50M issues in the Falkirk (FK1 area) please help!

Blairhoyle · 16-08-2011, 17:53

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and was directed here by another website, I live in Falkirk, Scotland.

Apologies if my post is a bit lengthy but I thought it would be best to give you a thorough explanation as to what the problem is and if someone, ANYONE, can explain to me what the hell is happening.

I swapped internet provider in early June from BT to Virgin.

The Virgin deal was for 50meg broadband via fibre optic, it worked perfectly for a few weeks before my "Super" (

) Hub kept cutting out (all 3 lights would go out and then only the traffic light would come on and stay green)

When I phoned Virgin up they set up a new name for the router (Virgin 1234 - this was mainly after I couldn't get wireless connection to my wife's laptop) and it worked perfectly again until I came back from holiday, last Thursday I noticed my router cut out again but it came back on on its on accord, however in the evening I noticed that I wasn't getting anywhere near the 50meg that I was promised, I only noticed this when I went to download something.

Instead I'm lucky to get 3.5meg anytime from 5.30pm and through the night, however it seems to go back to normal in the early hours.

I had an engineer out last Saturday who even tried the line with his own router and checked his own laptop and he was still getting similar speeds to what I was getting so my computer is not the problem.

He then tested the speed from the cables in the street and it was confirmed that the problem was from Virgins end probably from the exchancge at Castlecary. They said they would be out yesterday (Monday) to fix it, one of the neighbours stated they had been.

The speed worked ok for about 30 minutes then at 6pm the speed dropped to 2meg. I phoned Virgin up again and they started playing around with my hub settings and even resetting it, with the name of the router reverting back to what it was previously I also noticed she changed my 802.11N Band to 2.4 Ghz, when I tried to change it to 5 Ghz after the phone call the wireless light went blue and we couldn't get access, so I changed it back.

Finally the lady in Asia said they are going to send me out a new hub, but I don't think the hub is the problem and told her that but she wouldn't listen to me. The engineer that visited my place told, 100% that problem is at Virgin's end.

I have taken numerous speedtests and I'm not getting anywhere near 50meg. I have since taken advice from Trading Standards as well because I'm no longer willing to put up with this nonsense. The engineer even told me that I should not be getting any readings below 42meg even at peak time.

My readings come from the wired connection from my own computer, trying to take readings from wireless connection on the laptop takes for ever.

the readings from Manchester are:

readings from Aberdeen

readings from London

my other readings from the Hub are as follows:

Startup Procedure
Procedure Status Comment
Acquire Downstream Channel 299000000 Hz Locked
Connectivity State OK Operational
Boot State OK Operational
Configuration File OK
Security Enabled BPI+
Downstream Channels
Lock Status Modulation Channel ID Max Raw Bit Rate Frequency Power SNR Docsis/EuroDocsis locked
Locked QAM256 206 55616000 Kbits/sec 299000000 Hz 0.7 dBmV 40.2 dB Hybrid
Locked QAM256 205 55616000 Kbits/sec 291000000 Hz 0.7 dBmV 40.7 dB Hybrid
Locked QAM256 207 55616000 Kbits/sec 307000000 Hz 0.5 dBmV 40.3 dB Hybrid
Locked QAM256 208 55616000 Kbits/sec 315000000 Hz 0.1 dBmV 40.1 dB Hybrid
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dB Unknown
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dB Unknown
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dB Unknown
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dB Unknown
Upstream Channels
Lock Status Modulation Channel ID Max Raw Bit Rate Frequency Power
Locked ATDMA 2 20480 Kbits/sec 35800000 Hz 46.7 dBmV
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV
Primary Downstream Service Flow
Downstream(0)
SFID 666
Max Traffic Rate 53000000 bps
Max Traffic Burst 3044 bytes
Mix Traffic Rate 0 bps
Primary Upstream Service Flow
Upstream(0)
SFID 665
Max Traffic Rate 5140000 bps
Max Traffic Burst 8160 bytes
Mix Traffic Rate 0 bps
Max Concatenated Burst 8160 bytes
Scheduling Type Best Effort

I have given the Virgin call centre remote access to my computer TWICE, they fiddled with settings and still can't fix it and like I say they are going to send me out another Hub which I honestly believe is not the problem.

