Kitz Forum
Broadband Related => FTTC and FTTP Issues => Topic started by: marineio on August 03, 2020, 09:58:54 PM
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Hi guys, thought i'd post here as you may be more in the know than the BT Community forum!
For the past 4-5 months we've been having issues where our router is syncing at an extremely poor upload speed (799Kbps). The router (BT Home Hub 6A now changed BT Smart Hub 2) reports frequent "USER_DISCONNECT / ERROR_NO_CARRIER" errors anywhere from none for a day to 3+ per day.
Our cable comes in as an overhead line to a hook on the side of the property and down the front wall into the master socket. Due to the engineers visits and repairs, the wire from where it meets the property to the master socket is all new - including a new master socket with integral xDSL socket/filter. The drop wire was estimated to be 40+ years old - I don't know how old the overhead cable would be but if it was ever replaced, it would have been in the early 2000's when they swapped everyones brackets over.
We've had 3 engineer visits so far, all who have reset the profile and the speed has gone back to around 10Mbit up - it just doesn't stay there. The moment you get back down to 799Kbps you get a very strange phenomenon where if you upload anything the downstream connection also seems to choke and latency goes through the roof (Call of Duty is FUN with a latency of 200ms+).
We've moved things around inside in case interference was causing a problem - the only thing that is close to the router is a BT TV box (next on the list to be axed), the TV (on top of the cabinet the router sits in), the BT DECT phone, and a BT Homeplug (that has been installed since, because I wondered if my computers wireless connection was the issue before I noticed the router connection speed).
I requested a replacement router for our Home Hub 6A as thought that may be the issue - the Smart Hub 2 is no better.
I'm considering buying a proper VDSL modem or modem/router combo to see if I will get a better idea of what is going on - is there anything else that anyone can suggest aside from repeatedly calling BT and having engineers visit until it's fixed?
It's important to note that we're still within the 2 week "training" period, so I guess this could improve by itself - but seeing how it's gone downhill 2 days after being reset I don't think it will...
Product code:Smart Hub 2
Serial number
Firmware version:v0.17.01.12312-BT
Firmware updated:Fri Jul 31 17:57:39 2020
Board vrsion:R01
GUI version:1.56 15_02_2019
DSL uptime:0 days,05 Hours48 Mins48 Secs
Data rate:799 Kbps / 49 Mbps
Maximum data rate:16.260 Mbps / 67.319 Mbps
Noise margin:20.0 / 10.6
Line attenuation:8.3 / 17.8
Signal attenuation:6.6 / 22.8
VLAN id:101
Upstream error control:Off
Downstream error control:Off
Data sent / received:198.5 MB Uploaded / 3.8 GB Downloaded
Broadband username:bthomehub@btbroadband.com
BT Wi-fi:Activated
2.4 GHz wireless network name:BT-XXXXXX
2.4 GHz wireless channel:Smart (Channel1)
5 GHz wireless network name:BT-XXXXXX
5 GHz wireless channel:Smart (Channel48)
Wireless security:WPA2 (Recommended)
Wireless mode:Mode 1
Firewall:On
MAC address:4C:1B:86:XXXXXXXX
Software variant:-
Boot loader:0.1.7-BT (Thu Nov 30 09:45:22 2017)
Time Day Month Source Message Message Message Message Message Message Message Message Message Message
14:27:27, 3 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=10.6dB, Up=23.5dB
02:20:49, 3 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=10.9dB, Up=23.7dB
02:20:11, 3 Aug. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
16:41:34, 2 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=55000kbps, Up Rate=2384kbps; SNR Margin Down=6.8dB, Up=6.3dB
16:40:56, 2 Aug. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
00:04:28, 2 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=55000kbps, Up Rate=9997kbps; SNR Margin Down=8.9dB, Up=9.8dB
13:27:40, 1 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=55000kbps, Up Rate=9997kbps; SNR Margin Down=8.8dB, Up=9.5dB
13:24:56, 1 Aug. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
13:21:13, 1 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=55000kbps, Up Rate=9997kbps; SNR Margin Down=8.8dB, Up=9.5dB
13:02:54, 1 Aug. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
12:44:18, 1 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=55000kbps, Up Rate=5535kbps; SNR Margin Down=7.5dB, Up=6.3dB
12:43:40, 1 Aug. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
12:41:59, 1 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=55000kbps, Up Rate=9997kbps; SNR Margin Down=8.2dB, Up=7.6dB
11:56:48, 1 Aug. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
11:30:12, 1 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=55000kbps, Up Rate=9997kbps; SNR Margin Down=7.4dB, Up=8.7dB
10:54:04, 1 Aug. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
00:02:36, 1 Aug. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=9.5dB, Up=23.0dB
17:55:26, 31 Jul. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=9.2dB, Up=20.9dB
10:47:58, 31 Jul. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=8.8dB, Up=19.8dB
10:47:20, 31 Jul. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
01:31:15, 31 Jul. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=9.5dB, Up=23.6dB
01:30:36, 31 Jul. WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
11:19:12, 30 Jul. DSL Link Up: Down Rate=54999kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=6.4dB, Up=17.9dB
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When you changed the BT modem, did you also change the power brick to the new one? Is the brick plugged into the mains or an extension lead?
