IP Profile unstuck but download speed still crawling

[#1]

Further to my reply at 14:39, the situation is now complicated by our connection repeatedly dropping this afternoon. Hope this comment gets posted before it drops again!

[#2]

Further to my replies #14 and #15 above, the speed started to increase yesterday evening (up to a download speed of around 670k, according to Think Broadband - the BT SpeedTester was consistently unusable, due to demand) and the connection stabilised. Today, however, the speed has plunged again. The latest BT SpeedTester results (admittedly from the socket in my study) show the following stats:
IP Profile 135 kbps.
Download speed 108 kbps.
DSL connection rate 160 kbps downstream, 448 upstream.
Will carry out further tests, including rebooting the router and so on, but - help!

[#3]

Can you confirm that the Sky box is plugged in to the telephone side of the filter in the master socket please.
Can you post the router stats (as you did for the master and test socket in reply #12) from the extension socket in the study with the Sky box and the cordless phone unplugged please.

[#4]

Yes, the Sky box is plugged into the telephone side of the filter in the master socket.
Router stats from the study with cordless phone and Sky box unplugged are as follows:
Speeds: downstream 160 kbps, upstream 448.
Noise Margin: downstream 10 dB, upstream 19.
Attenuation: downstream 56 dB, upstream 63.
Hope that helps.

[#5]

As I feared - there's something badly wrong with that extension. You need a wiring expert - Anotherone: where are you?

[#6]

We're in Chelmsford, Essex, on the Broomfield telephone exchange.
I just double-checked the router stats from the master socket before replying using my laptop and my spare router, and initially I thought, yes, there is a huge difference which supports your wiring theory. Here is what I got:
Speeds: downstream 1760 kbps, upstream 448.
Noise Margin: downstream 13.0 dB, upstream 19.0.
Attenuation: downstream 59.5 dB, upstream 31.5.
However .... I've just rechecked the router stats here in the study and suddenly the downstream speed has shot up:
Speeds: downstream 2528 kbps, upstream 448.
Noise Margin: downstream 12.0 dB, upstream 20.
Attenuation: downstream 57 dB, upstream 63 dB.
I therefore also decided to go back to the BT SpeedTester with the router in the study extension socket. This showed a download speed of 114 kbps on a DSL connection rate of 2528 down and 448 up, with an IP Profile of 135.
Back to you! I'll reply a.s.a.p. to your next comment but now have to cede control of the PC to the wife for an eBay dispatch and will be out until the evening tomorrow.

[#7]

It's the connection rate we need to look at right now, the actual download speed won't improve until that's stable for 72 hours.
It certainly does sound like something is causing issues, was there any electrical equipment running when you got the routerstats at 15/12/2009, 22:30 that wasn't running 30 minutes later, could even be central heating or similar?

[#8]

No, there was nothing different.

[#9]

Hi David,
I've just read through your thread. First, an important tip as you have already been disconnecting and swapping things round -
When you need to 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 connection problem.

To answer two of your questions, there is little point in having an i-plate with the bell wire disconnected; & no  problems at an ISP can affect your connection with the exchange.
Which modem/router were you using when you posted the last stats from your study? Can you also tell me what the other modem/router is?
If you could do the following -
1) Please check your phone line - can you hear/have you heard any crackling or other intermittent noise on the line? Dial a 1 to get rid of the dial tone. If you need more time before the NUT (number unobtainable tone) dial the quiet line test 17070 option 2. (Don't use any ringback or other test). Who is your Telephone Line Rental provider?
2) Please say how many fixed extension sockets you have, and roughly how the cables go from one to another;
3) What filters do you have - are they all the "rats-tail" type?
4) Do you have a corded phone in good working order?
5) Is any other POTS (plain old telephone service) equipment (Faxes, Answer phones, or Alarms systems etc) plugged in/connected other than the sky box at the master?
The next step will be going through a process of elimination to find the cause of the problem.

[#10]

Chris knowing roughly where he lives and the location of his exchange, it is possible from Kitz that he can only receive a max of 2500 (I was taking it from his place of work)

[#11]

That's not really relevant at the moment pierre, he's got some sort of intermittent problem we need to solve.

