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View Full Version : 3 Weeks At <0.5Mb Instead Of 20Mb


MeeRKaT
25-06-2011, 03:08
I am on VM XL 20meg package .
I have a seperate 20meg modem and Wireless Netgear Gigabit Router which is connected via ethernet.
I have had a couple of years with very good speeds of 19.5Mb that is until 3 weeks ago , you know when something feels wrong , e-mails cannot download until 3rd or 4th time , blank white pages , news links taking 4 minutes to load and tiny video streams that let you watch 3 seconds then pause for 15 seconds before repeating over and over .You know its terminal when you miss adverts loading .
It did not help having seen the VM repair van go past your window twice in 3 days (its always twice as they never get it work first time ) knowing that the last time he did someones installation he accidently pulled out my cables !
I ran speed tests a various sites (eventually)over 3 days I get a max of 0.5 and a low of 0.1Mb I reset and tested all my connections and hardware and it all checked out so I thought I would give Customer Service a call , I got through straight away and after he ran his tests he found the fault was on the main server and said it would take at least another week before they would look at it , the week is nearly up and it is still awful , is this delay normal and should I be getting any compensation for this ?

Tuvoc
25-06-2011, 21:38
You could do. When I first got my service 3 yrs ago, I initially had some horrible outages. Days with no internet at all, sometimes no TV, and heck once the phone went down too. The problems in the area were resolved, and I've had 2+ years of totally reliable service after that. After complaining at the time, I got a credit of 1 month's standing charges.

MeeRKaT
27-06-2011, 16:34
You could do. When I first got my service 3 yrs ago, I initially had some horrible outages. Days with no internet at all, sometimes no TV, and heck once the phone went down too. The problems in the area were resolved, and I've had 2+ years of totally reliable service after that. After complaining at the time, I got a credit of 1 month's standing charges.

That is basically my experience with the 20mb broadband setup (though I have been connected since Nynex and C&W) a very slow start then a speed boost that soon became stable and if you had any problem it was sorted without any calls to CS after about 2 days but this outage has been weird , this weekend on Saturday it dropped to an average of 0.08Mb all day long
then on Sunday (maybe because of the good weather and everyone going out) a sudden jump in speed to 2.1Mb and upto now this Monday afternoon is a high of around 3.1Mb this is at least promising but does not explain why this happened at all and I still have a long way to go before I am back to my 19.5Mb speeds I was used to .
There must be others with the same fault in the ST4 area

---------- Post added at 15:34 ---------- Previous post was at 14:27 ----------

I have just seen the VM van pull up at the bottom of the road and he is checking connections at the main junction box , I asked if there was a specific problem he was aware of and he did not know of a speed problem in my area however he proved what I had thought was a major problem , the wiring is in such a mess ,cables were wrapped around each other and as he tried to check on 1 houses connections he accidently pulled out 2 others , also the condition of the cables looked like they had been found on a tip (his words) and we wonder why we have so many problems.

virginruinedntl
29-06-2011, 13:48
the cabinet probably needs adjusting, i had the same problem, had 20mb for 2yrs getting full speed then got 2-7mb 1 month ago, it was due to the rollout of 100mb, they needed to change the frequency of the cabinet to fix the problem as the QAM had changed. Phone virgin tech support and they will check your modem, an engineer fixed the cabinet the next day after phoning, getting 18.7mb now :)

MeeRKaT
29-06-2011, 20:07
the cabinet probably needs adjusting, i had the same problem, had 20mb for 2yrs getting full speed then got 2-7mb 1 month ago, it was due to the rollout of 100mb, they needed to change the frequency of the cabinet to fix the problem as the QAM had changed. Phone virgin tech support and they will check your modem, an engineer fixed the cabinet the next day after phoning, getting 18.7mb now :)

Thanks for your reply , I did call tech support and they did confirm the fault was at their end , no coincedence that it was around the time the upload upgrade was being done , they said it would take upto a week before it was looked at , tomorrow that week is up this is nearly 4 weeks , no you tube ,no streaming no downloads or gaming even browsing is problematic getting to this forum is a struggle , tomorrow is the final chance for VM to sort this I have had enough of being fobbed off .

