Hello!
I'm glad I've found this forum, seems like all the people here have something nice to say about Orange
Here's my little problem:
I have an 8MB Unlimited broadband connection with the lovely Livebox for months now. The speed was fine, though it never went higher than 6.5MBs which was fine with me.
I got a letter like a month ago stating that I've exceeded the 40GB limit (the what? ) with 100GB so I have to cut it back or something bad will happen. So I did.
Yesterday (Friday) afternoon I was browsing the net and suddenly the speed went down to 0.1MB just like that, from itself. Since then, it's at a constant 0.1MB rate. I also checked it with speedtest and thinkbroadband, both are showing 0.1MB download speed but also 0.4MB upload! So actually, my upload speed did remain the same and it's now 4 times faster than my download speed!
I phoned Technical Support and Customer Support a few times, did all the crap like resetting the Livebox 5 times, changing all the cables, the ADSL filter, restarting the PC, clearing cookies and I did a full format as well. They will do a line check today and I have to call them back in 24 hours now I'm getting afraid of the whole thing. The things I read here on this forum...
Anyway, is it possible that my download speed dropped down just like that while my upload speed is the same? Could it be related to that letter I got for exceedeng the 'unlimited' limit? If so, they haven't told me about crippling my download speed (and I called them a few times believe me).
I am using a wired connection btw.
Thank you for reading this through and I'm hoping for a clever answer
That's your first mistake......you have an up to 8mb (i.e. 2mb to <8mb) with a 40gig (or 50 gig depending which CSR you talk to) max. limit connection.
_________________ An ex-Orange guinea pig
"The first third of our lives is ruined by our parents, the second third by 0range then along comes 02 and you die happy."
Why is that a mistake? Should I rather have slower speeds with less limit? That 40GB is easily exceeded in a few days as it is. And having a slower connection can be quite a pain.
Just to update things, I've called technical support today, they told me that they are absolutely sure that my download rate isn't capped because of that letter I got but I still have to wait one more day for the line check results. I think I'll try to get a separate router for testing. Maybe it's just my Livebox playing crazy. I don't know.
Funny you should mention this. I'm finally building myself a new machine, and downloading quite a few large patch files. The last patch (170MB) was going to take 2 hours to download. I just rebooted the router and it will be much quicker
Do Orange do any kind of traffic shaping when they see your download usage shoot up like this?
I had that slow-speed effect myself, I've just reseted the router and everything worked like charm after that. Before this Friday, lol.
I don't think they do any traffic shaping. However, the letter I got mentions something about limiting your connection but that's only if you exceed the limit for months. Download speed usually depends on the dl servers. You can get the same patch at 15k and 700k depending on where you're downloading it.
I had that slow-speed effect myself, I've just reseted the router and everything worked like charm after that. Before this Friday, lol.
I don't think they do any traffic shaping. However, the letter I got mentions something about limiting your connection but that's only if you exceed the limit for months. Download speed usually depends on the dl servers. You can get the same patch at 15k and 700k depending on where you're downloading it.
I'm actally starting to beleave I've been 'capped' without warning myself... it's been almost a month now and still very low speeds from the livebox even tho thec support insist that I should be downloading at 4MB.
problem being these days a software 'patch' being from windows or patching your gaming software is about 50-200MB a time and if Orange's 'fair usage' is in fact 40GB thats not nearly enough to cover patching or even displaying their own pages considering those pages themselfs are flooded with at least 5mb graphical ads PER PAGE thats JUST to check web email it's just far too low by todays surfing standards..
It would certainly help if techical support where based in UK and working with accounting so we would know what the damn is going on
Most providers do this by setting peak and normal daytimes. So when you're downloading from 8am to 10pm (peak) for example, your speed gets limited but you can safely download in the evening, without any bandwith control.
This is also an annoying feature but at least they won't give you any trouble.
And yes, 40GB is nothing. If you're downloading updates, a few patches, digital things you bought from Steam or Direct2Drive fro example (a computer game takes 4-8GB by itself, a movie 4.5 and so on) you can easily exceed that limit in a few days.
Have you run a speedtest on the BT speedtest to check the profile, a sudden drop like this and it remaining down would usually be caused by the profile. Orange don't lower connections like this, least never have before and never heard of any plans for them to do so.
If the profile is low but the downstream rate is showing high then it should go back up within 3 days, providing it's stable.
What do you mean by 'profile'? Yes, as I mentioned in my first post, I ran speedtest and thinkbroadband a couple of times, both were showing the same crippled dl speed.
Yesterday I went home, and the speed was 6-7MB again. I couldn't believe it. Hopefully it will stay that way.
I haven't done anything in the meantime though. When I phoned Orange yesterday in the morning, I asked them about the line test and they told me to wait another 24 hours.
But this wasn't enough to satisfy me so I asked the guy about the possibilities. Told him, that I did everything I could on my side, so it must be something unique or technical. Finally we got in a nice conversation, going through all the potential problems. He also mentioned that he'd love to send me a new Livebox but they have to do that line check so they can be sure that nothing else can be wrong.
He sounded a bit exhausted but was very calm and helpful. I think he was English, I've only spoken with Indian supporters before and most of the time had trouble understanding them (being a foreigner myself). But the majority has knowledge about things and they know what they are doing. And at least that's a good thing.
I will call them today about the outcome of the line check and ask them what they found and done that put the speed back again. Hopefully that information will help someone else in the future.
What do you mean by 'profile'? Yes, as I mentioned in my first post, I ran speedtest and thinkbroadband a couple of times, both were showing the same crippled dl speed.
The profile is a dynamic system used as part of the BT IPStream Max connection you're on. It's used as a way of keeping a connection stable and connected where a fixed speed connection may just drop out intermittantly or not work in the same situation. It does this by using a couple of systems and the profile, which sets a speed for the line, limiting it down when there are problems and allowing it to move up when it's stable. There is only 1 way or viewing the profile I know of normally and thats by running a speedtest specificall on:
http://speedtester.BT.com/
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Yesterday I went home, and the speed was 6-7MB again. I couldn't believe it. Hopefully it will stay that way.
Thats normal for the system, it determined your line was now stable after whatever minor glitch hit it before and moved the profile back up to compensate.
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I will call them today about the outcome of the line check and ask them what they found and done that put the speed back again. Hopefully that information will help someone else in the future.
It may have found a problem but as your profile has gone back up which takes some time of stablity then it most likely found nothing wrong there.
I guess you were right, I managed to phone them (wasn't easy), and was told that they got an engineer to fix it (if there was anything to fix), and now my line should be okay. Well, it is. Some weird stuff...
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) with 100GB so I have to cut it back or something bad will happen. So I did.
