Tried eveything but Zen speed still poor - what next

I have posted several times before as my speed was always almost 2mb.
Suddenly, in early February, it went down to 1mb and stayed there, or a lot
less, for about four weeks. Then, early March, I called Zen Support and
since which have spoken to them four more times. I have also called Belkin
support and spoken to them four times.

In all I have done the following: virus & spyware scanned my PC's, tried
differing cables, tried differing filters, tried a friends router for 10
days, was sent a new router by Belkin under their Lifetime Guarantee Scheme,
reset the routers, updated their firmware, removed all other wires/equipment
(like phones) from that connection but on the 7/3/2008 and for two days the
speeds went between 400kbps up to 1.8 mb so I thought great it is getting
back up to speed but from the 11/3/2008 I have never had anything faster
than 1.1 mb and often as low as 800 kbps.

When I last called Zen on Thursday they said there was nothing else they
could do for me and these things happened and said perhaps the cable was
getting worn out, and that as quick as the speed went down it could come
back up!! The guy mentioned about the ADSLNation filters (I have asked about
these in a recent post) that he had heard could make a difference of 250kbps
or 500 kbps.

So feeling a bit peed off that I have always paid the £24.99 per month and
getting on average half the speed I have enjoyed for several years and I
have altered nothing in the PC/Router/etc set up. So I guess I have to
accept this or any other thoughts for me to try?

Ken

"Ken" <Reply to NG only> wrote in message
news:47e61f27$0$21862$(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have posted several times before as my speed was always almost 2mb.
>Suddenly, in early February, it went down to 1mb and stayed there, or a
>lot less, for about four weeks. Then, early March, I called Zen
>Support and since which have spoken to them four more times. I have
>also called Belkin support and spoken to them four times.
>
> In all I have done the following: virus & spyware scanned my PC's,
> tried differing cables, tried differing filters, tried a friends
> router for 10 days, was sent a new router by Belkin under their
> Lifetime Guarantee Scheme, reset the routers, updated their firmware,
> removed all other wires/equipment (like phones) from that connection
> but on the 7/3/2008 and for two days the speeds went between 400kbps
> up to 1.8 mb so I thought great it is getting back up to speed but
> from the 11/3/2008 I have never had anything faster than 1.1 mb and
> often as low as 800 kbps.
>
> When I last called Zen on Thursday they said there was nothing else
> they could do for me and these things happened and said perhaps the
> cable was getting worn out, and that as quick as the speed went down
> it could come back up!! The guy mentioned about the ADSLNation filters
> (I have asked about these in a recent post) that he had heard could
> make a difference of 250kbps or 500 kbps.
>
> So feeling a bit peed off that I have always paid the £24.99 per month
> and getting on average half the speed I have enjoyed for several years
> and I have altered nothing in the PC/Router/etc set up. So I guess I
> have to accept this or any other thoughts for me to try?
>
> Ken
>



Could well be the cable - the 'local loop.'

ADSL is sent down the line at very high frequencies, hence why the
longer the distance the lower the maximum speed.

Now if Paddy has knicked a cable with his JCB (as distinct from it
having been cut and repaired) moisture will have got in quickly and the
signal quality suffered as a result.

Have you tried asking your neighbours if they have had any problems or
noticed a speed change lately?


--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:13:09 -0000, "Ken" <Reply to NG only> wrote:

>I have posted several times before as my speed was always almost 2mb.
>Suddenly, in early February, it went down to 1mb and stayed there, or a lot
>less, for about four weeks. Then, early March, I called Zen Support and
>since which have spoken to them four more times. I have also called Belkin
>support and spoken to them four times.
>
>In all I have done the following: virus & spyware scanned my PC's, tried
>differing cables, tried differing filters, tried a friends router for 10
>days, was sent a new router by Belkin under their Lifetime Guarantee Scheme,
>reset the routers, updated their firmware, removed all other wires/equipment
>(like phones) from that connection but on the 7/3/2008 and for two days the
>speeds went between 400kbps up to 1.8 mb so I thought great it is getting
>back up to speed but from the 11/3/2008 I have never had anything faster
>than 1.1 mb and often as low as 800 kbps.
>
>When I last called Zen on Thursday they said there was nothing else they
>could do for me and these things happened and said perhaps the cable was
>getting worn out, and that as quick as the speed went down it could come
>back up!! The guy mentioned about the ADSLNation filters (I have asked about
>these in a recent post) that he had heard could make a difference of 250kbps
>or 500 kbps.
>
>So feeling a bit peed off that I have always paid the £24.99 per month and
>getting on average half the speed I have enjoyed for several years and I
>have altered nothing in the PC/Router/etc set up. So I guess I have to
>accept this or any other thoughts for me to try?
>
>Ken
>


What you have not said on this posting is what are the attenuation and
noise levels for upstream/downstream.

