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Broadband Speed
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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For years now we've suffered piss poor broadband speeds, most recently down as low as 90kbs ! which settled at around 800kbs on average
I've lost count of the number of hours I've spent on the phone to various isp's in an effort to reslove the problem, but not one of them would suffer to send an engineer to check the hardware at this end to look for a physical fault. The best they would do was to 'tweak' their exchange equipment in an effort to improve matters.
So we decided to give BT a chance and after 2 weeks their speed was as bad as the rest, so yesterday, without any hassle, they sent an engineer to the house who spent a considerable time doing tests which eventually led him to switch our line onto a different pair of cables between the distribution cabinet and the exchange. The new pair of cables were providing and increase of 8db (almost a factor of 10) over the old pair.
We now have 2.9Mb !
Well done BT.
It just goes to show, that on some occasions where 'there is nothing more can be done' - there is ! It just takes the right person to be on the job. |
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By *he tactile technicianMan
over a year ago
the good lands, the bad lands, the any where you may want me lands |
9 kbps? I was putting up with 1.5 kbps from BT cnstantly, no mater how much I complained to Ian Livingstone, it woul improve a little then drop off again. In the end I was given a free upgrade to the BT high speed broad band infinity or whatever it is called, getting just short of 8.5 mbps now, which is more like it. Just wish BT could manage the broad band like the electric and water companies do, so whn thy experience high usage, there isn't a drop in the pressure.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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best way to find your speed is
check your bill (or do the above poster)
with so many problems with detecting speeds problems.
is usually comes downs down to.
a problem with the pc an the not speed connection..
do a few virus scans make sure its up 2 date 1st
preferably in safe mode
if found any you can remove them easily.
could also be the route your using or a faulty box worth a check on this
ano its basic stuff but it will rule out a few things
an may not be your isp
just the pc itself a problem,
i hope this helps |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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try speedtest.net thats a good site, i am on virgin broadband phone tv bundle etc.. including phone line rental got a deal till july for £26 for all 3 including free weekend calls to other landlines and also 20meg. which is uncle bob on i think! x |
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"try speedtest.net thats a good site, i am on virgin broadband phone tv bundle etc.. including phone line rental got a deal till july for £26 for all 3 including free weekend calls to other landlines and also 20meg. which is uncle bob on i think! x "
The speedtest site is good as you can register on it and get the speeds of other providers in your area if not your street often ,this is so you can look at security ,maybe someone else has hacked your wifi is piggy backing on your connection ...not difficult to do with the right tools .
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"To improve your download speeds try using fatter cables as it fits more internets in."
thats where im going wrong,, i dont have any cable in.
ive got 6.91mbps  |
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"To improve your download speeds try using fatter cables as it fits more internets in.
thats where im going wrong,, i dont have any cable in.
ive got 6.91mbps "
If you're using the air for the internets some can float away so you lose download speeds. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"To improve your download speeds try using fatter cables as it fits more internets in.
thats where im going wrong,, i dont have any cable in.
ive got 6.91mbps
If you're using the air for the internets some can float away so you lose download speeds."
whats air??? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"To improve your download speeds try using fatter cables as it fits more internets in.
thats where im going wrong,, i dont have any cable in.
ive got 6.91mbps "
7 meg your showing who are you with provider
what programes do you have running in the back ground
do you download
do you clean your pc ie virus (from the above) |
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"To improve your download speeds try using fatter cables as it fits more internets in.
thats where im going wrong,, i dont have any cable in.
ive got 6.91mbps
If you're using the air for the internets some can float away so you lose download speeds."
You KNOW your actually right lol |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"To improve your download speeds try using fatter cables as it fits more internets in.
thats where im going wrong,, i dont have any cable in.
ive got 6.91mbps 7 meg your showing who are you with provider
what programes do you have running in the back ground
do you download
do you clean your pc ie virus (from the above)"
no i dont download and the only program i have running (as far as im aware) is Tinternet Explorer for this wonderful site  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"To improve your download speeds try using fatter cables as it fits more internets in.
thats where im going wrong,, i dont have any cable in.
ive got 6.91mbps 7 meg your showing who are you with provider
what programes do you have running in the back ground
do you download
do you clean your pc ie virus (from the above)
no i dont download and the only program i have running (as far as im aware) is Tinternet Explorer for this wonderful site "
so you dont have a fire wall virus program running then |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"no i dont download and the only program i have running (as far as im aware) is Tinternet Explorer for this wonderful site so you dont have a fire wall virus program running then"
im not a pc geeky person, how would i know if i did? |
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Checking the bill - these hardly ever have the speed on, all they will list if the package e.g.
up to 8meg
up to 20Meg etc
Which mean nothing, those posters getting broadband over a phone line have one very large factor the distance from telephone exchange to the home.
