ADSL broadband performance Virgin Media

[Helloson]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this issue but I've had this site recommended by a friend.

I've just moved house and had non cable broadband installed in my home 14 days ago. In the morning I'm getting download speeds of 2.5 Mbps and anytime after 12pm it goes to 0.1 Mbps. The upload speed is faster at 0.4 Mbps. This slow speed is consistant all night.

I've contacted Virgin media and they just tell me that BT are checking the line for the top speeds. I've had this done before and some days its fast and some days its slow, not the consistantly slow performance that I'm getting. I also believed that these tests on the line only took 10 days to complete.

The support people that are online (I'm not ringing them as its a premium phone line) just fob me off telling me to wait a few more days. Its either an account or line problem but I'm geting nowhere.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to help me determine whether its a line or account issue so I ca get back onto them. If all else fails, I'll have to cancel them as my ISP.

[m8internet]

Quite common on ADSL (via BT line), for the line speed to vary
Check the line for noise

[Helloson]

Thanks for the reply.

How do I check the line for noise? If I ring BT they tell me to contact my isp. The ISP tell me I have to wait a couple of days.

Theres no noise on the line when using the phone.

[jorgehernan]

Ring 17070 option 2 for quiet line test ideally with your phone plugged into the test socket behind your master phone box. Any noise on their would indicate a fault on your line.

[Helloson]

I've checked for noise on the line and it appears fine. VM are now telling me I have to plug into the test connection of the master socket for 3 days.

I'm getting the feeling I'm being fobbed off.

Does anyone know of a speedtest I can use without going through virgin. I've tried connecting through speedtest@speedtest_domain and although it will connect, it won't run the tests.

[Chris]

I've checked for noise on the line and it appears fine. VM are now telling me I have to plug into the test connection of the master socket for 3 days.

I'm getting the feeling I'm being fobbed off.

You are indeed getting fobbed off. VM's ADSL network is currently running well over capacity. They are investing in more capacity but you are unlikely to start getting the speed you are paying for until later in the summer.

I have been through the same rigmarole with them that you are now going through, starting with email support, then phone support (had to fight to get them to send BT out, they were insisting my line length was the problem), then a BT visit which fixed some line problems but not the speed ... eventually, in a long, final conversation with their call centre (when someone actually phoned me to find out if the issue was fixed) they admitted their capacity issues.

I believe I was only able to extract this confession from them because I have detailed speed test records going back as far as last August, when their 'up to' 8Mb service was installed on my line. I have evidence of achieving 2Mb+ on my line until October, then a steady deterioration.

In fact, the speeds I am getting now mirror the pattern you are experiencing precisely. I get the line's max speed during mornings and lunchtimes, then it falls off to about 128k and stays there. Upstream remains steady at about 362k.

Given the circumstances, unless you are happy with what you have and are prepared to wait for things to improve, I think you should read the small print on your agreement with them and if at all possible, cancel it and go elsewhere.

You are extremely unlikely to get an admission from them that their network is falling apart until you have gone through all the nonsense with the master socket, speed tests (only ones logged through the official BT one are acceptable to them) and, eventually, an engineer visit from BT.

[Helloson]

Did you manage to connect to the BT speedtest without going through Virgin?

I'll get in touch with them again tonight and if they don't help, I'll try and cancel. Its a pain as I'm getting my telephone calls through them and I don't want it to start getting nasty if they ask for the £50 back (which i won't be giving them).

[Chris]

Did you manage to connect to the BT speedtest without going through Virgin?

I'll get in touch with them again tonight and if they don't help, I'll try and cancel. Its a pain as I'm getting my telephone calls through them and I don't want it to start getting nasty if they ask for the £50 back (which i won't be giving them).

No. There is a public version of the BT speed checker but it is always too busy. I'm afraid you're going to have to phone them to sort this out. They will give you a different ID to log in to your internet service with, which allows you to access a different version of the speed checker (and nothing else - you have to log out afterwards, and back in with your usual ******@adsl.virgin.net username to get normal browsing back). It's a bit of a pain but worth doing as it is the only speed checker they will accept.

Run the tests 3 or 4 times a day for at least a week and keep a screenshot of every test you run. When you phone them up, don't take any messing off them, and keep an eye out for witless CSRs who don't know the difference between a kilobit and a kilobyte. When I went through this, the fool on the other end of the phone insisted my line speeds were fine because she was reading 128Kb as 128KB (which is about 10x faster). I insisted on talking to her supervisor. :D

The number will cost you 25p per minute but they shouldn't put you on hold. The line should ring until someone is ready to answer.

[Helloson]

Here are the facts now my problem is over.

I signed up for ADSL broadband and it was fast. 3 days later I changed my package to included phone calls for £2 less. This is when the speed dropped off. After getting nowhere with their tech. support I cancelled my connection to Virgin yesterday. This morning my adsl speed for download was 6.5 Mbps. It appears that if you order the phone package you are capped.

Incidently, I spoke to their customer services and they gave me the number for retentions and they told me to ask for an upgraded line. Just shows they have two levels of service.

I'm now chaning to Tiscali as they have a national rate phone line for tech support.

[Chris]

Not sure I understand what has gone on there. What speed did you think you were signing up for?

[superbiatch]

I didn't find any difference when i upgraded to 'free calls' as well. I initially signed up to 1meg BB only at £14.99 per month and then found out i could have 'up to' 8meg BB and local/national evening/weekend calls for the same price.

I get an average of about 3meg apart from peak hours.

[Helloson]

I signed up for the upto 8Mb service and only received 0.2Mbps.

I'd have put up with 1Mb as normal browsing is fine at that speed. It appears that paying £17.99 a month for broadband gives you a faster line than ordering broadband and phone calls for £14.99.

[superbiatch]

Here's the prices http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/noncable.html

I'm on bundle 2, what are you on?

Seems crazy they could keep your speeds lower cos you're also getting free phone calls from them :confused:

[Chris]

Seems crazy they could keep your speeds lower cos you're also getting free phone calls from them :confused:



Agreed. I can feel my NTL-BS-detector starting to twitch. Reminds me, I must re-brand it as a VM-BS-detector. I had hoped it wouldn't be necessary but there you go.

If someone in customer services has spun this little yarn I'm very disappointed.

[mrstottie]

I am sure that Virgin Media's ADSL network is full to bursting point. From what I hear, the rebrand has made things worse, as people are more aware of VM's ADSL offerings. BT Wholesale are also notoriously slow at upgrading data pipes, so later on in the Summer seems like a fair estimate for improvements.

If you have slow speeds you may also have an issue with Virtual Paths at your exchange. See http://usertools.plus.net/exchanges/ for more info.

M.