What is your BRAS, found by going to the Zen portal on your account.

If your modem status/diagnostics shows a high number of TX/RX
errors/bad packets that will also indicate a bad line.

You talk of speed, is this the synch speeds between you and the
exchange ? If your synch speeds to the exchange are low then it has
nothing to do with the onward connection to Zen.

You can also log in direct to BTdirect bypassing your ISP, see below,
note that this service gets very busy and you may have to try a few
times to get to the appropriate page.
..

To me it sounds as though you just have a bad quality telephone line,
and the quality varies due to weather and temperature.

If that is the case then it will not matter which ISP you go with.

.......................................

This tutorial will explain how to use the BT ADSL speed test facility.
This is a test often used by BT engineers when testing the speed on
customer's ADSL connections. It basically tests the time it takes your
system to download a file from a BT server and thus determines the
effective transfer speed of your connection. This test differs from
the normal Internet speed test that PlusNet and websites like
ADSLguide have, as the test only involves the BT network and not your
ISP.

Here are the login settings to use for your router or modem to connect
to the BT speed test domain.

User: speedtest@startup_domain

BT will ignore any password present in the password box, and therefore
is not necessary to delete or modify these settings.

Once connected you will be able to access the bt speedtest URL
http://speedtester.bt.com

On that page you will be promopted to enter your telephone number then
click the "GO" button.

After a short time your results will be displayed against the
different speed internet connections to give you a fair idea of your
ADSL line speed compared to your service.

It is recommended that you repeat the test several times to give an
average tested transfer speed. To repeat the test just click your
browser's back button, which will take you back to the first page.
Then just click the GO button again to repeat the test. Don't be
surprised if the test results vary from test to test, this is not an
accurate test but again will give you a fair idea of your ADSL line
capacity.

"Woody" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:mJpFj.15036$(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Ken" <Reply to NG only> wrote in message
> news:47e61f27$0$21862$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>I have posted several times before as my speed was always almost 2mb.
>>Suddenly, in early February, it went down to 1mb and stayed there, or a
>>lot less, for about four weeks. Then, early March, I called Zen Support
>>and since which have spoken to them four more times. I have also called
>>Belkin support and spoken to them four times.
>>
>> In all I have done the following: virus & spyware scanned my PC's, tried
>> differing cables, tried differing filters, tried a friends router for 10
>> days, was sent a new router by Belkin under their Lifetime Guarantee
>> Scheme, reset the routers, updated their firmware, removed all other
>> wires/equipment (like phones) from that connection but on the 7/3/2008
>> and for two days the speeds went between 400kbps up to 1.8 mb so I
>> thought great it is getting back up to speed but from the 11/3/2008 I
>> have never had anything faster than 1.1 mb and often as low as 800 kbps.
>>
>> When I last called Zen on Thursday they said there was nothing else they
>> could do for me and these things happened and said perhaps the cable was
>> getting worn out, and that as quick as the speed went down it could come
>> back up!! The guy mentioned about the ADSLNation filters (I have asked
>> about these in a recent post) that he had heard could make a difference
>> of 250kbps or 500 kbps.
>>
>> So feeling a bit peed off that I have always paid the £24.99 per month
>> and getting on average half the speed I have enjoyed for several years
>> and I have altered nothing in the PC/Router/etc set up. So I guess I have
>> to accept this or any other thoughts for me to try?
>>
>> Ken
>>
>
>
>
> Could well be the cable - the 'local loop.'
>
> ADSL is sent down the line at very high frequencies, hence why the longer
> the distance the lower the maximum speed.
>
> Now if Paddy has knicked a cable with his JCB (as distinct from it having
> been cut and repaired) moisture will have got in quickly and the signal
> quality suffered as a result.
>
> Have you tried asking your neighbours if they have had any problems or
> noticed a speed change lately?
>
>
> --
> Woody
>
> harrogate three at ntlworld dot com

Asked my three immediate neighbours who have found no problem and getting
around 1.8/1.9mb.

