Speeds capped at 39.99 and VPN issues.

[#1]

Hola folks, 

Issue 1.

I'm hoping that someone can help here. We have had some running issues for sometime, and these have been resolved by Openreach engineers visiting the property, however they nearly always come back to haunt us. It seems my connection is banded to lock at 39mb, whereas previously we've been seeing 47-48mb.

Have exactly the same issue as the one listed below, and I've attached some screenshots.

https://community.plus.net/t5/Broadband/Speed-capped-to-39-99/m-p/1933585#M359521

Issue 2.

Also we've had an ongoing issue with VPN software with Plusnet, using Global Protect and IP Vanish to name but a few, and based on the number of posts in the forum related to VPN's it seems we're not alone. 

Effectively, we can always guarantee that we'll have a working VPN for an hour or so, before suddenly the VPN stops working and will not connect. If we then stop the connection and wait for an IP refresh after an hour or so, the chances are it will reconnect without an issue, sometimes lasting longer, sometimes less. However once that connection is lost, the WAN ip address is then locked out so we are forced to refresh. As you can imagine, this is remarkably difficult to deal with especially when working from home relies on these pieces of software.

Can someone please advise?

Thanks,

Stu.

[#2]

@evostu it does look like your speed is capped and it's below the main guarantee so I'd suggest raising a fault.

Your VPN problem sounds similar to this https://community.plus.net/t5/Broadband/VPN-Issues-on-Static-IP/td-p/1903945/page/2 where the VPN server is not releasing a policy for a stale connection and so won't connect again from the same IP.  I'd suggest contacting your VPN admin and getting them to check the logs

[#3]

This would be yet another fault with Plusnet......I'm running out of patience if I'm being honest as it's literally every few months now, it's truly bonkers.

With regards the VPN, it's interesting as I thought the same, so I spoke to IP Vanish direct on this and spent some time trouble shooting with a chap called George who bless him, must have been cursing everyday when I logged a new issue and his name was on the ticket.

Basically with any of these VPN clients, if you connect to another server, it automatically kills, releases and renews a new IP connection, but for some reason on a Plusnet connection it doesn't do this. The only way to get a new valid connection is to completely renew the WAN IP with plusnet which takes between 45-65 minutes, which as you can imagine is a nightmare.

Weirdly though I've been connected onto my VPN now for about 4.5 hours and it's not gone down at all.

But as you've seen on the forum if you search VPN issues there are literally hundreds of known complaints, almost like there's some form of active traffic management blocking VPN traffic, which Plusnet do deny.

[#4]

This would be yet another fault with Plusnet

The VPN problem isnt a Plusnet problem. There may well be a Plusnet/Openreach problem which is causing your connection to drop which then exposes the VPN problem of failing to connect again.

Basically with any of these VPN clients, if you connect to another server, it automatically kills, releases and renews a new IP connection, but for some reason on a Plusnet connection it doesn't do this. The only way to get a new valid connection is to completely renew the WAN IP with plusnet which takes between 45-65 minutes, which as you can imagine is a nightmare

When you connect to a VPN service, your public IP and vpn credentials are combined to form a unique 'token' or policy which indentifies your VPN connection. When your VPN connection is disconnected this token should be destroyed by the VPN server. If the token is still present , a new connection from the same public IP and credentials are not possible. Hence your forcing a change of public IP works , since the VPN server thinks its a totally different connection.

But as you've seen on the forum if you search VPN issues there are literally hundreds of known complaints, almost like there's some form of active traffic management blocking VPN traffic, which Plusnet do deny.

Some of the historic VPN problems have been down to VPN server incorrectly classing some PLusnet IP ranges as non-UK. A couple of blocks of IP's were originally allocated to BT Americas but have been correctly repatriated to the UK. Most geolocalation services seem to have finally caught up with this now but its taken a long time.

I can assure you there is no traffic management or blocking UNLESS you have Safeguard enabled in which case DNS lookups to inappropriate sites will fail.

[#5]

@MisterW 

When your VPN connection is disconnected this token should be destroyed by the VPN server. If the token is still present , a new connection from the same public IP and credentials are not possible.

In the past we (where I worked) found that this is less likely to happen if the VPN connection was closed gracefully using, depending on the app using the 'disconnect' or 'logoff' option NOT using 'X' to close the app.

Even if the PC was being turned off

[#6]

@Dan_the_Van yes that's what should happen. As well as the possibility of an ungraceful shutdown, If @evostu s connection is dropping when the VPN is active , its going to do an 'ungraceful' drop of the VPN. The VPN server SHOULD tidy up but it seems some are better than others at doing it.

[#7]

Thanks for reply. Fully agree the VPN's should connect again after the disconnects happen, however it's clear they aren't.

Last night I did a test on a renewed IP, and didn't have a single drop out at all. However I can guarantee certain other IP's when I get allocated one, will not work at all, so maybe there are some IP address ranges that still exist with issues.

With regards my line "This would be yet another fault with Plusnet" this was aimed at the speed cap. This has been going on now for a period of about 18 months give or take. I'm now on first name terms with the local Openreach guys. 🙄

There seems to be a fix put in place, then the same thing occurs again, rinse and repeat. Seriously, end of tether type scenario.