I would also disconnect the homeplug until you fix the issue
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Continuing the "Did you change . . ." theme, have you changed the cable linking the modem/router to SSFP on the NTE5?
And while I think of it: Welcome to the kitz forum. :)
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Continuing the "Did you change . . ." theme, have you changed the cable linking the modem/router to SSFP on the NTE5?
And while I think of it: Welcome to the kitz forum. :)
DSL lead from wall to router has been replaced. Thanks for the warm welcome! :)
When you changed the BT modem, did you also change the power brick to the new one? Is the brick plugged into the mains or an extension lead?
I would also disconnect the homeplug until you fix the issue
New power brick too (came with the replacement BT Smart Hub 2) - router brick plugs straight into the wall (at the moment through the home plug, but prior to that straight into the double wall socket).
I've moved the router and routed the wires away from anything else (so it's about 4ft from the TV/BT TV box), and put the DECT phone the other side of the TV.
We do also have a POE CCTV system set up - the telephone drop wire runs close, but not across any camera cat5e cable (routed by a previous engineer).
Interestingly after moving the router, it's now showing an even higher "Maximum data rate" (18.740 Mbps / 69.178 Mbps), but still only showing connected at 799Kbps...
I'm going to watch it over the next few days and see if it disconnects again by itself (ERROR_NO_CARRIER) - the last time it did it was 2am yesterday so we'll see if it still does it now i've moved everything.
As for a third party router / modem / combo, do you guys have any suggestions (~£60 max)?
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You're still showing a healthy SNR, and a very good theorectical max upload speed, if it was a faulty cable surely those figures would be impacted. I would get another engineer out and insist on a port swap as it could be a faulty port in the cabinet.
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There is something causing DLM to apply severe banding (i.e. capping the speed) particularly on the upload, that's why the SNRM is very high. Looking at the other sync speeds in the log almost all of them look like banded speeds i.e. at or very close to an integer Mbps value such as 55, 49, 9.997. This is not normal behaviour. If openreach say the phone line is OK and you have powered down all the other electrical gear, especially the all the Homeplugs which I never use because they can cause interference on the VDSL2 signal, then it does suggest a problem at the cabinet.
By the way there is no 10 day training period on FTTC, it's a fallacy.
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Hi guys,
The wireless signal (even with a proper wireless extender) is abhorrent where my desktop pc sits, hence getting the Homeplugs - they were installed after this problem was identified, however I understand how they may interfere. I have considered removing the homeplug from by the router and instead running a wifi extender to a homeplug closer to the router - do you think this should suffice for testing?
It's disconnected another two times since last night. That makes sense about there being no 2 week period - sometimes a reboot of the router brings back full speed...
