How long does it take for TalkTalk & OpenReach to fix a fault

[Brady49Q1]

I've had a 'throttled' broadband service for 2 months now. TalkTalk have been telling me that an OpenReach engineer is on the way but nothing happens. The fault is stated to be with my line and I don't need to be at home when OpenReach get off their gongas to fix it.

Download is approx 35Mbps (OK for me as I don't want fibre) but the bandwidth is rubbish. I want to watch Netflix (I have the cheap low resolution service, not HD) but the videos freeze and are forever buffering. Occasionally videos and sound are fine and last just long enough to watch an hour long episode and then my broadband chokes again.

I have no confidence in TalkTalk as they do not seem to chase OpenReach to perform their job. My contract doesn't end until July 2023 and I need to force this issue to a satisfactory outcome.

Anybody got any useful ideas for me to get this pathetic duopoly to fix this ^$*% fault?

Brady49

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi Brady

All usual tests are clear and the router is in sync at 40mb with no errors.  This may be a wifi issue.  I've turned off optimisation for the WiFi, can you try changing the WiFi channel to see if this gives better performance.

Change your wireless channel - TalkTalk Help & Support

Karl.

[ferguson]

By the time July 2023 comes around you may find that you are no longer able to simply "go back to Sky," at least not on an FTTC service. That option is unlikely to be available. 

In the meantime, would you like the support team here to investigate further? 

[Brady49Q1]

All,

I didn't suggest that TalkTalk was throttling its service, just that it seemed to be throttled as far as Netflix and, as I now mention, YouTube videos as well. My connection to my Sony smart TV is on wifi. My service is called Fibre 35, it is not FTTP. The fibre cabinet is approx 400 metres from me and there is a fibre line to a distribution box at the top of a telegraph pole approx 20 metres from me. My copper line from this telegraph pole to my house is approx 40 years old. In my house there's only my wife and I who uses our internet and we don't need FTTP speeds. My router password is that 8 character one that comes with the router.

It was TalkTalk themselves who their raised fault reference REP-11547692 on 02/07/22 after a line test was carried out.

My understanding is that download speed and bandwidth are related but are not equivalent. Of the finite amount of bandwidth allocated to TalkTalk customers on the fibre link to 'my' telegraph pole it appears that there are more TalkTalk users on this fibre link than the bandwidth allowance. I also presume that other TalkTalk users have opted for FTTP from this particular fibre link.
This laptop I'm using now is on wifi, plus two tablets and two wifi security cameras (data for these cameras are stored in the cameras on 128Gb memory cards- interrogated by myself as and when I want). I also have a high end games PC hardwired via Cat 6 cable to the TalkTalk router that sometimes loses connection to the server at the most inopportune moments.

A TalkTalk speed test also drills down to the connected wifi devices and reports their speed. This laptop is sometimes reported as 35Mb but right now TalkTalk tells me it's in low power mode and to use it and test again, Sony TV approx 4Mb, wifi cameras and tablets approx 1 to 3Mb.

Netflix speed checks sometimes fail to pick up any Netflix servers, more often than not the Netflix speed check reports speeds of anywhere between 0.01 Mb (yes really) and 10Mb and occasionally up to 35Mb. YouTube does not have any speed check functions.

Using third party broadband speed checks generally report between 27 and 35Mb, very occasionally as low as 4Mb. Just once I actually saw an UPLOAD speed of 300Mb and a retest of 180Mb followed by another retest of a more normal 6Mb.

Whilst on this topic of internet download speeds I have no confidence in the TalkTalk internet speed test result, they are very surprisingly constant and do not align with other 3rd party speed tests.

The TalkTalk speed test results suggests that there is an issue between their router and all my wifi connected devices. It never seems to occur to them that their router may be the 'common cause' fault as experienced by the wifi connected downstream devices. Ealier when I substituted the TalkTalk router with my very old TP-Link Archer VR600 router I didn't have any problems with my wifi devices. But I re-installed the TalkTalk router to give it another chance in view of my mistaken supposition that the TalkTalk line fault would be fixed within a few days. The latest check today with TalkTalk tells me it's still waiting for OpenReach to do whaever it is needed to repair the fault. When I have time later I'll re-install my TP-Link router and throw the TalkTalk router in the recycling bin.

My TalkTalk contract expires early July 2023 and when it does I'll go back to Sky instead.

Thank you for your interest.
Brady49Q1

[Cluster-Lizard]

LoL; 35Mbs and the OP thinks they're being throttled and still on ADSL.

FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet) most likely which means the connection from the PC/Internet device > Router/Modem > Master socket > Cabinet are the same as when it was ADSL which maybe what has caused the misunderstanding.

Indeed if the OP is using Wi-Fi the simple way of checking if that is the problem rather than the internet service itself is to test it using a wired connection to the Master plug's internal socket. If the problem remains then it is either a router/modem fault or, most likely an external one and the OP has a right to be annoyed if he's reported the problem (to whom?) and nothing has been done in the last two months.

For HD (1080p) TV streaming without any major problems a lousy 2.5Mbs ADSL connection is the minimum recommended. I know because that is what I had to use for the years before TalkTalk switched me to FTTC. You can't do anything else on line at the same time with that sort of speed but if the OP is getting 35Mbs then its good, or should be, for multiple tasks/users at the same time.

If the problem is not external ie. the wired connection test is good my first guess is Wi-Fi interference of some sort. 

However the two months this problem has apparently been going on without a fix suggests a possible source of the external problem, if that is what it is: physical line deterioration. It coincides with the very hot weather and my own experience is that if the cabling is old cumulative UV and heat damage to the insulation can severely affect the connection.

I had what maybe a similar problem years ago and the BT/OR engineer had to replace all the wiring from the Master socket to the roof of the building and later all the way up the road to the cabinet. But the worst condition cabling was actually that from the Master socket to the roof of my property where unlike the aerial lines to the telephone poles the cable is in constant contact with the heat retaining brickwork of the building. In the summer it gets cooked every day from midday onward.

One of the engineers showed me the insulation on that cabling had deteriorated so badly it was crumbling away. He was amazed I was getting any service at all. 

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi Brady49Q1

Your fibre 35 service is in sync at 37mb and all tests are clear.  Are you seeing slow speeds over WiFi ?

Thanks  

Karl. 

[ferguson]

OK, your post is a wee bit confusing.

First, TalkTalk don't throttle, so whatever your issue is, it isn't that.

You then say you have 36Mbps download, which is another way of describing your bandwidth, it amounts to the same thing. But you also say you are not on fibre, that can't be right? And what devices are you having issues with regarding Netflix and is this with a wireless connection? Are you observing any issues with your service other than this?

Finally, who has been telling you that Openreach will attend and why?

If you can clarify these points it will help the support team here to help you.