Can someone please help me with this, it really is getting on my nerves especially when I'm trying to watch videos online.

I don't want to leave Virgin as I was impressed at the start with their speeds but now its is a totally farce, beyond a joke, its like getting speeds from the old BT days.

If I pay for 50 meg broadband then expect 50meg or damn sight close to it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

---------- Post added at 17:53 ---------- Previous post was at 17:52 ----------

ps - I should say, I use to get fantastic readings from Manchester where the ping was only 17.

jb66 · 16-08-2011, 18:12

whole of area seems affected, cant watch bbc iplayer in HD, can speedtest outside the uk ok

Blairhoyle · 16-08-2011, 20:24

my most recent test from two minutes ago from when I posted this post

---------- Post added at 21:24 ---------- Previous post was at 19:34 ----------

most recent test

alndeg · 16-08-2011, 21:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb66

whole of area seems affected, cant watch bbc iplayer in HD, can speedtest outside the uk ok

I'm affected too in Livingston it would seem. Downloading from within the UK is at a 10th of the speed, and pings go up when the go through Manchester, but can download from the Germany at semi reasonable speeds. Support guys deny there is any known issues.

Blairhoyle · 16-08-2011, 21:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by alndeg

I'm affected too in Livingston it would seem. Downloading from within the UK is at a 10th of the speed, and pings go up when the go through Manchester, but can download from the Germany at semi reasonable speeds. Support guys deny there is any known issues.

how are you able to connect to server in Germany?

Blairhoyle · 17-08-2011, 09:31

this is my speedtest from this morning

come 5.30pm this evening it will be away down again.

---------- Post added at 10:31 ---------- Previous post was at 08:46 ----------

new hub is meant to be arriving today only thing is the call centre never told me I was meant to sign for it so the poor delivery guy isn't going to get anyone in!!

*Head in Hands*

Blairhoyle · 17-08-2011, 17:28

readings from 2 minutes ago

will post back my new readings are 5.30pm as I fully expect them to drop away low again.

---------- Post added at 17:14 ---------- Previous post was at 16:45 ----------

5.15pm

---------- Post added at 17:41 ---------- Previous post was at 17:14 ----------

5.45pm

---------- Post added at 18:24 ---------- Previous post was at 17:41 ----------

6.23pm

---------- Post added at 18:28 ---------- Previous post was at 18:24 ----------

6.26pm

Blairhoyle · 17-08-2011, 19:42

8.40pm

mickem01 · 17-08-2011, 20:11

Hi bud. I live in the FK1 area and have been experiencing similar problems to you. I was trying to watch the new BF3 video on youtube and it was stuttering as it streamed. So I checked my broadband speed. I'm on 20mb package and I am struggling to get 2.2 mbps. I phoned customer support and they checked line and said problem must be in house. Went through various procedures and it was finally decided that it's due to a faulty modem.

I have my doubts as I did a speedtest this afternoon and my speeds were up to just under 16mbps, however, this dropped to just under 3mbps this evening. I hope this isn't the start of constant problems as the service has been quite good so far.

Hope VM is able to fix our problems successfully, and if not, acknowledge that there may indeed be a fault at their end that is affecting the broadband service in the FK1 area. Fingers crossed!

Blairhoyle · 17-08-2011, 20:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickem01

Hi bud. I live in the FK1 area and have been experiencing similar problems to you. I was trying to watch the new BF3 video on youtube and it was stuttering as it streamed. So I checked my broadband speed. I'm on 20mb package and I am struggling to get 2.2 mbps. I phoned customer support and they checked line and said problem must be in house. Went through various procedures and it was finally decided that it's due to a faulty modem.

I have my doubts as I did a speedtest this afternoon and my speeds were up to just under 16mbps, however, this dropped to just under 3mbps this evening. I hope this isn't the start of constant problems as the service has been quite good so far.

Hope VM is able to fix our problems successfully, and if not, acknowledge that there may indeed be a fault at their end that is affecting the broadband service in the FK1 area. Fingers crossed!

I had the engineers out and they worked on the street as well.

