my experience

[topxx]

It all started 6 months ago when I bought a virgin media package, 2mb internet, tv and telephone. Everything was fine, speed was fine and connection was good. Then i kept experiencing loss of internet/on-demand tv for days at a time so I decided to phone them up went through the whole process blah blah blah technician came over only to tell us its a area issue althoguh nothing was said on the phone or on the service status line. So I thoguht fine, I'll wait until i t gets sorted. Internet gets back but now with extremly slow speeds so i decide to upgrade to 20mb to see if theres any change in speed, but nothing. As well as speed loss, we experienced loss of internet again days at a time. A second technician came over only to find that the outside wire outside of my flat door had been rigged so that the neighbours were recieving my connection; i asked the technician who done it, them or an engineer he replied 'It had to be an engineer'. So internet was back with a slight increase in speed for the time being getting at non peak times 16mb at peak times 3mb. Speeds started decreasing once again to nearly dial up speeds, first technician comes over says blah blah blah area issue and so does another one. I call up technical support again and they say it could be a modem issue although i asked the engineer he said its definetly not. So they say they'll give me another modem within 5 working days, i did not recieve anythinge. Slow speeds continue i downgrade back to 2mb even though im getting around 300kbs speed. Called another technician he was supposed to come over on a monday but did not arrive. Speeds somehow rise back so i decide to re-upgrade to 20mb which i recieved the 4-16mb mark of speed but my connection keeps dropping every day at hours at a time and finally decides to stop working all together for 3 days straight. I call 1 more technician to come he says something about my cabinet not being connected to the network or something he says it'll be fixed within 24 hours. It does fix on-demand works again internet works again also continuing at the 4-16mb mark although now during all morning and during night the connection connects and disconnects continously only at these times. It can reconect and stay hours seconds or even minutes at a time. So now i call them again and im recieving a new modem (supposedly) and ill see how it goes. All of these events happened in the course of 6 months. If i do not recieve satisfactory service i am leaving as it astonishes me how any damn company can offer this kind of service to paying customers. Even as I type, on-demand is off and im waiting for my modem to reconnect so i can click 'submit new thread'.

It would be great if you guys could help see if you can spot the problem;

Stats when modem is not reciving the internet service:

Network Access : Denied
Maximum Downstream Data Rate : 0
Maximum Upstream Data Rate : 0
Maximum Upstream Channel Burst : 0
Maximum Number of CPEs : -1
Modem Capability : Concatenation Enabled, Fragametation Enabled, PHS Enabled

m Status Comments
Acquire a Downstream Channel 586750000 Hz Locked
Connectivity State In Progress Upstream Parameters Acquired
Boot State In Progress Unknown

Upstream Lock : Not Locked
Upstream Channel ID : 2
Upstream Frequency : 37500000 Hz
Upstream Modulation : QPSK
Upstream Symbol Rate : 2560 Ksym/sec
Upstream transmit Power Level : 21.0 dBmV
Upstream Mini-Slot Size : 2




Req


Init Maint


Per Maint


Short Data


Long Data


(1)


(3)


(4)


(5)


(6)
Modulation Type QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK
Differential Encoding Off Off Off Off Off
Preamble Length 64 128 128 100 80
Preamble Value Offset 396 6 6 396 396
FEC Error Correction (T) 0 5 5 3 9
FEC Codeword Information Bytes (k) 16 34 34 78 232
Scrambler Seed 338 338 338 338 338
Maximum Burst Size 0 0 0 35 0
Guard Time Size 8 48 48 25 137
Last Codeword Length Fixed Fixed Fixed Short Short
Scrambler on/off On On On On On


Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Information (7) The s/w filename specified in the config file is the same as ...
Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Information (7) A software upgrade filename was specified in the config file.
Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Information (7) Authorized
Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Information (7) Registration complete!
Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:03 2008 Information (7) We registered with a DOCSIS 1.0 config file!
Sun Apr 13 02:27:02 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:02 2008 Information (7) Received a REG-RSP message from the CMTS...
Sun Apr 13 02:27:02 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:02 2008 Information (7) Sending a REG-REQ to the CMTS...
Sun Apr 13 02:27:02 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:02 2008 Information (7) CableModem SNMP configure complete
Sun Apr 13 02:27:00 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:00 2008 Information (7) IP init completed ok
Sun Apr 13 02:27:00 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:27:00 2008 Information (7) CableModem TFTP init ok
Sun Apr 13 02:26:56 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:56 2008 Error (4) ToD request sent- No Response received
Sun Apr 13 02:26:55 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:55 2008 Information (7) CableModem DHCP client init ok
Sun Apr 13 02:26:55 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:55 2008 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Sun Apr 13 02:26:46 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:46 2008 Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Sun Apr 13 02:26:42 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:42 2008 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sun Apr 13 02:26:42 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:42 2008 Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Sun Apr 13 02:26:41 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:41 2008 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Information (7) Downstream sync ok
Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Information (7) Beginning initial ranging...
Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Information (7) downstream time sync acquired...
Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:40 2008 Information (7) Downstream sync ok
Sun Apr 13 02:26:39 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:39 2008 Information (7) starting ds time sync acquisition...
Sun Apr 13 02:26:36 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:36 2008 Information (7) Locked on the downstream. Waiting for UCDs...
Sun Apr 13 02:26:36 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:36 2008 Information (7) Downstream lock ok
Sun Apr 13 02:26:35 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:35 2008 Information (7) Sync Start
Sun Apr 13 02:26:35 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:35 2008 Critical (3) Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - Re- initializing MAC
Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Information (7) The s/w filename specified in the config file is the same as ...
Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Information (7) A software upgrade filename was specified in the config file.
Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Information (7) Authorized
Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Information (7) Registration complete!
Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:26:12 2008 Information (7) We registered with a DOCSIS 1.0 config file!

i do not have enough up time on my modem to show you the stats with the internet working, please wait until tomorow afternoon

[Druchii]

Network Access : Denied

There is your problem, the modem simply isn't allowed by the network to connect. This is a fault at Virgin Media's end, and could possibly be fixed by re-registering the MAC address of the modem with them. Bare with me while i read the rest...

---------- Post added at 08:06 ---------- Previous post was at 08:02 ----------

Woah, never seen this before either:
Acquire a Downstream Channel 586750000 Hz Locked
Connectivity State In Progress Upstream Parameters Acquired
Boot State In Progress Unknown

Upstream Lock : Not Locked
Upstream Channel ID : 2
Upstream Frequency : 37500000 Hz
Upstream Modulation : QPSK
Upstream Symbol Rate : 2560 Ksym/sec
Upstream transmit Power Level : 21.0 dBmV
Upstream Mini-Slot Size : 2

The Downstream Channel it is trying to aquire seems mighty high from what i remember, most channels are in the 300000000Hz range. Although, this may well be correct, as newer channels may be run higher up.
What almost certainly is causing your problem though is the upstream Transmit power level, it's lower than expected, and is indeed whispering to the network to make a fair analogy. This needs sorting. This is also why it will not lock on to the Upstream Channel.

Overall, this could be sorted by an engineer checking the levels at your end, adjusting them, and then re-registering the modem if it is actually needed afterall.

[topxx]

So i'm assuming the new modem wont do much ?

Here's the stats whilst im online:

Cable Modem Status
Item Status Comments
Acquire a Downstream Channel 586750000 Hz Locked
Connectivity State OK Operational
Boot State OK Operational

Cable Modem Downstream
Downstream Lock : Locked
Downstream Channel Id : 1
Downstream Frequency : 586750000 Hz
Downstream Modulation : QAM64
Downstream Symbol Rate : 6952 Ksym/sec
Downstream Interleave Depth : taps12Increment17
Downstream Receive Power Level : 0.8 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 36.7 dB

Cable Modem Upstream
Upstream Lock : Locked
Upstream Channel ID : 3
Upstream Frequency : 42800000 Hz
Upstream Modulation : QPSK
Upstream Symbol Rate : 2560 Ksym/sec
Upstream transmit Power Level : 61.0 dBmV
Upstream Mini-Slot Size : 2



Req


Init Maint


Per Maint


Short Data


Long Data


(1)


(3)


(4)


(5)


