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Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

davtjon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎10-11-2013

Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

Hi - could someone please do something with the latest ticket I raised on Monday regarding my continual fibre problems - surely it shouldn't just sit there in the queue for 2 days with no updates!?  Angry
On a brand new line/cable (installed by Plusnet 18 months ago) only 250m from the green box, and with no extensions, my speeds have gone from 80/20 to 30/10 and they are continuing to drop. The BT speedtest comes up as red i.e. it's slower than even the low IP profile it's currently put me on.
Yesterday we had a spell of bad weather and I lost count of the number of times the modem disconnected and resynced. I've had various problems with the line since Dec 21st and clearly the line needs a proper investigation. I really think enough's enough now!
13 REPLIES 13
AndyH
Grafter
Posts: 6,824
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎27-10-2012

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

Can you hear any noise/crackling on your phone line?
davtjon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎10-11-2013

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

That was the original problem that Openreach dealt with after two engineer visits. Both engineers identified issues that they dealt with - one atop the telegraph pole and the other in the green box. After a 3rd visit the crackling problem did seem to go away, but now the problem seems to be just with the fibre. The 3rd engineer (who seemed especially knowledgable) commented that I was getting very poor fibre speeds for such a new line, and said that he would have liked to investigate further, but couldn't because he was only allowed to look into voice faults on that job. Maybe the line is crackling when the internet problems occur - I wouldn't know as I don't use the voice line much - but listening to it now, it seems OK.
MattyC
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 3,201
Fixes: 46
Registered: ‎10-04-2014

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

Hi there,
Sorry to hear of your experience. Especially as you've had a couple of engineers out already.  (EDIT: My mistake....THREE engineers)
When I run a test on the fibre, it comes back advising that there is a potential copper joint fault somewhere along your line. Part of me is kind of happy that this has been identified, rather than the test running completely clear. Though it is frustrating at the same time.
I am in the process of raising this to Openreach for you now. I will update your ticket internally shortly.
Matty
ex-Plusnet staffer. Any posts after 28/07/2017 aren't on behalf of Plusnet
davtjon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎10-11-2013

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

Cheers, Matty. That's bad but good news  Cool - at least there is something tangible to look into. I felt like I was complaining about a pea underneath my matress when the 3rd engineer visited!
That last engineer said the line seemed clear as far as voice went, but he suspected that there was still something amiss due to the fibre problems I was still having (but couldn't do anything more because he wasn't allowed to). Of course when the last two engineers visited, it was a nice sunny day and so quite probably this dodgy joint only wakes up and causes havoc when it gets cold and/or wet!
MattyC
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 3,201
Fixes: 46
Registered: ‎10-04-2014

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

I'm glad you understood my meaning when I said I was happy  Smiley
I'll keep my eyes on your fault a little longer today before I update your account in case I am asked to ask you to test the connection again.
ex-Plusnet staffer. Any posts after 28/07/2017 aren't on behalf of Plusnet
davtjon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎10-11-2013

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

If you are doing any more tests, now might be a good time, as I've had 3 resyncs in the last 10 minutes!

MattyC
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 3,201
Fixes: 46
Registered: ‎10-04-2014

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

An external engineer has been assigned to take a look at the state of your line. We've been asked to check back over the next two days.
I'll keep on top of this, either way.
ex-Plusnet staffer. Any posts after 28/07/2017 aren't on behalf of Plusnet
davtjon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎10-11-2013

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

OK, thanks again - that sounds promising. As I mentioned to the last Openreach engineer, a lot of ducting between the telegraph pole and the green box was dug up last Autumn for council roadworks, so possibly some damage occurred then to the ducted sections of my line.
Fingers crossed, the external engineer will be able to look into that.
davtjon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎10-11-2013

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

Any signs of life from BT Openreach on this? Things are going from bad to worse with my connection - now down to 20/10 from 80/20 and the modem has been cutting out all through the weekend making it impossible to do any streaming.
Most recent BT speedtest results:
Download speedachieved during the test was - 19.39 Mbps
Upload speed achieved during the test was - 10.27Mbps
Angry
MatthewWheeler
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 8,896
Thanks: 1,506
Fixes: 480
Registered: ‎01-01-2012

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

Sorry to hear the issues ongoing.
It looks like a engineer went out on the 15th and simply reset the line rather then fix the line.
I'm going to get onto our suppliers for you now and ensure we get a engineer who actually wants to fix this.
Leave it with me
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Matthew Wheeler
 Plusnet Help Team
davtjon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎10-11-2013

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

I've had another (4th!) engineer out last week - thanks for arranging that. Nice chap he was, and did a lot of testing. Then went and tweaked a joint in the green box and reset DLM before he left. Sadly, as he predicted, the problem has come back after the first bit of rain we've had since his visit. My line seems to run at full speed until the first bit of rain and then the modem resyncs every 10-60 minutes until DLM panics and reprofiles me down again.
This last engineer suspected there was possibly a remaining issue on the telegraph pole, but couldn't get hold of a "cherry picker" to investigate.  Roll_eyes Having said that, the 1st engineer just climbed the pole without a cherry picker, so I'm not quite sure what's up with that.
The annoyance is that the engineers still seem to come along and run through the exact same procedure each time, apparently unaware of testing that's already gone on. Would it be possible to arrange yet another engineer but with notes that clearly indicate that work on the pole may be needed so that they come fully prepared this time?
I'll give it one more go, but I'm getting near the end of my tether with this. I can't fault Plusnet's efforts in calling Openreach engineers out, but I'm getting to the point where I'm seriously thinking of getting a brand new line with another provider and then doing a cease on the Plusnet line just to stop having to take so much time off work trying to coax my existing Plusnet line into working properly again! Crazy
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

The brand new line will probably utilise a spare pair on your existing line so it won't help
davtjon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎10-11-2013

Re: Line problems and degrading fibre speeds

Would it not involve making new joints at both the pole and the box, though? Along with an enforced "lift and shift" i.e. new VDSL port.
Even if not, I have two separate lines to the pole, as the fibre line is the 3rd line to the property, so if push came to shove, I could repurpose one of the lines on the other bit of copper!
Complicated and desperate measures, certainly.  Sad