Test Router

[Rik]

Sorry, Ann, but BT - having an effective monopoly - can get away with customer service that no other company would survive.

[annc]

Hi DorsetBoy and Simon - My daughter is in West Sussex, I am in East Kent.  Oh well - we can get a nice dinner in the evening before I negotiate the M25 again.

It's not so much that I mind doing the trip, what worries me is that it may well get her no further forward (taken from my own previous experience!)

Yep Rik - BT's monopoly is ridiculous and they are fast eliminating any potential for competition re: fiberoptic lines.

[Rik]

I love the TV ad which implies only they can supply fibre.

[Steve]

Bullsh*t is high in  fibre I believe.

[Rik]

And grows great mushrooms.

[annc]

Hm - Back again 

I have just downloaded the manual for the router that IDnet sent my daughter and it states the following:
Note: Do not connect the DG834G to the ADSL line through a microfilter unless the microfilter is a combination microfilter/splitter specifically designed for this purpose. Doing so will prevent the built-in ADSL modem in the DG834G from establishing a connection to the Internet. If you have any doubts about this, connect the DG834G directly to the ADSL line.

Now - as she has no phone connected, could she just try plugging the router directly into the socket without the splitter.  I am not sure what type the splitter sent with the modem was.

Thanks
Ann

[Steve]

I think the manual is just stating that the correct type of filter is required and if no phones are connected no filter is required. I think it unlikely that the filter is of the incorrect type if it came with the router.

[annc]

Thanks Steve - just wondered if she should try plugging the router in directly without the splitter (should that be done?).  Do you think that is worth a try?  Sorry Steve - just reread your post.  I think I will get her to remove the filter and plug the router directly into the socket - that way another piece of equipment will be eliminated.

IDnet didn't really comment on the results of the test router and whether that also dropped.  I think I will buy another wireless modem router and take it down with me next week just to try.  Does anyone have any suggestions as to a good router?

Ann

[Steve]

Can you recall which router was attached when you posted below?

Well IDNet are saying that the line hasn't dropped in the past couple of days and that the speed should pick up in a few days time.  We will wait and see.  They have asked BT to do a manual reset (whatever that is)  She is still only getting 500kbs download speed however.

It is obviously possible that the supplied Netgear is faulty but I believe a BT visit has been organised? Is it worth spending more money until you have the results of this visit?

We've had good reports of users with the Draytek 2710N recently (it's not cheap or in a fancy case)

When you do visit can you post a BT speedtest and the router stats please. -http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php

We also recommend for those users with frequent resyncs using a 24hr margin monitoring program called routerstats

http://www.vwlowen.co.uk/internet/files.htm


It might pay dividends to take a length of ethernet cable so you can eliminate poor laptop wifi performance as a possible cause of poor throughput.

[annc]

OM Goodness - yes they obviously did comment  - must be having a senior moment  I wonder why they have called BT out instead of replacing the router    Will still buy another to take down and get it configured.

I will try and run a BT speedtest when I am down there - although when my own internet was playing up last week and my speeds dropped for a couple of days (think BT was messing around somewhere) I just couldn't get anything from the BT speedtest site - just kept getting error messages.  Will also get router stats and bring back with me.  

Don't know how much will be possible - especially downloading any software - because her connection has now dropped to dial up - practically nothing.  

Thanks again for all the help and support    

[sobranie]

I'd be very interested in the speeds that her neighbours are achieving. Eg: If she is the only one getting 500k in the building then there is something sorely amiss of course.
Here's a shot in the dark, new carpet maybe and the fitter has driven a nail through the bt cable. jftr ..... not so much a shot in the dark really 'cos it happened to a friend of mine last year.

[annc]

Hi Sobranie - No - no new carpet - she moved into an unfurnished flat last April - carpet was not new.

I am seriously beginning to think it is her router.  I have been reading reviews of the DG834G (not sure whether she was sent that or the DG834GT - again will check when I am down) anyway seems like a lot of people have experienced continuous drop outs with this particular router. It also gets extremely hot! As I said before, if the test router didn't drop out ??   However, reading reviews of various wireless ADSL2+ modem routers none of them seem brilliant so not sure what to get that will be relatively cheap and easy to set up.  I have a belkin N+ which has never caused any problems for me - but that also doesn't get particularly good reviews. Ho hum - the joys of broadband !

[Steve]

Unfortunately when one looks at reviews and comments on adslrouters there's a lot of bias,people who are unhappy tend to post.

[sobranie]

I use a netgear V4, far superior to the V5 which did tend to go haywire occasionally. (Lots of comments around on this I believe).

