ChatterBank1 min ago
Is It Me Or Bt.?
28 Answers
I have copied herewith some remarks which I made, as something of a digression last night in Chatterbank, and methyl considers it is worthy of posting in the Technology section of AB.
////Guess what...Yes my Broadband failed again as I felt sure it would at some stage during the evening. It's now back at it's regular speeds of 12.4 down and 0.96 up.
I really think that BT is playing games and has been for some months. I reported the matter at the start of March and after at least 10 people had telephoned me from the Indian Call Centre (level 1 & 2) it was arranged for an 'Engineer' to visit me last Friday; but that was because I had e/mailed the CEO of BT.( [email protected] ) A chap from Openreach then called and tested my incoming Telephone line and declared that there was packet loss between the main socket and my Computer which is 'hard wired' to the Router. I told him that that was to be expected but didn't mean that my internal wiring needed to be replaced, when there was a definite pattern of Broadband loss each evening and that he was testing the incoming signal during the day when the line from the Telephone Exchange was free from any possible Capping. ////
At present today the speeds are constant at 12.4 down and 0.96 up and if like yesterday, and most other days, it will remain like that until sometime this evening.
The BT input point to my house is underground cable that enters a small cupboard underneath the stairs. At that point it is split in two directions to a main socket in the hallway and another in the lounge. All legal and above board because it was the predecessors of BT (Post Office Telephones) who originally did that very many years back. Both sockets are similar in appearance to Extension sockets and Do Not have a removable bottom plate with a test point inside.
From the hallway socket I have plugged in a cable that is glued to moulding and which is taken to a telephone socket on the Landing. From the Landing a spur is taken under floorboards to a further outlet socket, downstairs in the kitchen, and then through a wall into the dining room to a socket to which my Desktop PC is wired. I Do Not use any Wireless connections at any stage for Computer or the three telephones.
Hans.
////Guess what...Yes my Broadband failed again as I felt sure it would at some stage during the evening. It's now back at it's regular speeds of 12.4 down and 0.96 up.
I really think that BT is playing games and has been for some months. I reported the matter at the start of March and after at least 10 people had telephoned me from the Indian Call Centre (level 1 & 2) it was arranged for an 'Engineer' to visit me last Friday; but that was because I had e/mailed the CEO of BT.( [email protected] ) A chap from Openreach then called and tested my incoming Telephone line and declared that there was packet loss between the main socket and my Computer which is 'hard wired' to the Router. I told him that that was to be expected but didn't mean that my internal wiring needed to be replaced, when there was a definite pattern of Broadband loss each evening and that he was testing the incoming signal during the day when the line from the Telephone Exchange was free from any possible Capping. ////
At present today the speeds are constant at 12.4 down and 0.96 up and if like yesterday, and most other days, it will remain like that until sometime this evening.
The BT input point to my house is underground cable that enters a small cupboard underneath the stairs. At that point it is split in two directions to a main socket in the hallway and another in the lounge. All legal and above board because it was the predecessors of BT (Post Office Telephones) who originally did that very many years back. Both sockets are similar in appearance to Extension sockets and Do Not have a removable bottom plate with a test point inside.
From the hallway socket I have plugged in a cable that is glued to moulding and which is taken to a telephone socket on the Landing. From the Landing a spur is taken under floorboards to a further outlet socket, downstairs in the kitchen, and then through a wall into the dining room to a socket to which my Desktop PC is wired. I Do Not use any Wireless connections at any stage for Computer or the three telephones.
Hans.
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@ivor4781....Whatever ISP I have, it is the same Telephone Exchange in the hands of BT Wholesale from where my Broadband would come. Consequently it is very unlikely that any faults on the line would alter. Furthermore, it could prove to be more expensive having to pay BT for a Telephone line and another company for Telephone calls and a Broadband connection. Also it would involve my having to change my primary E/mail address and advising too many people of the alteration.
Good thought though on your part.
Hans.
Good thought though on your part.
Hans.
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I've been advised in the past that *each* outlet socket must have a BB filter in it (not sure if applicable to unused sockets).
Also, that sounds like a very long cable run to the living room socket. Signal quality goes down with length and 25m of cabling must act like a radio antenna, to boot.
However, as you have already concluded, structural handicaps should impact your connection at *all* times of day. What you are getting is service throttling and/or borderline denial of service attack symptoms.
One of the things inhibiting me from changing to BT is that I don't know how much control they let you have over your router. Mine can email me reports of things its firewall has dealt with like port access attempts and DDoS attacks.
Also, that sounds like a very long cable run to the living room socket. Signal quality goes down with length and 25m of cabling must act like a radio antenna, to boot.
However, as you have already concluded, structural handicaps should impact your connection at *all* times of day. What you are getting is service throttling and/or borderline denial of service attack symptoms.