After that the next factor is the wiring in your home.
If getting slow speeds check speed during evening and also around breakfast time, if good at breakfast a good chance the issue may simply be congestion. NOT a problem with your broadband |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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i just checked mine and it says i'm getting 54mbps....is this good?
i also use chrome rather than explorer and the difference there has been unbelievable! |
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always having problems with BT/sky as they say there always doing upgrades so that will slow internet connection down and signal, really thinking going back to virgin was with them near 4 years and not once did i ever need to ring them about any problems with the internet  |
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always having problems with BT/sky as they say there always doing upgrades so that will slow internet connection down and signal, really thinking going back to virgin was with them near 4 years and not once did i ever need to ring them about any problems with the internet |
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"i just checked mine and it says i'm getting 54mbps....is this good?
i also use chrome rather than explorer and the difference there has been unbelievable!"
how did you test it, as coincidentally 54 mbs is the max wifi speed if using 802.11
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"i just checked mine and it says i'm getting 54mbps....is this good?
i also use chrome rather than explorer and the difference there has been unbelievable!
how did you test it, as coincidentally 54 mbs is the max wifi speed if using 802.11
"
connection status for my service provider |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"so my internet is super slow.. great 
Just check that you've done all you can inside to optimise it: see my post above. If it remains slow, I'd persist with calls to your ISP."
thanks for the tip on opera....dang, and i thought chrome was good! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"so my internet is super slow.. great
Just check that you've done all you can inside to optimise it: see my post above. If it remains slow, I'd persist with calls to your ISP.
thanks for the tip on opera....dang, and i thought chrome was good!"
ok...so opera conflicts with adobe.....any ideas? |
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"i just checked mine and it says i'm getting 54mbps....is this good?
i also use chrome rather than explorer and the difference there has been unbelievable!
how did you test it, as coincidentally 54 mbs is the max wifi speed if using 802.11
connection status for my service provider"
arr ok go test it at speedtest.com ,you have to download a little java script easy to do ..then it will run an actual test of your speed ,make sure you shut off anything using the connection other than your browser. |
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"Which mean nothing, those posters getting broadband over a phone line have one very large factor the distance from telephone exchange to the home."
Thats one main factor, the others being...
Number of joints in the cable, and their quality.
Any aluminium cable between you and the exchange.
Size of the pair of wires carrying your curcuit.
Also, for well over 95% of people, the network is the same, no matter who you pay your bill to, and certain combinations of the factors listed above will mean that, no matter what an internet provider promises, the speed will stay the same. |
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""Which mean nothing, those posters getting broadband over a phone line have one very large factor the distance from telephone exchange to the home."
Thats one main factor, the others being...
Number of joints in the cable, and their quality.
Any aluminium cable between you and the exchange.
Size of the pair of wires carrying your curcuit.
Also, for well over 95% of people, the network is the same, no matter who you pay your bill to, and certain combinations of the factors listed above will mean that, no matter what an internet provider promises, the speed will stay the same."
especially when balancing the network and throttling ..lol.and lets not go into poorly programmed routers |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"i just checked mine and it says i'm getting 54mbps....is this good?
i also use chrome rather than explorer and the difference there has been unbelievable!
how did you test it, as coincidentally 54 mbs is the max wifi speed if using 802.11
connection status for my service provider
arr ok go test it at speedtest.com ,you have to download a little java script easy to do ..then it will run an actual test of your speed ,make sure you shut off anything using the connection other than your browser."
aye, it's adobe...now i have opera i am no longer compatible hahaha |
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"i just checked mine and it says i'm getting 54mbps....is this good?
i also use chrome rather than explorer and the difference there has been unbelievable!