[#12]

Hi,
Sorry for the delay in replying.
Thanks for the advice about how often to test or not to test. Mostly the tests have been spread throughout the day, especially given the three-hour interval between uses of the BT SpeedTester. At other times I've generally used the Think Broadband speed test to give me a rough idea. BTW, the latter this morning shows that our download speed has recovered to around 1720 kbps. 
Pierre says something about my place of work - I don't know whether I'm reading the right thing into that comment, but perhaps I need to clarify that I work from home. (Unless that was a reference to my study?)
OK, preliminaries over, now to answer the questions from 6:34 am yesterday:
1. There is not currently any crackling or other intermittent noise on the phone line, but there was 2 or 3 days ago. Our phone is with BT.
2. Apart from the master socket, there are extensions in the study, the downstairs loo (yes, really!) and the master bedroom. The main cordless phone is plugged in at the study, but neither of the other two extension sockets are in use, because we just plug slave cordless phones into mains sockets. I'm afraid I have no idea about how the cables go from one to another. I can ask the church authorities who own the house if they have any records.
3. Yes, I think you would say all the filters are 'rat's tail' types. I've built up a small collection of those that came with our old ADSL modem, subsequent routers and a spare I bought once at PC World.
4. No, we don't have any corded phones in the house. Let me know if you want me to borrow one. (We use our mobiles if there's a power cut.)
5. No, we don't have anything like fax machine. There is a digital answering machine built into the master cordless phone unit, though.
Thanks for all the help so far!

[#13]

that makes it even worse, no 10 as against 124  
Fixed ADSL:   1024 kbps (1 Mb)
DSL Max:   3500 kbps (3.5 Mb)

[#14]

Sorry, Pierre, I don't understand the significance of what you've just posted. We are on DSL Max, BTW. Does that help clarify?

[#15]

I wouldn't worry about it David. I think he was trying to be helpful at guessing the length of your line (and hence the maximum speed) from his probable knowledge of the area. We will get more accurate information from the line stats when they are reliable.
I say when, because there was some inconsistency in some of the figures and you've mentioned noise on the line. I did ask

Quote

Which modem/router were you using when you posted the last stats from your study? Can you also tell me what the other modem/router is?

That information will be useful shortly. Yes, It would be a good idea if you can borrow a known good (ie no noises on it) corded phone.
As you've mentioned crackling or other intermittent noise on the line, this could be the cause of your problems, as it may indicate a bad connection. Sometimes cordless phones can cause noises to appear which is why a check with a corded phone is necessary.
The trouble with intermittent faults is their very nature.
Quickly, a couple of points mentioned earlier in the thread. 1) It's a waste of time doing BT speedtests or other speed tests until your line is stable. The profile which determines the throughput can take several days to recover. 2) I understood you implied that there were filters in every extension socket. You only need filters in sockets that have things connected, so please remove any filters that are not needed. Please mark them so you know which was which, and keep them separate for the moment. Filters can go faulty and cause problems.
Ok back to the line noises. Next time you notice your sync drop, immediately check if you can hear any crackling or other intermittent noises on the phone, or if you hear them whilst on the phone - in either case power down the modem/router whilst on the phone and confirm the noise is still present. If so, go to the master socket and remove the faceplate and try again with the corded phone direct into the test socket.
Please do this fairly quickly and before there is an incoming call. Incoming ringing current can temporarily clean a bad connection. Whilst the noise is still present, phone 151, select option 2 and speak direct to an adviser, get them to confirm they can hear the noise, ask them to log it as intermittent and to pass that fact to the OpenReach Engineer. Do NOT mention your broadband otherwise you will get the run around (your are reporting a voice fault).
Whilst you have the faceplate removed, it would be a good idea to check that the bell wire is not connected. On the back of that faceplate there should be just two wires connected. A Blue-white on terminal 2 and a White-blue on terminal 5. If there are any Orange wires connected to terminal 3 & 4 please remove them by gently pulling them vertically out of the connectors, taking care not to disturb those in 2 & 5. Please do the same at the extension sockets in use (and the others if you have time).
I think that'll probably be enough to start with, please come back with any queries.