems to have none of the range issues I've seen reported.
(I've set up a different SSID for each frequency to enable monitoring of such issues)
BUT the real bonus is that I have had absolutely no repetition of any of the problems with VPN use and printer/file sharing.
It's very stable and just works, not requiring regular reboots, unlike the TG582n. 

[#15]

What were you finding you were having to reboot for exactly?