how did you test it, as coincidentally 54 mbs is the max wifi speed if using 802.11
connection status for my service provider
arr ok go test it at speedtest.com ,you have to download a little java script easy to do ..then it will run an actual test of your speed ,make sure you shut off anything using the connection other than your browser.
aye, it's adobe...now i have opera i am no longer compatible hahaha"
it is really quick especially in running scripts i think its 3 times quicker than firefox or explorer but its probably why its not used much .,..have a look for a fix for it |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I got 4.97...? Speed isn't an issue for me so much as frigging losing connection all the time have you tried another browser that usually helps
I use both Chrome & IE"
daft question maybe everything up 2 date
flash player |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I got 4.97...? Speed isn't an issue for me so much as frigging losing connection all the timehave you tried another browser that usually helps
I use both Chrome & IE"
Had this problem a while ago. Speed good but kept getting cut off. usually means that the service provider is sending to much speed down the line and the router cant handle it. In which case it cuts off. I had this with sly and kept calling to sort it out. Eventually they capped the download speed at 3.8mbps which then did not have any problems after.
Get your ISP to do a line test and router test. If need be then go to speedtest.net see what your getting. Ask what they are sending but get them to cap it at the speed your getting. Should sort it out. |
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Provider CANNOT send too much data, the hardware looks after all that side of thing.
Disconnects on ADSL based services are usually
1. If DSL light is flashing then often it has disconnected due to noise and is reconnecting, takes 30 seconds to a couple of minutes.
2. The ISP or network has a glitch and loses a request for a webpage/item, pressing F5 (Refresh) often gets it going. Known as packet loss.
If (1) is happening too often, the issue may be that the phone wiring in the property is having an adverse effect on the service, and thus any sensible ISP should tell you to test at the master sockets test socket (phone book shows you where this is - cant link to pictures here).
For some people the issue is external noise or just a poor phone line, can lowering connection speed gives more margin for the hardware to handle the errors. |
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"I`m not that far from the exchange but being out in the sticks all of the cables are overhead. I never get any more than 1.5 mb"
Overhead if proper BT cables and no branches resting on line need not be bad. 1.5Mbps suggests probably about 5km of phone line to the exchange.
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"Also, for well over 95% of people, the network is the same, no matter who you pay your bill to, and certain combinations of the factors listed above will mean that, no matter what an internet provider promises, the speed will stay the same."
What a load of tosh. The local loop may be the same, but at the exchange with the use of LLU the quality of service can vary widely. Even with non-LLU the quality of service can vary widely. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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The BT infrastructure, especially the "last mile" is pretty poor in places.
When I lived further south I talked to an engineer and he said the problem with my area is that it was built when copper was expensive (80s-90s I think?) so they used aluminium in some of the cables; fine for voice, but shite for broadband.
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I replied yesterday, with some tips on optimising your connection speed: but included links outside of the site, which is not allowed - my apologies to the site, users and moderators. I'll try to summarise what I wrote, without including any links.
1. There must be minimal telephone equipment of any type connected to your line. This includes extension wiring:the less extension wiring the better.
2. The router must be connected directly into the master socket, and the cable from the router to the socket and pc must be as short as possible. Use Cat5 cable into ethernet ports, rather than USB etc. Wifi-wireless-is more likely to suffer problems than cabled connections.
3. BT master sockets often have more than 2 wires connected internally, whilst only 2 are really needed, and the 3rd can cause problems. This can be corrected by either adding a new special face plate, which also doubles as a filter, or removing the Bell Wire inside the master socket: this is usually coloured orange, and connected as wire no 3. Search the internet for faceplates and how to remove the bell wire. Face plates are just over £10, so not too expensive.
4. Test your ADSL filters and replace any that are faulty. These often cause problems, so check each one individually, to see if speed increases.
5. search the net for broadband speed test sites, or ask your ISP for one that they'd recommend or accept results from. It's worth doing tests after any changes, so that you can notice alterations.
If you've checked everything you can inside your home, then throw the problem to the ISP to resolve. This may even mean giving you a discount etc, if they wish to retain your service and can't improve it.
Hope this helps and apologies for inclusion of links: I believe that you read my posts though, so this is a summary of my tips. ISPs will often charge customers for BT engineer site visits, where problems are due to customer equipment/internal problems, so it's essential to exclude anything under your own control, so that you can't be charged. |
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