MeeRKaT
30-06-2011, 16:23
Unbelievable , I have just been told by another VM tech support clown that the fault lies in my old 20meg black little modem and he will send me a newer modem , I said that was a waste of time as my modem has got an excellent upload speed and the download on Sunday went upto 4meg for 5mins at least before dropping back down again but he said his tests prove it was my modem , so what about last weeks clown who said his tests prove it was at the server and my modem is working perfectly , all this has done today is give me another week of hell waiting for an un-required modem to arrive then another call to another so called tech who will then re-activate my 20mbps service only to find their is still a problem, working in a foreign country these support people must be costing VM a fortune because they have found a quick solution to getting onto the next caller is to ship out a new Superhub or modem if you dont believe me just check out eBay , week 5 here I come .

virginruinedntl
30-06-2011, 18:59
what are these values for your modem:

Upstream transmit Power Level
Downstream transmit Power Level

MeeRKaT
30-06-2011, 21:08
Hi thanks for the reply , here is what I have upto now;

Cable Modem Downstream
Downstream Lock : Locked
Downstream Channel Id : 206
Downstream Frequency : 306750000 Hz
Downstream Modulation : QAM256
Downstream Symbol Rate : 6952 Ksym/sec
Downstream Interleave Depth : taps12Increment17
Downstream Receive Power Level : 5.1 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 35.3 dB


Cable Modem Upstream
Upstream Lock : Locked
Upstream Channel ID : 3
Upstream Frequency : 27400000 Hz
Upstream Modulation : QPSK
Upstream Symbol Rate : 5120 Ksym/sec
Upstream transmit Power Level : 42.7 dBmV
Upstream Mini-Slot Size : 4

qasdfdsaq
01-07-2011, 02:13
Power levels look OK but upstream being QPSK is not good.

Try this speedtest:

http://mcslhr.visualware.com/myspeed...city_10mb.html (http://mcslhr.visualware.com/myspeed/mycapacity_10mb.html)

MeeRKaT
01-07-2011, 15:44
Power levels look OK but upstream being QPSK is not good.

Try this speedtest:

http://mcslhr.visualware.com/myspeed...city_10mb.html (http://mcslhr.visualware.com/myspeed/mycapacity_10mb.html)

In the early hours of this morning I had no connection whatsoever , this afternoon I connected and I knew something was different ,I could see my homepage on startup , I ran the test at the above link (thanks for that )and it gave me results of : download upto 19.5mbps : upload upto 1.95mbps : quality 98%
on speedtest I am now averaging 18.7mbps , not as good as I was getting 4 weeks ago at 19.5mbps but I can live with a stable 18.5 and above .
now tomorrow or Monday I shall be receiving the replacement modem for my "faulty modem" (according to one VM tech support fob off merchant)
I told him it wasn`t my modem , thanks for listening ever likekly our bills are going up, so I now have the question should I swap it for new modem as mine can only go 20meg and I am on XL so should be entitled to 30meg and I think the new modem is capable of faster speeds ?

MeeRKaT
02-07-2011, 13:43
Saturday and I have tested mt speeds and I am getting 19+mbps down and 1.9+mbps up so far whatever they did on Friday at 04.59 a.m. according to my event log has worked
see below;

First TimeLast TimePriorityDescription
Sat Jul 02 10:44:43 2011 Sat Jul 02 10:44:43 2011 Critical (3)Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - ...
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)The s/w filename specified in the config file is the same as ...
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)A software upgrade filename was specified in the config file.
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)Authorized
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)Registration complete!
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)We registered with a DOCSIS 1.1 config file!
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)Received a REG-RSP message from the CMTS...
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)Sending a REG-REQ to the CMTS...
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)CableModem SNMP configure complete
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)IP init completed ok
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)CableModem TFTP init ok
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Information (7)CableModem DHCP client init ok
Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:59:15 2011 Critical (3)DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Fri Jul 01 04:58:46 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:46 2011 Critical (3)Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - ...
Fri Jul 01 04:58:42 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:42 2011 Information (7)MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Fri Jul 01 04:58:41 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:41 2011 Critical (3)No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Fri Jul 01 04:58:41 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:41 2011 Information (7)MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Information (7)Downstream sync ok
Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Information (7)MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Information (7)Beginning initial ranging...
Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Information (7)downstream time sync acquired...
Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Information (7)Downstream sync ok
Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Information (7)starting ds time sync acquisition...
Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:39 2011 Information (7)Received a UCD message!
Fri Jul 01 04:58:36 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:36 2011 Information (7)MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Fri Jul 01 04:58:33 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:33 2011 Critical (3)No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Fri Jul 01 04:58:33 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:33 2011 Information (7)MAP w/initial maintenance region received
Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Information (7)Downstream sync ok
Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Information (7)Beginning initial ranging...
Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Information (7)downstream time sync acquired...
Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Information (7)Downstream sync ok
Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Fri Jul 01 04:58:31 2011 Information (7)starting ds time sync acquisition...