Our "Maximum Data Rate" has now changed, the max upload speed has decreased. Our cabinet is 250M away (as the crow flies) - how deep are the telephony cables, and do they ever get damaged by other works? Welsh Water has been around replacing pipes earlier this year, directly opposite the cabinet (although I would have thought this would have caused more issues than just ours?). I've even checked our CCTV DVR, nothing is logged around those times it disconnects (I wondered if the camera switching it's IR filter in/out might be causing an EM spike). Short of turning the DVR off, I don't really know how to make sure that it's not the DVR's power supply (although I doubt it, no noise on any video signals, and the cabling doesn't cross).
The last engineer did mention about moving/swapping "something", but not sure where...
DSL uptime:0 days,04 Hours02 Mins32 Secs
Data rate:799 Kbps / 49 Mbps
Maximum data rate:1.949 Mbps / 63.923 Mbps
Noise margin:20.1 / 10.6
Line attenuation:9.0 / 18.7
Signal attenuation:7.4 / 22.8
07:22:40, 04 Aug.
DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=8.3dB, Up=9.2dB
07:22:32, 04 Aug.
WAN Auto-sensing detected port DSL WAN
07:22:05, 04 Aug.
WAN Sensing Auto sensing Complete, interface selected
07:22:04, 04 Aug.
WAN Sensing Auto sensing Running
07:22:03, 04 Aug.
WAN Sensing Auto sensing Complete, interface selected
07:22:02, 04 Aug.
WAN Sensing Auto sensing Running
07:22:02, 04 Aug.
WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
04:57:31, 04 Aug.
DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=8.3dB, Up=9.1dB
04:57:23, 04 Aug.
WAN Auto-sensing detected port DSL WAN
04:56:55, 04 Aug.
WAN Sensing Auto sensing Complete, interface selected
04:56:54, 04 Aug.
WAN Sensing Auto sensing Running
04:56:53, 04 Aug.
WAN Sensing Auto sensing Complete, interface selected
04:56:53, 04 Aug.
WAN Sensing Auto sensing Running
04:56:53, 04 Aug.
WAN connection WAN2_INTERNET_PTM disconnected.[ERROR_NO_CARRIER]
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You're still showing a healthy SNR, and a very good theorectical max upload speed, if it was a faulty cable surely those figures would be impacted. I would get another engineer out and insist on a port swap as it could be a faulty port in the cabinet.
The issue obliged by providing this:
07:22:40, 04 Aug.
DSL Link Up: Down Rate=49000kbps, Up Rate=799kbps; SNR Margin Down=8.3dB, Up=9.2dB
There is something very wrong between the socket and the cabinet causing huge amounts of noise to impact the upstream. A port swap in the cabinet seems a good idea, as does a pair swap in between cabinet and home.
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if you're in touch with the Mods on the BT forum, ask for a visit by a "Boost" engineer/visit. Its something they should be able to raise and asking them might be easier than going through 151
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The issue obliged by providing this:
07:22:40, 04 Aug.
as does a pair swap in between cabinet and home.
That is what the engineer said he did when they last visited - said he'd put us onto a different pair, thanks for jogging my memory.
I don't think a mod is on my topic on the BT forum, but I will ask!
I've since moved the router power supply to go directly into the wall socket (as it was when the problem originally occurred) and moved the Powerline adapter into an extension away from the router. I know it's still potentially providing interference, but i'm working on the fact that the problem existed before the powerline adapters were in use!
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That is what the engineer said he did when they last visited - said he'd put us onto a different pair, thanks for jogging my memory.
I don't think a mod is on my topic on the BT forum, but I will ask!
I've since moved the router power supply to go directly into the wall socket (as it was when the problem originally occurred) and moved the Powerline adapter into an extension away from the router. I know it's still potentially providing interference, but i'm working on the fact that the problem existed before the powerline adapters were in use!
The thing is though, its going to be harder to diagnose while the Powerline is still potentially another source of interference. Ideally you want it gone completely, at least until the underlying problem is solved as you may otherwise still think there is a problem when its in fact the Powerline creating an all new issue.
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I'll disconnect them all before I go back to mine - i'll be back in about 6 days so should be enough time to determine if they're causing an issue.
If it is them causing the issue, how long after disconnecting them should you expect an increase in speed?
