Connection and Sync Speed problem

[captainpud]

I am hoping someone here can help as I am not quite sure what is happening with my connection. I have been with IDnet now for a year and a half with no problems and my modem/router has always had syncs speeds of 8032 and 832. Since Friday I have had a couple of disconnects and again this morning but when I rebooted my modem/router my sync was about 200 and 500. I have rebooted a few times now with varying results and a lot of them low at about 1200/500. I now have it at 7008/832 and I dare not reboot again as it may well go right down again. Does anyone have a clue as to what is going on? is it likely that BT are messing with the exchange or is something else wrong?

Any advice greatly apprecited

Thanks

Paul

[Rik]

Hi Paul

There's a range of possibilities, including BT working on the line, an exchange fault, a line fault, a problem with the router, a problem with the filter, a problem with other devices attached to the phone line etc.

Can you describe your internal wiring setup? Do you have the type of master socket where the bottom part of the face plate can be removed? If so, what happens if you plug your router in there? What happens if you unplug everything else attached to the phone line?

Have you bought any new equipment lately, eg monitor or computer, or any other household appliance?

[captainpud]

It looks like the bottom part of the socket could be removed as it has a couple of screws, not sure I fancy doing that! It is a BT voyager 240 router which goes to a microfilter and then to the bt socket with telephone and sky also going into the filter, does that means its not a master socket?

I don't have any new equipment at all. As far as I can see none of my setup has changed at all? If I switch the router off again I am likely to lose my speed sync again and might not get it back?

[Rik]

There's a picture of an NTE5 master socket, the type I'm talking about, at the bottom of this post. I've highlighted the test socket I'm talking about.

Do you have any other phone sockets? If not, it's likely to be the master, if it looks like the photo, it is the master. Try disconnecting the Sky box. Unless you have multi-room, Sky won't be bothered. Sky boxes can put a lot of noise on the line.

You may lose speed by disconnecting the router, but if you have an NTE5 socket, it's an essential check. If the problem persists at the test socket, it's a BT fault. If it doesn't, it's down to you, and would mean that you'd be charged if BT were called out. (£160+)

What we need to do is eliminate things, the connected devices, the filter and the router. If you only have that one socket and the problem persists, then it's likely to be a BT fault.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[captainpud]

I only have one socket so I will take the plate off and give it a try, thanks for the advice . I will hopefully post back in a few minutes.

[captainpud]

There's a picture of an NTE5 master socket, the type I'm talking about, at the bottom of this post. I've highlighted the test socket I'm talking about.

Do you have any other phone sockets? If not, it's likely to be the master, if it looks like the photo, it is the master. Try disconnecting the Sky box. Unless you have multi-room, Sky won't be bothered. Sky boxes can put a lot of noise on the line.

You may lose speed by disconnecting the router, but if you have an NTE5 socket, it's an essential check. If the problem persists at the test socket, it's a BT fault. If it doesn't, it's down to you, and would mean that you'd be charged if BT were called out. (£160+)

What we need to do is eliminate things, the connected devices, the filter and the router. If you only have that one socket and the problem persists, then it's likely to be a BT fault.

Ok I have taken the plate off, swapped the filter and unplugged telephone and sky and plugged the new filter into the test socket . The problem is still there though, sync is now 6432/832. Does that mean its a BT problem or something else?

[Rik]

You still need to eliminate the router, can you borrow one from anyone?

[captainpud]

You still need to eliminate the router, can you borrow one from anyone?

I have my old BT 205 upstairs, I will try that and post again. Thanks for all the help so far 

[Rik]

NP.

[captainpud]

NP.

Just plugged in the 205 into the new filter and into the test socket and its still the same Sync is now 6336/832. I tried switching off the 205 and a different speed again 6432/800, it just seems totally unstable. Any more ideas or is that all I can do?

[Rik]

You've eliminated your router, filter, any internal wiring and any connected equipment. Mind you, I wouldn't describe that amount of variation as particularly unstable, it just suggests there's some noise around.

Two more things. If you have a battery-powered AM radio, then de-tune it from any station so that all you have is white noise. Move around the phone socket, cables etc and see if the noise levels increase, eg near your computer or monitor. ADSL operates in the MW band, so any noise you can hear your router can also hear.

Finally, if you can post your downstream attenuation, noise margin and sync speed, I can get some idea of how the line is performing. If you can manage a BT speed test, so much the better. http://test.speedtester.bt.com:50301/

[Glenn]

612Mhz is the ADSL signal according to the last BT engineer I had around

[Rik]

So the AM radio won't work, Glenn? I've been telling people to do that for ages.

