Activation due Monday, but already connecting!

Conrad1 · Oct 31, 2007, 19:27:50

My shiny new IDNet ADSL line is due for activation on Monday the 5th of November, and my delivery of Maplin kit arrived today (shielded cable, filter and such). I've just hooked everything up and switched on my machine, and the modem sync'd straight away (showing some really good stats I might add! - Receive 8128 kbits/s Transmit 448 kbits/s noise margin 10.2 dB, Attenuation +27.5dB and the bit loading looks quite clean too! Woohoo!) - I'm a little bit concerned as to why it would connect up now though as my line is not due to activate until next Monday!

Can anyone shed any light as to why? - It still won't let me connect to the network (says invalid username/pass).

Thanks,

C.

Kheldar · Oct 31, 2007, 19:29:26

omg no !

its connected early !

quick disconnect it Conrad, else the speed will drop away and you'll never get it back !

rik was so meant to be talkingto ident about doing things early !

Lance · Oct 31, 2007, 19:32:25

I have to say I don't know the answer to this! All I can suggest is that maybe BT have done some of the work required to your line which is allowing you to sync. The fact that you can't connect to the network means that you haven't fully migrated but we would expect that seeing that the date hasn't come round yet.

ps with those stats, I'm not talking to you any more!!!

Conrad1 · Oct 31, 2007, 19:52:08

I'm just worried my old provider have still got me hooked up (even though I haven't used them (or paid them for that matter) in over six months)... Could that cause problems with switching to IDNet?

Conrad1 · Oct 31, 2007, 21:09:07

Just tried to connect again and I'm now connected! Woohoo!!!

I was being a spanner earlier - I hadn't put the username in lowercase (just copied and pasted from the e-mail)... I'm now getting a reported 11Mps download (8.1 from IDNet!)... this is SO nice! Talk about service!!!

I'M SO PLEASED!!!

Off now to do some speed tests (and have a cup of tea and some apple pie and custard) ;-)

I will report back when I'm done!

Ann · Oct 31, 2007, 21:16:09

Congrats.. have a banana.. I love banana custard..

Conrad1 · Oct 31, 2007, 21:19:13

That is SPOOKY! I was just talking to my wife about bananas (don't ask!)... and I've just eaten some custard!

My first speed test results are in:

Philip · Oct 31, 2007, 21:21:06

welcome to paradise

have a

rgt247 · Oct 31, 2007, 21:27:48

Welcome..... My line stats are

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 8128 kbps 448 kbps
Line Attenuation 7 db 2.5 db
Noise Margin 11 db 22 db

Never had a problem. Idnet just works what ever when you want it !!!!!

Lance · Oct 31, 2007, 22:49:53

Quote from: Conrad1 on Oct 31, 2007, 21:19:13
That is SPOOKY! I was just talking to my wife about bananas (don't ask!)... and I've just eaten some custard!

My first speed test results are in:

For the stats above, that speed is low. I would suggest running a bt speedtest as that should be more accurate.

Conrad1 · Oct 31, 2007, 22:57:29

Just ran a BT speed test and got back:

Profile for line: 7150

DSL Connect Rate: 448 (UP) 8128 (DOWN)
IP Throughput during test: 4270

Maybe if I try again when it's a bit quieter (say at 3am or something?) I will get better results?

Also, I think things are a little bit shaky at the moment - I've dropped connection twice this evening - don't get me wrong, I am SO HAPPY to even have any kind of connection at the moment - I wasn't expecting to have an active line until Monday! YAY!

Lance · Oct 31, 2007, 23:04:12

The low speed could just be congestion at your exchange but i wonder is you need to tweak your mtu and rwin settings as well.

The drops are likely to be because of noise on the line. If it doesn't happen too often i wouldn't worry about them but if the get more frequent then we might have some work to do! One simple thing you could do is remove the ring wire from all telephone sockets.

Conrad1 · Oct 31, 2007, 23:09:24

Ringwire already removed - plus I have some nice gold-plated, shielded cable direct from the master socket to the modem, so there isn't much noise. What's this other tweaking about... hang on - I will go read the faqs...

Lance · Oct 31, 2007, 23:15:00

You might wish to consider using a router rather than a modem, they tend to be more stable and are also much better when it comes to security.

The faq is really good, it'll answer questions you didn't even know you had!

Rik · Oct 31, 2007, 23:42:12

Quote from: Conrad1 on Oct 31, 2007, 22:57:29
Just ran a BT speed test and got back:

Profile for line: 7150
DSL Connect Rate: 448 (UP) 8128 (DOWN)
IP Throughput during test: 4270

Maybe if I try again when it's a bit quieter (say at 3am or something?) I will get better results?

I'd suggest leaving the line to settle for a few days before becoming concerned. New connections usually start out with a 2000 profile which is raised as the line gets 'recognised'. Just try to avoid dropping the connection frequently - as Lance says, routers are better in this respect.

Try another BT test on Friday and, if the profile hasn't risen, have a word with support - they will be able to see what's been happening from their logs.

Conrad1 · Oct 31, 2007, 23:49:44

The profile looks fine (at least I think it does)... Just done the MTU and RWIN tweaks and am now getting slightly better results:

I will try again on Friday.

What benefit is there in having a router if I only have one machine with a wired connection to t'internet (no wireless sharing shenanigans). Wouldn't it just be the same as having a modem?

Rik · Oct 31, 2007, 23:52:56

You'd be hidden behind a NAT/SPI firewall, so the 'net could not see your computer, only the router, and your router will check that anything coming in has been asked for by your machine (you still need to keep an eye on malware taking over your machine, but it makes it harder to happen). In addition, the router remains connected at all times, unless you turn it off, so generally provides a more stable connection over time.

Even for one computer, I'd always recommend a router.

Conrad1 · Nov 01, 2007, 00:11:44

Okay. I guess I'll have to start looking for a cheap router then! Do IDNet recommend any in particular (or offer any discount hardware?) ;-)

Rik · Nov 01, 2007, 00:20:02

They don't do discounted hardware, but they do supply the Netgear DG834G pre-configured. It can be handy if you're nervous about setting up a router.

DSL Source have the router for £43.54.

Their sister company, DSL Depot, have a range of B-grade routers. They are selling the Speedtouch 546 for £13.

Broadband Buyer has the non-wireless Netgear for £46.39, which is why I don't usually buy from them.