FTTC Speed 23Mbps, paying for 40Mbps!

[#1 · Accepted solution]

@PeteB 

Any noise on the phone line could cause a drop a, so if the faceplate is loose crackling would be heard. Intermittent noise is a nightmare to fix. If you're happy using a microfilter that I'd give it a go, removes a point of possible failure.

With regards to the logs, make sure the logging level is set to debug as that should record everything, not sure but the router might clear the log when it restarts, which is dumb if it does.

Dan 

[#2]

@Dan_the_Van Yes, thank you.  Your previous post inspired me to remove the faceplate and use a microfilter.  I'll see how it goes in the next 24 hours.

And I'll keep an eye on the log file.  It certainly would be dumb if it cleared it on a disconnect!  

Thanks again!

[#3]

@Dan_the_Van ... it may be premature celebration / coincidence, but these are my stats this morning, having connected through the test socket/microfilter yesterday:

	Upstream	Downstream
Current Rate (kbps)	8346	39999
Max Rate (kbps)	8347	61199
SNR Margin (dB)	6.3	11.1
Line Attenuation (dB)	3.8	17
Errors (pkts)	34	2

Uptime is currently 7.5 hours, so there was clearly a reconnection overnight.  (Does that happen because DLM has changed the sync speed?)  My package is capped at 40Mbps, so the current downstream rate is one byte off as good as I'm entitled to.

FWIW, the TP-Link router log captures nothing for around 7.5 hours ago and appears to clear at midnight.  I have it capturing at DEBUG level.

I'm hoping running from the test socket is the solution.... but it's probably much too early to say.  I'll be back!

[#4]

@PeteB 

It could be the DLM resetting you back to 39999. Connections dropping overnight (00:01 to 06:00) could be caused by planned maintenance be it Openreach or BT/PlusNet. 

Have you set the TP-Link time to be correct, with my TP-Link vr400 and RE300 it is not automatic.  Check Advanced >System Tools > Time settings

Bit annoying about the logs though, in my work days log files where the answer to each and everything! 

What app do you have running monitoring the connection,  the table you shared on post  27?

Be interesting how things go now.

Dan.

[#5]

@Dan_the_Van 

Yes, the time setting is correct.  I have it set as 'Get from PC'.  It is ambiguous in the TP-Link interface or documentation whether clicking the 'Get from PC' button is a once-off update of the router time setting or whether it then continues to sync with the PC time.  Ditto for the NTP servers option, which I'm not currently using.

All the stats I'm quoting in tabular form in these posts come from the TP-Link Advanced / Status page.  AFAIK, DSLstats is not compatible with my AC2100 Wireless MU-MIMO VDSL/ADSL Modem Router (Archer VR600).

I have seen several OpenReach vans parked along the road back to the cabinet in the last couple of days.  I very much doubt that has anything positive or negative to do with my issue as there's a fair bit of building work (house extensions) around the same place.

I'll continue to monitor and post the results...  Thanks, in the meantime!

[#6]

@Dan_the_Van Since, at your suggestion, I switched to using the test socket / microfilter on my Master Socket 5C my sync speeds have consistently held at (from current reported data on the router):

Current Rate (kbps)	8365	39999
Max Rate (kbps)	8365	60815
SNR Margin (dB)	6.4	11.1
Line Attenuation (dB)	3.8	17.1
Errors (pkts)	3	0

Up time is quoted at 7.5 hours and, again, it seems there is a reconnect around 3.00am every day.  I'm surmising that is DLM?

The 'Current Rate' is a hair's breadth from the 40Mbps that my package is advertised at providing, so I am happy.

I've marked your earlier post as the answer because, touch wood, it seems to be!  Openreach have had vans down my road the last few days due to housebuilding work etc. but my bet is that has had nothing to do with my connection.

When Plusnet had previously asked me to use the test socket I was always doubtful and it never instantly increased sync speed.  But I think I understand this better now... I would have needed to wait for at least one or two overnight DLM processes for the speed to actually increase.

So, problem solved! 🤞

Many thanks for your help, to everyone who has responded to my post!

Pete

[#7]

Hopefully resorting to using the test socket has resolved the problem, but it does beg the question why the Openreach engineer didn't change the socket when he visited, especially if it was 'loose'!

[#8]

@Caerefail Yes, this Openreach engineer seemed rather keen to hit the road!  To be fair, the socket shows no signs of damage. I think it's a design flaw on the 5C socket - there are clips on the part you pull out, but they don't actually clip to the bit that's on the wall.  Even though, from the outside, it looks like the front bit is correctly positioned.

[#9]

Thanks for keeping in touch on our forum @PeteB

I can see that our Technical Support Team are keeping the ticket open for another week to monitor your connection. I've run some tests myself today and things are looking good. We can see the odd drop, though this is expected on Openreach lines Speeds are also looking decent, coming through at 38.2 Mbps. I''ll pop some graphs below. See how you get on over the course of the week and feel free to reach out if you have any further issues.

KBD

GEA Test Detail
Circuit ID	NA	Service ID

Test Outcome	Pass
Test Outcome Code	GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_0000
Description	GEA service test completed and no fault found .
Main Fault Location	OK
Sync Status	In Sync
Downstream Speed	38.2 Mbps
Upstream Speed	8.4 Mbps
Appointment Required	N
Fault Report Advised	N
NTE Power Status	PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result	Pass
Radio Frequency Ingress	Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise	Not Detected
Cross Talk	Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres	821.4
Upstream Rate Assessment	Good
Downstream Rate Assessment	Very Good
Home Wiring Problem	Not Detected
Downstream Policing Discard Rate	0.0
Customer Traffic Level	Upstream and Downstream traffic detected
Technology	VDSL
Current 15Min Bin Retrains	0
Last 15Min Bin Retrains	0
DP Type	External
Profile Name	0.128M-40M Downstream, Retransmission Low - 0.128M-10M Upstream, Error Protection Off
Time Stamp	2021-12-02T03:30:00

Parameters	MIN	MAX	AVG
Down Stream Line Rate	32.3 Mbps	40.0 Mbps	38.0 Mbps
Up Stream Line Rate	8.1 Mbps	8.4 Mbps	8.3 Mbps
Up Time	2.0 Sec	900.0 Sec	893.5 Sec
Retrains	0.0	3.0	0.0

Radius

[#10]

@adam945 That's great, many thanks!