Superfast 1. Only getting around 16 Mb/s download speed. Line banded? Aluminium cable?

[Delta10]

First some background. I live on an estate built in the 1970's. This house was late 1970's but the installation of the core infrastructure would have started a few years before. I have found which BT Openreach cabinet I am connected to. Straight line less than 400m so the cable ought not to be much more than 500m.

Back to the days of 56k dialup my speed was around 30k. With ADSL the maximum speed I had was around 5Mb/s.

When I moved to VDSL I initially had just under 25Mb/s. Around a year ago I suddenly started getting very regular disconnection / dropout sometime 3 or 4 per day. Normally the router reconnected straight away but occasionally not. Given the Covid situation I did not initially report not least as with WFH dropouts were relatively less of an issue than no service. The disconnections stopped after a while maybe 4 weeks. A month or two later they started again for a few days. I presumed Openreach resolved a fault.

Only when I came to swap ISP did I find my speed was down to 16 Mbps.

Due to the location of the master socket the router is connected on extension wiring.  However I have connected to the test socket inside the wall socket and get similar speeds and results from the router. I took the socket off the wall to check the connections of the incoming wiring were clean and tight. Due to the location of the router and mains power normally it is switched off overnight and when not at home. I have always understood the BT Openreach system will not see this as an issue because there is not an immediate ( attempted ) reconnection. Once the swap to Vodafone was live I arranged a mains feed to leave the router permanently on. After 18 days there had not been a speed improvement so I put the router back on the switched feed. When I swapped the router I used the new microfilter packed with the router for it and my DECT phone base and another new one to the basic wired phone. In just over a month I will be on holiday so the router will be off for 10 days.

Having read around this I suspect the line is banded. Also it is possible that the Openreach wiring is Aluminium.

The issue is BT Openreach not Vodafone but contact has to be by the service provider. Since Vodafone stated the speed would only be around 16Mbps so are meeting their commitment. Hence getting any action may be difficult.

Below are screen captures of the BT Openreach service at the cabinet, a speed test and a typical router DSL log.

My question is what do these results imply and what are the prospects of getting back to at least 25 Mbps without dropouts?

[Jayach]

Your pictures have not been moderated yet. .That is quit a story, but the only important thing is where you are now

This link will tell you what Openreach think your line is capable of.. BT Broadband (btwholesale.com)

If you really do have aluminium in your line that is unfortunate (are you in Milton Keynes.) but there is no way to change that.

Connect to the test socket and then show us the line stats, and we can say if it can be improved, Like this:

Line Quality

  Downstream Upstream

Current Rate	79999 kbps	20000 kbps
Maximum Rate	82420 kbps	26833 kbps
Signal-to-Noise Ratio	4.2 dB	10.2 dB
Attenuation	DS1 9.1 dB, DS2 22.0 dB, DS3 34.5 dB	US0 2.1 dB, US1 15.2 dB, US2 24.6 dB
Power	12.8 dBm	4.3 dBm
CRC Errors in last 9850 minute(s)	0	4074

Sorry if mine are what you can only dream of.

Do you know how long it will be before you get FTTP?

Where and when we're building Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband | Openreach

[Delta10]

@Jayach 

To me no significant difference between readings with house wiring and direct to test socket

as for all downstream SNR is 7.9 - 8.6 dB. Back when I had close to 25 Mbps I found the speed through the house wiring compared to direct to master socket ( not 'hidden' test socket ) slightly lower by at most 0.5 Mbps.

However here are the screens from the test socket when I had the spare THG3000 connected to test it connected to VF broadband. The first is soon after connected and the second before disconnected an hour or so later.

The screen in the first post was after the official router was connected again for just over 9 hours.

No I am not in Milton Keynes. No date for FTTP either, other than swapping to Virgin .....

[Jayach]

Your latest pictures haven't been moderated yet, but SNR 7.9 - 8.6 is a bit high, it probably means DLM is detecting errors on the line. (or it's been upset by the router being connected/disconnected multiple times.)

If it is the latter, it should recover in time.

Now your original pictures have been moderated, I am surprised you can't get the full 40Mbs on Superfast1, going by the BT/Openreach checker. What did Vodafone quote you when you signed up?

If your sync speed in the test socket is less than the minimum Vodafone quoted, they should call out Openreach to get the line tested.

[Delta10]

@Jayach 

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@Jayach wrote:

I am surprised you can't get the full 40Mbs on Superfast1, going by the BT/Openreach checker. What did Vodafone quote you when you signed up?

If your sync speed in the test socket is less than the minimum Vodafone quoted, they should call out Openreach to get the line tested.

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This potentially is the sticking point. I'd have to look up the range but something like 14 - 18Mbps. It is how I realised that while I presumed last year Openreach fixed a fault in reality it seems they just banded the line down to a speed that was reliable.

When the daily and sometimes multiple daily dropouts stated then the speed test was still showing at least close to 25Mbps with the router using the house wiring. I can't remember but I may have also checked connected direct to the exposed master socket ( not the internal test socket ). If I did the results would have been similar.

I see Vodafone simply saying that the speed being delivered is what they quoted regardless of the fact that you suggest I should get close to the maximum of 38Mbps and up to a year ago I was getting 25Mbps.

[Jayach]

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@Delta10 wrote:

I see Vodafone simply saying that the speed being delivered is what they quoted regardless of the fact that you suggest I should get close to the maximum of 38Mbps and up to a year ago I was getting 25Mbps.

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They may, but you wont know until you try. Call them on 08080 034 515, or use live chat.

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/bbservcd/

Make sure you say the main problem is the multiple disconnects, and if possible have the router in the test socket when you call. (They will probably want you to leave it in there while they "run tests" for up to 72 hours)

In fact if you leave it in the test socket for 72 hours before calling it may speed things up. (If it doesn't fail during those 72 hours, it points to possible faults in your home)

[Delta10]

@Jayach 

Thanks.

I can not sensibly leave the router by the master socket.

However what I can do is run a loose extension, 5m probably just long enough, direct from the test socket with the microfilter at the far end to the router and landline DECT phone base unit.

I will set up and leave for a few days then upload the line quality status from the router.

[Jayach]

I would not recommend putting the router on a standard phone extension cable, it will(could) mess with it terribly. You could use a longer xDSL cable if you have one, 

Try connecting it direct to the test socket, and post the stats as you did earlier. If you still have a high SNR, then it probably needs to be escalated to Openreach.

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[Delta10]

@Jayach 

I had connected the 5m telephone extension to the test socket before I saw your last post. It is now 6 days later and I am about to put back to normal. I do not have a long xDSL cable.

I have just logged into the router and captured the screens which I have posted below. I'm unsure why the log shows only 1 day and 18 hours, logically either a power glitch or Openreach service drop. The key point is similar results which while maybe not the best setup show little difference, including download signal-to-noise of 8.5dB, so to my thinking no fundamental issue with the house wiring.

[Jayach]

Your SNR is higher than it should be. (normally approx. 6.3) This is what is causing the speed to be a bit lower than it could be.

Now, why should that be? DLM and the local cabinet set a target for SNR and would normally only raise it if believes the line to be unstable.

However if every time you check the figure it is approx. the same  (+- 0.2) then that says the line is pretty stable so it should really be lower

BUT that brings us to the up time, of 1Day18Hr. As you say that logically points to a power loss, if it was an Openreach line drop it should have been recorded in the "Number of Cuts". If these are happening frequently that could be what is leading DLM to suspect an unstable line.

All in all, I think your line needs to be investigated by Openreach (especially in light of the BT/Openreach checker results) and at least a DLM reset done.

The problem you have is in convincing Vodafone to request it. Good luck.