[captainpud]

Just rebooted again and the sync is down to about 2000/500 again a long way from my 8032/832 of the last year and a half.

Sorry I don't have a battery powered radio.

I will plug my 240 back in again and put everything back and post the details you requested.

Thanks Again

[Rik]

612Mhz is the ADSL signal according to the last BT engineer I had around

Mmmm. This cites a different value.

Being a radio engineer type, and knowing that ADSL uses radio frequencies, I began to wonder whether the problem might be to do with increased radio interference on the line around sunset. ADSL uses frequencies from approximately 26 to 138 kHz for the upstream connection (i.e. from the home to the exchange) and in the range 138 kHz to 1104 kHz for the downstream connection (from the exchange to the home), though this frequency range is extended to just over 2200 kHz for the faster ADSL2+. Given my distange from the exchange, my connection is resolutely ADSL only (and not ADSL2+) and therefore if there was an increase in interference it would need to be in the frequency range 138 to 1104 kHz. However, as most ADSL modems are capable of running ADSL2+ even if the line is not capable of supporting it, it is likely that the receivers in them are not filtering out unwanted or unused frequencies making them susceptible to interference on frequencies up to 2200 kHz and quite possibly even higher even if those frequencies are not in use.

Now as it happens, this frequency range is home, in Europe, to both long wave and medium wave radio transmitters (in the frequency range 148.5 to 285.5 kHz and 526.5 to 1606.5 kHz respectively) and there are many high powered radio transmitters in this frequency range. Could it be that the propagation that exists around sunset causes such a significant rise in the level of signals in this frequency range that it was knocking out my ADSL connection? The telephone connections in my area are via flown cables between telegraph poles (as they are still called despite telegraph having died out eons ago) and as such probably make rather good aerials, so it is quite possible that my modem is susceptible to incoming interference from high power long and medium wave broadcast transmitters.

[Rik]

I will plug my 240 back in again and put everything back and post the details you requested.

OK, I'm just off to nosh, back in a while.

[Glenn]

Oops look like I hit a M rather than a K

[Inactive]

  Move to Milton Keynes Glenn.

[Glenn]

 

[Rik]

We could have a gathering.

[Inactive]

The place is so famous they use their logo on light switches.

[captainpud]

OK, I'm just off to nosh, back in a while.

Sorry I have been a while, major problems trying to get sync speed back and lost connection completely for a while. Syncs I have been getting are as follows 960/736, 6912/832, 1280/768 and currently 6976/832. I am going to leave it at this as I dare not switch off again for fear it goes right down again. Noise margin is 11.7 and line attenuation is 21 for downstream, these figures have been very similar since I started with IDnet, the Noise margin does go up above 12 sometimes.

Any ideas as to what is going on? should I call IDnet support in the morning so they can get on to BT?

[Rik]

Essentially, you've done all you can now, Paul. IDNet will have to test the line and then, if they can't see the cause of the issue, pass it to BT. Let them know the steps you've gone through today, as they'll otherwise ask you to take them (point them at this thread if you like).

If you can manage a BT speed test, it will add a bit more to the picture, but it looks to me as if there's something near you making a lot of electrical noise.

[Rik]

The place is so famous they use their logo on light switches.

[Inactive]

 

[captainpud]

Speed test results as requested. not bad at the minute but when I tested earlier on Think Broadband it was below 1000k

"Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 6976 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  832 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 6000 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 5605 kbps

If you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP.

If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance.

Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester."

I guess I would be happy if it stayed at this but I do seem to have lost over 1000k in speed over the last few days. I really just want it to be stable, if I lose connection again I could be right down again.

I will call IDnet first thing in the morning and hope they can sort it out.

Thank you very much for all your help, it is very much appreciated, Karma point added

[Rik]

Thanks, Paul. TBH, I'm amazed your profile hasn't taken a big hit with some of those sync speeds, but it is correct for your current sync.

[captainpud]

Thanks, Paul. TBH, I'm amazed your profile hasn't taken a big hit with some of those sync speeds, but it is correct for your current sync.

Do you think they will be able to get it back were it was or just stabilise it if not? Is it likely that BT are messing with the exchange?