I will also (now) change the BT tv adapter over to a different one (if i've got a compatible one... i'm hoping it's less than 1.5A 12V as i'll use our old routers PSU just to rule out that being noisy).
Our local cabinet is a Huawei 288 if that makes any difference or use.
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Aaaand the results are in: The home plugs are not the issue. Although the past 2 days has been the longest the connection has maintained, it is still only 799kbps/49mbps.
Hopefully the final engineer is booked for tomorrow, will ask them if they can change the port we're on. When we refer to "port" is it a plug in job, or like an IDC connection? Maybe a poor connection there? Or faulty hardware?
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Aaaand the results are in: The home plugs are not the issue. Although the past 2 days has been the longest the connection has maintained, it is still only 799kbps/49mbps.
Hopefully the final engineer is booked for tomorrow, will ask them if they can change the port we're on. When we refer to "port" is it a plug in job, or like an IDC connection? Maybe a poor connection there? Or faulty hardware?
You misunderstand, I'm not saying the HomePlugs are the issue, simply that its a really good idea to have them removed while troubleshooting. They may be causing interference that is impossible to see right now due to the main issue being far more significant, but then once the main issue gets solved at some point you might not be able to tell because now the HomePlugs interference becomes relevant.
When troubleshooting its important to remove as many potential sources of interference as you can, so that you can be 100% certain the ONLY problem is the initial one you are trying to resolve. The same reason its always recommended to remove all extensions and plug directly into the test socket, remove as many potential sources of problems as possible. It also means
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Engineer has visited, found no faults with our own wiring and did mention that 50% of the tests performed came back fine, the other 50% had some loss of signal/attenuation or something.
He visited the pole and junction boxes in the road, and cut back/re-terminated our cabling, and also bypassed a lightening arrestor on the pole? which are known to cause issues with FTTC.
I did enquire about port swapping but he said until the line tests ok all the time, that's an unlikely thing to happen as BT Wholesale won't permit it.
These are our stats now, so hopefully this is how it'll stay!
DSL uptime:0 days,01 Hours27 Mins30 Secs
Data rate:9.997 Mbps / 55 Mbps
Maximum data rate:16.160 Mbps / 62.166 Mbps
Noise margin:9.4 / 7.7
Line attenuation:8.3 / 17.8
Signal attenuation:8.3 / 22.9
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He visited the pole and junction boxes in the road, and cut back/re-terminated our cabling, . . .
A thorough check at each individual jointing point. That's good.
. . . and also bypassed a lightening arrestor on the pole? which are known to cause issues with FTTC.
Ah, now that is interesting. I strongly suspect it was the cause of your problem.
It looks as if your service is provisioned using the Openreach 55/10 Mbps product. Assuming that is correct, the latest statistics your have shown are good.
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A thorough check at each individual jointing point. That's good.
Ah, now that is interesting. I strongly suspect it was the cause of your problem.
It looks as if your service is provisioned using the Openreach 55/10 Mbps product. Assuming that is correct, the latest statistics your have shown are good.
So far we're 1 day 8 hours connected! Result. We are indeed on the 55/10 product.
We had the whole house on the internet yesterday and I could still play COD with no lag - this is in comparison to a few days ago where it would saturate and slow to a crawl - I would constantly have a lag symbol and ridiculous ping in cod!
Thanks so much for everyones input :) Muchos love!
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I'm pleased to know that it has passed the "multiple game players on-line at the same time" test. :)
Give it another day (or so) and then you might feel it appropriate to commend the Openreach technician who performed the SFI2 task? There is an Openreach "Thank an Engineer" (https://www.formwize.openreach.co.uk/run/survey3.cfm?idx=505d040e0a0e0c) page for such feed-back.
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So, a week on: We're still getting occasional disconnections, but mostly come back at full speed. The difference now is - I can live with occasional disconnections, as long as the speeds (and connection) are stable when connected.
Disconnection today and it reconnected at 800Kbps upload, rebooted the router and it came back to near full speed.
Saturday was an issue where my parents stated the internet was more or less unusable. (Although there was apparently an engineer up the pole again Friday/Saturday). Unfortunately I wasn't here to check, and when I came back on Sunday morning (3am) the router had been connected for 18 hours at full speed.
