Guaranteed download speed not high enough to stop service dropping out.

[jaketheplumber]

Switched from BT to EE on 05/08, checked that my download speed what at the level guaranteed (44.91Mbps) and all seemed ok for a day or two. Service started dropping out after a few days, went through the test procedure on the EE site and was informed of a fault, engineer was booked to investigate. Started monitoring my download speed and it was only half of the guaranteed speed, sometimes as low as 18.8. Engineer arrived on 13/08 and said the only way the problem could be solved was by asking EE to raise the cap on the download speed. He did this via a phone call after he left and after I reset the hub all was ok again, download speed was back to 50 or more.Within 2 days it all went pear shaped again.I kept a check on how often the service dropped out and it happened at least 4 times a day from 15/09 - 25/09. During this time the speed was generally around what it should be but the service was still dropping, yesterday and today it has dropped out several times and the speed is back down to 27Mbps. Tried phoning yesterday and ended up on hold for what seemed like an eternity while constantly being told by EE how important my call was to them. Really don't know what to do next.

[jaketheplumber]

Yes that was a mistake, don't know how it happened and I didn't know at the time that posts could be edited/removed.

[jaketheplumber]

I haven't got a DSL micro filter, I said in a previous post that I sent it back with the BT kit as it didn't seem to be needed.

[Mustrum]

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@jaketheplumber wrote:

Yes that was a mistake, don't know how it happened and I didn't know at the time that posts could be edited/removed.

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It is easily done, the button is next to the Reply button and even just moving the cursor over can be enough to trigger it. All sorted now though.

This last few days must be like the broadband equivalent of working out where the main stopcock is ! Logging into the router and montoring your speeds is always better than speed tests and worth doing if you suspect you have issues, as is getting it reported before things get too bad.

[XRaySpeX]

Oh, well, that's a useful diagnostic down the drain 😞 .

[jaketheplumber]

Being able to log into the router certainly is useful, I will do that when the engineer is here so he can see exactly what is happening and how often.

Strange thing is, since I sent the HELP text to EE, there have been far fewer instances of the service dropping out, the download speed is still only half of what it should be but it's certainly been performing much better since. I can't help thinking this is more than a coincidence and that somehow they are manipulating how the line is performing. 

[JimM11]

@jaketheplumber Nature of the DSLAM. takes the router speed as low as it possibly can to get you the best steady line that it can, so you will see improvement's with less drops, more stability etc.

[JimM11]

@jaketheplumber Just snapped my status screen and highlighted what to look at for you. I reset 7.00am, and can look about 7.03.30am each day for anything suspect, then can go look further if anything seen. Every day is a roll on, as long as the router is not reset, then logs keep going, did reset after 30 days, router was just getting to slow to look at, but there was nothing bad operational wise.

[jaketheplumber]

Unfortunately I had to reset my hub this morning. Noticed the hub flashing orange at 2am when i got up for a drink, still going at 8.30 so had no choice. Luckily i took a copy of the event log from 27/09 which was when the service was particularly erratic so I still have that to show the engineer tomorrow.

That status page is a useful addition to see how it's performing at a glance.

[Mustrum]

Hey @jaketheplumber  I imagine the weather over the last few days will not have helped your line, so just another drop. The engineer should be able to see some of the history of your line, finding the fault can be trickier, but at least your line seems quite short, so not too many places for them to check.

[Taxus]

Had this problem 2 years ago. Turned out to be a poor connection in a BT junction box where copper contact had become corroded by dying spiders and damp . Cleaning and remaking contacts cured problem speed stable for 2 years.