Broadband internet speed just 54kbps on a 6mbps line

[joydivision]

I am normally very experienced and skilled at detecting internet access problems.

However a job today had me a bit stumped.

Here is what I found an elderly customer phones me to say her computer is running slow. I go there to find a little used Prescott with 512MB of RAM the RAM needs upgrading but other than it is in very good health.

I installed MSE automatically with my M21 CD which does all this automatically. It took less than a minute to install than then took ages to do the upgrade.

I then tested the internet speed, all the online checkers say the speed is between 50 and 100kbps. When I check the ADSL connection on the router it is over 6MBPS.

Never seen such a huge difference, any idea what is causing this?

This is what I am going to do tomorrow:-

• Bring my netbook to see what speed I can get with that
• Connect the router to the master socket and disconnect he extension telephone wires.
• Try a different Ethernet cable (unlikely fault)
• Try a PCI Ethernet card in case its a problem there
• Check for rootkits (though netstat didn't reveal anything and the SAS scan I did came back clean, the speed of the PC also suggests there is no issue here).

Any other suggestions? The PC is connected via Ethernet btw. And I will stress again the router reports the speed as over 6MBPS so there doesn't seem to be much issue with the phone line.

Thanks for any other ideas

 

[TechguyUK]

I seem to remember that the speed the router reports is actually the line speed it has negotiated with the DSLAM in the local exchange. The online checkers however give you the data rates you are getting through your ISP and over t'internet.

In addition to what you are planning, I'd have the ISP check the line/contention/traffic shaping. Although its an obvious one, make sure that the PC isn't downloading updates etc as that will slow it down.

 

[TLE]

I would start by getting the line stats from the router such as SNR and Attenuation as these play a major factor.

Use the BT Speedtester as this will report what IP Profile the user is on (this doesn't apply if it's LLU).

Plug directly into the test socket behind the NTE5 faceplate with a non-wireless phone and listen for line noise, also plug the router into this and test again.

Replace the filters.

And as TechguyUK suggested, get there ISP to perform some line tests. The 6Mb is just the sync speed, not the throughput which is what you are measuring.

 

[joydivision]

The sync speed is often a reliable indicator to what the speed is though. I've never seen seen the example so extreme as this.

One of the problems may be the fact I fear she is exceeding her REN although I did unplug all this and made no difference.

The master socket (removing the faceplate) test tomorrow will reveal all though. If I still get slow speeds I shall get BT to do the line test.

The ISP is BT which makes things a little easier, I just dread all the usual restart the router crap you get from the call centre workers though, and BT are often the worst.

 

[DCGPX]

Don't get sidetracked by REN, it only applies to telephones to make them ring. It won't effect your speed


www.tornadopc.com

 

[Kitten Kong]

There could also be a huge amount of noise on the line, which would cause such a drastic connection speed.

Either that, or the noise levels are set too high / low on the router. In which case only the ISP can change those (I may be wrong on the last statement though).

 

[joydivision]

I'll have a listen for noise, although my hearing is not too good

Just dreading the call to BT, not had to this in a while so out of practice at shouting down the line to India when they won't listen that I've done all the sodding tests .

 

[DCGPX]

There could also be a huge amount of noise on the line, which would cause such a drastic connection speed.

Either that, or the noise levels are set too high / low on the router. In which case only the ISP can change those (I may be wrong on the last statement though).

Good point! Can you log onto router and check line values? Depends on router but my virginmedia I can see the noise and signal negotiation. Mind you it's cable but some ADSL routers do show equivalent esp netgear.

Have a nosy in there so you have ammo to through at BT support, also once into call insist on L2 support straight away. They won't like it but eventually you will get them and have a more meaningful response to see whats happening at their end!


www.tornadopc.com

 

[joydivision]

Thanks, its a BT Homehub, can't remember if they give the figures or not as its been a while.

A simple line test will check if there is noise on the line won't anyway? In fact I am pretty sure is there is a 3 digit code you can dial to request this automatically or am I getting mixed up?

 

[DCGPX]

Only if your BT or part of their partner program you have to give employee ID , you used to be able to awhile ago.

