Extremely reduced service in the evenings last few days

[#1]

Ok, I'm an idiot as I'm actually still using the hub two in bridge mode as a modem, so was able to directly connect to get the info you need:

@cerzi are you sure you have the Hub 2 in bridge mode ? That information you posted doesn't look to me like its in bridge mode. The wireless and firewall would be disabled in bridge mode.

To confirm, what colour is the light on the Hub 2 ?

[#2]

It is 100% in bridge mode, the light is a dim pink/purple, it has been functioning as a modem for the last few months since I got the new ASUS router (and to reiterate, these problems have only started happening in the last 3-4 days). Maybe the information displayed is not correct as it is not producing a WiFi network - perhaps because it was originally used as a router the information is still saved from before and doesn't get removed after swapping to bridge mode?

@pvmb the data I showed on the previous page is from the router itself so how I'm accessing it does not change that? But for the sake of information I am connecting to the router on my main desktop PC via ethernet (via powerline adapter) and from my phone (and a bunch of other devices) by WiFi.

I appreciate the thorough questions but I'm not sure we're getting anywhere - will call plusnet again this afternoon and see if any progress can be made.

Again, to summarize:

- Everything is absolutely fine with my connection during the day. 

- At around 5pm things suddenly degrade rapidly, to about 5% of the usual download speed (upload is unaffected) (see image on previous page)

- During this time the router traffic is reported as minimal (See image on previous page), confirming that the cause isn't some device on my LAN being a nethog

- The Hub Two router is set to bridge mode acting as a modem for my ASUS TUF-AX3000, which has been working in this configuration perfectly for several months

- Nothing about our setup has changed in the time during which this problem occurred

[#3]

the light is a dim pink/purple

@cerzi thanks for confirming, that does seem to be in bridge mode.

I am connecting to the router on my main desktop PC via ethernet (via powerline adapter)

Ideally, you need to eliminate the powerline adapter as a possible cause by testing with a direct ethernet connection.

[#4]

I appreciate you're being thorough but again, I'm doing the speedtest from the router itself. Not that it matters, but I have conducted this speedtest by connecting to the router both from my mobile (WiFI) and PC (ethernet/powerline). The problem is 100% not with the powerline adapter or specific to the desktop PC ethernet connection. On top of the speed tests I have performed directly from the router, I have also been doing speedtests from my phone and desktop with identical results.

[#5]

I appreciate you're being thorough

We're only asking the questions that Plusnet are likely to ask when you report the problem. I suppose its possible that your connection is suffereing from contention problems but TBH I've not heard of that being a problem recently.

I suggest you report the problem to Plusnet. You can try the automated service here https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/ but unless you still have a landline its unlikely to match your account. In which case you will need to call Customer support

They are likely to want you to revert to using the Hub 2 in router mode so that they can diagnose remotely.

[#6]

What is this line about in router log?:

"Sep 24 17:11:38 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(831): eth6: Radar detected"

What device is connected to eth6 port?

[#7]

@pvmb I believe its to do with having the 5ghz Wifi band set to use a DFS channel. If the router detects what it 'thinks' is a local radar transmission it has to change channels to avoid interfering http://wifi-insider.com/wlan/dfs.htm

[#8]

Thanks, reverting to the Hub 2 is a sound idea for now until the problem is sorted, have gone ahead and done that. I guess I should wait until after 5pm when the problem appears before calling support so that they can maybe see the issue while it is present. Fingers crossed they can see something because otherwise I'm baffled...

[#9]

I don't think the speedtest link on the router actually runs the test there, rather it links to the BT wholesale speed test which just runs on the connected device. I don't currently have my Hub 2 connected and so can't confirm that.

I'd start by getting a couple of (preferably hardwired) speedtest results during the day when the problem isnt present and then similar tests when the problem occurs as evidence when calling support.

I appreciate your powerlines seem to work fine but in my experience they can be troublesome. I installed a pair for a neighbour not long ago and they worked flawlessly for about 3 months and then started to play up, disconnecting and going slow! I lent him a set that I had spare and they worked fine. I since realised that I hadn't specifically 'paired' the set he had, ratther just left them at the default encryption whereas my set was 'paired'. I have since 'paired' his set and reinstalled them, the jury is still out as to whether that was the problem or they are faulty?

[#10]

@cerzi  Your HUB2 stats show good sync speeds for a 40/10 FTTC service but if the download speeds in msg#13 are the throughput speeds at various times of the day it looks like a classic case of backhaul congestion otherwise known as a Hot VLAN. This was a fairly common thing some time ago when the backhaul links in an exchange were over utilised and couldn't cope with the volume of data traffic. Not seen so much now but it can still happen.  Have a look at this thread, the drops in speed at peak times look very similar to yours.

https://community.plus.net/t5/Broadband/Unlimited-FTTC-Periodic-drop-of-Download-Speed-Graphed-Patte... 

You are now faced with getting Plusnet to even acknowledge there is a problem. There is another link in the above thread but Plusnet in their wisdom have recently archived thousands of older forum posts so it is no longer available. It was the same congestion issue and there was clear evidence of peak time slowness but the thread went on for months before the problem was fixed.

Best of luck getting it sorted, first line support will not have a clue, they can see your sync speeds which look perfectly OK but are not able to monitor the throughput. You need higher level support to chase it up with BT Wholesale and/or Openreach.

[#11]

@RealAleMadrid Thank you! Although it does sound like a long road ahead to fix. Presumably other people in my neighbourhood would be experiencing the same issue? Wondering if it might get things moving faster if I can have multiple households complaining about it once. But if it's just my connection that is suffering then it sounds like it's going to be an uphill battle...

[#12]

The advisor was able to see a fault and an OpenReach engineer is being sent out soon, fingers crossed they can resolve it in one go.

[#13]

The advisor was able to see a fault 

Really! did they say what the fault was ?

[#14]

@cerzi  Interesting, as your connection looks good I wonder what fault was seen.🤔 If it is as I suspect a peak time congestion issue there is no way that would be diagnosed so easily and unfortunately an Openreach engineer will not be able to do much about it, apart from possibly reporting it assuming the speeds are testing low when the engineer is present, which is probably unlikely.

[#15]

I didn't press them about the fault, they seemed quite confident but now I'm a bit worried, hah. Will see if anything is resolved as a result, hopefully they weren't just being accommodating!