These are the current stats
Data rate:9.465 Mbps / 55 Mbps
Maximum data rate:10.101 Mbps / 62.522 Mbps
Noise margin:3.9 / 7.6
Line attenuation:8.6 / 18.0
Signal attenuation:8.6 / 23.1
I will get that commend form done, all of the engineers have been wonderful chaps, and I don't blame any one of them for potentially not fixing the issue, it really is finding a needle in a haystack!
Edit:
I spoke too soon...
DSL uptime:0 days,00 Hours00 Mins06 Secs
Data rate:2.095 Mbps / 55 Mbps
Maximum data rate:2.095 Mbps / 59.503 Mbps
Noise margin:7.2 / 6.8
Line attenuation:8.5 / 18.0
Signal attenuation:6.8 / 23.1
It's definitely still not happy... Is there a preferred router that can give much more detailed stats? I did try putting OpenWRT onto our old Home Hub 5A, but I fried it in the process ::) (I think it had a bad NAND as it wouldn't successfully flash)
1 hour later it disconnects again, reconnected at full speed...
DSL uptime:0 days,00 Hours00 Mins17 Secs
Data rate:9.997 Mbps / 55 Mbps
Maximum data rate:13.824 Mbps / 62.870 Mbps
Noise margin:2.1 / 7.8
Line attenuation:8.4 / 17.8
Signal attenuation:8.4 / 22.8
It's really really REALLY not happy tonight - not 10 mins after it reconnected at full speed:
DSL uptime:0 days,00 Hours00 Mins02 Secs
Data rate:5.333 Mbps / 55 Mbps
Maximum data rate:5.333 Mbps / 60.804 Mbps
Noise margin:6.1 / 7.1
Line attenuation:8.8 / 18.2
Signal attenuation:8.8 / 23.3
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And back to naff. 1 - 2 disconnections every 24 hours at a minimum. Rarely comes back at full speed (55/10) now. Download completely saturating when trying to do any kind of upload task (and severe, rage inducing lag in COD ;D)
Data rate:928 Kbps / 51.683 Mbps
Maximum data rate:1.276 Mbps / 70.155 Mbps
Noise margin:17.2 / 10.4
Line attenuation:8.9 / 18.6
Signal attenuation:7.3 / 22.6
I'm going to take the PowerLine adapters out of the loop again (have retrieved my Wifi extender out of the loft) and keep them out. Will book another engineer visit when I return, and insist on the port change if no other faults found. This has gone on long enough!
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I'd get a cheap HG612 3B from e-bay and use a 2 box solution for a while as that will allow you to get much more detailed stats and may shed some light on this
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I'd get a cheap HG612 3B from e-bay and use a 2 box solution for a while as that will allow you to get much more detailed stats and may shed some light on this
Watching a few, what's the normal price for them? There's currently one for £18 B-i-n.
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If you are happy to flash the firmware on it yourself when it arrives (search the site here for excellent guidance on how to do this) probably around the £20 mark.
If you don't fancy flashing it yourself (it is really, really simple though) buy an unlocked one for perhaps something around the £30 mark.
Also take a look at the HG612 stats page on this forum for the type and amount of stats you can get from it - this may give you a much better idea of what is happening, when it is happening and that might allow the educated folk on here to be able to give you some more detailed guidance.
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if you're in touch with the Mods on the BT forum, ask for a visit by a "Boost" engineer/visit. Its something they should be able to raise and asking them might be easier than going through 151
Did you post on the BT forum giving a summary of your situation and asking for assistance from the mods?
They own a case until you’re happy it’s fixed - and it means you have a single point of contact within BT to coordinate fixing this.
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Hi,
I did post on the BT forum, but no communication at all with any mods.
Engineer has visited again today, and swapped a pair (I was sure they had already done this though!). I mentioned about the port swap and from our conversation I think that may be the next step - although it was mentioned that this is a new cabinet/equipment so unlikely to be faulty?