[Rik]

It depends on the cause and, to some extent on your fault threshold rate, which will have been set at 70% of the maximum stable rate during your training period. BT don't recognise a fault if your speed is above that, which it currently is. However, the fluctuations should be looked into. It could be exchange work, there is a huge amount going on at the moment, but my gut feeling is that it's a line faulty, possibly a bad joint. Is your line underground or overhead? If the latter, it could be being affected by the windy weather, for example.

[captainpud]

It depends on the cause and, to some extent on your fault threshold rate, which will have been set at 70% of the maximum stable rate during your training period. BT don't recognise a fault if your speed is above that, which it currently is. However, the fluctuations should be looked into. It could be exchange work, there is a huge amount going on at the moment, but my gut feeling is that it's a line faulty, possibly a bad joint. Is your line underground or overhead? If the latter, it could be being affected by the windy weather, for example.

The line is overhead. I just hope they can find the fault, there must be something wrong for my sync speed to to be up and down like it is.

[Rik]

If it passes near or through trees, windy weather can play havoc.

[captainpud]

If it passes near or through trees, windy weather can play havoc.

Ok mate thanks again, I will post back once I have spoken to IDnet and I have more information.

[Rik]

Great, toes crossed for you. 

[captainpud]

I have spoken to Idnet but they are basically saying I need to do more testing before a BT engineer can come out or I could get charged. I am plugged into the test socket again with new filter and DSL cable and have done some more testing this morning. I rebooted the BT 240 a few times and got Sync speeds of 1200, 1900 and 1400. I then went to my old BT 205 and rebooted a few times and got about 5500, 5600 and 5700. Does this seem to indicate its my BT 240 causing the problem? Idnet have told me to leave the 205 plugged into the test socket for a few days to see if my connection stays stable, is there anything else I can do to speed up the fault finding process?

I have ordered a new BT 240 in the meantime (just in case)and it should hopefully arrive tomorrow.

Assuming it is the modem how will I get my sync speeds ack up again.

Thanks

Paul

PS Even with my 5500 or so Sync speed at the moment my download speed is 1.1meg

[Rik]

Your profile will have been affected by the slow sync events, so throughput will be down for some days. In addition, there's a risk that if you've re-booted a lot, ie more than 10 times in an hour, that the BT line management software will see that as instability and will have increased your target noise margin by 3db or more. That would incur a speed loss of 5-700k for each 3db step applied.

All you can now do is wait, BT's software doesn't rush to put things back to 'normal'. It will take up to five days for your profile to recover. If your target noise margin has been affected it will require you to maintain sync for 14 days+, after which it should drop by 3db, repeating as necessary until it reaches 6db again.

We do hear of lines degrading quite a lot these days, and my personal theory is that BT are not maintaining them to the best possible level. Unfortunately, if that is the case, there's little you can do about it.

[captainpud]

Will it be ok to switch of the 205 tomorrow to put in the new 240 or will that affect my profile even more?

I think my noise margin has gone up from about 12 to 15 when I looked yesterday.

So if everything remains stable I should get my sync speed and download speeds back in a week or so?

[Rik]

The occasional switch off is fine, it's a group of them in a small time frame which causes the problems. If you're going to make the switch tomorrow, try to do it before dark, as you'll get the best speed then.

[captainpud]

The occasional switch off is fine, it's a group of them in a small time frame which causes the problems. If you're going to make the switch tomorrow, try to do it before dark, as you'll get the best speed then.

Assuming the new 240 arrives, I would hope to swap it over in the morning, will that be ok?

[Rik]

So if everything remains stable I should get my sync speed and download speeds back in a week or so?

Sync speed will be immediate, especially if the router is faulty, albeit if the target NM has been raised, it will take 14+ days to recover the last 5-700k of possible sync speed.

Once you have the new router in place, run a BT speed test and see what your profile is. If it's low, it will increase within five days, you do not need to re-boot the router for this to happen.

[Rik]

Assuming the new 240 arrives, I would hope to swap it over in the morning, will that be ok?

Perfect. 

[captainpud]

Sync speed will be immediate, especially if the router is faulty, albeit if the target NM has been raised, it will take 14+ days to recover the last 5-700k of possible sync speed.

Once you have the new router in place, run a BT speed test and see what your profile is. If it's low, it will increase within five days, you do not need to re-boot the router for this to happen.

I am not quite sure I understand, are you saying that when I install the new 240 my sync speed should be back to 8032 when I switch it on or possibly just over 7000 because of the NM. If this is the case then why is the 205 not even near 7000. Sorry if I am being dense. I guess this assumes faulty router and not line fault.

