Very Slow Connection

Steve · Dec 15, 2009, 22:10:09

Except I'm in Lincolnshire and this is the first night I've had decent speeds since last Wednesday. I too have down in the 0.5-1kb's with a 7150 profile .Idnet have confirmed to me that BT have said that my local exchange is congested. They have raised a fault to see if I can be shifted to another VP which may do the trick but as usual with Sod's law tonight its fine.

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 08:06:37

Now you know where your extra speed came from, Steve.

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 08:26:22

There was an outage affecting the following dialling codes: 01643 01984 01778. No reports from BT, though, of any degradation of service, so could those affected please let support have all the information you can.

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 08:37:39

I'm not in any of those dialling code areas.

This morning my router says my connections speeds are;
DownStream Connection Speed 7616 kbps
UpStream Connection Speed 448 kbps

And I've attached my stats and the results from a BT speed test I ran this morning; although I still can't run the second part of the test.
(And I also run a virus scan on all machines that use my connection, just to rule that out.)

I'm just about to give IDNet a call.

[attachment deleted by admin]

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 08:38:54

I'm on the line as I type.

klipp · Dec 16, 2009, 08:41:23

Shortly after my previous post I lost my connection entirely. According to my router log I was able to reconnect at 5:00 AM. Things seem to be back to normal now.

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 08:46:53

Quote from: Rik on Dec 16, 2009, 08:38:54
I'm on the line as I type.

I'll wait and see if they tell you about any faults they know of before I phone.

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 08:57:29

There was a MUX failure in the Peterborough area, which was cleared at 5am. Given Klipp's post, our best theory is that BT re-routed traffic, causing a slow down for everyone. If you speeds remain slow, though, that's not the answer, so get three BT tests and let IDNet have them. You have been connected by IPStream Connect since early November, so it's not yesterday's switching off of the first central.

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 09:17:22

After calling IDNet I've emailed them a copy of the results of the first part of the BT speed test; although I still can't get the second part to run, I keep getting 'page cannot be displayed messages. The first part of the test says I have download speed of 384Kpbs, which seems rather slow. Generally it's still taking quite a long time for sites to load, and streaming videos from Youtube etc. still requires a lot of pauses for buffering. If I try to use BBC iPlayer I'm getting an error message saying I've got insufficient bandwidth, and when I go to their diagnostics page their speed tester reports I have a download speed of 409kpbs.

Other people in my area were saying they were experiencing slow speeds last night and the problem at Peterborough would seem to explain it, although it's weird I'm still getting speeds reported as being so low.

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 09:23:39

I don't think it's the Peterborough issue if you're still being affected. iDNet will talk to BT, using the information you have provided them, to try and pinpoint the cause.

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 09:51:13

I'm just wondering whether it could be my router, a Netgear DG834G (v5), at fault.

The router can be a little temperamental with laptops (Vista) that connect wirelessly, with them intermittently displaying a 'limited or no network connectivity' message which is resolved by rebooting the router. Earlier posts on the forum suggested that there was a general 'weakness' in this router that was causing the problems.

While this problem may not be connected I'm just wondering whether this could be another fault in the router.

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 10:01:08

We've seen quite a few issues with v5 Netgears which have been solved by switching to a v4 model.

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 10:04:34

The v5 is currently my only router (brought to replace one that died). With the intermittent wireless trouble, and the usefulness of having a spare to test when problems such as this occur I wondering whether it may be worth getting another router.

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 10:07:28

I always have at least two. If you ask support, they may be able to lend you one to test...

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 10:17:19

Silly question, but when I phoned support they just said they'd look at the BT speed test results I emailed them and perform a line test, will they email me back or do I need to call them again later?

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 10:32:30

They'll get back to you.

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 10:41:20

I've actually managed to get my old router, a D-Link, connected and working.

As a very unscientific test I tried to used iPlayer again and got the same error message, although their speed test put me at 747 Kbps this time. Also sites still generally seemed slow to load, so I guess that rules out the router being the cause.