My new hub arrived today when I was at work so have to rearrange for it to be delivered.

as you can see from my speedtest this morning I was nearing 48meg. The engineer I had was actually a team leader and admitted that my computer was not the problem, checked it against his laptop and my wifes (which is only 6 months old) and they still get the same problems.

mickem01 · 17-08-2011, 21:05

I tried 2 different high powered laptops plugged directly into the modem and both showed the same results in terms of download/upload speeds/ping. Haven't had engineers out yet but that will be the next step if the new modem doesn't solve the problem. I switched from Sky BB to VM to avoid problems with things like line attenuation etc as I thought you can't go wrong with a fibre optic broadband connection. Seems I may have been wrong!

Best of luck with the new hub. I hope it solves your problems. My new modem is due to arrive on Friday. Will let you know how I get on.

Blairhoyle · 17-08-2011, 21:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickem01

I tried 2 different high powered laptops plugged directly into the modem and both showed the same results in terms of download/upload speeds/ping. Haven't had engineers out yet but that will be the next step if the new modem doesn't solve the problem. I switched from Sky BB to VM to avoid problems with things like line attenuation etc as I thought you can't go wrong with a fibre optic broadband connection. Seems I may have been wrong!

Best of luck with the new hub. I hope it solves your problems. My new modem is due to arrive on Friday. Will let you know how I get on.

I left BT because of similar issues.

to be honest I don't think the Hub is the problem on this particular occasion.

If you get an engineer out tell them that I'm having problems, the more people that complain about it the more chance we have actually get it sorted.

I live in Camelon btw.

---------- Post added at 22:37 ---------- Previous post was at 22:25 ----------

off to bed but took one more test, even lower.

taken at 10.35pm

Blairhoyle · 18-08-2011, 07:45

8.45am

mickem01 · 18-08-2011, 12:06

Hi mate. I received the new hub this morning and set it up. Initial speedtests would indicate that the new hub has solved the problem. Here are the results from my latest speedtest:

Results from http://www.speed.io
(Copied on 2011-08-18 12:52:01)
Download: 19094 Kbit/s
Upload : 2048 kbit/s
Connects : 2105 conn/min
Ping: 45 ms

Will be pleased if I manage to maintain those speeds this evening. I'm not convinced that this has solved the problem as I was getting relatively decent speeds yesterday afternoon and these dropped like a stone after 6 pm. Will keep you posted later with evening speedtest. Here's hoping mate!

I live in Falkirk just opposite Callendar Park but was brought up at the Lock 16 end of Bantaskin.

---------- Post added at 13:06 ---------- Previous post was at 13:01 ----------

[img]Download Failed (1)[/img]

Just trying that out to see if it would work!

Blairhoyle · 18-08-2011, 12:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickem01

Hi mate. I received the new hub this morning and set it up. Initial speedtests would indicate that the new hub has solved the problem. Here are the results from my latest speedtest:

Results from http://www.speed.io
(Copied on 2011-08-18 12:52:01)
Download: 19094 Kbit/s
Upload : 2048 kbit/s
Connects : 2105 conn/min
Ping: 45 ms

Will be pleased if I manage to maintain those speeds this evening. I'm not convinced that this has solved the problem as I was getting relatively decent speeds yesterday afternoon and these dropped like a stone after 6 pm. Will keep you posted later with evening speedtest. Here's hoping mate!

I live in Falkirk just opposite Callendar Park but was brought up at the Lock 16 end of Bantaskin.

---------- Post added at 13:06 ---------- Previous post was at 13:01 ----------

Just trying that out to see if it would work!

Hi mate,

I'm expecting mine today, hopefully, I honestly don't think its the Hub either, as I said in my original post the engineer tried his router on my PC and he was getting similar speeds, that was during the day at the weekend and it was low so it must be an over subscription issue.

If I get my hub today and I'm still getting similar speeds tonight then I will be making an official complaint and I will also be going to Trading Standards and taking advise from them also.

It is entirely unacceptable that I'm paying good money during a recession for a service that I'm not even getting. I still haven't even had a response of the Virign support and help forum. The whole thing is becoming a shambles.

Post back your speed tonight, say around 8pm as I feel that is when it will become really slow.