Very slow speed this Friday night!

[Monola]

Hi,
Is anybody getting VERY slow speeds tonight? My broadband connection is performing at 0.64Mbps instead of its usual 2Mbps. It should be 8Mbps but it has been stable for a while and I had no complanits. It has been dropping slowly all week. Last night it went down to1Mbps and now this.
Anybody in the same situation?

[lozcart]

Same here very slow. Normally 5200kb/s tonight 2200kb/s. I'm Erdington exchange (Birmingham) area.

[Lance]

I've just run a BT speedtest and it showed my speed as being bang on for my profile, so effectively no problems on my exchange in Essex.

It should be 8Mbps but it has been stable for a while and I had no complanits.

I'm going to have to correct you here. All MAX lines are sold as up to 8Mbps and the actual speed obtained is dependant on a number of factors, but primarily your (telephone cable) distance from the exchange and the quality of your line. Unless you live within site of the exchange, it's unlikely you'll get the full 8Mbps.

From what you say, Monola, I'm wondering if you have a fault or problem with your line which is pushing up the noise and in turn reducing your speed. If you post the stats from your router, as well as the results of a BT speedtest I'll take a look for you. Finally have a karma!

[Rik]

Lurking around on TB, I've seen quite a few reports of slow speeds affecting many ISPs. My guess is that BT are going through another spell of exchange congestion, but are not admitting to it.

[cosmicdance]

My speed has been fine all week - 2800 KBPS.
It got sorted out last week, I think by BT's automated profile system, as it dropped a bit to 2400 KBPS.

I'm on ADSL MAX and get this connection speed of 2800 - which is fine as I live a good way from the exchange.
Obviously 8 MB is the maximum possible if you live virtually next to the exchange.

If you know you have a steady speed and it drops then ringing Idnet, or emailing them, has always got things sorted immediately for me.
Also these forums are run by the most helpful people I've ever come across. Most problems can be sorted on here without even contacting Idnet.
Brilliant!

Andy

[Simon]

As a new customer, about to migrate in a couple of weeks, that's good to hear, Andy. 

[Monola]

Thanks everyone. Got fed up last night and gave up. The speed seems to be back to its usual 2Mbps and you are right Lance, there is no guarantee that I'd get 8Mbps. I'm not a greedy sort and am happy with 2Mbps-as long as I get it that is. If anybody could have a look at these and tell me where I stand, I'd be happy to listen.


   TEST_DATE   DOWNLOAD_SPEED   UPLOAD_SPEED   LATENCY   SERVER_NAME   DISTANCE
9/8/2007  4:46 PM GMT   733 kb/s   380 kb/s   54 ms   London                             < 50 mi

Can't get the stats. I have DR Speedtouch installed and have used it before but this time it tells me that there is a problem with the internet. I need a Proxy settings-my settings are set to' detect automatically'. Sorry but I'm really inexperienced in all this. Any idea how to obtain the stats? Why I got them in the past and not now?
Any help would be very much appreciated.

   

[Rik]

Can you do a BT speedtest and let us know the results? That will reveal your profile which, I suspect, is going to indicate the problem. I'm not sure why you're getting a Proxy error from Dr Speedtouch, though I seem to recall it had a habit of saying there was a problem with the internet when everything was working fine.

[Monola]

Thanks Rik. Here are the results. They look different to what I have posted yesterday. Is this a good reading?

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    IP profile for your line is - 1500 kbps
    DSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)  1984 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1396 kbps

[Rik]

What you have is spot on, the profile is right for the sync speed, the throughput is right for the profile. However, I suspect that the one figure we don't have is the key to this, namely your noise margin. My hunch is that it's been pushed higher by the BT software in response to perceived line instability, and that has reduced your sync speed and profile.

Is there anyone you could borrow a router from, to see if that will help? The other thing to do is to check over your wiring, following the sticky here.

[Monola]

Thanks Rik,

I have one socket with two inputs and it is different to the one in your  link. One input for the phone and the other for the extension line to which my computer is connected.  I guess it must be that extra wiring/cable that might be creating the noise and then affect the speed(?).
Will try to look into it and see what happens. Thanks for your help.

[Rik]

Are the two sockets on your face plate different, ie one takes a BT plug, the other an RJ11 (modem) plug?