Broadband speed drops dramatically

[del320]

I'm with BT and have enjoyed 5 - 5.5Mbps speeds on their "up to" 8Mbps for ages - perfectly happy.

About a week ago, I thought stuff seemed to be loading up slower so over the last couple of days I checked my speed on a variety of sites.

Lo, all came back with around 340Kbps down, 370Kbps up!

Today, after using BT's own test, I fired off an e-mail and confirmed I had checked all my gear. To their great credit, I got a phone call within 5 minutes and after more testing, somes "ums" and "ahs", I was told to check it over the next few hours. Well, it's right back up to 5.43Mbps.

My questions are:

Has anyone experienced this sort of thing?

What might have been the cause?

How was it fixed? I got the impression BT kind of threw a switch or turned up a dial at their end.

 

[x332race]

Can depend on the time of day and how many peopel are on-line in the vicinity...5.00pm is a popular time for people to surf and the sheer volume of traffice slows things down.

 

[Merc Owner 2B]

I'm with BT and have enjoyed 5 - 5.5Mbps speeds on their "up to" 8Mbps for ages - perfectly happy.

About a week ago, I thought stuff seemed to be loading up slower so over the last couple of days I checked my speed on a variety of sites.

Lo, all came back with around 340Kbps down, 370Kbps up!

Today, after using BT's own test, I fired off an e-mail and confirmed I had checked all my gear. To their great credit, I got a phone call within 5 minutes and after more testing, somes "ums" and "ahs", I was told to check it over the next few hours. Well, it's right back up to 5.43Mbps.

My questions are:

Has anyone experienced this sort of thing?

What might have been the cause?

How was it fixed? I got the impression BT kind of threw a switch or turned up a dial at their end.

I have also suffered but a full restart (reboot) of the modem restores speed.

 

[del320]

Thanks for that - two possibilities I had investigated but not applicable here.

This was over a period of 8 - 10 days, several start-ups and at random times. BT helpdesk certainly gave the impression there was a fault somewhere.

 

[Apial]

If you have a line fault, perhaps water in the cables, then the noise will cause the connection to drop and restart at a lower speed. Frequent disconnections will drop your speed down to next to nothing.

You first need to decide where the fault is coming from. Is it in your home? Is it the ADSL microfilter or perhaps a piece of equipment on the phone line? Disconnect everything and connect the broadband into the main incoming cable.

A poor phone reception will certainly also affect the quality of the broadband, so any symptoms there need to be looked at.

Cable water ingress faults can come and go, and I wouldn't be surprised that salty water is causing a lot of the problems in areas that have underground road cables wher a lot of road grit was used recently.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Also if you're using Wireless - other devices on the same channel (but other network) can have a dramatic effect.

Check with InSSIDer
inSSIDer Wi-Fi Scanner | MetaGeek

 

[del320]

I'm still struggling on with speeds as low as 250 Kbps. Further tests have been done by BT including plugging my router (Voyager 205) directly into the test socket behind master socket. This confirmed the line is fine and will support 6 Mbps.

So, attention turns to my gear: BT suggested the primary culprit could well be the extension line I fitted a dozen years ago for the original dial-up. It weaves 8 metres or so around the house, upstairs - and being entirely hidden behind the walls, skirtings and facings, replacement is a non-starter. Why it should suddenly cause problems now is anyones guess - however...

So, I'm looking for good advice about using a house mains system - Home Plug/Powerline/Devolo/Belkin etc. - most likely up to 200Mbps capacity.

Any users here with hints, tips about the pros and cons?

Many thanks.

 

[CE230]

I find that if my broadband slows dramatically it's usually the daughter downloading a TV programme to her laptop.

 

[PCnerd59]

Powerline 85Mbps

I have been using Powerline adapters for over two years now work well, had to replace one due to lightening strike though - now I unplug if a nearby thunderstorm.
Powerline : Networking at cheap prices from Novatech.co.uk : Networking :

 

[HughJarse]

NO dont bother with all that.
Buy a termination socket and terminate your broadband where it enters the house ie at the master socket.

Use one of these, Im not sure why they're not fitted as standard.

::. Kitz - Improve your adsl connection speed .::

Basically it filters the line where it enters the house and reduces the problems of internal wiring.

 

[Aoraki]

We have been using the Powerline 100's for a couple of years and would recomend them. I presume the newer stuff will be much better HTH.

 

[crockers]

Wouldn't contention ratios also affect speed? Or is this now a thing of the past?

 

[del320]

BT are havin' a larf!

Back home after a few weeks in the sun and I turned my attention to my BB connection. I was still languishing at around 320Kbps down and 380Kbps up.

Having already been given guff about my extension cable being the problem, I took the time to plug the router directly into the BT test socket and trail the cables back up to the PC which I had to shift. Still 320Kpbs.

So back on the phone today to BT who ran tests and were baffled. They have arranged for a (free) visit from an engineer on Monday stating there is definitely a line fault.

Now, this very evening, the speed has mysteriously jumped back up to a reasonable 4.9Mbps. It's like some sod is flicking a switch on and off somewhere.

The whole gubbins has been sitting quietly and undisturbed for years and I just don't believe that any of my gear would just pack in for no reason.

Grrrr...

 

[grober]

Are you using a wireless LAN? Somebody might be piggybacking on your connection illegally. I should add that you personally might be using an ethernet cable but have you disabled the wireless facility on your modem/router?

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Are you using a wireless LAN? Somebody might be piggybacking on your connection illegally. I should add that you personally might be using an ethernet cable but have you disabled the wireless facility on your modem/router?

Also overlooked on wireless LANs is the background noise caused by other machines and more importantly other networks.

For example if you're on Channel 2 and you have other networks around you that share the same channel or one down (1) or one up (3) - this can also cause noise which distorts the purity of your signal which would have an effect on your overall speed.

 

[crockers]

If he had connected via ethernet - how does wireless affect his connection speed?

 

[del320]

No wireless - wired ethernet.

This morning - 510 Kbps

Still plugged into test socket!

 

[jasonyw]

Dont you guys noted that BT are replacing some copper with fibre? This could be the reason for the outrage or your router being hijacked by BT OpenZone, disable this as mentioned in another thread.

 

[grober]

Does this help? How to connect to Wi-Fi

Your security when using BT Openzone wireless broadband

I understand you are connecting via ethernet cable but are you using a router with a wireless capability?

Other possibility is you have some peer to peer software installed e.g. the BBC iPlayer Desktop?

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

If he had connected via ethernet - how does wireless affect his connection speed?

.. apologies didn't have my reading glasses on...