Virgin ADSL Router at wrong settings

[smeagoly1]

Hi all
Just recently I had to swap from 20meg cable to ADSL. Gutted I had to but new place just not got cable.

I signed up to the upto 8meg package, installed perfect frist time. Online in mins. Uk sales desk and being kept up to date re my order was superb.

Started a few speed tests during and after the 10 day testing period.

Was getting a constant 1900k download, thought ok better than some people are getting and it was up to 8meg, plus i am 1300M away from the BT exchange.

Then I tried the netgrear router settings, as stated on the virgin web site help pages and on the bottom of the modem. http://192.168.0.1

Then I was shocked to see the adsl modem router is only set up to 2624kbs

It's a Netgear DG834GSP as supplied by virgin. Can that set Download rate be right??? as set by virgin, even though I am on an upto 8meg ADSL package. Or am i being "el thicko" again and that's teh max my line can handle..even though BT test page said the line can do 5.5meg.

Or is there a way i can change the settings or do I have to get VM to send me a new Modem Router set to the correct settings.

Any information as always much appriciated.

[flowrebmit]

ADSL technology is nasty in my humble opinion.

Unlike Cable Modems, the speed set for your ADSL line is done (I think) automatically by British Telecom. Apparently, there are things that you can do to try and improve your line speed, including buying better quality filters, tweaking parameters if you have the right make/model of ADSL router, and disconnecting any old telephone extensions that aren't being used, etc.

I did a search for "BT BRAS" and this was the third in the list that looked techie.
http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/showthre...sb=5&o=&fpart=

[smeagoly1]

Many thanks for that reply
I knew nothing about how ADSL worked and that information was very informative for me.
It was much appreciated
Regards
smee

[Lucifer1]

Hey, my first post so please be nice

If your line can handle 5.5 meg the router should be showing as syncronised close to this providing you have the setup right, you can check ya line speed at Samknows Broadband - Comprehensive Broadband Information.

Your profile speed (the speed you get) is set by your average sync speed over a period of time (this is why the 7-10 day period), this is all done auto by the exchange, if you have low sync the software will set a low profile.

To improve your sync you need to make sure everything is filtered correctly and use high quality solid copper extention cables or even better no extention cable at all.

Remember you need to reboot the modem/router (turn off and on) for it to set a new sync speed. You can check your sync speed in your router and or check your sync and profile by running a speed test at Test Result using ya login for virgin and ya bt number.

If after all this your getting low sync, even with everything unplugged and in ya main bt test socket (behind cover of main socket) their not much you or virgin tech support can do as its down to your socket on the wall (although bt may replace it if you ask nice or make up some non broadband excuse).

Hope that helps

Lucifer

[smeagoly1]

Well an update on this, no improvment, just mega high pings, to add to my increasing frustrations.
Taking daily readings and logging them now, things are so bad, and at leats it will give me some back up, when I phone VM up and get mugged on call charges.

What is annoying the hell out of me is, at 20:00 on Friday the 11th April My sync rate was up at 7000kbs! now that i though is about right. Two hours later and ever since back down to an average of 2400kbs 24/7. Btw it did download a demo file at near 7meg from the gamefiles site. Then back down to 200kbs.

So if the sync can reach that number why never again in almost a month? or infact since installing.
Iv'e left router on as suggested etc.

Not sure who's conning who here, VM or BT playing silly buggers. So not sure how to proceed with any complaints, and get things running properly. As one company will blame the other and infinitum.

Wouldn't be that bad if that's all the line can take, but nope its supposed to be ADSLMAX and synced in my street at over 8 meg, my neighbours BTHomehub is! 5 ft away from my socket.

[CrowmanUK]

I just moved from virgin (hopeless adsl) to BE internet, much better and cheaper too, i'm on the unlimited (up to 24meg) package and got 10meg to start with, after reading this and disconnecting the ring wire I now get 13meg, maybe something to look into

http://www.beforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8152

[smeagoly1]

Cheers for that link, something for me to look into.

The annoying thing is, even though I'm 1300M away from the local exchange, most people in my street i have talked to get tripple and constant connection speeds on the same BT exchange.

Iv'e heard and read lots of positive things about BE and looks like the best way to go forward. Not expecting mega speeds but at least if i get something near what i'm paying for and less dropping off, I'll be happy.

[CrowmanUK]

If the BT line thing said you should get around 5.5meg then you should be somewhere around there, I'm sure it told me about the same figure and i'd regularly get 5meg, one thing to note with VM ADSL though is that if you download "too much" in peak times then you'll get traffic managed for the next week during peak periods (4pm till midnight) at 80kbps, so if your usual web browsing involves sites with any graphics at all get yourself a good book while theyre loading up. The one thing I really liked about BE is there is no minimum contract, although they do ask for 3 months notice if you want to cancel, cant see me doing that though as its head and shoulders above the VM service and I cant see me going back to pipex now tiscali is in charge.

[smeagoly1]

Well haven't downloaded anything in nearly 2 weeks, and get the test speeds of anything between 50kbs and 240kbs! and pings ranging from 670ms when it's at 50kbs down to an average of 97ms.
For a change I went to the BT web page and run their test... now I get two very strange responses from it.
Place my Post Code in it said "adsl max 5.5meg" basically what my neighbours "BT ISP" gets,constantly in peek times, 8 meg off peek.
But place my telephone number in it states 2.0M. I get the strange feeling it's because the number is registered for my VM account.

So i'm either getting very confused and not understanding a great deal..."quite possible" haha
Or someones yanking my chain between both parties involved.

[Lucifer1]

One thing to remember is your sync rate is the speed at which the signal "locks on" so to speak between your modem or router and your BT exchange, this in no way has anything to do with your ISP unless you have an LLU provider like BE, Also when you put a post code in to see what speed you can get it gives you an estimate on your speed for a straight line distance from your exchange, then you put your number in and it looks at your average sync speed you have got using adsl down your line ever scince adsl has been on it (bear in mind lines can degrade over time).

You could also have 2 people living next door to each other and one may have a phone line a mile long and one 2 miles long, the lines do not nececerally follow the same route and they could be of various ages which are all a factor on your sync (remember we have a very old phone system in this county). Most isp's tech support will advise you to go to your test socket with no extentions etc to help improve sync but appart from that they can not do anything about improving your sync speed as BT will not do anything about it, if you can get broadband BT are happy and will not listen to an ISP.

As someone mentioned earlier BE seam to be very good at the noment and i will be going to them once they enable in my exchange, they did at the end of the day offer sdsl (fixed 2 meg up 2 meg down) even before BT did

Hope that helps some more...

Lucifer

Virgin Media ADSL tech support.