Terrible bufferbloat, packet loss, jitter, etc. Text support service DOES NOT WORK

[#1]

@MyInternetisSoS 

Not full fibre, I just have broadband I think.

In that case, what is your upstream speed ? 

and do you have any devices (e.g phones ) that periodically sync to the cloud ?

[#2]

@MyInternetisSoS 

If you share the Hub two >Advanced setting >Technical log >Information screen that will give an indication of you line condition.

Make sure you hide your broadband username.

[#3]

Dunno 

Dunno if this is any use. I don't get super high ping when I play games, it's just the jitter and packet loss. 

And then the bufferbloat I presume is what makes it hard to watch videos/stream videos?

[#4]

Thanks! I hope this provides some useful information

[#5]

9.7 in theory.

Just tested it and it was 9.29, so close enough

Mb, not MB!!!

IDK how to check if they are 'regularly synching with the cloud', but there are two phones on the wifi. Surely this wouldn't impact ethernet connection that much?

Surely in the year 2026 we can have a couple of devices on the wifi without destroying the ethernet connection.

[#6]

From the Think Broadband monitor, something did a good upload (or otherwise made the connection very busy) at about 1:30pm today.

Devices (phones, computers etc.) assume good Internet connections and with your connection (part fibre and a fair distance from the "green box") it's possible to overload the connection, This manifests as the kind of problems you observe.

The "bufferbloat measurement" site you used suggests some routers with Quality Of Service settings which could help with the "bufferbloat" measured. Any such router needs to be set up for your connection and obviously doesn't make your connection faster, what it does is manage the allocation of bandwidth.

As a start you could disconnect all other devices from the WiFi (a simple temporary change to the WiFi password might be a simple way to achieve that) and see if one device (ideally wired) has the same problems.

I appreciate it's not helpful to you (at least immediately) but full fibre will provide a better connection (and in particular more upstream speed which would help with your problem).

[#7]

Dear Markhawkin,

Yeah, I uploaded something in that specific time period for about 20 mins, but nothing else. Ignore that bit sorry. The rest is the problem--constant jitter. IDK why it's not capturing any packet loss, I think the packet loss just happens for too brief a period of time (e.g., 30 seconds in 10 minutes), but it's still enough to cause big QoL issues when you're doing a video game and you're basically half-out the server until the packet loss goes away. And yeah IDK what specific aspect of this is causing me to not be able to stream videos properly (especially not 2 at a time even though it's obviously normal to do so these days, nor even one high-definition one).

I am going to be improving my internet in about 3 months when I move, but that's a long time to wait as atm it's pretty much unuseable given I can't even watch a video, let alone play video games. I cannot invest while I'm here ofc because I'll be leaving it all soon, anyhow.

What do you mean by 'fair distance from the green box' sorry? I'm on ethernet but I assume you don't mean my hub given it's not green.

I recognise my router isn't that great, but surely that's not the sole cause given (A) it has gotten worse recently and (B) Plusnet surely aren't giving out things that are dysfunctional? That's not right at all.

I don't have any other wired connections, so I'm a bit unsure what you mean sorry. No other device can run a video game, for instance, and I don't have many devices connected to the internet.

Ethernet: my PC

Wifi: 2 phones and a smart TV (the latter rarely used).

So I am not suire what to do.

[#8]

Quality Of Service settings solve few issue, they are just like 40 mph speed restrictions for this lane on the motorway.

[#9]

What and how?

[#10]

@PhilipHeyes 

Plusnet supplied Hub do not have the options for QoS or SQM.

@MyInternetisSoS 

You would need to buy a third party router for this option

Have you checked if Full Fibre is available to you from Openreach or an Alternative network

This link should help with finding out https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/broadband-coverage 

[#11]

I don't know. I don't accept the idea that Plusnet can just deliver rubbish service and tell you to buy something else if you want it to function vaguely as expected.

IK you're not Plusnet, but the principle is the same.

I am reasonably expecting a decent, functional service from what I've got now. If it isn't, Plusnet has a responsibility to fix it. 

I am not going to buy something else right now because Plusnet might just mess it up then, too? They have not earned my trust.

Mybe if this issue is fixed I'll consider spending more money.

Is there anything we can do here to fix it now I've done most of the day on that BQM thing? It's too bad it's impossible to actually get in touch with Plusnet staff because they (outrageously) have no email or live chat service, and their text service sucks.

When I do ping -t the different routes of the ping path to, say, a random Counter Strike server, it doesn't start fluctuating/getting jitter until it's one of the nodes on Plusnet's/BT's end. They have to fix this. 

[#12]

It's frankly depressing and bad service that Plusnet doesn't have actual staff members on these forums and instead relies on super user volunteers. I really appreciate said volunteers and you guys do a lot of great work, but either you should be getting paid for it, or they should just put their own guys here.

Not everyone can manage the phone calls for various reasons, e.g., speech disorders and such...

[#13]

Sorry for doing multiple comments in a row again.

For ease of reference, here is a screenshot of my BQM so far. The period around 1:30 is when I was uploading something, that's fine (though the high ping is a sign of bufferbloat). The rest of it is the concerning stuff: constant jittering. It doesn't capture the apcket loss I regularly get on video games. Of course, it cannot represent the fact I cannot even stream one (1) video without it buffering, as if I'm living in 2004.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH PLUSNET!!!!!

[#14]

@MyInternetisSoS 

The "green box" is where the Openreach fibre connects to your copper phone line. For "part fibre" connections the distance to that point from your home largely determines the available speed. 

You don't have many devices but something (OneDrive?) is loading the connection at times.

The Think Broadband monitor will show packet loss, interestingly I don't even see a hint of red (packet loss) on your graph.

Mine does have an occasional spec of red, what it doesn't have (on full fibre) is the same duration of the blue and yellow peaks.

As far as I know, the Plusnet router doesn't have much in the way of either monitoring tools or ways of controlling traffic. 

Trying a better router than Plusnet's supplied device would seem a way forward. Look for something that mentions Quality of Service (QoS) and buy it from somewhere that is good at returns in case it isn't much help.

As to why things have changed recenly, Windows updates may have turned on OneDrive or altered its behaviour. Something else you have on the computer may have become more "chatty".

What I can observe is that upstream bandwidth is more important (and more of a limiting factor) than you might think.

[#15]

Thanks,

I'm sorry, I cannot get a new router atm for reasons mentioned earlier (I think? Maybe I said it elsewhere).

Anyhow, I don't accept the notion that Plusnet can just give you a pile of 💩 for a router and charge you £30 a month or whatever for something that doesn't even work properly to the point where you can't stream one (1) thing. I don't accept that this is what Plusnet intends to do, nor something consumers should accept. There must be another cause and fix unless we're to just accept on the Plusnet community forums that Plusnet are little better than scam artists. I assume/hope not as they're owned by BT and are a big ISP!!!

The only thing consistently uploading on resource manager is Chrome (whether I have it open or closed doesn't change the issues), and even that uploads tiny amounts, not even one megabyte during these miniature peaks.

I do not have Onedrive open in any capacity as per task manager, nor is it uploading anything anywhere.

What else could it be + how else could I fix it? Should I just give up on this and text them? I can't talk is the problem, and they (anti-socially) don't have a live chat feature because I guess they hate their customers.