Current stats: DSL uptime:0 days,02 Hours41 Mins58 Secs
Data rate:10 Mbps / 54.999 Mbps
Maximum data rate:22.933 Mbps / 57.653 Mbps
Noise margin:14.9 / 6.5
Line attenuation:8.2 / 16.9
Signal attenuation:8.1 / 21.4
Engineer has left his phone number and asked me to contact him directly in a couple of days if it goes south again!
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I can’t see any posts from you on that forum since early August.
You need to add a post to your last thread (or start a new one with a brief summary of the situation) saying the issue is still occurring and ask if this can be escalated to the moderators.
One of the frequent posters there can then flag your post for their attention and they will reply in that thread.
Though sounds as if you have a BT engineer taking a personal interest which is good
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We've been connected 3 days so far, no dropouts. The data rate figures and also the noise margin and attenuation figures are all staying really stable now too! I think, by jove, he's fixed it.
DSL uptime:3 days,08 Hours30 Mins09 Secs
Data rate:10 Mbps / 54.999 Mbps
Maximum data rate:22.057 Mbps / 57.691 Mbps
Noise margin:14.3 / 6.4
Line attenuation:8.2 / 16.9
Signal attenuation:8.1 / 21.6
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So, i'm back :(
I now have a HG612 in place (with my old DGND4000 router as the new BT routers don't have WAN ports eh!).
Since putting in the HG612 the connection has been solid (except for my mother turning the wrong plug off...) until today... DSLStats has only been running since this morning, forgot to leave my computer running with HG612 stats on.
What other data is useful for you guys that I can post up?
Point to note - it has rained this afternoon/evening, and has been dry for the past few days...
Cheers,
Stats recorded 29 Sep 2020 01:27:01
DSLAM type / SW version: BDCM:0xc190 (193.144) / v0xc190
Modem/router firmware: AnnexA version - A2pv6C038m.d24j
DSL mode: VDSL2 Profile 17a
Status: Showtime
Uptime: 0 hour 32 min 13 sec
Resyncs: 3 (since 28 Sep 2020 11:17:58)
Downstream Upstream
Line attenuation (dB): 18.7 0.0
Signal attenuation (dB): Not monitored
Connection speed (kbps): 44565 2830
SNR margin (dB): 5.9 3.3
Power (dBm): 12.4 5.8
Interleave depth: 8 1
INP: 47.00 0
G.INP: Enabled Not enabled
Vectoring status: 5 (VECT_UNCONFIGURED)
RSCorr/RS (%): 0.0001 1.5656
RSUnCorr/RS (%): 0.0000 0.0000
ES/hour: 23.6 32.6
xdslcmd info --pbParams
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY status
Status: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 1
Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 2600 Kbps, Downstream rate = 40824 Kbps
Bearer: 0, Upstream rate = 2830 Kbps, Downstream rate = 44565 Kbps
Bearer: 1, Upstream rate = 0 Kbps, Downstream rate = 0 Kbps
Discovery Phase (Initial) Band Plan
US: (7,32) (871,1205) (1972,2782)
DS: (33,859) (1216,1961) (2800,3967)
Medley Phase (Final) Band Plan
US: (7,32) (871,1205) (1972,2724)
DS: (33,859) (1216,1961) (2800,3967)
VDSL Port Details Upstream Downstream
Attainable Net Data Rate: 2600 kbps 40824 kbps
Actual Aggregate Tx Power: 5.8 dBm 12.4 dBm
====================================================================================
VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 4.9 17.7 33.3 N/A N/A 13.6 30.8 47.9
Signal Attenuation(dB): 4.9 N/A 32.3 N/A N/A 18.1 30.6 47.8
SNR Margin(dB): 2.8 N/A 2.8 N/A N/A 5.6 5.8 5.9
TX Power(dBm): -4.0 -128.0 5.3 N/A N/A 8.3 8.1 6.7
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Darn that's not good, especially the upstream SNRm as I've always found things get insanely unreliable once it drops below 6dB and your speed had already gone off a cliff, no wonder it became unusable.
