Cause of slower connection with new ISP

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Rhys001

11 posts

Geek

#136263 20-Nov-2013 20:49

Hi

In the past month I've changed my ISP from Telecom to Flip. On the Telecom plan we were averaging about 4mbps download speed I think but since switching to Flip we've been unable to get past 1mbps. This makes quite a difference if we are trying to stream decent quality video, especially in the event that more than one of us in the flat is using the connection simultaneously.
I've called up Flip on several occasions and tried all their suggestions but with no improvement. They also have apparently had a technician check our line at the exchange (not sure what they did exactly but we were adamant that we didn't want to incur a callout fee at this stage - any ideas what the technician would have done?).

I've tried three different modems, with the one we are using now being a Linksys WAG200G. I've run an isolation test on two different jackpoints with no difference to the connection speed. One weird thing I've noticed is that when I connect the modem directly to the jackpoint without using a filter, the downstream attenuation is considerably lower (20dB vs 68dB) and the sync speed much higher than when it is run through a filter, however unfortunately we are unable to browse/download at all unless we plug in the filter and run the modem through that.

Here are the connection stats firstly with a filter

and without a filter

There's quite a difference there as you can see. We are due to pay our next month's charge in about a week's time but I feel we're not getting much value from our current ISP with a connection speed of only 1mbps. Due to it being a flatting situation, we're not keen to go back to a contract as none of us are sure how long we'll be around. In saying that, the Telecom connection at least seemed to be at a reasonable speed. By the way we are at the top end of Jervois Road in Ponsonby so although the wiring in the building possibly isn't the best, it's unlikely that we are far from a cabinet/exchange. The Chorus map shows that we should be able to get either > 10mbps or > 20 mbps downloads where we are.

Anyone able to hazard a guess as to what's causing the slow speeds? Happy to provide additional information if it'll help.

Cheers,

Rhys

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#938159 20-Nov-2013 20:49

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

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raytaylor

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#938169 20-Nov-2013 20:56

1) What speed is your dsl syncing at? You can find this in the status page of the modem
2) Does flip have a speedtest server you can try that is hosted within their network?

Ray Taylor

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Rhys001

11 posts

Geek

#938173 20-Nov-2013 21:05

Hi Ray

Just did a speed test at speedtest.flip.co.nz and it showed 0.96 Mbps download and 0.40Mbps upload speeds, about on par with what I've been getting consistently.
Also sorry I posted that first post prematurely. Have now edited it to include screenshots showing sync speeds and other stats per the modem.

RunningMan

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#938179 20-Nov-2013 21:15

You shouldn't have a filter on the modem - they are for all the other devices like phones.

What do you mean by not being able to browse when the modem is not connected through a filter?

Rhys001

11 posts

Geek

#938181 20-Nov-2013 21:21

Just that. While the connection stats appear to be better during the isolation test by just running the modem directly to the jack and with everything else unplugged, and the modem lights will show an internet connection has been established, in reality the connection is unusable. Looking at the throughput via task manager while connected directly to the jackpoint, it looks like there a occasional spikes but then the data flow will drop to zero over and over again. Not sure if this means the connection is dropping during these times or something else is happening.

raytaylor

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#938188 20-Nov-2013 21:26

Please post the stats so we can see them.
Also you can tell for sure if the connection is dropping by refreshing the status page of the router. The xDSL status will change from showtime to training.

Ray Taylor

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Rhys001

11 posts

Geek

#938211 20-Nov-2013 21:45

Sorry guys those screenshots of the connection stats were a bit small and I didn't realise it wasn't easy to zoom in on them. I've now replaced them in the original post with ones that you should be able to read easily.
Ray I'm not sure what you mean by 'showtime' and 'training' statuses? I don't recall seeing those words before with the Linksys modem I'm using.

coffeebaron

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#938245 20-Nov-2013 22:02

What part of the country are? I'd recommend a master filter install, that way you will have a dedicated jack-point for your router only and not need to worry about line filters.

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Rhys001

11 posts

Geek

#938249 20-Nov-2013 22:10

As mentioned in the first post I'm in Ponsonby/Herne Bay. A master filter probably isn't a bad idea but to be honest as we're only renting and a few of us are likely to be moving on within the next 6 months or so we'd prefer not to incur any significant expense of that nature. I talked to the landlord about the possibility of getting fibre installed but it requires a dedicated fibre modem costing upwards of $200 even if the installation is free and again we'd be looking at a 12 month+ contract which is not ideal.

I don't really have high hopes of blazing fast internet but if we could somehow work out why the speed suddenly dropped after the switch from Telecom to Flip and get back to around 4 - 5 mbps I'd be content with that.

Ragnor

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#938277 21-Nov-2013 04:08

The without a filter screenshot shows ~13Mbit down.

If you don't have a master filter every analogue device (phone, fax, sky) needs a plugin filter.

The modem should be able to be plugged straight into a jack by itself no filter..

I wonder if you actually have a master filter but it's just not labelled? or if there is an unfiltered alarm grabbing the line?

RunningMan

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#938294 21-Nov-2013 07:35

IMHO, there are two issues to look at, in this order:

1) The internal house wiring, including filter(s). Firstly, the modem should never be filtered. The purpose of the plug in filters is to prevent xDSL noise affecting voice devices. A correctly installed master filter (splitter) will also have the benefit of isolating any other issues with the internal property wiring (a common issue for old and new houses).

In this case, the sync rate is pretty reasonable, up and down, and if it's a flat where no-one is going to stump up the money for a master filter (the ideal solution), while not ideal, plug in filters are probably going to do the job OK. I'd suggest plugging a filter in to every non modem device, and then monitoring the connection for a while (either looking at the lights, or the status screen in the modem, or setting up a continuous ping to a local server) and see what happens.

This first step should indicate any problems that are causing the line to disconnect and re-connect etc.

Once that seems OK, look at step 2:

2) Start some throughput testing to confirm the speeds you are getting. In very general terms, it's unusual to see a drop to 25% for a speedtest to a local server so this needs to be looked at, but until any physical wiring or line issue have been resolved, this part is a waste of time, as the results will be influenced by the first issue(s).

This may be an ISP problem, or as simple as one of the flatties going nuts torrenting something that then effects everyone else... Can't really address it until the physical line is confirmed OK though...

EDIT: spelling!

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Inphinity

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#938315 21-Nov-2013 08:12

Your testing is being done via ethernet, not wireless, correct?

Rhys001

11 posts

Geek

#938654 21-Nov-2013 20:56

Hi Running Man

I isolated the router and ran a continuous ping to Flip.co.nz
Here are the results. It seems that there is an issue with the connection dropping.

Ping statistics for 103.9.40.28:
Packets: Sent = 104, Received = 85, Lost = 19 (18% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 6ms, Maximum = 8ms, Average = 7ms

Next step?

Rhys001

11 posts

Geek

#938658 21-Nov-2013 21:02

Correct. Testing via Ethernet.

Rhys001

11 posts

Geek

#938662 21-Nov-2013 21:08

I checked with the landlord and there isn't a burglar alarm, only smoke alarms built into the building (as opposed to the battery powered ones you screw into the ceiling) which he doesn't think are connected to a phone line. Not sure how I'd confirm this without setting one off and waiting to see if the fire department show up though...

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