Thanks again for being so patient explaining things

[Rik]

TBH, I don't know what sync speed you'll get. What I can tell you is that, if the target NM has been increase to 15db from the previous 12db, then you'll sync 5-700k lower because of that. However, if there's a line fault, it may not be in the 7000k range that that would imply, but down in the 5000 range. (I should add that BT may not regard this as a fault, of course, so be guided by IDNet on this.)

I note that, when you did the BT test, you were, in fact, syncing just under 7k, so I'm hopeful that the router change may do most of the work needed.

Your throughput, btw, is almost certainly being affected by the profile which will have resulted from the low-speed syncs that you saw. A BT test will confirm or confound this.

[captainpud]

TBH, I don't know what sync speed you'll get. What I can tell you is that, if the target NM has been increase to 15db from the previous 12db, then you'll sync 5-700k lower because of that. However, if there's a line fault, it may not be in the 7000k range that that would imply, but down in the 5000 range. (I should add that BT may not regard this as a fault, of course, so be guided by IDNet on this.)

I note that, when you did the BT test, you were, in fact, syncing just under 7k, so I'm hopeful that the router change may do most of the work needed.

Your throughput, btw, is almost certainly being affected by the profile which will have resulted from the low-speed syncs that you saw. A BT test will confirm or confound this.

Just done the BT speed test and its not pretty

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 5728 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  832 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 1250 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1136 kbps

If you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP.

If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance.

Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester.

I just hope it sorts its self over the next few days with the new modem in place. I presume if I am still getting slow sync speeds or disconnections after the new modem is in place then it has to be a line fault?

[Simon_idnet]

Hi captainpud

Your throughput is as expected given your Profile. If your router can maintain the current Connection Rate then your Profile should change to match.

regards
Simon

[Rik]

Hi Paul

What Simon says (I've always wanted to post that ). Essentially, your profile has taken a hit and you need to be patient while it recovers. It will be OK to connect the new router when it arrives, but don't re-boot repeatedly in an attempt to gain a better speed, just let things settle for a few days.

[captainpud]

Hi Paul

What Simon says (I've always wanted to post that ). Essentially, your profile has taken a hit and you need to be patient while it recovers. It will be OK to connect the new router when it arrives, but don't re-boot repeatedly in an attempt to gain a better speed, just let things settle for a few days.

Ok I understand that all the messing over the last few days has damaged my profile and as you say I will just have to be patient over the next week while it hopefully recovers 

Would it be better to leave the old BT 205 in place for the moment and let my profile recover before I put the replacement BT 240 in? I did a backup of the 240's config so I suppose I will be able to load this on to the new one to save messing wih the setup?

Thanks again for all your help

[Rik]

You call, it really won't make any difference to have a single disconnection, so if it's there in the morning, go for it - otherwise wait until the first available morning.

[captainpud]

You call, it really won't make any difference to have a single disconnection, so if it's there in the morning, go for it - otherwise wait until the first available morning.

Ok thanks Rik, It should be here in the morning as I have paid for an early delivery so I will put it on. I will do a BT speed test after to see what difference it makes. I will probably do a test each day for the rest of the week to see if things improve. I will post the results on here to keep a track if thats ok.

Thanks again

Paul

PS Karma +1

[Rik]

That should be fine, Paul. Expect no immediate changes, other than an improved sync speed with a bit of luck. After that, it will probably take five days for the profile to catch up. 

[captainpud]

That should be fine, Paul. Expect no immediate changes, other than an improved sync speed with a bit of luck. After that, it will probably take five days for the profile to catch up. 

Still using the old BT 205 but I have just done a BT speed test and my profile seems to be starting to recover already

"Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 5728 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  832 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 4500 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 4192 kbps

If you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP.

If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance.

Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester."

I will put in the new BT 240 when it arrives and hopefully my profile and speeds will continue to improve over the next few days.

[Rik]

That's good news, the actual time taken to recover depends on degree of change to the sync speed, a large change should happen quickly while a small one takes up to 5 days. ATM, you're 500k below the profile you should have.

[captainpud]

That's good news, the actual time taken to recover depends on degree of change to the sync speed, a large change should happen quickly while a small one takes up to 5 days. ATM, you're 500k below the profile you should have.

I just hope the Sync can get back to or near the 8032 I was getting and my speeds back to the 6.5mb download, fingers crossed for the next few days.

[Lance]

Unfortunately, degradation of lines is something I think we are all likely to see, and until there is a USO in place for BT to have to provide a decent line, there will be little we can do about it.

