how to stabilise a broadband line

[spaced]

my BT Broadband has dropped in speed in the last few days, from 1.5mb to 200kbs. It seems that my line may need stabilising.

What is the best way to do this? What other probelms could it be? (there is no fault n the line or connections)

arrgh!! Help!!

[petes_dragon]

If you've got a line box (your main socket - does it have a line across the middle and a screw either side, about 2/3's of the way down). unscrew it and there is a test socket inside - plug your router & filter directly into this and leave it for 3 days!...

This will reset your profile and should give you a mire stable connection!!

It could be a few other things causing the problem though - internal or external - do you use a wired or wireless connection? Do know how far away you are from the exchange? Have you added any new software/hardware?

Hope this helps
A xXx

[petes_dragon]

ps

If you haven't got that type of line box (ie just a flat front plate), don't unscrew it!!

A xXx

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hey pete

Its a normal wired BT Router. plugged into my pc and into a micro fileter in a telephone ext cable (Socket downstiars, pc upstairs).

Always worked at around 1000-1500 now speed is about 262.

What if I leave the modem/router on for a few days?

[petes_dragon]

That wouldn't really make a difference if you're in an extension socket. You don't have to take your whole PC downstairs - you just need the router and the filter (and power!)

It could also just be a faulty extension socket or a faulty filter so try swapping things around!

Most likely thing is a drop off at the exchange - they may have been doing some work or added new cabling.. Your best bet is to reset the profile in the test socket!

If not, call 08456007030 (BTBB Tech Help) and get them to do more diagnostics - it could need to be reset from their end if the profile is stuck!

A xXx

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how do i reset the test socket?

[petes_dragon]

Just plug your router & filter into the test socket (if you have one) and leave it on for 3 days - that will automatically reset your profile!

A xXx

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is my test socket the main phone socket? Sorry im a bit new at this!

[Daisy13]

I used to work for BT Tech Help....not sure how plugging your router into the test socket for 3 days will "reset your profile". Have you tried disconnecting then reconnecting - switch your router off, wait a minute and switch it back on again?

How are you testing the speed of your connection? If you're downloading from another site it may be that the other site is suffering from slow speeds? Try going to www.btopenworld.com/speedtest and test the speed of your connection there.

Do you have any file sharing programs running in the background? Have tried rebooting everything? Sometimes just a reboot of the router and the PC at the same time will fix everything.

I wouldn't recommend that you unscrew anything from the wall and start fiddling around with the wiring if you dont know what you're doing....if you make a mess of it BT will charge you a fortune to come out and fix it and you'll have to put up with the engineer sniggering at you every time you turn your back. Try calling the helpdesk before you do that.

[petes_dragon]

Yes, this is the main phone socket!

Daisy, i've worked for BTBB Tech help for over 2yrs and this is common practice - there's even instructions on how to do it in the front of the phone book and on the website!!!...Also, plugging in to the test socket WILL reset the profile!!

A xXx

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have tried everything stated on here, apart from leaving plugged into test socket for 3 days.

Called bt, spoke to someone in india. They said an engineer will call me back when they have an update. Suppose I have to wait??

Petesdragon - would you recommend me plugging on the router into the test socket for 3 days?

[petes_dragon]

Hi,

The contention ratio is when a certain number of people are logged on to the same exchange at exactly the same time - on a standard BT exchange this is usually about 50:1.....which would mean that 50 people would have to be logged on to that exchange at the same moment to cause any problems with slow speeds or dropped connection, this isn't standard but can happen a bit at peak times.

do you download a lot of music/films from the internet - if so BT can 'throttle' your service if you are constantly downloading at peak times - there is no set limit, but if you save your downloading to off peak times then you can get away with much more at a better speed!

SPACED - if the THD guy has said an eng will call back it may mean that it has been passed to wholesale (if a suspected fault exists on the network)...if that is the case you can still plugg into the test socket, but I would wait until you here from the eng first as this may be unneccessary - I wouldn't wait anymore than 48hrs for their initial diagnostics - if you haven't heard anything by then, give them a ring to chase!

Hope this helps
A xXx

[petes_dragon]

This is the best site for testing your speed. Make sure you have ALL other applications closed to get a true picture.

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest

There are 3 main points to consider -

MSR - this is your maximum stable rate - you would normally get about 0.5mb under this

CLR - your current line rate (look at the download speed on the test)

FTR - this is the fault threshold rate - this is the lowest speed that BT would accept on the line - if your speed is constantly below this then it would need to go to wholesale to be reset/repaired

Without any testing systems I couldn't tell you what you should get but the BT THD can if you ask them!

NEIL - SPACED is asking about slower speeds on the line - 1.5mb was his previous avg speed but he has now fallen well below this.

The THD guy should've gone through basic internal/PC diagnostics first then, if required send it off to the wholesale team for network diagnostics - you just need to wait for them I'm afraid!

Let me know how it goes
A xXx