You can request it via L1 support to have the gain tested but it'll take you all your time to get to L2 so ask then to refer!


www.tornadopc.com

 

[StevieMac]

In fact I am pretty sure is there is a 3 digit code you can dial to request this automatically or am I getting mixed up?

How about 17070 ? Get a nice voice on the line when connected via SkyTalk

 

[NorCal Internet]

Check network connectivity first. Try pinging a known pingable IP address.

Use ping x.x.x.x -t so that the ping will continue past 4 pings. Watch the latency and for dropped packets. If no packets drop, then you can pretty much rule out some type of network issue.

If packets are dropping, or latency his high, then back the ping up to the ISP gateway. Then the customer's router. If the packet loss stops when you get to either point, you know the issue is beyond that.

The first thing I do when a customer is reporting issues with their circuit is to plug directly into the Router or DSL modem. Basically, take their network out of the picture and use a known good laptop. If the problem persists, you can rule out their network, minus the DSL modem or router.

I usually have a spare modem and router with me also. Replace those and test again.

If it's still bad, then it is the DSL circuit, and there's not much you can do, other than plug in directly at the DMARC and test again. If it's beyond the DMARC, then it's an issue for the Telco to repair.

 

[sassenach]

You really need to do the BT Speedtest to get the IP Profile - that will show if you're getting the speed that BT thinks the line is capable of handling. Also, check that there aren't any other telephone or satellite links plugged in and try again. Make sure that all phone lines have micro-filters on them.

 

[Martyn]

I visit a few villages around here and they get slow speeds so firstly you need to know what is the ball park speed for the area. It seems you are way below what it should be getting so TLE has pretty much summed it up. Also check with a neighbour and see if they have problems, it could be they have but you/your client doesn't know about it.

 

[joydivision]

Thanks just going to the job in a few minutes. It is an area a bit out of my normal coverage zone, (Wythenshawe) but its a very densely populated area ands lots of businesses in the area so the exchange shouldn't be far away.

Got the car loaded up with a spare NIC, router, laptop, cat5, microfilter, screwdriver and a CD with lots of punk music on it. So I am sure this time I will be able to diagnose the problem very quickly.

 

[Martyn]

Thanks just going to the job in a few minutes. It is an area a bit out of my normal coverage zone, (Wythenshawe) but its a very densely populated area ands lots of businesses in the area so the exchange shouldn't be far away.

Got the car loaded up with a spare NIC, router, laptop, cat5, microfilter, screwdriver and a CD with lots of punk music on it. So I am sure this time I will be able to diagnose the problem very quickly.

Good luck the Punk music should really nail it Don't get in too deep to start with, keep it simple.

 

[joydivision]

A bit of a problem, it was an internal wiring problem, I could hear the noise using a phone but when I removed the plate no noise and broadband speed checks reveal check out at around 6500kbps.

My client booked a telephone engineer to look at it, but from what he told me on the phone all he did was check for loose connections, no attempt of checking for continuity etc.

Trying to contact my client to see how it went, but no answer.

 

[DCGPX]

A bit of a problem, it was an internal wiring problem, I could hear the noise using a phone but when I removed the plate no noise and broadband speed checks reveal check out at around 6500kbps.

My client booked a telephone engineer to look at it, but from what he told me on the phone all he did was check for loose connections, no attempt of checking for continuity etc.

Trying to contact my client to see how it went, but no answer.

Just out of curiosity - What do you mean by 'remove plate'?

Was it plate on a master, if so how did you check speed?

 

[Kitten Kong]

Possibly Ian means the main BT socket. I.e going into the master socket (tester). Then using the filter, router, netbook, and running a speedchecker from there.

 

[joydivision]

Sorry I am not sure the exact terms, but when I removed the main BT socket (with the removal front plate) and plugged the router into the test socket it worked fine, but when I put the plate back (i.e connecting back the extensions) I was getting 100kbps no matter what socket I used.

Also with the extensions plugged in I could hear the noise on the line, it dial tone was just crackle crackle, but when I plugged the phone into the test socket it was crystal clear.