So after 4 weeks and 2 days a RESULT ! ......and then...........

Special delivery Saturday morning 1 new modem to replace my (faulty) older model as promised and they have sent me .... a brand new Ambit 256 same model I have... the mind boggles what was the point ,I was hoping at least for the 300 model so I could at least get my 20M upgraded then at least I could make use of it.
I think I might call up later ask for compensation and an upgrade to 30M just for fun.
I wonder what they would say I need ... a superhub ...I already got one of them it cost me £4 (I know I was robbed) and I wont use it because I dont like the cables fitting to the side (so much for the space saving) and if I were to use it along side my Netgear WNR3500 I would not be able to turn on my monitor as the swiches are on the right hand side and there is no more room on the desktop .
Ah decisions decisions ... looks like I will be stuck with my set up for now.

Mick Fisher
02-07-2011, 17:18
I had a slow download problem but my signal levels were perfect.

India insisted on sending me a new ambit 255 modem which was a complete waste of time and VM's resources. Subsequent calls explaining that their diagnosis was wrong were greeted by "We cannot help you anymore" and then they would hang up the phone.

Only a call to 'thinking of leaving us' got me put through to a UK based 2nd line Agent who, after a very few tests, booked me a Tech to call the next day.

The Tech changed the Isolator - problem solved. He also changed the brand new ambit 255 for an ordinary Hub which worked splendidly. My connection was rock solid.

Probably stupidly on my part, after a short while I upgraded to 30meg and had to use a superhub. Alas my rock solid 20meg is now a flaky 30meg and the superhub spuriously reboots itself many times most days.

MeeRKaT
02-07-2011, 19:43
I had a slow download problem but my signal levels were perfect.
India insisted on sending me a new ambit 255 modem which was a complete waste of time and VM's resources. Subsequent calls explaining that their diagnosis was wrong were greeted by "We cannot help you anymore" and then they would hang up the phone.
Only a call to 'thinking of leaving us' got me put through to a UK based 2nd line Agent who, after a very few tests, booked me a Tech to call the next day.
The Tech changed the Isolator - problem solved. He also changed the brand new ambit 255 for an ordinary Hub which worked splendidly. My connection was rock solid.
Probably stupidly on my part, after a short while I upgraded to 30meg and had to use a superhub. Alas my rock solid 20meg is now a flaky 30meg and the superhub spuriously reboots itself many times most days.

I think we can all come to the conclusion that;

1. If it is working ok dont upgrade
2. If it goes wrong only give it a little while (2 days max) before calling 151 India direct .
3. No matter how many tests you try or resets you do , they wont listen or care as long as they can answer the next call (I also dont believe the last Indian so called techy I spoke to was not really called Nathan ! as he called himself.)
4. Be prepared to hear the line "it will take up to a week sir"
5. Dont expect it to work , do expect to have to call again.
6. Expect a parcel in the post (that`s another way of getting you off the phone quickly)
7. I refer you back to 5.
8. Always threaten to quit. ... at worst they put you through to UK calling centre.
9. Demand compensation
10. If you receive a VM survey next time fill it in and type in your complaints eventually they might get the message also write in about the ugly design of the new Tivo box (your blu ray player wont fit underneath and would slide off due to shape) and the Superhub as well netgear do make things that work and had a better design WNR3500 style (cables nice and tidy at the back)