(6)
Modulation Type QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK
Differential Encoding Off Off Off Off Off
Preamble Length 64 128 128 100 80
Preamble Value Offset 396 6 6 396 396
FEC Error Correction (T) 0 5 5 3 9
FEC Codeword Information Bytes (k) 16 34 34 78 232
Scrambler Seed 338 338 338 338 338
Maximum Burst Size 0 0 0 35 0
Guard Time Size 8 48 48 25 137
Last Codeword Length Fixed Fixed Fixed Short Short
Scrambler on/off On On On On On

Cable Modem Operation Configuration
Network Access : Allowed
Maximum Downstream Data Rate : 20480000
Maximum Upstream Data Rate : 768000
Maximum Upstream Channel Burst : 1600
Maximum Number of CPEs : 1
Modem Capability : Concatenation Enabled, Fragametation Enabled, PHS Disabled

Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Information (7) The s/w filename specified in the config file is the same as ...
Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Information (7) A software upgrade filename was specified in the config file.
Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Information (7) Authorized
Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Information (7) Registration complete!
Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Information (7) We registered with a DOCSIS 1.0 config file!
Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Information (7) Received a REG-RSP message from the CMTS...
Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Information (7) Sending a REG-REQ to the CMTS...
Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:05 2008 Information (7) CableModem SNMP configure complete
Sun Apr 13 13:46:03 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:03 2008 Information (7) IP init completed ok
Sun Apr 13 13:46:03 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:46:03 2008 Information (7) CableModem TFTP init ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Error (4) ToD request sent- No Response received
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) CableModem DHCP client init ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Downstream sync ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Beginning initial ranging...
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) downstream time sync acquired...
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Downstream sync ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) starting ds time sync acquisition...
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Locked on the downstream. Waiting for UCDs...
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Downstream lock ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Sync Start
Sun Apr 13 13:43:58 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:43:58 2008 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sun Apr 13 13:43:44 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:43:44 2008 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sun Apr 13 13:43:28 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:43:28 2008 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sun Apr 13 13:43:16 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:43:16 2008 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sun Apr 13 13:43:00 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:43:00 2008 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sun Apr 13 13:42:49 2008 Sun Apr 13 13:42:49 2008 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out

[ceedee]

Upstream transmit Power Level : 61.0 dBmV

I believe that's now way over tolerance!

Have you considered consulting Tech Support via their dedicated newsgroup?
Not sure they'll be able to re-register your modem but should be able to advise the easiest way to get it done.

[topxx]

How do I access the newsgroup ?

[ceedee]

How do I access the newsgroup ?

I've included information on accessing the newsgroup below (apologies for copying chunks of pre-prepared text) but it'll be helpful to them if you have already done the following:

Check for broadband problems in your area on the Service Status webpage (http://status2.virginmedia.com).

Disconnect any home networking equipment you have (eg. a router) and only connect directly to the cable modem with a single computer.

Reboot your pc.

Close as many applications on your computer as possible, in particular any P2P, streaming or IM programs.

Start 2 simultaneous downloads from the VM demo games server (http://gamefiles.virginmedia.com/blueyondergames/demos/) plus 2 simultaneous downloads of Zen test files (http://fuller.zen.co.uk/test). That's four file downloads happening at once!
Now add up each of the four download speeds to get your accurate download rate.


Now onto the newsgroup:

If you've not already setup access to newsgroups on your pc, you may find VM's step-by-step guide (http://www.virginmedia.com/customers/newsgroups/setting-up.php) to using newsgroups with Outlook Express useful. The Tech Support group is 'virginmedia.support.broadband.cable' on news.virginmedia.com or text.news.virginmedia.com and is monitored between 8am and 10pm every day. You can usually expect a response within a few minutes but, if the staff are exceptionally busy, it might take as long as 4 hours.

When reporting a problem in the newsgroup, as well as the speed you obtained from the multiple-file downloads test, ideally the Tech Support staff would also like to see the results of the following tests:
Your netstat -a (see notes at Q05 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q05))
A ping to www.bbc.co.uk (see Q06 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q06))
Two trace routes to www.bbc.co.uk (see Q06 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q06))
Your modem logs and signal levels (see Q07 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q07))
And a good description of your exact issue
Make sure that you also mention your VM alias (that's the part of your VM email address before the @ symbol) so that TS can identify your account details on their system.
(All the notes (and more!) have been ripped from Annie's excellent Broadband FAQ (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html): well worth further reading!

