I'm not really good when it comes to technical stuff, but I'm hoping someone can assist me here.
I've been with Orange since the old days of Freeserve, gradually going from 56k, to 2mb, then finally 8mb around a year ago.
My service in the past year has been alright, had no major problems really. My speed was usually around 7.4mb, I wasn't too fussed really about it being a little less than 8. However, since around a week before Xmas, I started having problems with my connection. My speed never seems to top higher than 5.3 now, and it has been badly interfering with the phone line. (this was never a problem before)
I don't understand what's happening here, I've not changed anything with the wiring/connection. I assume the wiring is fine since it worked perfectly before. I've tried various things since then to fix it, such as switching around the filters, reinstalling my modem, but nothing has solved the problem yet.
I'm not sure what info I can provide about my connection, other than the following taken from a connection test taken today from www.speedtest.net :
Download: 3899 kb/s
Upload: 362 kb/s
I assume more info would be required here, so please let me know what else I'd need to provide. (and possibly how to do it)
Oh, and I'm still using the Speedtouch modem, not the new livebox thing. The Speedtouch modem has always worked fine for me, so I'm not sure if that could be related to the problem. Also, I've noticed others talking about being switched to some LLU(?) service. I don't believe this is what has happened here as my upload rate is still higher than 288 kb/s.
If anyone could give me some advice on how to fix this, I'd be really grateful. <3
If it's interfering witht the phone line it could be a dodgy ADSL filter.
Try unplugging the phone and filter and just connecting the broadband on its own to see if your connection speeds back up.
If it does then it's the filter.
My speed never seems to top higher than 5.3 now, and it has been badly interfering with the phone line. (this was never a problem before)
I don't understand what's happening here, I've not changed anything with the wiring/connection. I assume the wiring is fine since it worked perfectly before. I've tried various things since then to fix it, such as switching around the filters, reinstalling my modem, but nothing has solved the problem yet.
As cosmicdance said checking the filters and the wiring setup is the place to start. Even though you've not changed anything it doesn't mean it's "right" or that something hasn't gone wrong somewhere.
Quote:
I'm not sure what info I can provide about my connection, other than the following taken from a connection test taken today from www.speedtest.net :
Download: 3899 kb/s
Upload: 362 kb/s
Also, I've noticed others talking about being switched to some LLU(?) service. I don't believe this is what has happened here as my upload rate is still higher than 288 kb/s.
You're right, your upload speed pretty much proves you're on an ADSL Max connection and not LLU.
There's 2 pieces of information that will help to start with.
Go to http://speedtester.BT.com/ and run the test noting down the IP profile and the downstream rate (the actual speed result isn't that important at this point). This will give an idea what sort of problem it actually is.
Depending on the results the noise margin for the connection might be useful but that's a little harder to get from a speedtouch, I think the useful links thread links to a guide of how to get it.
Tried the filter checking idea but no difference sadly. Infact since writing my first post, I've had my connection drop as low as 3.9 mbps.
I also tried using Dr.Speedtouch too, and it displays an error when reaching the Internet stage stating: "A problem is detected to the Internet" I followed the troubleshooting guide that followed, but it didn't help. I hope any current/former Speedtouch users can possibly help with this.
As for providing further info, I'll get around to doing that http://speedtester.BT.com/ later on in the day. I need to catch some sleep for the moment.
Thanks for the help so far, I'll reply later in the day with my results.
Joined: 23 Dec 2007Posts: 43Location: Deptford, London
just a little input from me. i guess that the BT line might be faulty - ie the line is breaking off somewhere.
it would prove me right if you also occasionally lost connection since the speed dropped. i had similar problems before - especially in terms of noise on the telephone line. therefore, you might need to call BT fault team to check your phone line.
Tried the http://speedtester.BT.com/ site, didn't get far at all. It just went idle when it came to the actual testing stage. I'll try that again shortly though.
In the meantime, www.speedtest.net is now showing my Download rate as being - 2853 kb/s. (Upload remained the same as before)
I also tried using Housecall, but this failed to launch too. (just went idle again) Orange mentioned that a virus could cause connection problems like this, whether they're right or not, I don't know. I've currently scanned with Norton & AVG, and neither picked up anything.
@jason - I haven't lost connection too much really. However if the phone is picked up, my connection now dies a few seconds later. Will see if I can ask BT about the line though, thanks!
Edit: Just got cut off now actually. After reconnecting, my speed is now showing as 3.4 mbps. It seems to be getting worse each day.
Alright, managed to finally get the speedtester.BT.com site working, and have produced the following results:
IP profile for your line is - 3000 kbps
DSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM) 3776 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)
Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2694 kbps
Also, I managed to get the log file from my Dr.Speedtouch program, and this showed the following:
IP profile for your line is - 3000 kbps
DSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM) 3776 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)
Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2694 kbps
ReceiveAttenuation_dB= 22
ReceiveMargin_dB= 15
Looks like a line fault from that. The sync speed is dropping along with the download speed indicates this.
However your margin looks to have targetted 15db, the maximum it can and usually indicates some form of instability. It's not all that simple though as if it was targetted back at 6db (default) then you'd be able to get around 5.5meg. Margin changes need about 2 weeks of stability.
You could get Orange to run a line test but depending on what your MSR is it may come back saying there's no problem at the moment.
Got any christmas lights, especially flashing ones, that are nearby? They can play havoc with broadband.
There is actually Christmas lights on the window nearby the main phone socket. However they're currently switched off/unplugged. (they couldn't still affect the line when unplugged, right?)
I will see if I can get Orange to check the line, but I'm not holding my hopes up on that one.
There is actually Christmas lights on the window nearby the main phone socket. However they're currently switched off/unplugged. (they couldn't still affect the line when unplugged, right?)
Completely unplugged they shouldn't have any effect what so ever. Just remember it's doesn't just include within your property, there have been people who got this from their neighbours lights etc.
Christmas can bring a few of these problems to the surface. Don't worry about it, just keep it in mind if it comes and goes at particular times etc.
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