Back to the prob, I really really do think she should liaise with neighbours to ascertain whether their speeds are lousy too and, if so, report it to IDNet.

Sorry to harp on but 'nail in the wall' is a possibility too!

[annc]

Can someone confirm this or not.  Went to PC world to buy a different router and was told by salesperson that as ISP is IDNet I could only use a Netgear router.  Is this true, would a belkin or other make not work with IDNet?

[Rik]

Typical PC World rubbish I'm afraid, Ann. Any ADSL router will work, but avoid Belkin, we've seen a lot of problems with those.

[Simon]

It's cr*p!  You've only got to look around the forum to find people using Belkin, 2Wire, and any other router you can think of, with IDNet.  Netgear do, of course, also make cable routers, which can't be used with ADSL.  Maybe you happened to pick one of those up in the shop? 

[annc]

Thanks for that - I thought it sounded a bit weird.  I hadn't picked up any router and to be honest they didn't have a very large range - mostly belkins.  Think I might just buy another DG834G from Amazon - they are only £29. At least then if BT insist that there is no problem their end I can try a different router .  Unless anyone can suggest something else that is stable and easy to set up and not too expensive (ADSL2+ wireless modem router).  DG834G she has at the moment gets red hot - doesn't seem too good to me.

[Rik]

Do you know her line attenuation off hand, Ann? (Oh, and have you tried the Netgear stood on its side?)

[talos]

I know it's fashionable to diss Belkin at the moment, but let me put it into perspective.
                                I bought a Belkin wireless modem/router 2 years ago, mainly because of the promised "lifetime warranty" and I had bought Belkin products in the past and found them to be expensive but reliable.      Two weeks ago I began to have connection drop-outs when using a laptop wirelessly at extreme range, I did all the usual checks and concluded the router was failing, so I Emailed Belkin support for advice, they took me through the usual diagnostic routines and agreed to change the router under the G'tee, all this was achieved within 3 days last weekend, which I thought was quite impressive given their recent reputation.    On Tues this week I received an Email from their returns dept requesting me to return my faulty unit to them using the enclosed prepaid label,  I explained again by Email that to return it would leave me with no Internet connection at all since I do not have a spare modem, they asked do I rely on having a connection at all times to which I said yes and explained my circumstances,  by return I received another Email to the effect that they had decided to forgo their usual returns system and had released a replacement for immediate dispatch.  A new unit arrived by courier next day.
                                          All this was achieved by Email within a total of four days including a weekend.    Now I will reserve my judgement on the reliability of their products, but the quality of their customer service was outstanding and I would happily recommend their routers to anybody,  but please don't listen to the children who work at PCworld, they have no idea of what they are talking about.

[Rik]

Have to agree with your last remark, Bob.

[DorsetBoy]

Can someone confirm this or not.  Went to PC world to buy a different router and was told by salesperson that as ISP is IDNet I could only use a Netgear router.  Is this true, would a belkin or other make not work with IDNet?

Ann, PCW stands for Positively Clueless Wallies .........  if you know how to switch a PC on you are usually far better educated than the staff in that wonderful place, it is very easy to make them cry if you ask a really interesting question.

I dare not go back to our Poole branch, the last time I went in my nephew was with me, a staff member repeatedly came up to us and asked if they could help,no matter how many times they were told "no thanks, just browsing" back they came. At the last try my nephew said "Ok, I can't seem to find any sepia cartridges for my HP printer ..... if you don't have those do you have any sepia filters for a Humax scanner so I can scan direct in sepia colour?" ..........  " I'll just go and ask my supervisor" and off trots the unfortunate chap.

[Rik]

 

[annc]

Update:

Was down at daughter's yesterday.  Very helpful BT engineer turned up and found fault on the line.  Put it right (not sure I understand what was wrong but fine now).  

Before I left this morning the results of a BT speedtest were as follows:

download 4949
DSL Connection rate 6688 down
                              448 up
IP Profile 5500

Noticed from Speedtester.com that her pings were quite high at 75 - well they are much higher than mine.

Before he left the BT Engineer told me to contact IDNet as they may want to reprofile her connection.  I did this.  The person on support felt that it may not be neccessary.    I know that she is on ADSL Max.  I asked whether, now the connection is stable, she could be upgraded to ADSL 2+.  He felt it best left a few weeks as moving her on the exchange could cause further problems.  
Still getting a whole 5Mbs down is such a vast improvment on 500kps  

Ann

[Glenn]

Good to get a helpful BT engineer.