Surprised and disappointed with Plus Net

[#1]

Ubi, you have not posted the full line stats that jelv asked you about some time back.
It would seem that you have some sort of line fault. This is not a problem caused by PN, or under their direct control. Just moving elsewhere will take the problem with you.

[#2]

Quote from: jelv

I'm a bit puzzled by your IP Profile being higher than your current sync speed. Are you a long way from the exchange? We really need the attenuation and noise margin figures as well as the sync speed please. http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php has instructions for lots of different modems/routers. If yours isn't there please post the make and model and I'm sure someone will tell you how to get them. Have you got more than one telephone extension in the house (even if not in use)? If so could you describe your setup including what phone handsets, cordless base units, sky boxes, in fact anything that is plugged in to a phone socket, including where you have filters please.

It's this post that we need the answers to.

[#3]

I posted these figures on 11th November.  So no one else has done anything about this in Jame's absence?
The information requested is quoted below.  Is the reason for this restriction that Plus Net is not LLU on my exchange?
Stable rate:
Estimated line speed:
1.0 - Checked on 2009-09-25 14:00:45
Current line speed:
1000
BT Speed Test
FAQ

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
  Download  Speed
  684 Kbps
   
0 Kbps  1000 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed
Download speed achieved during the test was - 684 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds  is 200-1000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :832 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 1000 Kbps

Router
Modem ADSL Firmware Version A2pB022c.d20e Modem Status Connected DownStream Connection Speed 832 kbps UpStream Connection Speed 448 kbps VPI 0 VCI 38

[#4]

The information needed is as follows
Speeds
Attenuation
Noise Margin
You can get them from your router as described here http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php

[#5]

# adslctl info --stats
adslctl: ADSL driver and PHY status
Status: ShowtimeRetrain Reason: 0
Channel: FAST, Upstream rate = 448 Kbps, Downstream rate = 1280 Kbps
Link Power State: L0
Mode:                  G.DMT
Channel:                Fast
Trellis:                ON
Line Status:            No Defect
Training Status:        Showtime
                Down            Up
SNR (dB):      11.9            14.0
Attn(dB):      63.5            31.5
Pwr(dBm):      16.5            12.1
Max(Kbps):      1312            808
Rate (Kbps):    1280            448
                        G.dmt framing
K:              41(0)          15
R:              0              0
S:              1              1
😧              1              1
                        ADSL2 framing
MSGc:          1              1
B:              41              15
M:              1              1
T:              1              1
R:              0              0
S:              1.0000          1.0000
L:              336            128
😧              1              1
                        Counters
SF:            135286          135228
SFErr:          38              4
RS:            0              0
RSCorr:        0              0
RSUnCorr:      0              0
HEC:            21              2
OCD:            0              0
LCD:            0              0
Total Cells:    6943045        0
Data Cells:    122957          0
Drop Cells:    0
Bit Errors:    0              0
ES:            32              0
SES:            0              0
UAS:            27              0
AS:            2300
INP:            0.00            0.00
PER:            1.75            1.75
delay:          0.25            0.25
OR:            32.00          32.00
Bitswap:        0              0
Total time = 39 min 9 sec
SF  = 135286
CRC = 38
LOS = 0
LOF = 0
ES  = 32
Latest 1 day time = 39 min 9 sec
SF  = 135286
CRC = 38
LOS = 0
LOF = 0
ES  = 32
Latest 15 minutes time = 9 min 9 sec
SF  = 32273
CRC = 14
LOS = 0
LOF = 0
ES  = 10
Previous 15 minutes time = 15 min 0 sec
SF  = 52923
CRC = 8
LOS = 0
LOF = 0
ES  = 8
Previous 1 day time = 0 sec
SF  = 0
CRC = 0
LOS = 0
LOF = 0
ES  = 0
15 minutes interval [-30 min to -15 min] time = 15 min 0 sec
SF  = 50090
CRC = 16
LOS = 0
LOF = 0
ES  = 14
Showtime Drop Reason:  0
Last Retrain Reason:    0
#
#

