In a nut shell, a couple months back my internet stopped working. Before then, I was running a 2MB connection fine. When the internet stopped working, it eventually took the phone line with it for whatever reason. Anyway, the phone line got fixed (Master socket front plate died so no other socket was getting power) and the internet still wasn't working. Eventually, we found out that our password was wrong when no one had changed it etc. That got fixed eventually, but we were stuck with 512kb internet. We spoke to our ISP who said that it was the fasted we could get in our area etc when that's clearly not the case. We complained a lot about the bad service we were getting and eventually got upgraded to a better plan. Anyway, that's all come in and etc and that appears to be even slower. 512kb is the max ADSL speed for where I live. However, ADSL2+ states it can go up to 2MB. I'm assuming that this means that for whatever reason, we're not getting ADSL2+. How can I rectify this problem? 2MB isn't the fastest internet, but it's certainly serviceable, whereas 512kb is really quite difficult to use when wanting to play games and browse with multiple computers etc. Any help would be great.
Talk to your ISP again, and check what services/ speeds you can actually get from the available suppliers on your area- Samknows is a useful resource, even if it isn't 100% accurate ( check the results tabs under the summary one ).
how far away from the exchange are you? and who is the isp? are you in a village?? The problem we once had is we went with an isp on an exchange which wasnt split.. by split i mean that the equipment in the exchange is old.. and bt effectively rent this equipment out to the isp. This means that the bandwidth between all the isps is shared through one peice of equipment. In a split exchange isp's are able to impliment their own equipment. Have you considered going with BT? you may find its 100x better as they wont limit the bandwidth. You may also find that theres some severe noise on the line which is causing the exchange to drop the connection to something 'stable'
I think that I've found the issue. According to a website, you need an ADSL2+ compatible exchange (Which I do), and an SSS or ULL to receive it. What I'm thinking is that when they put on a new faceplate to my Master socket, they didn't give me a ULL one, meaning I'm stuck with ADSL instead of ADSL2+. I live about 3 miles away from the exchange, but that shouldn't matter as I've had the same connection, ISP and router at 2MB for literally 4 or 5 years until now. EDIT: These are the resources to determine this: http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/faq.php#1.3 This explains what ULL etc is and says that it's performed at the NBP. http://www.phoneworks.net.au/Residential_Services/network_boundary.php This website tells me that the NBP is in fact your master socket. Seeing as my internet went down the pan right after getting a new faceplate for it, tells me that it could very well be the issue.
Ok so I was unaware that ULL and LLU were the same things. I'm on an LLU at the moment. Anyway, I've done some tests and running straight from the test socket to the router provided me with 909 down and 49x up. This is double the speed I'm currently getting (around 380 up and 380 down) but still half my original speed. I've read things of people having their profiles set wrong etc but my router says that the line standard is ADSL2. I'll be talking to AOL tomorrow but I'm not really sure how to explain because I'm not entirely sure what the problem is. I'm still convinced it's a problem with the master socket faceplate. EDIT: Just changed my router to ADSL2+ because it wasn't set to that for some reason. It's at around 630 download now, but I can't test it in the test socket until later.
Plug the router into the test socket and leave it for a couple of days to allow the line to stabilise. This is not an instantaneous thing, it will take 24 hours to check correctly. It is possible that your ISP has also capped your BRAS profile, this is kind of a virtual limit they will put in place to keep your connection slow, and therefore more steady, when they detect excess noise on the line or drops in the connection. A lower speed will remain more stable. As the face plate has been replaced, I would suspect this was the issue and it is now gone. Your ISP can put through what is called a CCSNR reset to make the line re-calculate its maximum BRAS profile. I would suggest calling them, asking if the noise on the line or drop outs have increased or decreased, and if it is stable request they reset your line so the BRAS speed can be re-calculated. They will likely not do this the first time you ask, as every time they do it costs them some cash.
Alright. Well when I was on 2Mb it was perfectly stable at all times. What happened was that our internet died for some reason, then a day or 2 later the phones died. Turns out something happened to the faceplate which meant it wasn't giving power to any other socket in the house. We got a technician in and he fixed it etc, but the internet still wasn't working. Many phone calls later they tell us that the password we use to connect to them was wrong (the one you put in the router). We changed it and it worked. Since then though, we've been on 512Kb. We phoned them a couple times initially and they were adamant that it was the fastest we could get which clearly wasn't the case. Literally nothing has changed except the new faceplate and them having to change our password. With that said, is what you suggest the best course of action? I know this was more or less a reiteration of the first post, but it was badly written. I'll plug the router in to the test socket over the weekend, as I won't be here then (need internet for uni research and my PC isn't in a good place relative to the master socket and no wireless) and my parents can test it. So basically, what I have said so far: Internet was 2Mb. It can be assumed I've always been on an LLU seeing as I can't get this speed without ADSL2+. New faceplate/password. Internet was now 512/768Kb. Tested in master socket quicky and it went to just under 1Mb. Realised my router was set to ADSL2 instead of ADSL2+. Haven't tested with Master Socket since yet. Thanks.