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 10:52:54

It seems to.

wecpcs · Dec 16, 2009, 11:25:58

Quote from: Rik on Dec 16, 2009, 10:01:08
We've seen quite a few issues with v5 Netgears which have been solved by switching to a v4 model.

After my v4 Netgear was replaced under warranty by Netgear for a replacement v4 (which looked brand new), this is now giving me problems once again. Every other day for the last 8 days (regular as clockwork), I loose my entire network and internet, but after I turn it off for a couple of minutes and turn back on again, it is fine. This has happened 4 times now over the 8 day period, so I have bought a new Netgear DGND3300 and it seems fine so far, but if I get the same problem again at least I can eliminate it as a router problem. If it remains Ok then yet another call to Netgear to sort out my v4, before I chuck it in the bin.

Colin

Gary · Dec 16, 2009, 13:44:16

Quote from: wecpcs on Dec 16, 2009, 11:25:58
After my v4 Netgear was replaced under warranty by Netgear for a replacement v4 (which looked brand new), this is now giving me problems once again. Every other day for the last 8 days (regular as clockwork), I loose my entire network and internet, but after I turn it off for a couple of minutes and turn back on again, it is fine. This has happened 4 times now over the 8 day period, so I have bought a new Netgear DGND3300 and it seems fine so far, but if I get the same problem again at least I can eliminate it as a router problem. If it remains Ok then yet another call to Netgear to sort out my v4, before I chuck it in the bin.

Colin

Never had any issues with the v4, saying that i was ok with the DG834N but I am using the DGND3300 for its 5GHz dual band wifi , its been running a few weeks, firmware is a bit buggy but it is first release but the router performs very well, toy do need to use he stand though otherwise it gets very hot, as do all the Netgears that shape. But since this is a dual band there is a lot in that flashing box

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 19:47:09

IDNet needed my phone number, and I didn't get the email until I got home tonight, so nothing else going to happen today.

Internet still running at snail pace, so it looks like I won't be watching The Thick of It on iPlayer tonight, maybe I'll have to give up and watch an actual TV.

Rik · Dec 16, 2009, 19:48:37

Didn't they have your IP address? If I'd have known, I could have helped out, but as you didn't know, neither did I.

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 19:56:11

They just asked for the test result from the first part of the BT speed test. And they can get my IP address from my phone number (my lack of technical knowledge is showing here)?

Gee · Dec 16, 2009, 22:06:26

Hi guys

I'm in London and I'm also having very slow connection tonight, normally I connect at 6.4 Mbps, tonight 384 Kbps!!! I am not sure when this has started as I wasn't logged on for couple of days. I'm on old ADSL Max 8Mbps, 5Gb dl limit.

BT test:

"Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test: -provides background information.

Download Speed
197 Kbps

0 Kbps 250 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed

Download speedachieved during the test was - 197 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 50-250 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :384 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 192 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 250 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.
Please visit FAQ section if you are unable To understand the test results.

Notes:
If your download speed lies in this range then your connection seems to be working fine.

Notes:
The Download Speed is the average rate that was achieved during this test.

Notes:
Your line is configured to the maximum rate that it can support or at your chosen fixed rate, this is known as the line rate and would be viewed through your CPE software or in your router configuration.

Your IP profile is always less than the line rate and is normal on any network. "

Speedtest.net:

ping idnet.net

Pinging idnet.net [212.69.36.10] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.69.36.10: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=60
Reply from 212.69.36.10: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=60
Reply from 212.69.36.10: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=60
Reply from 212.69.36.10: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=60

Ping statistics for 212.69.36.10:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 43ms, Maximum = 46ms, Average = 45ms

Any problems in London guys? Can anyone shed any light?

Thanks
Gee

net91 · Dec 16, 2009, 22:15:37

Sounds very similar to my situation, hopefully IDNet support can shed light on the problem. Will post here when they get back to me.