Ken

Ken wrote:
> I have posted several times before as my speed was always almost 2mb.
> Suddenly, in early February, it went down to 1mb and stayed there, or
> a lot less, for about four weeks. Then, early March, I called Zen
> Support and since which have spoken to them four more times. I have
> also called Belkin support and spoken to them four times.
>
> In all I have done the following: virus & spyware scanned my PC's,
> tried differing cables, tried differing filters, tried a friends
> router for 10 days, was sent a new router by Belkin under their
> Lifetime Guarantee Scheme, reset the routers, updated their firmware,
> removed all other wires/equipment (like phones) from that connection
> but on the 7/3/2008 and for two days the speeds went between 400kbps
> up to 1.8 mb so I thought great it is getting back up to speed but
> from the 11/3/2008 I have never had anything faster than 1.1 mb and
> often as low as 800 kbps.
> When I last called Zen on Thursday they said there was nothing else
> they could do for me and these things happened and said perhaps the
> cable was getting worn out, and that as quick as the speed went down
> it could come back up!! The guy mentioned about the ADSLNation
> filters (I have asked about these in a recent post) that he had heard
> could make a difference of 250kbps or 500 kbps.
>
> So feeling a bit peed off that I have always paid the £24.99 per
> month and getting on average half the speed I have enjoyed for
> several years and I have altered nothing in the PC/Router/etc set up.
> So I guess I have to accept this or any other thoughts for me to try?

What results have you had when you have plugged the modem into the test
socket behind the removable faceplate? Please post the SNR and connection
speeds.


Peter Crosland

(E-Mail Removed)

>
> What results have you had when you have plugged the modem into the test
> socket behind the removable faceplate? Please post the SNR and connection
> speeds.
>
>
> Peter Crosland
>
> (E-Mail Removed)
>

Sorry to here you still have not got it sorted Ken.

Peter, I don't think he has a NTE box as I recall he has some older version
with the extension cables connected into the same box.

I did advise him to change it even though it's not allowed by the user, but
if it was me I would have done it ages ago.

"Peter Crosland" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Ken wrote:
>> I have posted several times before as my speed was always almost 2mb.
>> Suddenly, in early February, it went down to 1mb and stayed there, or
>> a lot less, for about four weeks. Then, early March, I called Zen
>> Support and since which have spoken to them four more times. I have
>> also called Belkin support and spoken to them four times.
>>
>> In all I have done the following: virus & spyware scanned my PC's,
>> tried differing cables, tried differing filters, tried a friends
>> router for 10 days, was sent a new router by Belkin under their
>> Lifetime Guarantee Scheme, reset the routers, updated their firmware,
>> removed all other wires/equipment (like phones) from that connection
>> but on the 7/3/2008 and for two days the speeds went between 400kbps
>> up to 1.8 mb so I thought great it is getting back up to speed but
>> from the 11/3/2008 I have never had anything faster than 1.1 mb and
>> often as low as 800 kbps.
>> When I last called Zen on Thursday they said there was nothing else
>> they could do for me and these things happened and said perhaps the
>> cable was getting worn out, and that as quick as the speed went down
>> it could come back up!! The guy mentioned about the ADSLNation
>> filters (I have asked about these in a recent post) that he had heard
>> could make a difference of 250kbps or 500 kbps.
>>
>> So feeling a bit peed off that I have always paid the £24.99 per
>> month and getting on average half the speed I have enjoyed for
>> several years and I have altered nothing in the PC/Router/etc set up.
>> So I guess I have to accept this or any other thoughts for me to try?
>
> What results have you had when you have plugged the modem into the test
> socket behind the removable faceplate? Please post the SNR and connection
> speeds.
>
>
> Peter Crosland
>
> (E-Mail Removed)

No test socket behind faceplate! 7/8 year ago I had a second line installed
and it is the usual sized faceplate with the two screws each side but a two
side but side sockets - one for each line. No bit at the bottom that comes
off and when you remove the two screws just a mass of wiring so went no
further poking inside it. Excuse my ignorance but where are the "SNR and
connection speeds" information or do you want the speed test results?