At least now you have clear evidence showing exactly how quickly things deteriorated and at what time, which could be useful if it coincides with the rain. Although if they've already checked all the joins, I'm rather puzzled where the problem may be.
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Darn that's not good, especially the upstream SNRm as I've always found things get insanely unreliable once it drops below 6dB and your speed had already gone off a cliff, no wonder it became unusable.
At least now you have clear evidence showing exactly how quickly things deteriorated and at what time, which could be useful if it coincides with the rain. Although if they've already checked all the joins, I'm rather puzzled where the problem may be.
I find as soon as the upstream drops below about 1.5-2mbps the whole connection becomes unusable (any upload task saturates the whole connection).
The only thing that hasn't been physically inspected/touched is the cable from pole to house. The engineer did say they were replaced recently (early 2000's), the same time they replaced the big chunky bracket on the side of the house with the smaller hoop.
I was extremely tempted earlier to try and gently nudge the cable, and watch the graphs to see if it affected it at all... not sure if that's a good idea or not!. It was *very* windy early yesterday afternoon (thanks to which the drive is now covered in oil, it blew away my absorbent sheets...) and possibly was last night although I didn't go outside to check
Edit: back to decent snrm if i'm reading this right? It's been dry all of yesterday. Will monitor and get back to you guys!
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Hi all, wasn't sure whether to just update my current post or start a new one, so here goes.
The connection has been relatively rock solid since my last post - occasionally would drop but comes straight back (normally dropping in the early hours of the morning) - with no latency issues or other noticeable problems... until recently. Whilst it has been rock solid, we have also been using powerline adapters to get internet into a dark corner of the house (from a WiFi and ethernet perspective), with no issues noted.
We are back to getting a reduced connection speed, with sporadic *ridiculous* latency that makes FPS games unplayable (looking at you COD). Other usage (such as video streaming, normal browsing) isn't affected as much except for when the connection completely drops. The recent high winds seem to have tipped it over the edge (i'm still betting something to do with the line between pole and house).
Have a load of data from DSLstats, not sure what is useful and what isn't to post? Cheers! :)
Edit: just did the BT broadband checker, and it immediately went to arrange an engineer visit - so I presume this is something they can see too!
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Have you recently performed a quiet line test from a (wired, not cordless) telephone?
From the SNRM plot that you've shown, above, I strongly suspect there will be audible noise present.
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Have you recently performed a quiet line test from a (wired, not cordless) telephone?
From the SNRM plot that you've shown, above, I strongly suspect there will be audible noise present.
Hi,
Unfortunately we only have a cordless phone - 17070 and option 2 just leaves a very faint hiss, but no popping etc. I have asked my folks to let me know if they hear anything of the sort during phone calls as I never use the landline myself.
Saying that though, the connection has now been relatively solid again for the past hour or so and SNR improved again too!
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From sight of just that SNRM plot, I suspect that a joint is beginning to show high resistance (HR) or semi-conductive tendencies.
If the BT Wholesale checker has auto-selected an Openreach engineering visit then the automation must have sensed something abnormal. Hopefully it can be quickly resolved.
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I'm curious if the cordless phone is affecting the REIN.
Is the cordless in the same socket as the router?
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I'm curious if the cordless phone is affecting the REIN.
Is the cordless in the same socket as the router?
It is. And it's crossed my mind as well (we have moved the base station away from the modem - about 4ft away). Unfortunately this is the only socket in the house now as the upstairs extensions were disconnected when they ran the new drop wire to the new master socket (last year) and we weren't using them. The thing is though, up until I stopped recording data (as the line was solid), after the last engineer visit, it was solid aside from disconnections in the early hours. That cordless phone has been there since the start!
From sight of just that SNRM plot, I suspect that a joint is beginning to show high resistance (HR) or semi-conductive tendencies.
If the BT Wholesale checker has auto-selected an Openreach engineering visit then the automation must have sensed something abnormal. Hopefully it can be quickly resolved.