If you're frustrated and angry with the quality of your service, try not to take it out on the Tech Support staff who are only there to try to help!

Good luck!

[topxx]

wow, i connected the modem directly using the shortest wire (the one that goes from the spliter to the box thing on the wall) and connected that directly to the modem and the internet is working fine. What does this tell you guys? here are my stats:

Item Status Comments
Acquire a Downstream Channel 586750000 Hz Locked
Connectivity State OK Operational
Boot State OK Operational

Upstream Lock : Locked
Upstream Channel ID : 3
Upstream Frequency : 42800000 Hz
Upstream Modulation : QPSK
Upstream Symbol Rate : 2560 Ksym/sec
Upstream transmit Power Level : 61.0 dBmV
Upstream Mini-Slot Size : 2



Downstream Lock : Locked
Downstream Channel Id : 1
Downstream Frequency : 586750000 Hz
Downstream Modulation : QAM64
Downstream Symbol Rate : 6952 Ksym/sec
Downstream Interleave Depth : taps12Increment17
Downstream Receive Power Level : 3.4 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 37.3 dB

Cable Modem Operation Configuration
Network Access : Allowed
Maximum Downstream Data Rate : 20480000
Maximum Upstream Data Rate : 768000
Maximum Upstream Channel Burst : 1600
Maximum Number of CPEs : 1
Modem Capability : Concatenation Enabled, Fragametation Enabled, PHS Disabled

Sun Apr 13 19:17:02 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:17:02 2008 Information (7) The s/w filename specified in the config file is the same as ...
Sun Apr 13 19:17:02 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:17:02 2008 Information (7) A software upgrade filename was specified in the config file.
Sun Apr 13 19:17:02 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:17:02 2008 Information (7) Authorized
Sun Apr 13 19:17:02 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:17:02 2008 Information (7) Registration complete!
Sun Apr 13 19:17:01 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:17:01 2008 Information (7) We registered with a DOCSIS 1.0 config file!
Sun Apr 13 19:17:01 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:17:01 2008 Information (7) Received a REG-RSP message from the CMTS...
Sun Apr 13 19:17:01 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:17:01 2008 Information (7) Sending a REG-REQ to the CMTS...
Sun Apr 13 19:17:01 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:17:01 2008 Information (7) CableModem SNMP configure complete
Sun Apr 13 19:16:59 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:16:59 2008 Information (7) IP init completed ok
Sun Apr 13 19:16:59 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:16:59 2008 Information (7) CableModem TFTP init ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Error (4) ToD request sent- No Response received
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) CableModem DHCP client init ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Downstream sync ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Beginning initial ranging...
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) downstream time sync acquired...
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Downstream sync ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) starting ds time sync acquisition...
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Locked on the downstream. Waiting for UCDs...
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Downstream lock ok
Time Not Established Time Not Established Information (7) Sync Start
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sun Apr 13 19:03:03 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:03:03 2008 Critical (3) Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Un...
Sun Apr 13 19:03:04 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:03:04 2008 Critical (3) SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC f...
Sun Apr 13 19:02:28 2008 Sun Apr 13 19:02:28 2008 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.

[ceedee]

wow, i connected the modem directly using the shortest wire (the one that goes from the spliter to the box thing on the wall) and connected that directly to the modem and the internet is working fine. What does this tell you guys? here are my stats:

Upstream transmit Power Level : 61.0 dBmV

I'd still say that's too high but, hell, if you're connecting okay ignore it!


Do you mean that you switched co-ax leads between the cable modem and the wall socket?
Or are you now bypassing a router by connecting your pc direct to the modem?

Either way, congratulations!

[topxx]

Let me clarifiy a little :D

basicly wire coming from outside the flat goes into a box then out using a short wire when it goes out about 5 cm long which connects to a spliter that connects to 2 other wires 1 for the vmtv and 1 for the modem.

what i did is i didnt use the splitter and i directly connected that 5 cm wire to my modem althoguh this means my internet is working, i cannot watch tv now so it is not really a cause to celebrate D:

[ceedee]

That sounds like either a dodgy splitter or the chunk of co-ax has expired.
Should be a simple job to replace them but recommend you get VM to do it.