Changed to Fibre Extra - No increase in speed

[#1]

Thank you and can you answer my post about current line speed left on Thursday ?

I may as well be on 40/10 ?

[#2]

They have old records here as well ? I'm not sure I understand.

[#3]

Thanks for getting back to us @frosty8 

I've added a reply to your ticket 194067295, but I'll also add a reply to the points you've made here.

The records of your IP address showing on a particular website bears absolutely no relevance to your connection. It's simply that the website is using an out of date geo-location database.

Line tests are showing you are definitely on an 80/20 connection as per the profile: "0.128M-80M Downstream, Interleaving Low - 0.128M-20M Upstream, Error Protection Off"

Your sync speed of 36mbps is below the expectations of your line at 39mbps, so I'd suggest we arrange an engineer to investigate further. If you had higher speeds with BT, then the reduction you're seeing is likely due to a DLM reset being carried out upon completion of the migration order moving you from a 3dB SNRM target to 6dB.

If that's the case then with time I'd expect you'd get the 3dB target back and hence the increased speeds that come with it, but this would simply be masking an underlying problem, because your speeds on 6dB are below where they should be.

While we can place an order to install a new line, this doesn't mean the entire line will be new, it'll mean that an engineer goes out to connect a spare pair to your property if one is available although address records aren't showing any spare pairs at your address, so the order will likely go to a survey.

However I'd recommend progressing this as a fault, because ordering a new line is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack open a walnut and isn't guaranteed to fix the issue. By going down the path of a fault investigation, this will be investigated and any necessary work will be carried out including renew your master socket if needed.

The cost we've quoted to relocate your master socket is to move it as opposed to renew. Apologies that it seems my colleague has misunderstood what you've said (Or if I've mis-understood)

If the first fault engineer we arrange finds no fault and things remain the same, it's likely we'd just arrange another engineer as opposed to charge you £65 for the visit, because your speeds are below expectations.

We robustly defend all engineer charges and will only apply £65 to your account if absolutely valid.

If you want to downgrade to 40/10 then I'd recommend calling our customer options team on 0800 013 2632.

I hope this helps.

[#4]

@frosty8 My.master socket was replaced at no cost by one of those with a built-in microfilter, On the plus side this did seem to improve my speed to that promised although I’ve been away since so it hasn’t had a long term test. On the minus side it means my router needs to be next to the master socket rather than on an extension and in doing so some of my extensions were disconnected. For some reason I had two extension circuits. 

If the location of the master socket is important to you, then it may be worth paying for it to be moved. I’ve got cat5e sockets around the house so can use these and it wasn’t really an issue. It’s just not as aesthetic where the router is now and the hall cupboard now has the router, a Femtocell and a POTS phone on it. 

 Hope this helps make your mind up.

[#5]

@Gandalf 

   Thanks very much for making it clear about possible cost (£65 max) or nothing at all which I like better.

   The cost quoted, as you say for a relocation were way too high for me.

    So thanks again I will update the ticket and go ahead with an engineer visit.

[#6]

Thanks for getting back to me @frosty8 

No problem. I've booked the engineer visit for a week today in the afternoon.

I agree for the cost of a master socket relocation, we should only order this if absolutely necessary. There are usually different, cheaper solutions like using powerline adapters throughout the house if the master socket isn't in a good location.

We'll follow things up with you as soon as we can after the appointment.

[#7]

@Gandalf 

Next Tuesday afternoon would be just fine and thanks again for your help.

[#8]

No problem @frosty8 fingers crossed the visit goes well

[#9]

For some reason I've received this from Plusnet. I'm not sure why as I completed all the tests. The Openreach engineer visited  and I'm now getting the speed I am paying for.

[#10]

Hi there @dgp

It looks like this automated service notice was sent off the back of a duplicated ticket we sent with some checks to perform.

If the fault has been cleared and your service is back to what it should be then there's no need to worry. Feel free to disregard/delete the email.

[#11]

@Gandalf  Hi, the engineer has been and gone. He asked what speed I was getting and when I told him he replied that was all I would get at this address. He said the cable was ok even though the outer cable is torn in various places and agreed that it had been in place for more than 20 years (the amount of time we have lived here).

He plugged in his equipment to the test socket and found no errors.

He did not check the connection outside or at the cabinet.

He thought the reason that I once had a better connection with BT was because my line was changed to different ports in the cabinet when I went with Plusnet.

He did not reset my line because he said it might reconnect at a slower speed.

I have moved the router back upstairs as it made little difference in the test socket.

Edit: If all I can get is the speed I am on already then downgrading to 40/10 may make sense. Would I still get the same speeds as I get now ? The engineer seems to think so.

[#12]

Thanks for the update @frosty8 I'm sorry to see the engineer didn't carry out a full investigation and your speeds are still below where we'd expect them to be.

At stage we've got a couple of options, we can either book another engineer for a second opinion escalating this with our suppliers requesting that the engineer carries out all quality checks including replacing the drop wire.

Or we can downgrade you to 40/10 and as your speeds are lower than this you shouldn't see any difference.

Let me know how you'd want to go ahead, if it's another engineer I'd recommend adding further availability to the ticket 194067295 and I'll get that arranged although to escalate a fault, our suppliers normally ask for 2 working days notice so I'd start from next week with any dates you've give us. 

[#13]

@Gandalf  Thanks for the reply. I have been thinking about what to do but still not too sure.

The engineer told me where the cabinet was which was further away than I believed as I was using a map from Kitz which was way off the mark. Using Google maps I can say I am 256 metres away from the cabinet as the crow flies, about 100 metres further than I thought.

The lines run underground from the cabinet and could be aluminium but he was not sure. What he was pretty sure of was that BT (Openreach) would not replace them as it would cost too much !!

Thinking that he might be replacing the line to the master I moved everything out of the way for easy access including a bed, drawers etc but no such luck. I did ask would he be replacing the line and would he be checking the connection outside but ''no'' was the answer to both.

He did mention being within the expected speed and finding no errors during his tests so it will come back as no fault found and I hope I don't get charged.

I will update the ticket tomorrow one way or the other.

If I downgrade to 40/10 how would that affect the reward card .... I  remember it was for £70 when I signed up. Looking now I see it is cashback, £75 for 80/20 and £70 for 40/10. By the way I have not received any email about that yet.

Thanks

[#14]

Thanks for getting back to us @frosty8 

Personally I’d go for an escalated engineer visit so we can request they go through quality gates like renewing the drop wire coming into your property, changing the pair at the D (Distribution) Side of the exchange, move your line onto a different port at the cabinet and for a second opinion on what your line can realistically achieve.

If you are about 256m from the cabinet then you should see more than 40mbps. I’ve attached a graph below showing how fibre (VDSL2) speeds degrade over distance:

Downgrading shouldn’t have any effect on the cashback offer you’ve originally signed up on. We’ll track the progress of that tomorrow. 

[#15]

@Gandalf  Thanks for the swift reply.

So long as I don't get charged twice (once would be bad enough) I will go with your advice.

It would be nice to know one way or the other what my line can handle. Would your graph apply if the underground cables are aluminium ?

I will update the ticket now and go ahead.

Thanks