[Rik]

Sadly.

[captainpud]

I guess that then begs the question, what is the point of BT upgrading all the exchanges to 24mb DSL2 if none of our lines are any good to get these speeds

[Rik]

Indeed it does. As with ADSL, the headline rate will be what is sold, the 'up to' will be in small print. For me, it's unlikely that I'll gain any speed from ADSL2+, I'm at that point on the graph where the lines converge.

[captainpud]

Indeed it does. As with ADSL, the headline rate will be what is sold, the 'up to' will be in small print. For me, it's unlikely that I'll gain any speed from ADSL2+, I'm at that point on the graph where the lines converge.

I am only a 5min walk from my exchange but if my line is degrading then I guess I would not gain much although would I gain upload speed, bit of a gamer

Would it be expensive or even possible to get BT to replace the line?

[Rik]

With the kind of sync speed you have, even now, you'll gain significantly. It's once you get down to the 55db attenuation mark that there's little benefit. If the problem is not considered a fault by BT, it's next to impossible to get them to replace the line. Even if it is considered a fault, they are unlikely to if it meets the universal service obligation, ie voice and data up to 28.8k. Were you to pay them to do it, you'd be looking at thousands of pounds, probably £10k upwards.

[captainpud]

With the kind of sync speed you have, even now, you'll gain significantly. It's once you get down to the 55db attenuation mark that there's little benefit. If the problem is not considered a fault by BT, it's next to impossible to get them to replace the line. Even if it is considered a fault, they are unlikely to if it meets the universal service obligation, ie voice and data up to 28.8k. Were you to pay them to do it, you'd be looking at thousands of pounds, probably £10k upwards.

10K......ouch , I guess I need to win the lottery then

Well its nice to know I would gain some speed, I think my exchange is due to come online early next year and I see IDnet are starting to offer ADSL2. I will certainly look to change over then once it is on

[Rik]

Watch this space would be my advice. Enta have been using WBC (ADSL2+) for a while and have had quite a few problems. Hopefully, by the time IDNet are in a position to offer it, the bugs will have been resolved, but I'll not be in a rush myself.

[captainpud]

The BT 240 just turned up (late) and unfortunately I seem to have been sent a rather battered second hand one , obviously its going back. The supplier has no more 240's so I have ordered a BT Voyager 2110 as that seems to be the current model. The BT 2110 should be delivered tomorrow and the 240 picked up at the same time, they have only charged me the difference so its not to bad. Seems like more bad luck though I have also ordered an IP plate to see if this makes any difference.

The gentleman I was speaking to offered some advice about my low profile at the moment. He said that if I switch off my router and unplug all DSL equipment and basically just have a phone line for 30 mins and then plug everything back in that the exchange would see me as a new DSL user and set my profile as high as it could be. Not sure if this is correct, what are your thoughts on this Rik?

Thanks

Paul

[Rik]

He's talking rubbish, Paul. I'm afraid you're also wasting money with an iPlate, they are only of any effect when you have hard-wired extensions running off the face plate of the master socket.

[captainpud]

He's talking rubbish, Paul. I'm afraid you're also wasting money with an iPlate, they are only of any effect when you have hard-wired extensions running off the face plate of the master socket.

OK fair enough mate, I thought it sounded a bit odd anyway. The iPlate was not much anyway so I suppose it might come in useful if I ever get an extension

So I hopefully should be able to put the BT 2110 in tomorrow after todays false start.

Thanks again.

[Rik]

The only time a 15 minute disconnection will help is if you ever encounter a 'stale session' where BT thinks you are connected but IDNet don't. Toes crossed for tomorrow.

[captainpud]

Morning Rik

I have put the new BT 2110 in this morning and these are my BT results.

"Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 6656 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  832 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 4500 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 4138 kbps

If you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP.

If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance.

Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester."

When I had put the modem in and changed the settings it had to be rebooted because of the settings changes, so that would the exchange see that as 2 drops this morning? this will not damage my profile again will it?

It looks like I have gained about 800k sync back with the new modem in place. I presume in the next few days I should expect to get another 500k taking me just over 7000k when the exchange reduces my NM back to 12 from 15? How long will it take my profile to catch up to my sync speed? Also if I am syncing at just over 7mb can I expect download speeds of 5.5-6mb? When my sync was 8032 I used to get about 6.5mb.

Presuming all above is correct and I have lost about 1mb in sync, is that a fault some where or just more noise on my line? I guess BT are not going to consider it worth looking at?

