Broadband speeds - oddities between current and upgrade

[#1]

I'm puzzled by this:

BTW Speedtest says

My Plusnet account says:

and if I click on "Change your broadband package", I'm told:

Just my standard 6-monthly grumble about our speed .... mainly the part where Plusnet say I'm getting 14.5Mbps.

[#2]

hm. twice today, the DSL light on our OpenReach modem has started flashing and our internet connection has gone.

happened about 4.30pm, and just now - around 10pm.

have got internet back by powering off the OR modem.

what might be going on?

as far as I'm aware, there are no local issues that might account for what's going on.

prior to the first reset, I had noticed slower speeds (around 9mbps) but after that restart it went back to a (more normal) 10.5mbps

[#3]

A working ADSL/VDSL relies on a clean phone line. Intermittent dropping of the DSL signal can be caused by a break in the phone line or noise

Using a corded landing line phone phone 17070 and select option 2, this call should be clear of any noise and crackles. You might only hear noise if the DSL signal light is flashing. The reduction is speed could indicate noise on the phone line.

To raise a phone fault : https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/phone/#phone 

If the drops continue and you have no landline phone issues then report a broadband issue

To raise a broadband fault: https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/broadband/#broadband 

HTH

[#4]

Thanks Dan

Have tried the 17070 #2 check (which I didn't know about until yesterday), and the phoneline was clear. If the DSL drops again I'll retry that.

I can't get on to BTW today, page doesn't load up for me to test. Another test (https://www.broadband.co.uk/) is showing 4.25mbps - so think a report might be in order ...

John

[#5]

I can't get on to BTW today

If the page loads up with no text and just a blue background try CTRL+F5. this will reload the page or try a different browser.

HTH

[#6]

Thanks Dan

used another browser (Edge rather than Firefox) and got a test done. Speed is 4.5mbps.

Been in touch with Plusnet this monring,  who say there's no line fault, and their reported speed matches mine.

So I'm a bit perplexed as to what else might have changed ....

Boxes have been powered off, caches cleared, malware scans run and I can't see anything which might account for it.

hey ho.

John

[#7]

I would be a bit cautious on accepting there is no issue, if you have lost speed it would be for a reason.

With multiple DSL drops the line management system can reduce the speed to make the connection more stable, this would be noticeable if you are able to view the SNR figures on the modem and the number of recent drops.

To check what you line is capable of use you phone number here https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Your current service might be below the minimum guaranteed service and would need investigating.

You never know it might indicate if Openreach Full Fibre is available to you.

HTH

[#8]

So ....

I dug out the Plusnet Hub One from the back of the cupboard and connected that up (instead of the OR modem and my Asus router). Didn't turn off the original  boxes, but simply unplugged the RJ45 cable from its socket and plugged in the RJ45 cable that came with the PN1.

And, lo, the speed did return to near normal levels - around 9mbps.

And so, when I reconnected the old setup, it has remained. So far, anyway.

Don't you just love technology.

[#9]

Thanks Dan for the interest and advice.

I've visited the BT Broadbandchecker.

Sadly, although FTTP on Demand is listed as available, theres a line at the bottom which says FTTP is not available.

Even more sadly, although our headline VDSL range is 25.7/17.1 we are, because of historical line installations, over 1k from the cabinet [less as the crow flies]. So, as our most recent visiting engineer explained, 10-12mbps is about the best we can get. And OR have no plans before mid-2024 to even think about replacing the copper, or rigging it up to that pesky crow.

Plusnet reckon our estimated speed shouls be 11-12; our guaranteed speed is 9.9, which it normnally hovers around. They also reckon our current Line Speed is 14.5Mbps - a dizzy rate which we have NEVER achieved, even with a following wind.

John

[#10]

@JohnofYork Basically the speeds shown on your account are not actual speeds they are estimates apart from current line speed which is not a speed at all but an internal Plusnet profile used to control speeds on connections with a Static WAN IP address, it has no effect on dynamic IP's.

However it is set by the BT IP profile which suggests you should be getting better speeds, what does the BT Additional Diagnostic give you for the IP profile ( The box on the Basic Speed Test Result) and what is the modem/router downstream sync speed. If you can't get this from the modem (needs to be unlocked) the BT Checker should show it in the Observed Speeds section. Link to checker .... https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL 

[#11]

Thanks.

The BT Additional Diagnostic comes up with this:

The Observed Speeds from Broadbandchecker give:

Max Observed Downstream Speed	10.42
Max Observed Upstream Speed	1.45
Observed Date	2022-11-29

Don't seem to be able to find the downstream sync speed on my Asus RT-N66U router.

[#12]

@JohnofYork Sorry I have not replied earlier but have been busy with Christmas stuff. The BT test didn't give us the IP profile so that doesn't help. You won't be able to get the line stats from the router, the Openreach modem does the actual connection and the router doesn't know the speeds. You could put the Plusnet Hub1 back and get the stats from the Help Desk diagnostics tab (I think, I don't use ISP supplied routers). The observed speeds are bit out of date but probably similar to what you are getting now.

You say in your other thread that the checker estimates are much higher speeds than you have ever achieved, this is a bit odd as the checker is generally fairly accurate. I wouldn't be happy if I didn't get close to the maximum predicted speed. The high current line speed is also strange as it suggests that at some time speeds have been higher. 

The modem/router stats would be useful to see if you should be getting better speeds.

[#13]

There is a deal of confusion herein.  Data speeds are not the same as sync speed and if there is a speed concern to be examined, the focus needs to be sync speed.

The "current speed" reported by the Plusnet portal refers to sync speed.  What are the line metrics reported by the router?

Broadband is not going to work well if the "phone" line is not working properly.

Please perform a quiet line test - dial 17070 select option 2 using a corded phone plugged into the test socket behind the face plate of the master socket. It should be silent. A noisy phone line (or no dial tone) will have a marked adverse impact on the performance of broadband.

If the line is noisy or there is no dial tone, then a PHONE LINE fault needs to be raised with your phone provider. If this is PlusNet, you can report a fault on line using the button below.  From the Q&A list, choose the one which matches the problem, 'open' the 'section' and click the trouble-shooter link.  NB: If you receive a failure message (rather than a log-in prompt) then log-in to the user portal in a different browser tab and attempt to use the trouble-shooter again.

• Phone Faults

How is your line performing?

Please post your router stats; for PN routers use the buttons below, for other routers look at the Kitz link.

Also run a BT Wholesale speed test (ideally using an Ethernet wired PC with the WiFi turned off) then run the further diagnostics, download the .PDF report and post the results here. DO NOT REBOOT the router!

Check the Plusnet user portal for the "Current Line Speed" which is relevant to users with static IP addresses.

• TG582n Stats
• Hub 0 / 1 Stats
• Hub 2 Stats
• Kitz list
• BTw Speedtest
• PN Broadband Status

[#14]

@JohnofYork 

I have asked the mods to merge you different speed issues threads - separate topics does not help the community to deliver focussed responses.

[#15]

Moderators Note

Topics merged