Youtube buffering and very slow page loads

[#1]

 So I can't put my finger on exactly when this started but over the last month I've become increasingly aware that page load times are getting noticeably worse, like pages that should just come up on demand are taking maybe 10s sometimes.

I'm on ADSL2 currently as for a long time a line speed of 12-14M and test speed of 8M was enough for my needs and for a long time I don't think VDSL was an option.

Anyway I'm not saying I definitely have or have not got a fault, the actual broadband connection appears stable but this is bringing up memories of the "French disconnection", a wierd peering problem from about ten years ago.

Alternatively my router might be acting up in some odd way though I find that unlikely or...

some other device on my LAN might be blocking things as I now have three set-top-boxes on Wifi or

My Wifi password might have leaked though I haven't seen any obvious sign of that here. At work a neighbor torrented a movie well outside of office hours, hmm...

FWIW things have been running so well for so long I've kind of forgotten how to do a router swap but I have tried turning it off for 30 seconds.

[#2]

With ADSL I would be thinking about something filling up the (very low capacity) upload.

When I had ADSL it was anything that did syncing (phone photos, OneDrive etc.) that killed downloads.

I tried various things (Quality of service on the router for example and limiting individual clients) but a VDSL upgrade was the thing that really sorted it for me.

I would also suspect the set top boxes doing "something".

If you can get it and full fibre isn't available, VDSL to get a better upload speed will probably be a good bet.

[#3]

@oliverab 

ADSL can suffer from bufferbloat due to the low upload speed, the plusnet Hub Zero suffered from this issue more than the Hub One.

Have you checked to see if can upgrade to Full Fibre using either Openreach or Alternative network ?

This link https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/broadband-coverage may help inform you of what is available.

[#4]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try to remember to look at the activity and I might try tinkering with QoS settings.

Thinking about an upgrade...

[#5]

I checked on the router and I couldn't see any sessions other than the PC.

The funnt part is when I found out about Cloudflare's speed test, it is amusing to watch the test result start off at 0.5Mbps and then suddenly boost up to 10Mbps+. I'm guessing that's when Plusnet's traffic shaping detects that it is being tested and takes the limit off?

[#6]

Plusnet don't have any traffic shaping, haven't for a long time now.

[#7]

Well if it isn't shaping then why?

I don't believe anything's changed at my end, same router and the line stats are good

[#8]

@oliverab  - both @markhawkin  and @Dan_the_Van have made the obvious suggestion - if you can, upgrade to FTTC , or even better, FTTP if you can.

Please post the result of https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL , but do not forget to redact your phone number, and then we can offer suggestions.

ADSL is is really, really old tech - most ISPs won't even offer it unless you are one of the miniscule few who do not have any other choice.

Which router are you using, and how old is it?

[#9]

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@jab1 wrote:

ADSL is is really, really old tech - most ISPs won't even offer it unless you are one of the miniscule few who do not have any other choice.

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That's true, but lots of rural areas and some urban addresses still only have ADSL2+ as their only OR option - that's all OR can offer in my area. I'm just glad I don't have to use it.

[#10]

FWIW the router's a Draytek 2830Vn, not the newest I know but from experience Drayteks just don't wear out ... though the power supplies do sometimes.

Currently the line rate is very good, sync at 14M and that should be able to deliver 10M down so I don't see any reason for the ridiculous slowdowns.

Having said that today it seems to be running quite smoothly.

[#11]

@oliverab You have received replies to your issues, which could help, but you have not responded to any of them, merely carried on with your 'complaints'. If you really want help, it may be an idea to to engage.

[#12]

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@corringham wrote:

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@jab1 wrote:

ADSL is is really, really old tech - most ISPs won't even offer it unless you are one of the miniscule few who do not have any other choice.

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That's true, but lots of rural areas and some urban addresses still only have ADSL2+ as their only OR option - that's all OR can offer in my area. I'm just glad I don't have to use it.

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Tell me about it, I remember when our factory could only get about 3M on ADSL so I didn't even bother trying to get ADSL2+ service. About 2016 maybe we got a non Plusnet FTTP service and that drew a line under the whole mess, no more congestion, no more 7-o-clock drop (though in fairness that turned out to be a bad power supply and not Plusnet)

[#13]

I also attempted to post the results page as requested but I can't see it now so I'll try again:

Featured Products	Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)		Upstream Line Rate (Mbps)		Downstream Handback Threshold(Mbps)	WBC FTTC Availability Date	WBC SOGEA Availability Date	Left in Jumper
	High	Low	High	Low
VDSL Range A (Clean)	80	67	20	19	61.4	Unavailable	Available	--
VDSL Range B (Impacted)	80	66	20	19	60	Unavailable	Available	--
G.fast Range A (Clean)	--	--	--	--	--	Unavailable	--	--
G.fast Range B (Impacted)	--	--	--	--	--	Unavailable	--	--

Featured Products	Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)	Upstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Downstream Range (Mbps)	Availability Date	FTTP Install Process
WBC FTTP	Upto 1000	Upto 220	--	Available	1 Stage

ADSL Products	Downstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Upstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Downstream Range(Mbps)	ADSL Availability Date	Left in Jumper
WBC ADSL 2+	Up to 10.5	--	8.5 to 12.5	Available	--
WBC ADSL2+ Annex M	Up to 10.5	Up to 1	8.5 to 12.5	Available	--
ADSL Max	Up to 7	--	6 to 8	Available	--
WBC Fixed Rate	2	--	--	Available	--
Fixed Rate	2	--	--	Available	--

SOADSL Products	Downstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Upstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Downstream Range(Mbps)	WBC SOADSL Availability Date	Left in Jumper
WBC SOADSL 2+	Up to 10.5	--	8.5 to 12.5	Available	--
SOADSL Max	Up to 7.0	--	6.0 to 8.0	Available	--
SOADSL Fixed Rate	Up to 2	--	--	Available	--

Observed Speeds	ADSL
Max Observed Downstream Speed	14.16
Max Observed Upstream Speed	0.83
Observed Date	2024-06-07

Other Offerings	Availability Date
VDSL Multicast	Available
ADSL Multicast	Available

Premise Environment	Status
Bridge Tap	U
VRI	N
NTE FacePlate	N
Last Test Date	19-05-2024

Exchange Product Restrictions	Status
FTTP Priority Exchange	N
WLR Withdrawal	Y
SOADSL Restriction	N

[#14]

OK, thanks for that. As you can get FTTC, which will give you much better speed and reliability at probably the same price as you are paying for ADSL, why have you not investigated the option?

[#15]

OK maybe I should have tried before but I was unaware that I could directly obtain clear availability information.

So my options ...

I'm in a household with my parents who are both landline users. I'm aware that at some point we'll be forced to give up analogue service but I'm really not in a position to do anything that will accelerate the change.

So is there an upgrade path to VDSL?

I'm not clear, the deals I'm offered appear to be full fibre, so I'm assuming if I upgrade I'll either get FTTP or SOGEA, and either way I'll have to explain to my parents that "we don't have phones like that any more".

2025 isn't that far off so I guess it is a discussion we need to have anyway though.