Thanks

Paul

 

[Lance]

Hi Paul

When I had put the modem in and changed the settings it had to be rebooted because of the settings changes, so that would the exchange see that as 2 drops this morning? this will not damage my profile again will it?

When the router is going to reboot, it sends the exchange a small signal to say that it is rebooting and not unstable. Generally, it takes 10 or more drops for the exchange to see instability.

It looks like I have gained about 800k sync back with the new modem in place. I presume in the next few days I should expect to get another 500k taking me just over 7000k when the exchange reduces my NM back to 12 from 15? How long will it take my profile to catch up to my sync speed? Also if I am syncing at just over 7mb can I expect download speeds of 5.5-6mb? When my sync was 8032 I used to get about 6.5mb.

It takes 14 solid days of sync for the exchange to drop the target noise margin by 3db, and even then the system doesn't always work properly. As things stand now, you will get a profile of 5.5mb, with likely throughput of between 5.3 and 5.4. With another 500k of sync, you would get a profile of 6mb and throughput of 5.8-5.9.

It takes up to 5 days for your profile to catch up with your sync, but bigger changes happen more quickly.

Presuming all above is correct and I have lost about 1mb in sync, is that a fault some where or just more noise on my line? I guess BT are not going to consider it worth looking at?

Most likely, the remaining 1mb of sync will come when the target noise margin drops from 12db to 6db. Failing this, it is likely that there is increased noise on your line or your line is just degrading.You guess correctly that BT won't look at it unless there really is a fault their systems can detect.

Hope this helps!

[Rik]

What Lance said, Paul.

[captainpud]

Thanks very much Lance and Rik

I guess I just need to play the waiting game now then

[Rik]

Yup - it's time to thumb twiddle... 

[captainpud]

So hopefully by Wednesday next week I should hope to be getting just over 5mb download speeds? and then just wait and hope it goes up a bit more in the next few weeks.

[Rik]

That's it. You need to maintain a period of sync for more than two weeks, after which the target margin should reduce by 3db. I'd leave it to nearer three weeks, then re-boot the router. Note that if sync is lost at any time, the counter starts again.

[captainpud]

That's it. You need to maintain a period of sync for more than two weeks, after which the target margin should reduce by 3db. I'd leave it to nearer three weeks, then re-boot the router. Note that if sync is lost at any time, the counter starts again.

Thanks Rik, line attentuation and NM are good at the moment so hopefully can remain synced. Mind you though it will probably get to 13 days and then we will have a brief power cut knowing my luck

[Rik]

I know what you mean, it's why I run stuff off a UPS.

[captainpud]

My profile has gone up again this morning , I presume because I have been syncing at 5700 since monday. Syncing at 6600 since yesterday so my profile should be up again on Wednesday, at least the exchange seems to be doing its job at the moment.

"Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 6656 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  832 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 5500 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 4931 kbps

If you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP.

If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance.

Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester."

[Rik]

Looking good. 

[Baz]

sorry to hijack this thread but if youve had a drop in sync and you leave it to right itself for 14 days will the sync go back to what you had before or not.

[Rik]

There are two separate issues, Baz.

If you have a drop in sync, it may impact on your profile, and this will take up to five days to recover. This is the most common experience.

If you have a number of drops, particularly a cluster close together, then the BT software may decide the line is unstable and increase the target margin to try and stabilise things.

In the first instance, you need do very little apart from wait for the profile to recover. In the second case, you need to wait 14+ days, then re-boot the router to force a re-sync. Unfortunately, the exact timing (if there is one) isn't known, so re-boot too early and nothing happens except that you reset the 'clock' to zero again.

[Baz]

cheers Rik

[captainpud]

So my original sync was 8032k for about 18 months, after the problems I have been in the test socket and getting 6656k for about 30 days, no disconnections. Yesterday I rebooted the router, and it went down to about 6100k so I rebooted again and it was about 6400k. So I left it until this morning and the reboot this morning dropped me to 6000k, so tried once more and I am now on 6304K. Solid connection for 30 days which is well over the 14 mentioned and my NM has never dropped from 15 back to the 12 it was originally at.

All equipment has been replaced including new modem and all new cables. So what now as I am really not happy and the sync still seems unstable. Something must be wrong somewhere, what do I do?

Thanks

Paul

[Rik]

Have a word with support, Paul, see if they can nudge BT.

[captainpud]

Have a word with support, Paul, see if they can nudge BT.

OK will do, thanks Rik.