Lower download speed since contract renewal......why??

[5guitars]

I've been an AOL/TalkTalk customer since 2004 when I bought my first computer. Over the years there have been many issues, some resolved satisfactorily and some not, but the most significant ones have had to do with fluctuating speeds and not receiving the speed range advertised for the service.

The previous time that I renewed my contract, my download speed dropped from what had been a steady 37.5 Mbps to 32.5, just the day after renewal. Querying this, just brought up the usual and repetitive round of 'tests' with the usual negative result. There were no discernible 'faults' on the line or with my equipment and as no practical reason for this drop could be given, it was once again resigned to the great vault of TalkTalk 'mysteries.'

Which brings me to my current situation.....

I'd been out-of-contract on my Fibre 65 service since October 2022 and had just been paying the subsequent increased rate. Rather oddly, since being out-of-contract, I noticed that my speed had increased from the previous 32.5 to a consistent 40.5 with a corresponding increase in upload speed from around 5.5 to a giddy 10 ! It was this unexpected bonus and my indecision about whether to re-contract with TT or take the opportunity to switch providers, that made me defer the decision until earlier this month.

In the 1st week of this month, I spent hours over 4 conversations with several TalkTalk 'Better Value(!)' agents, attempting to achieve a mutually acceptable new contract. Honestly, it was close to torture and it wasn't until the final call that the agent was able to offer the speed range that is both advertised for Fibre 65 and that is available to my address. It was like pulling teeth, but I thought that I'd got there in the end : Highest 41.5, Lowest 37.5, Guaranteed 33.6. Upload 9.62 - 10.7

I made it clear that I was already receiving the upper band of that range and wanted to ensure that it wouldn't change, just by renewing my contract and I was assured (as before!) that nothing would...

Apparently, rather foolishly, I believed once again what I was told because from the day after I signed up to a new 24 month contract, both the speed to my router and to my devices started to drop.....

For several months prior to this and up until the day of my contract renewal, the speed to my router (using TalkTalk's Speed Test) was 48Mbps and to my device was 41.5Mbps. Each day subsequent to signing up to the new contract those speeds have dropped and the speed history on TalkTalk's graph clearly shows this. Prior to writing this, the speed to my router is now just 35Mbps, but, rather conveniently, still just within the guaranteed minimum.

To say that I'm both disappointed once again with TalkTalk's tactics and annoyed at my stupidity at falling for what I was told, is an understatement and I'm literally kicking myself for it! If TalkTalk is to claim that this is just a 'coincidence' I'm sorry, but that just doesn't make sense at all. The only thing that has 'changed' from the period up until the 6th September, is that I renewed my contract. 

[AllyM]

@5guitars 

I think it's just human nature to look for patterns in things. We don't like co-incidence or randomness.

Looking at it objectively though, I don't see any reason why TalkTalk would decide to slow down an individual customer's internet connection by a small amount like 5Mbps, or what benefit they could get by doing that, even if it were possible for them to do it.

Karl has confirmed (in post number 44) that your line profile is correctly set for the Fibre65 package at up to 80Mbps.

As for the cause of the speed drop, staff have relayed to you (in posts 24 and 33) the information from Openreach stating that your service was affected by a "mass sync event". Although that's not very specific, I don't think it's very likely that Openreach will give any more detailed information. As stated in those posts, It's probably just a case of waiting for the DLM to increase the speed if and when it decides the line is stable enough, which, in my experience, can take some time.

In the meantime, a drop of about 5Mbps or so isn't such a huge amount. Except for when running speed tests, I wouldn't imagine you'd notice any difference between 34-35 and 40-41Mbps during normal day to day internet use.

My own connection is round about the 35Mbps mark, so nothing to boast about either, but it's plenty fast enough for anything I would want to do online.

[5guitars]

Thank you Karl. In any event, I do have a Certificate of Posting that confirms despatch to you.

Stephen.

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi

Account not updated as yet with router return, but these can be delayed. 

Don't worry too much about this, we can override this if it is delayed too much.

Karl.

[5guitars]

Thank you for that information Karl and also the assistance provide by yourself and your colleagues over the course of this topic.

Despite the foregoing, unfortunately, I'm still no further forward in understanding exactly what has lead to my download speed dropping from a consistent 40 - 41 Mbps to 34 -35 Mbps, with the only 'change' of anything being that I went from out-of-contract status (receiving the higher speeds) to new contract and its accompanying speed drop. As someone has pointed out, my persistence in claiming that this has to be related, is delusional on my part (!) so there seems little point in pursuing it or in fact, hoping that this can be resolved satisfactorily by TalkTalk.

Stephen.