One of the things inhibiting me from changing to BT is that I don't know how much control they let you have over your router. Mine can email me reports of things its firewall has dealt with like port access attempts and DDoS attacks.
Yet again I have been without Broadband all evening. When I last posted at 15.27Hrs the Download speed was 12.4 and Up was 0.96. and had been like that from at least midnight on Wednesday.(00.00hrs Thurs) However the next time I endeavoured to get on line at 17.55hrs (Thurs) there was nothing. I did try a few times during the evening but to no avail. Things are now back to normal...Down.12.4 and Up.0.96....and are likely to stay this way until evening comes along.
I now feel certain that, although BT is in denial of the position. it is as suggested by Hypognosis........Service Throttling.
True, there is a long length of cabling from the main in-put socket to the Computer but that is a permanent fixture and cables are totally free from any disturbance. Furthermore there are ADSL Filters on all sockets.
Guess I'll just have live with the fact that all Internet activities will have to be undertaken during the daytime and that evenings are to be avoided.
Thanks to you all for you suggestions.....Hans.
I now feel certain that, although BT is in denial of the position. it is as suggested by Hypognosis........Service Throttling.
True, there is a long length of cabling from the main in-put socket to the Computer but that is a permanent fixture and cables are totally free from any disturbance. Furthermore there are ADSL Filters on all sockets.
Guess I'll just have live with the fact that all Internet activities will have to be undertaken during the daytime and that evenings are to be avoided.
Thanks to you all for you suggestions.....Hans.
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Personally I think that BT is aware that there is something amiss in the Telephone Exchange but does Not want to admit it. All rather strange because early last month I was informed by a very polite chap in India that there was a minor fault but he had tweaked things and I should see a difference. The following day my profile went from 14.3 to 16.0 and the down speed at my Computer rose from 12.4 to 13.8. Up speeds have always remained fairly constant between 0.94 and 0.96.
A few days latter I was back to India and informed the Call Centre that I was Not having any daytime problems although there had been a drop down in speed, back to what it was originally of 12.4 arriving at my Computer. However, there was the continued problem of signal being lost for varying numbers of hours each evening. I was then informed that a software problem in the Exchange had been discovered. The rest of the story I think is evident from my previous postings.
Incidentally, Parental Controls Have Not been applied. The Computer backs onto a wall of my kitchen and I am unaware of anything electrical that stikes-up in the evenings.
At the moment I am avoiding playing around with the BT Home Hub for fear of making things worse and it would be a real fag to set up the Computer temporarily in the hall.
At this exact moment everything is in order ( 14.3 supposedly coming down the Exchange line and 12.4 arriving at my Computer.) If like other days, it will remain until sometime this evening before a full loss of Broadband.
Hans.
A few days latter I was back to India and informed the Call Centre that I was Not having any daytime problems although there had been a drop down in speed, back to what it was originally of 12.4 arriving at my Computer. However, there was the continued problem of signal being lost for varying numbers of hours each evening. I was then informed that a software problem in the Exchange had been discovered. The rest of the story I think is evident from my previous postings.
Incidentally, Parental Controls Have Not been applied. The Computer backs onto a wall of my kitchen and I am unaware of anything electrical that stikes-up in the evenings.
At the moment I am avoiding playing around with the BT Home Hub for fear of making things worse and it would be a real fag to set up the Computer temporarily in the hall.
At this exact moment everything is in order ( 14.3 supposedly coming down the Exchange line and 12.4 arriving at my Computer.) If like other days, it will remain until sometime this evening before a full loss of Broadband.
Hans.
@tamborine......If there was a fault at the 'split', surely the Broadband failures would Not have a regular pattern of OK during the day but Down in the evenings. Also, surely a fault at the split would have some effect on the telephones , the three of which are working without problems such as Noise and Failure of connections.
Hans.
Hans.
An interesting fact.
The Openreach 'Engineer' told me that because of the 'split' to two main sockets there was likely to be a severe drop or complete loss of my Broadband if the lounge telephone was in use; because signals were being sent in two separate directions. I told him that I found it difficult to believe because there had been occasions when my wife had been on the telephone at times when I had tested the Broadband speeds.
At the moment my wife is on the telephone and I am getting my normal daytime speeds of a supposed 14.3 from the Exchange and arriving at my Computer are a Down of 12.4 and Up of 0.96. All that is likely to change this evening.
Hans.
The Openreach 'Engineer' told me that because of the 'split' to two main sockets there was likely to be a severe drop or complete loss of my Broadband if the lounge telephone was in use; because signals were being sent in two separate directions. I told him that I found it difficult to believe because there had been occasions when my wife had been on the telephone at times when I had tested the Broadband speeds.
At the moment my wife is on the telephone and I am getting my normal daytime speeds of a supposed 14.3 from the Exchange and arriving at my Computer are a Down of 12.4 and Up of 0.96. All that is likely to change this evening.
Hans.
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