Need some advice after a phonecall to technical

Retrovertigo · 17-03-2009, 13:33

Ok, called VM again today as speeds were slow again. I have static I.P addresses setup for everything as my PS3 and 360 wouldn't connect to the net with a "open" connection unless static I.P addresses were assigned. I could never join games unless it was setup that way.

Everything has been fine up until maybe 12 months ago when speeds started falling. But calling tech support today has revealed that without my router in the mix, I can achieve 16meg, but with the router in place I only get 4meg.

What can have changed to suddenly have my speeds choked like that? I'm not sure what to do now as I need connection to the PSN and Xbox Live, but with assigned I.P address I can't open the ports necessary for good connections. I'm in a catch 22 it seems? can anyone help? Thanks

Kymmy · 17-03-2009, 13:37

Static IP's??? Oh you mean static local IP's??

Is there a firmware update forwhichever router you have? If both aren;t used at the same time then try adding the single IP to the DMZ..

Retrovertigo · 17-03-2009, 14:01

Ok, I have just setup my 360 using an assigned I.P address and it seems to have connected just fine.

Initially I had to give it a static address as I could never use voice chat or join online games, despite the machine reporting me as having a good connection. Hence I went down the static I.P address for any additional stuff that uses a net connection. And up until a while ago I never had problems.

Not sure what to make of it. No update for my router sadly, they haven't done a firmware update in god knows how long.

I've let my router use assigned I.p address now, but as soon as it is in the equation my speeds are dropping to below 4meg? I can see how a router may break and not work, but to suddenly strangle speeds seems a bit odd?

edit: I should add that my 360 and PS3 are using wired connection and surely they just pass through the router with minimal interference?

17-03-2009, 14:36

Ouch!

Retrovertigo · 17-03-2009, 14:47

Well quite. But it doesn't explain why at certain times of the day I can get maximum speeds? And why of an evening I drop to less than 100k. Something is wrong somewhere and I don't think it is just the router.

edit: perfect example. Speed test shows 4meg, grabbing a tv show off the newsgroups now at 12meg! So my router is doing something right. I don't know what to try next.

Stabhappy · 17-03-2009, 14:59

you're not running the speed test at the same time as downloading, are you?

Retrovertigo · 17-03-2009, 15:07

No I make sure I close anything that might cause a hiccup, even stuff like messenger. I just don't get where the discrepancy is coming from. Speed tests varying wildly depending on if the router is used, but download speeds from newsgroups remain constant no matter how I connect to the net.

Obviously this becomes a hurdle when I call tech support and they do the test with just the modem. It doesn't alter the fact that in the evening, my speeds are dreadful

During the quietest times of the day I can get close to maximum speed, which is why I doubt my router is broken.

I mentioned in that other thread that is linked above, that when the students in my area are on holiday, my speeds shoot back up. I have reached the maximum 20meg on many occasions even as recently as Christmas, so the router is capable of dealing with that speed.

Of course I am happy to buy a new router if someone recommends one that is easy to setup and works as it should.