Fibre35 Isn't

[piston]

When moved onto Fibre35 (without being informed!) mid 2021 it worked fine: Sync. down/up: 35/8 Mbps. 

Suddenly, after 3-ish months, this dropped to 30/6 and stuck there. I have started trying to recover the promised 'guaranteed' delivery speed : connect modem to test socket, change: filters, cable to modem, Ethernet cable to computer... nothing makes the slightest difference.

TT website test tools reports:

'Speed to router 29Mbps' ('Poor' 'g/tee 35') then a later reports says 'line looks ok'?!

'We cannot recognise your modem or software...you may need to talk to our team' (it is a TT modem but old and clearly not tested by TT when I was switched to Fib.35). None of my other modems will work at all with FTC at all.

Looks to me like an DLM or exchange/cabinet kit disturbance-triggered issue (cabs at the end of my road seem to be opened up weekly by a variety of telco engineers) but there is no mechanism to flag the possibility. The 'Live Chat' button seems to do nothing (win7/win10 , 2different browsers) and 'contact us' links back to the start of the merry go round.

Is there any hope of salvation?

PS If it helps the Interleave level (2529) is way higher than I recall it being when Fib 35 happened out of the blue (but I wouldn't bet the farm on the  quality of my er... mmm...)

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi piston,

Glad to hear that the issue has now been resolved 🙂

Chris

[piston]

Texted OR, waited whilst they 'worked through it'.

Reply text ~2 hrs later: engineer cancelled, 'glad fault resolved'.

Impressively swift but no clue re what was done.

Still, all's well that ends well (I hope it's the end).

My thanks to all who helped

Regards

[piston]

Got an Open-Reach text on Thurs. pm to confirm an engineer visit next Tuesday (25th).

Booted machine this Sat pm and voila: sub-par immutable for months download cap of 29999Mbps is now 39999Mbps 😮

So 29999/9995 (exactly fixed) for ~6 months to 39999/9995 and all I did was boot up and look at the router.

Magic?  Or has someone been busy pre-engineer's visit?

I now need to try and cancel engineer before Tuesday (actually 1 working day before?).

S*!'s Law or what?

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi

I've sent you a PM with the details.

Karl.

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi

We will get back to you via this thread / post, just let us know what preference you have for days / times (AM or PM).

Thanks  

Karl.

[piston]

Hi Karl

Have replied to PM. Thanks

Followed link to 'security' questions and did my best but they were a bit ambiguous (though I think I got my name right!)

Response was 'we'll get back to you'. No idea how/when.

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi @piston

I've sent you a PM.

Thanks  

Karl.

[piston]

Hi Karl,

Once again apologies for the delay (hospital day-patient appointment-cancellation-bingo: get ready to go but on the day we say 'no').

Engineer please (oh and a CAT-scan if you're not busy).

Regards

(and my thanks to Ferguson for the escalation)

[Karl-TalkTalk]

 Hi

Openreach are responsible for the network up to the test socket.

The sync speed is below the minimum guaranteed so will need an engineer and a DLM reset.

Would you like to progress to an engineer now ?

Thanks  

Karl.

[ferguson]

Hi @piston I have re-escalated this for you to make sure it gets back in the support workflow. 

[piston]

Thanks for your response and apologies for this delayed reply.
I can see no alternative to an engineers visit but do not want a ‘wasted visit’ charge (see below) so could you tell me the current procedure?
I have been ‘playing’ with my connection but it is surprisingly robust (Line rate (kb/s): Down/Up: 29999/9995…always).

By linking one then two borrowed telephone extension reels between the master socket and router and adding two phones I could degrade the noise safety coefficient/ line attenuation values somewhat but delivery rate stayed rock solid at 29999/9995 ie fixed to within 1 part in thirty-thousand!. Reboots make not one bit (lol) of difference. Tried 2 routers, no change.

I write this with the router attached to the test socket by the short (1m-ish) cable supplied. The BT connection box is about 1m from where the cable enters the house, no phones attached. Line rate still: 29999/9995. The line rate appears to be locked with a consistent accuracy in the order of 0.003%, which is in the realms of high grade electronics rather than a dodgy connection.

A deliberate limit would explain why the rate is down but to a constant rate, whilst a line test would come up clean. The line is clean and a clean limiter is in operation elsewhere. It would also explain why I was syncing at 34-35 Mbps with a little day to day variation (switching off each night) and then one day dropped into fixed lock-down.

Is the situation still all pre the test socket is Open-Wretch's?

Regards

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi piston,

As the speed is still low the next step will be to arrange an engineer visit, if you'd like us to do this please let us know and we'll confirm some details

Chris

[ferguson]

Ah OK, not sure what more you can do from your end then tbh. I am not sure your neighbours would appreciate the lump hammer approach though....

I have re-escalated this for you, let's see what further advice the support team can offer. 

[piston]

Yo ferguson, thanks for the reply.

 I should have said TEST socket rather than 'Master' in my post.  Apologies

Whole saga,  both routers, has been with test socket and no other kit present (well, a filter...).

I'll try the TT-site tests and then pop up to the cabinet (with a lump hammer) when it gets a bit darker...😏

Regards

[ferguson]

Hmm. That is most certainly a fixed profile, slower than the potential. You can probably guess the next question, but does your master socket have a test socket? If so give it a go there. 

[piston]

Greetings all: the new router arrived Xmas Eve (left on doorstep, not popped down chimney).

Large Echo-Life, good throughput and WiFi but not 35Mbps because line rate is stuck 30Mbps as it was with previous router (which was 35+ then suddenly dropped to 30 one morning and never  recovered).

I've pasted the Echo's stats below:

DSL synchronization status: Up
Connection status: Showtime
Upstream line rate (kbit/s): 9995
Downstream line rate (kbit/s): 29999
Upstream noise safety coefficient (dB): 15.0
Downstream noise safety coefficient (dB): 17.1
Line standard: Vdsl2_ANNEX_B
Upstream line attenuation (dB): 4.9
Downstream line attenuation (dB): 9.6
Upstream output power (dBm): 6.4
Downstream output power (dBm): 13.7
DSL up time: 9 days 3 hours 24 minutes 41 seconds

Note that the line rates exactly match what my previous router dropped down to ie 9995/ 29999. The perfect, unvarying over 9 days, match seems consistent with what others suggested pre-Xmas: a limit has been put on the line (exchange/cabinet).

PS Used master socket, more new cables filter supplied but not even a single digit line speed change. Line standard descriptor has changed and no mention of Interleaving now.

PPS Speed tests up/down (Mbps): 8.86/28.18 notional average of 6-ish runs.

Deadly Line Management has managed er... nothing. Can someone go and kick the cabinet/ exchange rack?

If Guaranteed 35Mbps (min) is no go then am I free to go? The end of an error (sic)!

Regards

[AllyM]

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@piston wrote:

'...a matter of several weeks, rather than days, before the DLM released the cap.'... if ever, given that TT diagnostic complains the model/firmware of the router cannot be identified 🙄

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The service centre doesn't ever identify my TalkTalk router either, but I don't think there is any link between TalkTalk's shambles of a website and Openreach's DLM.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi piston,

I've ordered a router, it should be with you within a couple of days but please allow up to 5 working days for delivery

Chris

[piston]

Ooh...Yes please! Send it with Santa?

Thanks Michelle and Happy Christmas to you and the other good folks who were kind enough to reply.

[piston]

'...a matter of several weeks, rather than days, before the DLM released the cap.'... if ever, given that TT diagnostic complains the model/firmware of the router cannot be identified 🙄