Closed ticket 220864385 - Plusnet please respond

[#1]

Why have you closed this ticket on my account? Nothing has changed, the 40mb cap is still in place and my connection still drops below 30mb often. Nothing is resolved.

[#2]

Hi @andy499,

I'm sorry to see that the ticket was closed prematurely. I've had a look over the account this evening and upon testing the line I can see that (though a cap is in place) the speed is performing within the estimated range. You mentioned that the speed on your end of things is dropping below 30Mbps sometimes - when was the last time this happened and when it did happen, did you run a speedtest to get a specific performance result?

[#3]

Why is there a cap in place?? Remove it!! My speed should NOT be limited by you.

My speed is sporadic and often poor. I use
Multiple sources for speed tests rather than just one for validation, ookla, bt, Google and others, via wired, wifi and power lines

[#4]

The cap is in place, likely due to automated line settings determining that it's for the best. To expand on that, we have Dynamic Line Management Settings (or DLM for short) in place to help make sure that the connection we offer is as smooth as possible, however sometimes these can go awry. Usually a speed cap, or more accurately a lower line profile, would be put in place to help prevent the connection from dropping out and is automatically applied when the DLM settings detect frequent disconnections.

Looking back over your account tonight, I cannot see any patterns of frequent disconnections over the last 30 days and though the lower speed profile is in place, there's technically no fault on the line/with the account, as everything is currently performing as we'd expect it to. The only thing that gives me reason to pause are these sudden speed drops that you've mentioned. Idealistically, to determine whether or not there are underlying fault conditions at play here, we'd need to run further speed tests via a wired connection directly to the router - Wi-Fi is unreliable when it comes to carrying out our troubleshooting checks unfortunately.

I can put a request in to change the DLM profile, however this may be an effort made in vain until we figure out what, if anything, is causing the speed drops. Would you be happy to keep an eye on the connection and report back to us with screenshots of speed tests carried out via a direct Ethernet connection whenever they occur? If you've noticed a pattern behind the drops then this may also be key in resolving the problem for good.

[#5]

I will perform all speed tests via a wired connection, not through my mesh system. The slow speeds are sporadic, and normally during the day.

I’m requesting you remove the 40mb cap on my line, 40mb is not a fast connection and if I can get faster speeds I want this. Do not limit my speeds please.

[#6]

Additionally - please see latest connection speed BT test - less than 2Mbps.

[#7]

Thanks for sending the screenshots over. Please could you confirm where your router is currently located? Also, were these tests run on a device connected directly via Ethernet cable, or was the connection running through a Powerline Adapter?

[#8]

2mbps test direct, 18mbps through power line.

Router is located above the socket in my living room. Wifi is turned off so it’s just a modem, I use a mesh system for wifi

[#9]

Excuse me for butting in, but what speed is your Hub reporting, @andy499 ?

[#10]

I’m not sure what you mean, it’s sporadic, anywhere from 1mbps to 40mbps, often spiking.

On Friday I was monitoring network traffic on my pc, nothing connected, nothing sending or receiving and it was spiking hugely. Idling ping on Google ping was going from 15ms response to 90ms response.

[#11]

OK, maybe if you posted the Help Desk page from (i assume) your Hub1, it would answer a few questions.

[#12]

@jab1

1. Product name: Plusnet Hub
2. Serial number: +081441+NQ42619413
3. Firmware version: Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.289.1.3 Last updated 30/11/21
4. Board version: Plusnet Hub One
5. DSL uptime: 0 days, 09:03:44
6. Data rate: 8382 / 43947
7. Maximum data rate: 8378 / 50221
8. Noise margin: 5.9 / 8.6
9. Line attenuation: 30.3 / 22.1
10. Signal attenuation: 29.9 / 21.0
11. Data sent/received: 684.8 MB / 10.8 GB
12. Broadband username: [Removed]@plusdsl.net
13. 2.4 GHz Wireless network/SSID: PLUSNET-5FM5
14. 2.4 GHz Wireless connections: Disabled
15. 2.4 GHz Wireless security: WPA2
16. 2.4 GHz Wireless channel: Automatic (Smart Wireless)
17. 5 GHz Wireless network/SSID: PLUSNET-5FM5
18. 5 GHz Wireless connections: Disabled
19. 5 GHz Wireless security: WPA2
20. 5 GHz Wireless channel: Automatic (Smart Wireless)
21. Firewall: Disabled
22. MAC Address: c8:91:f9:1c:08:cc
23. Modulation: G.993.2 Annex B
24. Software variant: AA
25. Boot loader: 1.0.0

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Personal information removed from a public forum.

[#13]

@andy499 OK, quick comment as it is getting late and I'm much better earlier in a morning.

Line 5 - your uptime is very low. Are you aware of the reason for this?

Line 8 - your D/S noise margin is a little high, but won't (or shouldn't) affect your speeds as shown in those last two speed tests.

Lines 17-20 - your 5GHz wireless is still enabled. I know nothing about mesh systems, but could this be a cause?

Without stepping on Plusnet staff toes, do you know what testing they have done?

I may not respond again tonight, but I'm a little intrigued.

[#14]

@jab1

First two points - no idea, sorry.

I did notice that the 5ghz has been re-enabled for some reason. I’ve turned this off, but as it’s never used I doubt this is an issue.

[#15]

Sync speeds look good. Variable data speed slow downs are invariably caused by intermittent noise (does not show up in line tests) or background uploads.

Such noise can bring about aggressive DLM action as seems to be happening here. One of my referrals has a similar experience. The line is running below its potential, however each time the capping is removed, the DLM puts it back in place to avoid the line dropping. Engineers cannot find a line fault. Stats monitoring suggests there’s REIN around … but there’s no discernible source.

With the cap the connection is stable and more than adequate at 38+mbps. That gives rise to the question - what impact on real usage do you see when there’s a slow down?