Connection suddenly less than 0.5M

DLD · 25-10-2015, 22:25

Hi,

I've been using the same Internet set-up for many years without any issues. About 3 months ago my connection started to become slow and streaming video (SD quality) would no longer play. Kodi gave an error message saying my Internet connection was too slow. Yesterday I did a speed test and it showed 2M. Today it has gone down to 0.5M.

About 3 months ago I received emails from Virgin saying that they were upgrading the network in my area. Since then I have had about 4 outages of varying lengths. I have no idea if that is the cause of my problems but it had been very stable before then.

Tech support seem unable to help. They tell me there is nothing wrong with my connection and insist it must be my PC or my router. Neither of these have changed in years. I tried using a different PC and got the same result. Swapping my router for one I use as a wifi access point also gave no improvement.

I'm using an old ntl cable modem (i.e. not a superhub) and I tried connecting directly to it. I did an ipconfig and the PC seemed to be allocated the IP address of the modem(?) but no dns servers or gateway were defined. I went into network properties to try to define them but I got an error message saying the network device was not working even though ipconfig showed it with an ip address.

I'm not sure what I should have done at that point. I didn''t know the IP address of the speed test site to enter it manually. Looking at this forum says I should have connected to the modem but I can't seem to find any instructions on what to do once connected.

Virgin tech support said that they were going to run a diagnostic test on my connection that would take two hours, but when I called back no one knew anything about such a test. Each person I spoke to then either hung-up or transferred me to different departments ( e.g mobile and TV).

I'm now at the stage where I think I need to cancel my contract so this forum is my last hope. Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards,

DLD

pip08456 · 25-10-2015, 23:17

Wow, I didn't think anyone was still using the old NTL modem, you are obviously on a retentions legacy connection (if that's the correct terminology).

Any recent upgrades should not have had any effect on your connection as you are on the old (legacy) DOCSIS network.

To connect directly to the modem first unplug it and turn off your PC.

Hook up the ethernet cable to both and turn on the modem. Wait until the modem has connected (lights stop flashing) then turn on PC.

I would normallt now ask for the Upstream/downstream stats from the modem but I can't remember the user/pass for it.

I think (IIRC) they are both admin so you could give it a try.

You might want to consider contacting retentions to see if you can get a good deal on an upgrade.

DLD · 26-10-2015, 16:04

It looks like you were right... the modem actually says Virgin on it. As it is usually hidden away I hadn't actually read it. My login is ntl and I don't remember ever changing the modem but I guess I must have. What I was trying to say is that it's not a superhub.

Hooking up the computer to the modem is no problem. Where I am lost is what to do then. How do I query the speed once connected? As no DNS servers are defined I can't just type in a speed test website in firefox. This forum seems to say that is not the best way to test anyway.... but I couldn't find what I should be doing. With a very slow internet connection it is almost impossible to do a google search!!!

pip08456 · 26-10-2015, 16:23

You can manually select google DNS.

Here's how to.

https://developers.google.com/speed/...cs/using?hl=en