Superfast 2 + HG612 + D-link Covr Mesh - half the speed of VF router?

[sasha1504]

Hello,

Thanks to the advice from this forum, I was able to successfully connect HG612 modem and 3rd party router(s).

I've been with VF for about 3 years and the speed with the default VF router was always about 60-70 Mbps (however, I had daily signal drops).

To my dismay, after connecting HG612 3B modem and several different routers (D-Link Covr 1862 Mesh is my current one), the Download speed dropped to about 25-30 Mbps. I've had such speeds for about a week now. 

I did a search on the forum and suspect I might have upset the DLM by my feeble and repetitive attempts to connect the 3rd party router.

I ran the check on Broadband checker website, and it shows that line is indeed capable of up to 80 Mbps. 

I really don't want to go back to the VF router option, but I don't enjoy the much slower speeds. 

Any advice on what I can do to bring the speed back up would be highly appreciated. 

[Jayach · Accepted solution]

If it really is DLM that is limiting your your sync speed, time should be all you need to rectify it. I would give it at least a week without attempting to do anything that might upset it more.

What you need (assuming the problem is DLM) is a DLM reset, but it seems impossible to get Vodafone to ask Openreach to do one.

If, after waiting the above period, there is no improvement, try the Vodafone router back on and see if it syncs higher. If it does then go back to the HG612 (a couple of disconnects./reconnects shouldn't cause a problem). If the sync speed drops back I don't think it is DLM that that is your problem.

If returning to the THG3000 (I assume that is the router you have) doesn't return it to it's previous sync speeds,  then leave it on and call Vodafone and complain about slow speeds. Hopefully they will call out Openreach, and the first thing they will probably do is a DLM reset. If that returns things to normal you can try the HG612 again. If the speed immediately drops, it's not DLM that is causing it.

Good luck with getting it resolved, do let us know how you get on.

[sasha1504]

Thank you for your response. I shall do as you suggest and report back the results.

The signal drops on broadband still happen every day by the way (if only for a minute or two here or there), even after connecting a 3rd party router. I guess it's something to do with the exchange to flat connection? I'm intending on asking VF when contact them about the speed, maybe they could fix it - I guess I need to ask for an engineer visit?

Oh, and I still have VF's old router model (HHG2500). I don't know if that makes any difference.

[Jayach]

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@sasha1504 wrote:

Oh, and I still have VF's old router model (HHG2500). I don't know if that makes any difference.

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Not really DLM is controlled by the cabinet, so the router shouldn't make any difference.

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@sasha1504 wrote:

The signal drops on broadband still happen every day by the way (if only for a minute or two here or there), even after connecting a 3rd party router. I guess it's something to do with the exchange to flat connection? I'm intending on asking VF when contact them about the speed, maybe they could fix it - I guess I need to ask for an engineer visit?

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You really shouldn't be getting line drops, if you are there must be a problem somewhere. My router has been up for 77 days, it would be much longer but I like to reboot it occasionally.

I wouldn't confuse matters by mentioning too many problems to Vodafone at once, you need them to pass the call to Openreach if your sync speed is still low after allowing DLM a chance to correct itself. Of course if the sync speed is O.K. on the Vodafone router, but low on the HG612, it will be another matter as Vodafone won't help you with that so report the line drops.

If you do get an Openreach engineer you could let them know about it.

[sasha1504]

Thank you. This is plenty of valuable information to keep me going. I'll go step by step and one issue at a time in waiting a bit more, then contacting Vodafone, etc. 

[HappyNomad]

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@sasha1504 wrote:

Thank you. This is plenty of valuable information to keep me going. I'll go step by step and one issue at a time in waiting a bit more, then contacting Vodafone, etc. 

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Remember too that you'll need to reconnect your Vodafone router before you call Support.

I'll watch this one with interest as I think your modem is probably the culprit here.  Did you buy it used from eBay perhaps?  I use a Draytek V130 - (from new and worked straight out of the box) - with a mesh system and never had/have speed problems.  Right now, Ookla from my iPad is giving me 62.08 / 17.25  (Superfast 2).

I don’t recall any user reports of speed drops when changing to third party kit - usually it is configuration that causes the head scratching.

Good luck in getting it resolved though.

[sasha1504]

Thank you very much for your response. The matter hasn't been resolved yet, but here's my update so far.

1. Yes, I bought old BT openreach Huawei HG512 3B form eBay. I disconnected it and reconnected the Vodafone kit. The speed didn't improve, it still varies from 15 Mbps - 28 Mbps. There are multiple daily disconnections of the DSL line ("Internet" light on the router blink red). Makes it rather frustrating to use. 

(I will definitely keep the Draytek V130 modem in mind and would purchase it if the Vodafone fixes the issue and I stay with them.) 

2. I contacted web support via  chat at least 3 times. They ran the service test, said they identified the issue and promised to resolve within 48 hours. Then asked to wait another day. Then they couldn't book an engineer as it's gone past 8pm the day after. They were all very earnest and polite, but useless. All this took a working week. I then finally called a phone Tech Support.

3. Tech support (all with American accent) sounded very professional, apologised and booked an engineer. Promised the engineer will be doing the work within 48 hours. No texts / emails after 48 hours. Contacted by chat - they had no notes from the engineer, but it felt like pulling teeth extracting this bit of information from them.

4. Called phone Tech Support again. Apparently, automated ticket got lost, and so they now generated another ticket manually, to be reviewed by the "senior supervisor". Promised everything to be resolved in 48 hours. That was yesterday. I'm gonna wait till Friday for meaningful update and hopeful resolution before pulling the plug and switching over to another provider. A very disappointing experience.  

[Jayach]

If you are getting DSL drops (router rebooting) with the Vodafone router on, then there must be a actual problem and nothing to do with you trying to use a 3rd party modem.

Have I asked if you have tried with it in the test socket, as that would eliminate any (remote) possibility it could be a problem at your end?

What you describe is very similar to my experience when I joined Vodafone, which turned out to be a faulty fibre port, but Vodafone were terrible with giving support and it took 3 months to resolve. Has been perfect for the 18 months since.

[sasha1504]

Thank you for your response. Yes, it makes sense that it has nothing to do with the 3rd party router, but rather with the actual problem with the line / cabinet. 

Yes, I've had it in the test socket since first contacting the Vodafone chat - so for the last 10 days at least. And I'm getting DSL drops.

Thanks also for sharing your experience - I'm not sure I have it in me to wait that long for Vodafone to sort things out. I guess I'll wait till Friday, then decide. 

[sasha1504]

Update: 

The ticket raised manually last Wednesday (16th Feb) and aimed at the "senior supervisor" team got lost as I just found out (today is 21st Feb). The chap I spoke to from Tech 1 team raised another ticket and sent an email to the "super user" team. He reassured me that they will definitely call within 48 hours on my mobile. When I said that the same was promised last time, he said that they will definitely call. I'm not holding my breath. 

I also asked what would it take to book an engineer visit and how many more hoops I need to jump through again and again till the engineer is finally booked. No real answer, just that the super users book engineers.

We are moving in 2 months, otherwise I would already have switched to another provider, but noone would cover the 6 months Openreach line rental fee for 2 months only.

Meanwhile I have a nice AX mesh with 4 nodes installed  and enjoying it despite the 20 Mbps speeds and multiple drops daily.