20mb Speed on 50mb connection?

[Watto1020]

Hi Guys,

i had virgin 50mb installed 10 days ago and since install i have been getting betwen 17-19mb with 1.6mb upload.

i have a virgin engineer due tomorrow to try and resolve but i was hoping some of you guys could confirm i have everything right at my end before he arrives?

here is a copy of my modem details:

Cable Modem Status

Item Status Comments

Acquired Downstream Channel 299.001343 MHz Primary Downstream Locked
Ranged Upstream Channel 37.504002 MHz Success
Provisioning State OK Operational
Ethernet Link Status Up 100 Mbps/Full duplex

Cable Modem Downstream

DS-1 DS-2 DS-3 DS-4
Frequency 299000000 307000000 315000000 N/A
Lock Status
(QAM Lock/FEC Sync/MPEG Lock) Y/Y/Y Y/Y/Y Y/Y/Y N/N/N
Channel Id 33 34 35 N/A
Modulation 256QAM 256QAM 256QAM N/A
Symbol Rate
(Msym/sec) 6.952 6.952 6.952 N/A
Interleave Depth I=12
J=17 I=12
J=17 I=12
J=17 N/A
Power Level
(dBmV) 5.52 5.28 4.93 N/A
RxMER
(dB) 37.09 37.36 37.64 N/A
Correctable
Codewords 1 1 2 N/A
Uncorrectable
Codewords 276 282 262 N/A

Cable Modem Upstream

US-1 US-2 US-3 US-4
Channel Type 1.0 N/A N/A N/A
Channel ID 1 N/A N/A N/A
Frequency
(Hz) 37504000 N/A N/A N/A
Ranging Status Success N/A N/A N/A
Modulation 16QAM N/A N/A N/A
Symbol Rate
(KSym/sec) 2560 N/A N/A N/A
Mini-Slot Size 2 N/A N/A N/A
Power Level
(dBmV) 32.50 N/A N/A N/A
T1 Timeouts 0
T2 Timeouts 0 0 0 0
T3 Timeouts 0 0 0 0
T4 Timeouts 0 0 0 0

if you require further info, please advise and i will add to this thread.
also i have added a screenshot of a speedtest from last night.

please advise

thanks in advance

Watto

[Peter_]

Cable Modem Downstream Power Level
(dBmV) 5.52 5.28 4.93
RxMER
(dB) 37.09 37.36 37.64


Cable Modem Upstream Power Level
(dBmV) 32.50

Your Upstream power is to low and needs to be adjusted.

[Ignitionnet]

32.50 is workable, depends on how dirty the local network is.

[Peter_]

32.50 is workable, depends on how dirty the local network is.
It is very low and can cause issues.

[Watto1020]

thanks guys, engineer due soon so will point that out

could that cause my connection to only be around 20mbit... upload at 1.6x so pretty good on that side

[Ignitionnet]

It is very low and can cause issues.

Indeed it can, but not necessarily. VM can go as low as 20dBmV with a 2560kHz modulation rate, all about how the network is set up and how close someone is to an amp or node.

Think the target is mid-high 40s.

[Peter_]

Think the target is mid-high 40s.
That is the target figure.

[Watto1020]

thanks for the input guys.. VM Engineer was due between 8am-12pm on saturday..

So i calls VM @ 1:30pm and asked about his whereabouts and i was told i have an engineer assigned to my property for today and i am on his work sheet, however he must have ran over on his previous call... no problem i thought, i can wait...

3:30 pm - i call VM again and i am put through 4 different departments and finally at 4pm speak to someone who tells me that the engineer assigned to me doesnt work on saturdays and they are not sure why he was assigned in the first place and shocked no one had told me earlier...

i wasnt too pleased like..

engineer re-booked for next saturday! - speeds still the same, power the same, etc. so will keep your info to hand when he hopefully arrives next week.. nearly 2 weeks with <40% of broadband speed!

[webcrawler2050]

thanks for the input guys.. VM Engineer was due between 8am-12pm on saturday..

So i calls VM @ 1:30pm and asked about his whereabouts and i was told i have an engineer assigned to my property for today and i am on his work sheet, however he must have ran over on his previous call... no problem i thought, i can wait...