[#6]

The important part is this

Quote

Upstream rate = 448 Kbps, Downstream rate = 1280 Kbps SNR (dB):      11.9            14.0 Attn(dB):      63.5            31.5 Pwr(dBm):      16.5            12.1 Max(Kbps):      1312            808 Rate (Kbps):    1280            448

I note that earlier James said he would request a reduction in default noise margin to 9dB - do you know whether this happened.
I don't know if you have done this but can you plug the router into the test socket with nothing else connected and report back the above figures

[#7]

I reported previously in a telephone call that I don't have a test socket and my master sock doesn't look like the one in your image.  It just looks like a regular socket.
I would have no way of knowing what action, if any, was taken by James.  If performance is anything to go by I suspect not.  I take this has not been logged in the notes.  Is there now way of tracking this at your end?

[#8]

I am not Plusnet staff (moderators are just customers like yourself) so I can't see anything on your account.
Hopefully a member of staff will spot this and check

[#9]

If it was done JIm, it may have gone up again. BTw may have refused if the error count was high. It doesn't look that brilliant with CRC errors around 1 per minute on the latest stats.
Ubi, have you got any permanent extension sockets and wiring connected or plugged in? Is that the only socket?

[#10]

Hi Ubi,
I've tried calling you but unfortunately you were unavailable.
I've had a look at your connection logs, and hopefully I can help narrow things down a little.
The connection was unstable when you contacted us previously, and started being unstable again yesterday evening. Prior to that though the connection remained up and stable for 10 days (I'm guessing this is the time you were away?). If so this points to local interference, perhaps from a nearby electrical device, or central heating?

[#11]

Thanks for the suggestion Man.  I checked everything that was still running whilst I was away.  The only things that weren't t running were the computers themselves and obviously it isn't feasible to keep those off!
I have three BT sockets in the house and yesterday I tried the router in each of them with no difference in performance.
The only material thing that has changed since moving to PN is that my telephone line is once again being provided by BT, although billed by PN.  My exchange is unbundled by Sky and I suspect that it is the line which is the problem.  Crudely put,  moving back to Sky looks a like a better option as they are less magisterial about line attenuation than BT.
Can anyone confirm that a request was made by PN to BT reduce the attenuation and, if so, what the response was?

[#12]

I don't think that attenuation can be reduced as that's dictated by line length etc. Mine's been the same since 2002.
Snr can be reduced but only if connection remains stable.

[#13]

Can we tell if PN has asked BT to adjust the SNR and, if so, what the response was?

[#14]

Hi Ubi,
OK 3 sockets, no NTE5a master which means internal wiring can't be isolated to see if it's contributing to the problem. But there other checks that can be done.
You can examine the wiring without disconnecting your modem/router, or if you do, use the powerdown method - When you need to reboot or swap things around for testing, powerdown your modem/router and wait several minutes before unplugging anything that disconnects it from the line eg. it's cable, the filter, master faceplate etc. Don't do this more than 5 times in an hour, and then leave it alone for the rest of the day. This is to help prevent the exchange DLM from thinking you have a worse intermittent  problem.
Start with the master socket (the one where the BT incoming drop wire is connected), have a look at the connections on the back of the plate. Tell us what colour wires are connected to which number terminal that are on the cable going to the fiirst extension, then do the same at the first extension and the second. You should find a Blue-white connected to 2, a White-blue connected to 5. You may find orange wires connected to 3 & 4.
Edit: You should also see a yellow sausage shaped capacitor and a couple more componets at the master, but not at the other sockets.

[#15]

Quote from: Ubi

The only things that weren't t running were the computers themselves and obviously it isn't feasible to keep those off!

I've seen an instance where the PSU in a PC was causing problems. How close is the router or the cable connecting the router to the telephone socket to the PC?