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Author Topic: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?  (Read 2402 times)

btjtaylor

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Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« on: July 03, 2018, 12:52:45 PM »

Hi everyone

I moved into a new place in January and initially I connected a BT home hub router to an extension socket in my house to get me up and running. The speeds were terrible and unreliable (25mb and intermittent disconnections), way under the 55mb I was quoted at signup (im paying for 52mb Infinity 1 service).

After a few weeks getting other things in the house sorted I then turned by attention to sorting this out.

I have since made the following changes:

- Replaced the existing NTE5c master socket with an NTE5a + MK3 VDSL faceplate. I did consider the MK4 faceplate but my NTE5c faceplate was coming loose when the front door was shut and disconnecting the extension my router was connected to, I think a previous person has loosened/broken its clips. The NTE5a has screws so can't come loose, this seemed in my eyes a better solution.
- Removed all the existing poor quality extensions
- Ran a new VDSL extension from the MK3 faceplate into my cupboard using CAT5e
- Purchased a Huawei openreach modem and unlocked to get line stats, connected to my own router

The connection is now much better, i'm getting 40mb down 10mb up with great uptimes (5 days without retrain), here are my line stats from my modem:


I'm wondering if there is anything more I can do to improve the speeds? Would love to get as close to 52mb as possible. The BT wholesale speed checker says I should get from 42-60mb?



Only thing I can think of is between my NTE5a and the BT line coming into the property there is some kind of old BT junction box in line, could I remove/replace this?

Thanks in advance
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michty_me

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2018, 01:03:39 PM »

Do you know if you are connected to a Huawei or ECI cabinet?
Do you have detailed stats from the HG612 modem?
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btjtaylor

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2018, 01:08:27 PM »

Not sure about Huawei or ECI cab, how can I find that out?

Here's the output of "xdslcmd info --stats" from the HG612, I think thats what you were after?

# xdslcmd info --stats
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY status
Status: Showtime
Retrain Reason:   0
Last initialization procedure status:   0
Max:   Upstream rate = 11695 Kbps, Downstream rate = 48384 Kbps
Bearer:   0, Upstream rate = 9995 Kbps, Downstream rate = 39994 Kbps

Link Power State:   L0
Mode:         VDSL2 Annex B
VDSL2 Profile:      Profile 17a
TPS-TC:         PTM Mode(0x0)
Trellis:      U:ON /D:ON
Line Status:      No Defect
Training Status:   Showtime
      Down      Up
SNR (dB):    6.2       6.4
Attn(dB):    19.4       0.0
Pwr(dBm):    14.0       6.3
         VDSL2 framing
         Bearer 0
MSGc:      18      219
B:      31      235
M:      1      1
T:      64      7
R:      10      16
S:      0.0255      0.7508
L:      13200      2717
D:      1283      1
I:      42      255
N:      42      255
         Counters
         Bearer 0
OHF:      873555      181272
OHFErr:      0      0
RS:      335290253      2828010
RSCorr:      69      0
RSUnCorr:   0      0

         Bearer 0
HEC:      0      0
OCD:      0      0
LCD:      0      0
Total Cells:   164666972      0
Data Cells:   833048      0
Drop Cells:   0
Bit Errors:   0      0

ES:      0      1342
SES:      0      459
UAS:      27      262495
AS:      2144

         Bearer 0
INP:      3.50      0.00
INPRein:   0.00      0.00
delay:      8      0
PER:      2.45      11.87
OR:      78.26      151.62
AgR:      40072.04   10146.45