3:30 pm - i call VM again and i am put through 4 different departments and finally at 4pm speak to someone who tells me that the engineer assigned to me doesnt work on saturdays and they are not sure why he was assigned in the first place and shocked no one had told me earlier...

i wasnt too pleased like..

engineer re-booked for next saturday! - speeds still the same, power the same, etc. so will keep your info to hand when he hopefully arrives next week.. nearly 2 weeks with <40% of broadband speed!

Bad luck, there - if only VM would get their act together, they actually might keep more customers.

[ozsat]

Really they should now payout the same fee that they charge if you are not in on a pre-arranged callout.

[Watto1020]

that would be nice lol... anyone know what the fee is if the problem is not virgins, etc?

[Watto1020]

Well the virgin engineer came out last week and took my annuenator off and ran a speed test on the secret virgin test site which hit 48-49mbit.

i ran speed test while he was there on speedtest.net and also he said use gamefiles... max i got was 28mb but he said he has proved the virgin network is ok as his test site works and thats that.

i also tried using the wireless while he was there and that was 20mbit, he said that it may be a faulty wireless router - so he went to his van and got a dlink 615 and said i could have that to try.. he didnt take the netgear wireless so i got two wireless accesss points etc and two wireless dongles but neither getting above 28mb/sec on speed tests on 4 seperate machines.

he also told me to download the TCP/IP optimizer from speedguide and set it to max and apply. i have tried this and its made absolutely no difference to either my desktops or mine or my GF's laptop.

virgin guy just said he proved the network works ok (on the secret site) but in the real world its still slow

[jellyfish]

Well the virgin engineer came out last week and took my annuenator off and ran a speed test on the secret virgin test site which hit 48-49mbit.

i ran speed test while he was there on speedtest.net and also he said use gamefiles... max i got was 28mb but he said he has proved the virgin network is ok as his test site works and thats that.

i also tried using the wireless while he was there and that was 20mbit, he said that it may be a faulty wireless router - so he went to his van and got a dlink 615 and said i could have that to try.. he didnt take the netgear wireless so i got two wireless accesss points etc and two wireless dongles but neither getting above 28mb/sec on speed tests on 4 seperate machines.

he also told me to download the TCP/IP optimizer from speedguide and set it to max and apply. i have tried this and its made absolutely no difference to either my desktops or mine or my GF's laptop.

virgin guy just said he proved the network works ok (on the secret site) but in the real world its still slow

whats this secret site he used, must be tweaked so it always shows the maximum speed you should get ;)

[Watto1020]

got it bookmarked and will post tonight, he gave me a "login" he shouldnt have give me etc.

stil concerned tho, on all the different systems ive tried the max download speed ive hit is 2.4mb/sec and that was a combination of about 4 downloads..

people on here getting 6mb/sec etc,

[Peter_]

got it bookmarked and will post tonight, he gave me a "login" he shouldnt have give me etc.

stil concerned tho, on all the different systems ive tried the max download speed ive hit is 2.4mb/sec and that was a combination of about 4 downloads..

people on here getting 6mb/sec etc,
The login details will soon stop working so to prevent people posting or forwarding the link for everyone to use.

[Watto1020]

i wont post it then moldova.. apologies... any ideas on my connection issue?

[Watto1020]

A further question... im reading about people "activating" their modem.. do i need to do this?

i wasnt there when the engineer installed the modem initially and there was no pc there.. did the engineer activate it ? do i need to do something? could this effect my speeds?

[Peter_]

A further question... im reading about people "activating" their modem.. do i need to do this?

i wasnt there when the engineer installed the modem initially and there was no pc there.. did the engineer activate it ? do i need to do something? could this effect my speeds?
Usually only Quickstart self installs or replacement modems sent to customers require activation, on a manned install you should be activated when the engineer leaves the property.

