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help with broadband speed

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timbrooke1962
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎27-10-2018

help with broadband speed

hello,

hoping someone can provide any insights or help please.

 

i joined plusnet unlimited fibre extra start of Sep. for the first month, download speed were as expected i.e. averaging 66mb. about 1 month later i started to get buffering issues with bbc iplayer etc. so i checked and average speed was around 40-44mb. this has been ongoing for the past several weeks. 

 

i have contacted plusnet support and as yet unable to help, i typically get the 'it is within your guaranteed speed of 42mb' reply.

 

i regularly check speeds with speedtest.net both wired and wireless connections. the only change has been the IP allocated by plusnet. when the speeds were good the ip was in the range 146.198.196.x the reduced speeds in the ip range 87.115.73.x This suggests that i am connecting to servers in physically different locations, which is what the various ip look up tools say i.e i was getting the faster speeds on a server that is reported to be very much closer to where i live.

 

the cynic in me suggests this is how plusnet manage new customers i.e. put them on a fast route for the first month and then move them onto a slower / cheaper one. id love to be prooved wrong.

 

any help / feedback really appreciated as the buffering issue continues to plague me.

40 REPLIES 40
Baldrick1
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Re: help with broadband speed

Ignore the IP location services. They report that my neighbours are located literally hundreds of miles away. Plusnet's servers are not spread around the country and there is no plot.

If you want to change your IP address then drop the connection and leave it disconnected for at least an hour. The dynamic IP addresses are quite sticky so it takes a while to ensure that you pick up a different one. It might take more than one go.

Having said this 40Mbps should be more than enough for Iplayer. Are you sure that you haven't got a wireless problem?

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timbrooke1962
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎27-10-2018

Re: help with broadband speed

thanks for your reply, that helps to clarify.

 

 

yes, im sure theres no wifi problems, had the same setup for a few years, dual band, N & ac etc. no new neighbours with interference etc. its not just iplayer but also games where im now seeing issues.

 

ill give your idea to drop for an hr+ 

 

btw, im using draytek 2862, on average the vdsl2/pppoe connection is dropped every couple of days, in itself hasnt really caused me any issues but would like to understand if  this is normal and/or is there a config / setup change needed. ?

 

thanks again

Protech
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Re: help with broadband speed

@timbrooke1962

Does your Draytek 2862 have the most recent firmware installed ?

The most recent update is here and supports vectoring which may help

https://www.draytek.co.uk/support/downloads/vigor-2862

 

Line drops every few days seems a little excessive

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timbrooke1962
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎27-10-2018

Re: help with broadband speed

@Protech thanks

 

yes latest firmware, 3.8.9.2_bt

 

re speed isdue; ive also notice SNR changes, previously was as low as 3db and getting 66mb download, now its 8db and at best getting 44mb. just donw the BT wholesale test as attached, is the Line IP Profile correct, says its 48Mbps shouldn't it say 80Mbps?

 

 

 

timbrooke1962
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎27-10-2018

Re: help with broadband speed

@Baldrick1  thanks for your suggestion to get a different IP.  unfortunately i still have the same IP range and same poor speed, despite leaving the router turned off overnight. 

 

is it fair to say that the issue is the Line IP Profile set at 48.43? ive reported that on a ticket still waiting for a reply.

Baldrick1
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Re: help with broadband speed

I willing to be to be told that I'm wrong but I think that if you sync at a higher speed this automatically increases. What you need is for Plusnet to do and perhaps show us is a GEA test on your line. This will show whether it's been banded and if so get it changed.

No doubt if your line will support a 3dB SNR you will see a speed increase. Hopefully a Plusnet staffer will pick this up soon.

I see that the BT speed tester is reporting silly download speed results. This is indicative of using Firefox or Chrome browsers. Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browsers give more sensible answers.

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timbrooke1962
Grafter
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Registered: ‎27-10-2018

Re: help with broadband speed

@Baldrick1  - thanks again for the feedback, you are correct about Chrome with btwholesale speed test. another with IE is attached as additional info that may be of help.

 

Hopefully a staff member will do the GEA test and post results, please?

adamwalker
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Re: help with broadband speed

Here's some up to date GEA test results: 

 

 

Just to rule out any potential issues with your property I'd try connecting into the test socket as your next step:

 

https://community.plus.net/t5/Library/Testing-From-The-Master-Socket/ba-p/1322242

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 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
timbrooke1962
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎27-10-2018

Re: help with broadband speed

@adamwalker - thanks for picking up this ask around the GEA.

 

ill try out the master test socket. btw since dropping from 66m to 44m, theres been no changes to internal house wiring, equipment or configuration. i have draytek 2862 router connected directly into master socket via rj11 3m cat5e cable, with just one BT phone connected to master. 