Bitswap:   369/369      0/0

Total time = 36 min 11 sec
FEC:      69      0
CRC:      0      0
ES:      0      1342
SES:      0      459
UAS:      27      262495
LOS:      0      1
LOF:      0      1
LOM:      0      0
Latest 15 minutes time = 6 min 11 sec
FEC:      0      0
CRC:      0      0
ES:      0      0
SES:      0      0
UAS:      0      0
LOS:      0      0
LOF:      0      0
LOM:      0      0
Previous 15 minutes time = 15 min 0 sec
FEC:      69      0
CRC:      0      0
ES:      0      0
SES:      0      0
UAS:      0      0
LOS:      0      0
LOF:      0      0
LOM:      0      0
Latest 1 day time = 36 min 11 sec
FEC:      69      0
CRC:      0      0
ES:      0      1342
SES:      0      459
UAS:      27      262495
LOS:      0      1
LOF:      0      1
LOM:      0      0
Previous 1 day time = 0 sec
FEC:      0      0
CRC:      0      0
ES:      0      0
SES:      0      0
UAS:      0      0
LOS:      0      0
LOF:      0      0
LOM:      0      0
Since Link time = 35 min 43 sec
FEC:      69      0
CRC:      0      0
ES:      0      1342
SES:      0      459
UAS:      0      262468
LOS:      0      1
LOF:      0      1
LOM:      0      0
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btjtaylor

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2018, 01:08:59 PM »

worth adding I restarted it just before posting this message to see if speeds were the same but previous link time was about 5 days
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btjtaylor

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2018, 01:16:20 PM »

According to codelook site seems to be an ECI Cabinet, Ilkeston Derbyshire Cabinet P49
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michty_me

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2018, 01:19:23 PM »

I'm sure certain people on here would be able to tell you from reading your stats what you were connected to.

If you go into one of the tabs on DSLstats You should see further information that looks like this, And the line you need to look for:

Code: [Select]
DSLAM type / SW version:   BDCM:0xa48c (164.140) / v0xa48c  <-------
Modem/router firmware:     AnnexA version - A2pv6F039v.d26a
DSL mode:                  VDSL2 Profile 17a
Status:                    Showtime
Uptime:                    4 days 2 hours 53 min 6 sec
Resyncs:                   0 (since 27 Jun 2018 22:53:34)
         
            Downstream   Upstream
Line attenuation (dB):     17.8      0.0
Signal attenuation (dB):   Not monitored     
Connection speed (kbps):   48997      16964
SNR margin (dB):           9.4      6.0
Power (dBm):               13.6      7.5
Interleave depth:          4      4
INP:                       54.00      52.00
G.INP:                     Enabled      Enabled
Vectoring status:          5 (VECT_UNCONFIGURED)     

RSCorr/RS (%):             0.0001      3.2695
RSUnCorr/RS (%):           0.0000      0.0000
ES/hour:                   0      0
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michty_me

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2018, 01:42:43 PM »

Another thing to note, Be careful with rebooting the modem often. This can make the DLM think that there may be a fault and reduce your speeds.
Is this your first FTTC connection or have you had a previous package?
It seems to be sitting at the target SNR of around 6dB but from your attainable to the actual sync speed, You can see a bit of a difference.
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j0hn

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2018, 01:47:59 PM »

Your line looks to have been banded/capped at 40Mb.
The 2 identical downstream syncs certainly indicates this.

However, you're on an ECI and your line is interleaved.
Your current SNRM suggests your line would only get about 40-41Mb anyway.

Banding is usually applied due to too many resyncs.

From now on I would never (I do mean never) resync the line to "see if speeds are the same".
DLM doesn't automatically remove banding easily. Resyncing the line won't help in anyway, but is likely to make it worse.

If you are below the MGAL then you may be able to convince BT to request a DLM reset or send an engineer to try improve speeds.
On fastpath the line would likely get another 3-4Mb but may well be too noisy to hold fastpath.

Did you have an engineer install? 55Mb seems a crazy high estimate for a self install going by the BTw estimates.
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btjtaylor

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2018, 02:13:51 PM »

Thanks for the info, I didnt know this "banding" existed until you mentioned it and i did some reading, but I did think my speeds looked like they were "capped" in some way having numbers with so many 9s in!

The estimate was 45-55mb or something like that I think from memory, I can't remember 100%. That was on the BT site when I signed up for self install - the property had been vacant for some time before I moved in and I don't know the previous history, maybe because the line was disconnected they had to estimate it more vaguely.