No worries about the link to the speedtest site as I said they change the login details to prevent this anyway.;)

[ajeffo]

Try www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk ... i only get 20Mbps on speedtest.net but 45-50Mbps on the bbmax one for wired connection and about 33Mbps on wireless N. Give it a try

[Watto1020]

no probs moldova - thanks for response.

ajeffo - speed tests dont really help my situation, it would be nice if all speed tests said 45mb etc.. but really i want to be able to grab some tv eps off itunes @ 45mb-45mb or download games off steam @ 45mb-50mb etc or download Service packs etc off microsoft @ 45mb-50mb - in reality im getting about 15-25mb on several different machines on WIRED connections with 100mb nic cards and also 1gb nic cards

[Watto1020]

BROADBANDINGS - i see you posted in another thread that people on the 50mbit service should receive on or around 50mbit... i dont, i received like 20-25mb TOPS!

ive had an engineer out as described above but the only thing he could say was "it acheives 48mb on our test site so its fine"

any help would be appreciated from ANYONE?!

thanks

Craig

*EDIT - sorry - not sure if this helps but the "BROWN" box outside my house hasnt been changed from the last person who lived there>? could that make a difference? i have a new white box on wall in side my house like..

Thanks

[Watto1020]

can any of you VM guys who regularly help on here check out my plight :(

thanks in advance if you can spare a few mins, you could be an :angel:

[Peter_]

can any of you VM guys who regularly help on here check out my plight :(

thanks in advance if you can spare a few mins, you could be an :angel:
Have you actually rang in and spoke to the 50Mb Support Team on 0800 052 0431 as they will be able to help you.

[Watto1020]

i have spoken to them yes and i have had an engineer out and all he could tell me was that it was ok cos he could view his special vm site.

just checking my power now which is around 11.9 which doesnt sound great... i might give them a call tomorrow unless you can suggest me to try anything before then?

thanks
Craig

[Peter_]

i have spoken to them yes and i have had an engineer out and all he could tell me was that it was ok cos he could view his special vm site.

just checking my power now which is around 11.9 which doesnt sound great... i might give them a call tomorrow unless you can suggest me to try anything before then?

thanks
Craig
If your downstreams are around 12 you need an engineer to adjust as per this Sticky http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/34896851-post3.html

[Watto1020]

Hi , i called the number above (thanks) and spoke to a lady (from far far away land) who told me my power levels were fine - bouncing between 11 and 12. i explained that i didnt beleive that was the case and she said she made some adjustments and everything should be fine now and is there anything else she can do.. i checked power levels, still 11.8 ish and i said, errm, yep, you can sort the power levels as they havent changed. she then arranged an engineer for saturday morning, w00t.. so ill update you..
thanks for assistance moldova

[Peter_]

Hi , i called the number above (thanks) and spoke to a lady (from far far away land) who told me my power levels were fine - bouncing between 11 and 12. i explained that i didnt beleive that was the case and she said she made some adjustments and everything should be fine now and is there anything else she can do.. i checked power levels, still 11.8 ish and i said, errm, yep, you can sort the power levels as they havent changed. she then arranged an engineer for saturday morning, w00t.. so ill update you..
thanks for assistance moldova
We cannot alter the power levels remotely so she was talking out of her rear end, what time did you call as best between 0800 and 2000 on week days.

[Watto1020]

6:30pm yesterday mate... i know she was but its unbelievable how she can go "changed that, is there anything else i can help you with" ... i couldnt beleive it!

will let you know what happens saturday...

what causes the power levels to sway etc cos it wasnt 11 a few weeks back when engineer came..

Thanks

Craig

[Peter_]

what causes the power levels to sway etc cos it wasnt 11 a few weeks back when engineer came..


It can be anything even the connection coming loose in the cabinet, the engineer should sort it on Saturday.

[Watto1020]

quick update guys.

engineer came at 930 ish on sat morning. very nice guy, offered him a drink etc he wanted cold water happy days...

he put something on the cable under brown box outside and drove to green box. came back and handed me a short wire with an f-connector type on end.. he said theres a souvenir for you... he said wrong size connector and loose in cabinet, hes replaced.. i can keep it... i said thanks lol

he then rebooted modem and power levels down to around 3-4 and downloaded a few demos from the virgin demos page and acheived around 4.5mb/sec which is a massive improvement, still not 50mb but im sure its around the 40mb mark after all other traffic etc which is beleive is "acceptable" - i assume there is nothign else i can do to help this?

otherwise thanks to moldova and others for following this thread and helping where possible..

thanks

Craig