Entirely possible - apparently our line was testing the best in the neighbourhood according to their systems though on about the 3rd engineer visit last year - i'd love FTTP as I know it'd fix it, but it's not available here, but is available at my own house, and i'm extremely tempted to get it... 500mbps here I come! :P
Talk of the devil - it's back again. Quiet line test is a bit more hissy but still not anything i'd instantly get concerned about if I was on the phone.
Something i've noticed too on the UI of the modem, it's giving me 17.6db for SNRM down, and 0 for up. I presume the data from DSL stats is far more accurate than the UI?
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Depending on the cordless phones, you could just be hearing a side effect of how they work. If you unplug the base from the BT socket while listening to the dial tone they may still remain live, so you'd be able to hear if it the noise was the line or the phones own circuits.
The thing with the cordless phone introducing noise in the socket, that could happen at any time if say the PSU filtering is getting on a bit and failing. Again unlikely, but you never know.
Hissing can also be a failing filter, easily diagnosed by turning off the modem to see if it goes away.
I think its a long shot to think any of this is the actual cause of the issue, but its always worth looking into just be sure.
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Depending on the cordless phones, you could just be hearing a side effect of how they work. If you unplug the base from the BT socket while listening to the dial tone they may still remain live, so you'd be able to hear if it the noise was the line or the phones own circuits.
The thing with the cordless phone introducing noise in the socket, that could happen at any time if say the PSU filtering is getting on a bit and failing. Again unlikely, but you never know.
Hissing can also be a failing filter, easily diagnosed by turning off the modem to see if it goes away.
I think its a long shot to think any of this is the actual cause of the issue, but its always worth looking into just be sure.
I will try the unplugging thing tomorrow - or see if I can borrow a corded phone from my relative round the corner (i'm currently isolating as apparently been in contact with someone with covid :( ).
Again, appears to have gone back to normal now... i hate intermittent problems! Thanks for all the help again though, loads of good ideas!
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As an addendum to this mornings post:
The faint hiss persists after unplugging the phone from the wall, so must just be how it is.
After unplugging the phone (at approx 4am) and plugging it back in, the SNR immediately tanked again and took til 7am to recover. Have fiddled with the wires with the master socket and trying this again, and seems like it was just a coincidence as it won't do it again (speed now 55000/10000 with good stable SNR), however through the day it's dropped multiple times.
Have ensured that the modem wire is not crossing any power supplies or cables, and it's a new one (received with the new BT Home Hub we had delivered last year).
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Engineer has visited, and they've replaced the overhead line. Confirmed they'd replaced everything else, swapped fibre port, pair from pole to cabinet and drop wire.
Didn't seem overly interested in the graphs/snrm (including when he was doing his tests and it showed a small drop as he was doing them). Went through the history for the line of disconnections and speeds which didn't totally tally with the data I had (including where it'd synced lower at 50/6 or so, but then resynced higher later on in the day, it only showed the higher rate on their system).
Here's hoping it's fixed!
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Engineer has visited, and they've replaced the overhead line. Confirmed they'd replaced everything else, swapped fibre port, pair from pole to cabinet and drop wire.
<snip>
Here's hoping it's fixed!
Hopefully so . . . as there is nothing else to swap out.
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As a further addendum to the mystery. Following replacement of the overhead line, it seemed much more stable. However, we still had the occasional random interference/drop occur but it would go back to full speed.
Something the engineer mentioned was that the power strip (which had a surge protection element) neon was intermittent, and if you touched it, it would turn the neon on/off (power to the devices was maintained though). This strip is 20 years old.
We have replaced that with a new one, and the connection has been solid since going on for 5 days (except a resync at around 2am), Downstream SNRM 6.3 and Upstream SNRM 18.
Not something i'd have ever thought of, but for anyone trying to troubleshoot is something to consider!
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Something the engineer mentioned was that the power strip (which had a surge protection element) neon was intermittent, and if you touched it, it would turn the neon on/off (power to the devices was maintained though). This strip is 20 years old.
We have replaced that with a new one, and the connection has been solid since going on for 5 days (except a resync at around 2am), Downstream SNRM 6.3 and Upstream SNRM 18.
Not something i'd have ever thought of, but for anyone trying to troubleshoot is something to consider!
Ah, now that is interesting. :)