Very slow internet

[#1]

Ive created my own thread relating to my service so as not to clutter anyone elses:
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,81795.0.html

[#2]

Quote from: btharper

I was under the impression that some of the speed test sites had priority and should not be affected (can't remember who at PlusNET told me this).

The BT speed test has high priority.
have you compared your current line rate with your IP Profile?

[#3]

Yep, my line rate is 9000. 
Current sync speed is over 11000.
Theo

[#4]

I decided to have a look at the phone wiring on the outside of my house, just in case there were any problems. What I saw didn't exactly look reassuring.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26960900@N03/4174338788/"></a>
Still the external wiring should not have been touched since we had a loft conversion in July, so may not be the cause of my current speed problems, but I'm guessing that normally it should look a lot neater than that right?
Mark

[#5]

Hi Mark,
That doesn't look great, I wouldn't be surprised if you're seeing weather related drops with the wiring like that. Bear in mind anything outside of the master socket is BTs responsibility to fix so if it is causing issues we can raise a fault and get an engineer out to have a look at it for you. Alternatively if there's noise on your phone line you could report that to your supplier and advise of the wiring issue.
Hope that helps,

[#6]

thanks Matt,
I already have a question open (ID: 31119666). I guess there could be a correlation with the really wet weather recently. Hoping this can get resolved one way or another soon though.
Mark

[#7]

I have had my router plugged into the master test socket for a few days. Overall things have been a bit better, but still have experienced intermittent periods of very poor connectivity. I am still waiting on plusnet to run their tests while I'm connected to the master test socket.
I have also managed to get a close-up of my external wiring. Looks very grimy and the two clear plastic bits look from the other side like they are supposed to be connected to each other.

My router is now syncing at 7000, but I never get anything better than 2.7Mbps out of it. I still can't run the BT speed tester at all. It fails with a connectivity error in test 1 every time.
Mark

[#8]

Truly horrible wiring - inside cores exposed to the elements, water can get inside the main cable sheath and the connectors 
You say it hasn't been touched since the building work, well the builders shouldn't have touched it anyway - only BT can do that.
How long ago was this work done ?.  Maybe if BT come to fix it they will ask "who did this ? "

[#9]

well I doubt the builders rewired it, but we did have guttering & fascia boards replaced in July, so it may have been disturbed then (having said that our problems have only really started a month ago). Nevertheless, I would expect there to be a junction box of some sort, rather than just bare wiring.

[#10]

I bet a few quid that there was a junction box before you had the fascia done! It would take a while for the water damage to build to a point where you saw problems.

[#11]

Agreed -
and that the junction box was on the old bargeboard and the workmen had to remove it to do their work, and didn't replace.
I'm not sure what is the correct procedure in those circumstances - but I think the contracvtyors should have got BT to move, and make good after the barge board work complete. But BT would charge for that - was it on the invoice ?.

[#12]

Well I've been plugged into the master test socket for four days now, and things have been relatively good, with a fairly consistent 2Mbps most days with an occasional 5-10 minutes of lost connectivity. And yesterday, it appeared that some kind of block on my throughput (my IP Profile?) was removed as for the first time ever I recorded speeds above 2.5Mbps - I have been getting between 4 and 5 which is nice.
So maybe my external wiring is not such a major contributing factor as I initially thought. I've contacted the builders, but no response from them yet. Plusnet haven't responded to my ticket either (since Thursday), so I have no idea what they have done (if anything) at their end. Next is to move my router back to its original extension socket and see if I can still get decent speeds.
Mark

[#13]

It's been pretty dry weather for the last few days - the exposed wiring will have dried out. Just wait until there's a lot more rain!

[#14]

Once the fog/damp penetrates those exposed wires and begins to oxidise them, you are on a hiding to nothing.  I would either get up the ladder and make a better job of it, and get it in a proper external junction box, or get it repaired by BT.  If they send you a bill, then you could try it on with the fascia company - but thats probably not going to be that successful.  At least you will be able to rule the wiring out of your connection faults, and certainly prevent any future ones that could be caused by it.
You just know that exposed wiring will let you down right when you need your internet connection..... 

[#15]

Well the builders are coming back tomorrow. However, having examined the wiring more closely (see the close-up photo above), surprisingly I cannot see a join in any of the four thin wires. The green wire appears to go directly through with no join, while the white and orange wires seem to loop through the plastic connectors, but with no obvious break. The black wire however doesn't appear to be connected.
So should I ask them to cut the wires and rejoin them inside a junction box, or would it be best just for the current mess to be enclosed within a box to keep the damp away?
Mark