Ken

"It's Me" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:47e631b4$0$21869$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>>
>> What results have you had when you have plugged the modem into the test
>> socket behind the removable faceplate? Please post the SNR and connection
>> speeds.
>>
>>
>> Peter Crosland
>>
>> (E-Mail Removed)
>>
>
> Sorry to here you still have not got it sorted Ken.
>
> Peter, I don't think he has a NTE box as I recall he has some older
> version with the extension cables connected into the same box.
>
> I did advise him to change it even though it's not allowed by the user,
> but if it was me I would have done it ages ago.

Yes I have an older version and I am not as brave as you in that I daren't
touch it. The Zen support guy said he had heard even if I get BT to change
the faceplate it will be a £100 plus bill.

Ken

"Bob L" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:13:09 -0000, "Ken" <Reply to NG only> wrote:
>
>>I have posted several times before as my speed was always almost 2mb.
>>Suddenly, in early February, it went down to 1mb and stayed there, or a
>>lot
>>less, for about four weeks. Then, early March, I called Zen Support and
>>since which have spoken to them four more times. I have also called Belkin
>>support and spoken to them four times.
>>
>>In all I have done the following: virus & spyware scanned my PC's, tried
>>differing cables, tried differing filters, tried a friends router for 10
>>days, was sent a new router by Belkin under their Lifetime Guarantee
>>Scheme,
>>reset the routers, updated their firmware, removed all other
>>wires/equipment
>>(like phones) from that connection but on the 7/3/2008 and for two days
>>the
>>speeds went between 400kbps up to 1.8 mb so I thought great it is getting
>>back up to speed but from the 11/3/2008 I have never had anything faster
>>than 1.1 mb and often as low as 800 kbps.
>>
>>When I last called Zen on Thursday they said there was nothing else they
>>could do for me and these things happened and said perhaps the cable was
>>getting worn out, and that as quick as the speed went down it could come
>>back up!! The guy mentioned about the ADSLNation filters (I have asked
>>about
>>these in a recent post) that he had heard could make a difference of
>>250kbps
>>or 500 kbps.
>>
>>So feeling a bit peed off that I have always paid the £24.99 per month and
>>getting on average half the speed I have enjoyed for several years and I
>>have altered nothing in the PC/Router/etc set up. So I guess I have to
>>accept this or any other thoughts for me to try?
>>
>>Ken
>>
>
>
> What you have not said on this posting is what are the attenuation and
> noise levels for upstream/downstream.
>
> What is your BRAS, found by going to the Zen portal on your account.
>
> If your modem status/diagnostics shows a high number of TX/RX
> errors/bad packets that will also indicate a bad line.
>
> You talk of speed, is this the synch speeds between you and the
> exchange ? If your synch speeds to the exchange are low then it has
> nothing to do with the onward connection to Zen.
>
> You can also log in direct to BTdirect bypassing your ISP, see below,
> note that this service gets very busy and you may have to try a few
> times to get to the appropriate page.
> .
>
> To me it sounds as though you just have a bad quality telephone line,
> and the quality varies due to weather and temperature.
>
> If that is the case then it will not matter which ISP you go with.
>
> ......................................
>
> This tutorial will explain how to use the BT ADSL speed test facility.
> This is a test often used by BT engineers when testing the speed on
> customer's ADSL connections. It basically tests the time it takes your
> system to download a file from a BT server and thus determines the
> effective transfer speed of your connection. This test differs from
> the normal Internet speed test that PlusNet and websites like
> ADSLguide have, as the test only involves the BT network and not your
> ISP.
>
> Here are the login settings to use for your router or modem to connect
> to the BT speed test domain.
>
> User: speedtest@startup_domain
>
> BT will ignore any password present in the password box, and therefore
> is not necessary to delete or modify these settings.
>
> Once connected you will be able to access the bt speedtest URL
> http://speedtester.bt.com
>
> On that page you will be promopted to enter your telephone number then
> click the "GO" button.
>
> After a short time your results will be displayed against the
> different speed internet connections to give you a fair idea of your
> ADSL line speed compared to your service.
>
> It is recommended that you repeat the test several times to give an
> average tested transfer speed. To repeat the test just click your
> browser's back button, which will take you back to the first page.
> Then just click the GO button again to repeat the test. Don't be
> surprised if the test results vary from test to test, this is not an
> accurate test but again will give you a fair idea of your ADSL line
> capacity.



