Sudden slow down - advice please?

[boomboomer]

Hi guys, until a couple of days ago my connection delivered it's usual 6Mb without fault - very stable and never drops. Now I can't get above 2Mb, tried rebooting the router, logging BT domain and running the speed test directly (it won't run - do I need the Service ID?) but nothing helps. My phone's 3G connection is currently faster than the broadband!

Before I contact support can someone please advise on my router stats, as the last time this happened I needed a new router?

Port    Status    TxPkts    RxPkts    Collisions    Tx B/s    Rx B/s    Up Time
WAN    PPPoA    13639    15882    0    1887    15862    00:17:35
LAN    10M/100M    12391    10447    0    9700    1335    00:23:05
WLAN    54M    4478    4634    0    2861    387    00:23:00

ADSL Link    Downstream    Upstream
Connection Speed 8128 kbps    448 kbps
Line Attenuation    18.0 db    10.0 db
Noise Margin    12.9 db    23.0 db

Thanks.

[Lance]

Could you run a BT speedtest and post the results? I suspect that you've got a low profile (which should sor itself over the next few days).

[armadillo]

... logging BT domain and running the speed test directly (it won't run - do I need the Service ID?)

That method stopped working for me too. But you can do the BT speed test while logged into idnet by going here
http://www.speedtester.bt.com/

That is what BT expect us to do.

[Glenn]

Another reason the test may not run is a LLU connection.

[Steve]

Looks like an adslmax sync Glenn,an LLU connection as far as I'm aware is only adsl2+.

[boomboomer]

Hi again, thanks for the replies - yes I'm on adslmax, wish I had LLU to choose, the speedtest gives me a consistent error at the 'checking user details' stage so I can't post the results.

It's a long time since I've used it, but I'm sure I had to enter the Service Id details to get that tester to work previously.... ?

[Steve]

I normally just enter the phone number, If you can't get your IP profile hopefully support will able to give advice on Monday.

[boomboomer]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1841624467.png

is the next best thing?

[Steve]

It just proves a point, however your IP profile could be 2000 or 7150 or anywhere in between . This is set and regulated by the BT dslam at your local exchange and limits the maximum throughput. If you've had a low sync event as Lance suggested it could well have fallen very low, although it falls quickly it takes several days to fully recover. In some cases it gets stuck as yours may have done as it should have risen already. There are other reasons for low throughput i.e. local exchange congestion at peak times, in this scenario you should see normal throughput in the few hours before dawn.

[boomboomer]

Okay, now it gets a little weird - I phoned support earlier, the nice lady ran a test and said my profile was not stuck and it was either exchange congestion or a fault in the home.

As I live in a village where the average age is 80 I doubt congestion is an issue, also the speedtest results are consitently below 2Mb whenever I run the test.

Anyway, I've now disconnected the router and blown the dust of my old Speedtouch 330 USB modem, unplugged the master socket and fitted it directly into the test socket - hey presto 2Mb....

So I visted the BT speedtest and this time it ran:

Download speedachieved during the test was - 1.89 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 400 Kbps-2 Mbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :8.13 Mbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 2 Mbps

It looks to me like my profile is stuck at 2Mb? So what do I tell IDNet now, why did she tell me my profile was 7.1Mb?

Any help please?

[Steve]

If your connection is stable without re syncs, I think you have good evidence that your profile is in fact stuck at 2MB. We have seen differences  between reported profiles and actual profiles in the past. I think forward support the BT Speedtest result as evidence and see what they say.

[boomboomer]

Thanks for the quick reply Steve, if only all technical support was that fast!

Email sent to IDNet, with both speedtest results and router stats asking nicely for them to take another look - hopefully they'll question the profile mismatch with BT.

[Lance]

It wouldn't be the first time that there has been a profile mismatch between what support see and what the actual situation is. Fortunately you've managed the all important by speedtest which is the only thing BT accept.