I wont make a habit of rebooting the modem anyway! At least now I can reboot the router separate to it, one advantage of having discrete devices. It's likely this banding ocurred due to my loose socket and dodgy wiring :( wish i'd resolved it sooner

For only 1-2mb increase its not worth worrying about so i'll leave it for now and check up on it again in a few months  :fingers:

Thanks for the info!
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michty_me

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #9 on: July 03, 2018, 02:32:44 PM »

The best thing to do is to ensure stability remains on the line now after your changes. It does sound like you have done everything you could and it has paid off stability wise.

Edit: If you do require a reboot of the modem, It is usually advised to power off, Disconnect cable from the DSL socket and leave disconnected for 30mins then plug back in and power up.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2018, 02:43:50 PM by michty_me »
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boost

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #10 on: July 03, 2018, 03:20:12 PM »

Huge upstream errors but may be historical?

Power down the modem completely for 5 minutes to clear the stats, perhaps.
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j0hn

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2018, 04:50:03 PM »

Huge upstream errors but may be historical?

Power down the modem completely for 5 minutes to clear the stats, perhaps.

I didn't spot that.

Quote
Total time = 36 min 11 sec
FEC:      69      0
CRC:      0      0
ES:      0      1342
SES:      0      459
UAS:      27      262495
LOS:      0      1
LOF:      0      1
LOM:      0      0

That's total time and since link time so not historical. There have really been that many ES and (more worryingly) SES in the past 36 minutes.

That sounds very much like a DSL cable being manipulated while the line is in sync to cause such a large number of errors in a short space of time.

The upstream is fastpath so certainly doesn't usually have that many errors.
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burakkucat

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2018, 10:17:27 PM »

I'll begin by saying "Welcome to the Kitz forum.:)

One thing I will mention about using Huawei HG612 is not to believe the data reported by the GUI for CRC, HEC & FEC errors. Basically that information is wrong. Just use the CLI and issue xdslcmd info --stats & xdslcmd info --pbParams commands. They will return the true data.
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Weaver

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Re: Optimising BT Infinity connection, any more I can do?
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2018, 10:20:06 PM »

* * *  Welcome to the forum ! ( if I have not already said so )

It certainly seems as if you have done all the right things physically. Athens only other things that spring to mind are playing with alternative modems and changing ISP.

Changing ISP is unlikely to help you unless it is merely a matter of finding a helpful clued-up ISP who is more willing to tweak knobs for you. But there is a limit to how many knobs BT allows ISPs to twiddle anyway. Also a good ISP might get the DLM state reset for you if need be and should be able to fix your current crazy downstream target SNRM assuming that BT allows it on FTTC. But given time it will surely end up going back to the normal 6dB on its own anyway, it just means waiting an age. If it is really bugging you then you could always talk to someone with a good reputation for kicking BT and ask them about it.

As for changing modems, then other Kitizens might have opinions about excellent modems for VDSL2. I cannot comment as I only have ADSL2+ and ultra ultra long slow lines. It is possible that you might get a little more speed out certain high-end modems.

Did someone say that you have a Broadcom-based DSLAM?

As far as physical things are concerned, the only things left to try fiddling around with are the things that I have tried but these are much less likely to work for you imo because of your strong DSL signal vs my extremely low one:
  • equipment placement - getting the modem, the wallsocket-to-modem cable and the modem’s DC cable all well away from mains and other noise sources
  • very short high quality modem to router cable - I use Tandy / ADSL nation RJ11-RJ11 cables (should really be RJ11-RJ45 but we can get away with it, it is close enough)
  • mains filtering - I use a Tacima mains filter with a Belkin “AV” mains filter + surge-protector behind it with a UPS behind that
  • ferrites in the modem’s DC cable - voodoo, because we do not know what spec of ferrites to apply but could try it and measure very carefully so as to make sure that any change you are seeing is real and not just something that would have happened anyway just because you caused a resync.
These are relatively cheap mods. High quality cables could be a big deal.
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