Is this some of the information being asked for? Just came across when
fiddling into the router information.
The BRA's profile is 1250 and prior to early February had never been below
1750 and was often 2000 and up to 2500.

I have tried to use the BT speed test but is busy and will keep trying
later.

Thank you very much for the full reply and I guess it is my line, not my
ISP, but I can't help feeling I have had something taken away from me that I
once enjoyed about 1mb of speed.

Ken


ADSL Status Information

Status:
Configured
Current

Line Status
---
ShowTime






Date Rate: Stream Type
Interleaved Channel Data Rate
Fast Channel Data Rate

Up Stream
448 (Kbps.)
0 (Kbps.)

Down Stream
1632 (Kbps.)
0 (Kbps.)






Operation Data / Defect Indication: Operation Data
Upstream
Downstream

Noise Margin
19 dB
9 dB

Output Power
12 dBm
17.5 dBm

Attenuation
31.5 dB
51 dB


Indicator Name
Near End Indicator
Far End Indicator

Fast Path FEC Correction
0
17

Interleaved Path FEC Correction
49
49

Fast Path CRC Error
0
19

Interleaved Path CRC Error
21691
37

Loss of Signal Defect
---
---

Loss of Frame Defect
---
---

Loss of Power Defect
---
---

Fast Path HEC Error
0
0

Interleaved Path HEC Error
19177
40






Statistics: Received Superframes Interleaved
282670

Transmitted Superframes Interleaved
50833

Received Superframes Fast
0

Transmitted Superframes Fast
0

Ken wrote:
> "Peter Crosland" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Ken wrote:
>>> I have posted several times before as my speed was always almost
>>> 2mb. Suddenly, in early February, it went down to 1mb and stayed
>>> there, or a lot less, for about four weeks. Then, early March, I
>>> called Zen Support and since which have spoken to them four more
>>> times. I have also called Belkin support and spoken to them four
>>> times. In all I have done the following: virus & spyware scanned my
>>> PC's,
>>> tried differing cables, tried differing filters, tried a friends
>>> router for 10 days, was sent a new router by Belkin under their
>>> Lifetime Guarantee Scheme, reset the routers, updated their
>>> firmware, removed all other wires/equipment (like phones) from that
>>> connection but on the 7/3/2008 and for two days the speeds went
>>> between 400kbps up to 1.8 mb so I thought great it is getting back
>>> up to speed but from the 11/3/2008 I have never had anything
>>> faster than 1.1 mb and often as low as 800 kbps.
>>> When I last called Zen on Thursday they said there was nothing else
>>> they could do for me and these things happened and said perhaps the
>>> cable was getting worn out, and that as quick as the speed went down
>>> it could come back up!! The guy mentioned about the ADSLNation
>>> filters (I have asked about these in a recent post) that he had
>>> heard could make a difference of 250kbps or 500 kbps.
>>>
>>> So feeling a bit peed off that I have always paid the £24.99 per
>>> month and getting on average half the speed I have enjoyed for
>>> several years and I have altered nothing in the PC/Router/etc set
>>> up. So I guess I have to accept this or any other thoughts for me
>>> to try?
>>
>> What results have you had when you have plugged the modem into the
>> test socket behind the removable faceplate? Please post the SNR and
>> connection speeds.
>
> No test socket behind faceplate! 7/8 year ago I had a second line
> installed and it is the usual sized faceplate with the two screws
> each side but a two side but side sockets - one for each line. No bit
> at the bottom that comes off and when you remove the two screws just
> a mass of wiring so went no further poking inside it. Excuse my
> ignorance but where are the "SNR and connection speeds" information
> or do you want the speed test results?

Noted. I think you really need to get the socket changed. Try asking your
ISP to see if they can get BT to do it free of charge becuase unless, and
until, it is done then it is next to impossible to isololate the problem. I
think you should take a look at the guides on the following site so that you
have a basic idea of the various issues.

www.thinkbroadband.com

Peter Crosland

(E-Mail Removed)