 

 

 

at the risk of sounding like an 'old dog with a bone', the only change im aware on is the wan IP allocated by plusnet. i.e. from 146.198.196.x (66mb) 87.115.73.x (44mb). it would at least be helpful to know what, if any, the differences are from a plusnet standpoint, are they actually different physical servers, different router configurations, are they on different circuits etc.

 

 

timbrooke1962
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎27-10-2018

Re: help with broadband speed

@adamwalker - just tried out the master test socket, unfortunately no change, see attached, still seeing around 45mb, any further ideas please, any insights on the IP questions at all ?

 

cheers

Gandalf
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Re: help with broadband speed

Our tests aren't showing any cause for the drop in your speed, but unfortunately as your sync rate lies within the estimates of your line of between 49 to 70 mbps we'd struggle to get our suppliers to accept this as a fault.

As shown in the above test, your line is on a 3dB SNR target, so the dynamic line management(DLM) is doing its best to push as much speed to you as possible. 

It's possible the drop in speed is due to cross-talk which is essentially interference at the cabinet(The green box in the road) as others in your neighborhood go onto fibre. For this there's not much we can do as it'd involve our suppliers expanding the cabinet or building a new one.

The IP address we allocate you will have absolutely no bearing on your actual line speed. The IP profile you're seeing of 48mbps is based on the sync rate of your connection, which is 88.2% of your sync rate.

I hope this helps clarify things.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
timbrooke1962
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎27-10-2018

Re: help with broadband speed

@Gandalf   thank you for your polite reply, although as you may expect its not that helpful to myself and probably those other plusnet customers who are also reading this thread. i fail to see how plusnet can offer a service knowing that it really no has control over it and freely states this. 

Essentially we should always read the small print before  signing - the advertised headline 66mb for fibre extra has no real meaning what so ever, yet its the very reason why myself (and others) opt to pay the extra premium. 

Gandalf
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Re: help with broadband speed

No worries. 

The average speed of 66mbps for Unlimited Fibre Extra is simply a ASA regulation that all providers have to abide by.

When you go through the signup journey before you confirm your order, we'd advise of your estimated speeds as well as your minimum guaranteed access line speed(MGALS). 

We're contractually obligated to provide you with more speed than your MGALS and will let you leave your contract minimum term free of charge if we can't provide this after being given a chance to fix it.

We'd also go a step further and happily investigate a problem if your speeds dropped below your estimates, but were still above your MGALS as that'd still indicate a problem, because your line would appear to be performing below expectations.

In your case, your line is performing within expectations and there are no signs of a fault with your service - on the contrary the DLM software at the cabinet/exchange is trying to provide you with the best speeds possible for your line.

Unfortunately as we don't maintain the infrastructure, we're reliant on our suppliers to investigate and fix infrastructure problems for us, so the likely outcome of reporting a fault through to our suppliers would return "right when tested" being advised to book an engineer visit with you, who may simply sign the job off as "no fault found" incurring a call-out charge of which we'd pass £65 on to you. Ideally this is something that we'd like to avoid.

Apologies that this isn't the answer you were hoping for and for the disappointment caused. I'm essentially in a similar situation at my own address, my speeds are sitting at the bottom of the estimates having dropped steadily over the past 4 years. 

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
Baldrick1
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Re: help with broadband speed


@timbrooke1962 wrote:

@Gandalf   thank you for your polite reply, although as you may expect its not that helpful to myself and probably those other plusnet customers who are also reading this thread. i fail to see how plusnet can offer a service knowing that it really no has control over it and freely states this. 

Essentially we should always read the small print before  signing - the advertised headline 66mb for fibre extra has no real meaning what so ever, yet its the very reason why myself (and others) opt to pay the extra premium. 


As one of the other customers reading this thread:

I cannot disagree with anthing in @Gandalf's response, be it not what any of us want to hear. Plusnet are only agents of other parts of BT, essentially being one of many retail outlets for a BT Whosale product. Consequently all they can do is sell the product offered to them.

The 66Mbps average is a clumsy resonse agreed by ASA as an alternative after complaints about the previous advertised claim of 'up to 80 Mbps'.

Like gandalf I have also seen my sync rate drop since I converted to fibre. Mine has gone from a maximum attainable in the mid 80s at 6dB SNR to its current 76 Mbps at 3dB as more users have been connected.

To get your current speed test into some sort of context it's interesting to look at the estimated line length from your GEA test against the graph in this article https://www.increasebroadbandspeed.co.uk/2013/chart-bt-fttc-vdsl2-speed-against-distance.

Hopefully if you leave things connected your SNR will drop and your speed improve.

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