cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

The slowest broadband ever

daphne91
Dabbler
Posts: 17
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎24-01-2021

The slowest broadband ever

Since I moved to Peckham, our Plusnet connection is the slowest I have ever had, creating massive problems for me and my partner because we have to work from home. At some points, the connection speed even drops to 0.1 Mb download. The connection never exceeds 2.8 Mb even if the connection promises an average of 10Mb. Someone mentioned that in the area the network is owned by Virgin, making it very slow for all other broadband companies who have to use it. We reported the connection problem to Plusnet, and an engineer came over to check the cables but this wasn't the problem, he confirmed that it is just very slow. At the moment the speed is 0.18 Mb. 

What are your thoughts on this? 

 

Screenshot 2021-01-24 at 11.22.15 AM.png

47 REPLIES 47
jab1
Legend
Posts: 16,817
Thanks: 5,339
Fixes: 248
Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: The slowest broadband ever

 

@daphne91 

Welcome to the forums. Plusnet staff support, like the phone service, is still severely restricted. If you would like help from the community, a good starting point is to have a look at THIS  post and supply as much detail from it as possible.

It would also be a good idea to carry out a 'Quiet Line Test' - dial 17070 from a (preferably corded) phone and select option 2 - there should be no discernable noise. If there is, report a phone fault first, as without a clear phone connection, your broadband will not perform correctly.

If you reply to this topic with as much detail as possible, there are plenty of experienced members who can advise on possible remedies.

 

Couple of points - Virgin may be the cable operator in the area, but the BT infrastructure is there, totally separate, and the two don't interfere with each other, despite what you have been erroneously told. I don't know what the engineer actually did, if anything, but from what you say, it wasn't much.

John
Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,921
Thanks: 9,538
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: The slowest broadband ever

A warm welcome to the forums.

At this juncture data speed tests do not tell us much of value and therefore should be ignored entirely.  What would be very helpful and more relevant is a full set of xDSL stats from your router.  If you do not know how to get them, the following the speed issues link below would be a good start.

If the BT engineer says that all is OK, then if you are a long way from the exchange, they might be right.  Again the router stats will tell us that.  @jab1 has already recommended you do a QLT to see if there is noise on the line.

What are the expectations for your line?

Please use the following links to check the services available and their estimated speeds. From the first link, please record and report back the distance from the exchange. The second link advises of which fibre services (if any) are available on your line and their anticipated speed.


 

How is your line performing?

Please post your router stats; for PN TG582n and 2704n routers use the buttons below, for other routers look at the Kitz link.

Also run a BT Wholesale speed test (ideally using an Ethernet wired PC with the WiFi turned off) then run the further diagnostics and post the results here. DO NOT REBOOT the router!  Specifically report your line profile.

NB: Please use an Edge browser or IE as there have been many reports that others fail to function correctly when accessing the BTw speed test.


 

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

daphne91
Dabbler
Posts: 17
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎24-01-2021

Re: The slowest broadband ever

Hi both,

Thank you for your replies, and the clarification. 

The engineer tried all different cables, and he said that we are not close to the point of exchange, this is why we don't have good connectivity and the max we could get is 4 Mb. 

Screenshot 2021-01-24 at 2.23.48 PM.png

I ran the Diagnostics test and it says that our max speed is 4 Mb.... a very very low speed, which in reality we never really get. The max I have recorded is 2.8 Mb, and the connection frequently lags between 0.1 and 1 Mb download speed, well below the average 10 Mb which Unlimited Broadband promises.

Screenshot 2021-01-24 at 2.29.24 PM.png

 

Thanks again for your help!

daphne91
Dabbler
Posts: 17
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎24-01-2021

Re: The slowest broadband ever

And here's the other two items you suggested posting

jab1
Legend
Posts: 16,817
Thanks: 5,339
Fixes: 248
Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: The slowest broadband ever

@daphne91 Unfortunately, although those two images tell us what (a) your current performance is and (b) what you could in theory expect, they do not really help us to see why you are getting such low figures. As both @Townman and I have said, we need to see actual data from your router (and the other data requested in the link I posted). As we have both said, the important and first thing to check is your phone-line condition.

John
jab1
Legend
Posts: 16,817
Thanks: 5,339
Fixes: 248
Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: The slowest broadband ever


@daphne91 wrote:

And here's the other two items you suggested posting


Unless I'm missing something - and hopefully @Townman  will tell me - those two files tend to contradict each other.

John
daphne91
Dabbler
Posts: 17
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎24-01-2021

Re: The slowest broadband ever

The plot thickens...

jab1
Legend
Posts: 16,817
Thanks: 5,339
Fixes: 248
Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: The slowest broadband ever

And the phone-line test?

John
daphne91
Dabbler
Posts: 17
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎24-01-2021

Re: The slowest broadband ever

Quiet phone line test came out ok. Thanks Smiley

jab1
Legend
Posts: 16,817
Thanks: 5,339
Fixes: 248
Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: The slowest broadband ever

Okay, so we can rule that out then. I'm out for the rest of this afternoon/evening, but maybe @Townman will pop back. If not, I'll have another ponder tomorrow morning.

John
daphne91
Dabbler
Posts: 17
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎24-01-2021

Re: The slowest broadband ever

Thanks so much, John. I really appreciate it!

Baldrick1
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11,618
Thanks: 5,166
Fixes: 415
Registered: ‎30-06-2016

Re: The slowest broadband ever

@daphne91 

Have you considered giving up on a landline connection and using the mobile network? If you shop around it’s not that much more expensive these days.

 

Moderator and Customer
If this helped - select the Thumb
If it fixed it,  help others - select 'This Fixed My Problem'

Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,921
Thanks: 9,538
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: The slowest broadband ever

Something is indeed odd here!

Note I have asked the mods to redact personal information in this thread.

From the information shared, as @jab1 reflects, things do not add up, if I were to believe all of the information presented at face value.

Router data

51.5 dB attenuation points to a not too long line (but not short), circa 3.5km., which should deliver 5.5mbps on ADSL2 ADSL2+

The router reports the SNRM as 8.9dB which implies an elevated target SNRM of 9dB suggesting that the line is being managed for stability for whatever reason.

The router mode reports ADSL2 (not ADSL2+).

 

Service Availability report

Here is where the confusion arises, for it reports that the use is all but next door to the exchange in a very urban setting.  Allowing for the road distance being a bit longer, (1.1km) one would expect to see this line report as 12-15dB DS attenuation.

The telephone number referenced does not check out on Sam Knows "What's my exchange".

The telephone number is reported to be owned by Talk Talk

The post code shown does not match the location shown on the map - 2TT is to the NW of the exchange - the location on the map is 2EA.

 

@Gandalf is there any possibility that errors in BTOR's database for this line could lead to any of the issue being observed?

BT checker for 2TT reports 7-16mbps and for 2EA 8-16mbps - both of these are better than what the user is experiencing.

 

@daphne91 

Can you please confirm that the router is plugged into the master socket and there are no extensions attached to the master socket, either from the front or the back of the faceplate?

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

daphne91
Dabbler
Posts: 17
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎24-01-2021

Re: The slowest broadband ever

Thanks so much @Townman 

I can confirm that the router is plugged into the master socket.