25% drop in connection speeds recently

[#1]

Hi there.

Hoping I can get some help here regarding my connection speeds. For years I have been connecting above 70Mbps. Recently (I am unsure when), this has dropped to 49Mbps, which is below the minimum guaranteed of 50.4Mbps promised when I signed up. I also note that the minimum guaranteed speed is now showing as 45 in the web control panel, which seems a bit sneaky.

Would it be possible to get a reset on the line speed? I have tried swapping routers/modems/phone cables and have ruled out everything I can from my side.

Thanks.

[#2]

Don't read anything into the speed guarantee in the web panel. The guaranteed speed is that at which you contracted. I think there's an automated guess thing going on and it's dropped a bit because your line has dropped a bit.

[#3]

Hello @suplex, thanks a lot for getting in touch and I'm really sorry to see that speeds have been dropping recently. I wish this one was as easy as raising a DLM reset request to unband the line, which is currently showing the following profile:

Downstream: 0.128M-60M with Retransmission (High). Upstream: 0.128M-20M with Retransmission (Low)

Ignore the broadband profile below, the above profile is from an RRT, which is more accurate. 

In this case, the banding appears to be a symptom, of recent disconnections on the line, I'll pop a graph below which shows them, and how they've resulted in a gradual drop in sync speed. 

A KBD has detected a Bridge Tap, which is usually found when there are defects with the wiring both in and around the property's perimeter. 

Going forward, please have a read through our Troubleshooting Guide to see if you're able to resolve the issue sooner. When testing, please remove the faceplate from your Master Socket, and connect your router directly into the test socket which lies behind it. Avoid using any extension cables / sockets too if possible. 
Troubleshooting Guide - https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/connection-troubleshooting/
See how you get on for a day or two while connected through the test socket, and if things don't improve, please let us know and we'll get this raised with Openreach, and arrange an engineer visit. 

KBD

GEA Test Detail
Circuit ID	NA	Service ID

Test Outcome	Pass
Test Outcome Code	GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_0000
Description	GEA service test completed and no fault found .
Main Fault Location	OK
Sync Status	In Sync
Downstream Speed	57.4 Mbps
Upstream Speed	20.0 Mbps
Appointment Required	N
Fault Report Advised	N
NTE Power Status	PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result	Pass
Bridge Tap	Detected
Radio Frequency Ingress	Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise	Not Detected
Cross Talk	Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres	281.8
Upstream Rate Assessment	Very Good
Downstream Rate Assessment	Low
Interference Pattern	Not Detected
Service Impact	No Impact Observed
Home Wiring Problem	Not Detected
Downstream Policing Discard Rate	0.0
Customer Traffic Level	Upstream and Downstream traffic detected
Technology	VDSL
Current 15Min Bin Retrains	0
Last 15Min Bin Retrains	0
DP Type	External
Profile Name	0.128M-67M Downstream, Retransmission High - 0.128M-20M Upstream, Retransmission Low
Time Stamp	2022-03-17T18:00:00

[#4]

Thanks for this, and the graph. As somebody who manages a sysadmin service desk, I can't imagine letting customers loose on a forum so respect is due.

I've moved the modem to the master test socket directly and ensured that nothing else is connected to any sockets. I'm guessing this may trigger further downgrades due to the 3-4 connection drops this caused. The modem was previously connected upstairs on an extension (the only extension) run through the house wiring from the master socket. Haven't had any issue with it until now, but who knows.

I've also run the btwholesale checker, which is currently saying "No" for the Bridge Tap section, although I'm not sure how reliable this is vs the tools you have access to. I'll keep an eye on this and the speeds for the next few days, but I assume it may potentially take a long time to recover if the internal wiring was the root cause.

Thanks again.

[#5]

Thanks a lot for getting back to us @suplex, and for the shout out in terms of having a Community Forum haha! 

Thanks also for going through some troubleshooting on your end, a broadband test this afternoon is still showing  a Bridge Tap on our end, but the KBD is known to take some time to update. 

Time will tell with this one, if you want to reach out in a couple of days, we'll run another test from our end to see what it's saying, and will take the apocopate actions then. I'll pop a visual radius below, which shows the disconnections yesterday, but things are looking better today. 

Once we can eliminate the disconnections, a DLM reset should then sort your speeds out.  

[#6]

I've had the modem plugged into the test socket for ~5 days now, with nothing else connected to the line. I haven't noticed any disconnects, but then again I didn't notice them previously.

I don't think there's much more that I can do from my side, other than buying a testing a third router.

[#7]

Any update on this from your side, @adam945?

[#8]

Thanks a lot for getting back in touch @suplex and for your continued patience while we monitor your connection. It's paid off, check the graph out below which shows just one disconnection over the last few days, so we're now at a point where we can raise a DLM reset.  

That's now been done, so you should see your speed jump back up to where it used to be within the next 3-5 working days.