Slow download speed from some services despite fast connection

[nophead]

Hello,

   I have a solid ADSL connection speed of 55.37 Mbps and I can play youtube videos,  watch HD TV catchup services and Netflix without any problems. However at some times of day near race weekends I can't watch MotoGP and WorldSBK at HD resolution.  Sometimes it is low res which looks like an impressionist oil painting! 

When I investigate actual download speeds I get widely varying results depending on the test provider.  Google home says I have a lightning fast connection and reports 50.2 Mbps. Fast.com powered by Netflix always reports a reasonable speed as well, currently 53 Mbps. It varies between about 40 and 55.

However when I have a problems with MotoGP Which's speed test can be as  lows as 2 Mbps to 5 Mbps and www.speedtest.net can show similar slow speeds as well, although on good days they show much higher speeds, closer to the actual line rate.

I have been in contact with Dorna and after a long email conversation they offered a refund but no fix. They say only a small number of their customers have this problem. I have looked at the bandwidth used by Dorna videos and it is about 6 Mbps, so about 4 times other HD video services but that should not be a problem for a 55M bps connection.  I can watch other HD services at the same time and it doesn't make the Dorna feed any worse. So I do have plenty of bandwidth, just not to Dorna.

So what is Which's speed test doing that sees such slow download speeds, that only affect Dorna's videos? It seems like some part of the internet has a slow connection to Talktalk but other parts are always fast.

A traceroute shows the Dorna videos come from an Amazon server in Seattle via 19 hops, lots taking around 100ms. 

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Thank you, I have added the tracking number to your old account. 

[nophead]

I got the refund on 13/4/23, thanks, and have cancelled the direct debit. I got a bill of zero on the 5th of May.

We arrived home last Friday and posted the router in the bag that arrived while we were away. It was supposed to be a 2 or 3 day service but tracking went cold on Sunday.

I do have proof of postage though.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Let us know when it arrives. 

[nophead]

Thanks.

Odd, somebody else must have requested it because I couldn't log in yesterday. Today I can and it lets me request it and then says it has already been requested.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi nophead

I can see that the refund has been requested, should be with you in 3-5 days.

Regards

[nophead]

Thanks. Typical TT, nothing works. So glad I moved to Plusnet and have been able to use the internet in the evenings ever since.

[ferguson]

There is an issue flagged on the service status page. 

[nophead]

I got an email saying I was due refund for part of the monthly charge that was after I left but it says I need to log into my account to direct it to my bank account. However, account login does not work. Is that just for me or is your account system down for everyone at the moment?

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Ok thanks.

[nophead]

Thanks.

The returns bag still hasn't arrived yet (I have a camera looking at the doormat). I will let you know if it does.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi nophead.

The next bill will be the final zero balance bill. 

Send the router back when you return its not a problem.

[nophead]

Since switching to Plusnet I can now watch Dorna videos at full resolution in the evenings for the first time since last summer, just in time for the start of the MotoGP season. Since raising this problem back in September it only got steadily worse.

The returns bag has not been delivered, so I won't be able to return the router until I get back in May as we fly to Tenerife tomorrow.

My account looks to be in an odd state because it still says the contract runs till September and the next bill is on the 8th of April but it also says the phone line is disconnected. I trust I won't be charged any more and will be due some refund.

[nophead]

Actually, my wife tells me we paid £2.50 per month for the price fix which made it £1 more than our previous ISP.

[nophead]

Up and running with Plusnet using their Plusnet Hub Two. A much nicer user interface than the Huawei router and it syncs a bit faster, especially the uplink, which important for me as that limits my VPN speed to Tenerife.  Very straightforward to change the base IP address, disable Wifi, fix the IP address of my Google Nest router and port forward my VPN to it.

Latency is much lower, so web browsing seems a lot snappier even during the day when download speed wasn't an issue.

I won't know for sure the slow downloads in the evenings are fixed for a few days but this evening it was fine and every weekday evening has been bad for months with TalkTalk.

Traceroute shows that you don't share any infrastructure with Plusnet,  except presumably the cabinet, and I don't think that was the where the issue lies because it is shared between providers and is unlikely to know to speed up talkTalk cached video traffic.

Your network team have lost a customer by not fixing the problem. It doesn't fit the power your router off for half an hour, try a new router, have an engineer visit script because it always worked fine during working hours but nearly always switched to very low speeds in the evenings. It wasn't the line or the router because the connection is solid and video contents is delivered much faster than non video web traffic such as your own speedtest. So definitely a TalkTalk network problem.

I paid an extra £1 per month to avoid the RPI price increase, so I think you should refund that because having switched to Plusnet the price will increase next month. You have broken the contract by not providing a reasonable service in the evenings and advised me to switch to solve it instead of fixing your infrastructure so I can't take advantage of the price fix I paid for.

I will return to Tenerife on Sunday. If the return bag arrives before then I will return the router, otherwise it will be May when you get it.

[nophead]

Thanks. I gave up on setting up the Plusnet router for TalkTalk as they use username and password and I think TalkTalk just uses DHCP. I will wait for switchover tomorrow.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Ive requested the returns bag hopefully it will get there for Saturday

[nophead]

So the 14 day cooling off period is a complete pain because it extends the switch over time. I should have started it while I was still in Tenerife but I didn't realise nothing at all would happen happen until yesterday.

I got the Plusnet router today, so I will try connecting to TalkTalk with it. I assume you will want the old router back but I don't want to hang around for a returns bag. I am planning to return to Tenerife on Sunday. Can you send a returns bag that will arrive before then or can you email a returns label I can attack to my own packaging?

[nophead]

So far two emails, a phone call and now a letter begging me to stay for as little as £20 a month. Shame it doesn't work and can't be fixed.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi nophead

There are notes to show that the cancellation fee is to be waived if generated, as this is migration away we will need to manually clear it once the transfer is complete which looks to be on the 23rd March, the charge will be generated after that if you post back after the 23rd and before the 8th April we can clear it. 

Regards

[ferguson]

@nophead You have clearly pointed out the agreement to waive any early termination charges. Wait for the support team to pick this up again and I am sure they will confirm.