**PS....are you able to confirm receipt of the router that I returned on 26.09.23?**

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi

You are on the fibre 65 package.  The estimated download speed for your line is 37-42mb and your line is in sync at 39mb with the profile set at 80mb.

You can try a 30minute powerdown to see if the router will sync any higher, but based on the estimated range, I would not expect this to increase by much.

Thanks  

Karl. 

[5guitars]

Chris.,

Although I signed up for the Fibre 65 service, would you mind actually confirming  that is what I'm getting, as the actual speeds now seem to be more in line with Fibre 35 ?

Thanks,

Stephen.

[5guitars]

Hello Chris!

Sorry for the late response, we've been away since Monday and out of internet contact.

Don't use my landline for making calls, since my calling package expired. However, there doesn't seem to be any unusual noise/crackles on the line.

Regards,

Stephen.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Stephen,

Line test is now passing, your router is in sync at 37.7Mbps. Are you experiencing any problems with your telephone service, any noise on the line?

Chris

[5guitars]

Dear Allym,

It's 'stuck in my head' as you refer to it, as it's the second time that this reduction in speed has happened upon contract renewal, so perhaps I can be forgiven for wondering if there just might be some connection betwixt the two.

Thank you for enlightening me regarding TT's inability to interfere with speeds, I had no idea that they had absolutely no power over this aspect. This being the case, it should be absolutely no problem for them to assist me in whatever steps are necessary to regaining the 41 -42 Mbps that I was consistently getting prior to 6.9.23, as I know that my line is capable of delivering 48 Mbps to my router.

Over the past few weeks, a suspect router has been eliminated as well as any problem with the main socket/wiring etc. Michelle has previously kindly offered a visit by an Open Reach engineer and as this reduction in speed has absolutely nothing to do with any action by TT, the onus for the issue must be with them, mustn't it? 'Mass Event, ' R in the month, leaves on the track etc......?

I've got a rather hectic week ahead of me, but I'll seek further advice from the TT team on here, the week after.

Regards,

Stephen.

[AllyM]

@5guitars ,

Renewing your contract is just a billing/paperwork exercise. There would be no physical changes to your line. You've got it stuck in your head that because the contract renewal and the line issue occurred at the same they must be connected but they're not.

On a VDSL FTTC line, TalkTalk's Fibre65 service is limited at 80Mbps download and 20Mbps upload. The Fibre35 package is limited at 40Mbps download and 10Mbps upload. These are the only profiles that TalkTalk can specify. They have no other control to limit a customer's speed at any other random value.

[5guitars]

That's what I'm trying to understand. At the risk of repeating myself ad nauseum, For several months (whilst out of my TT contract), I'd been getting consistent download speeds of 41 - 42 Mbps and then from exactly the day after renewing my contract, the speed dropped on a daily basis before settling at its current 34.5 Mbps. I just can't figure it, except that this is the second time that a drop in speed has happened that has been coincidental with TT contract renewal, that's all.....

I'm no techie in this regard, but am I to believe that ISP's have no control over speeds? My line is capable of around 48 Mbps to my router, as tested and shown to me by an Open Reach engineer in the not too distant patch, so say I took out a contract which offered a top speed of 11 Mbps for a more affordable cost, exactly how and by who would that 11 mbps 'limit' be set, if my line was capable of delivering over 4 times that?

[ferguson]

Seriously, what do you think happened? As soon as you renewed your contract they went aha, we got him and turned a special, secret dial down a few notches (cue evil laughter in background)?

[5guitars]

It would be most useful to know approximately when this apparent Open Reach 'mass event' (!) has run its course and can no longer claim to be having an effect on speeds/service. Although, for reasons that I have somewhat exhaustively stated, I do not believe that, at least in my case, this is the cause of the decrease in speed since the renewal of my contract on 6.9.23. Co-incidence can only stretch so far......

Regards,

Stephen.

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi

I'm unable to tell when this started, this is the report we are seeing when we run a test on your line via an Openreach test.

Karl.

[5guitars]

Hello Karl,

Regarding the "mass sync event," did this start on 7.9.23, (the day after my contract renewal) because that is when my speed started dropping from 41 - 42 Mbps on a daily basis until it reached the current 34.5 Mbps, where it has stayed?

Regards,

Stephen.

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi

Checked your connection, and Openreach advise that performance was affected by a mass event recently, and that optimisation will improve, but they cannot hasten the process.

Karl.

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi Stephen

Thanks for returning the equipment, the logistics teams will check this in against your account when it arrives.

Karl.

[5guitars]

BTW having received a request to return equipment or face a £50 fine, I have this morning posted the router/cables etc. back to TalkTalk in the prepaid bag and obtained a Certificate of Posting.

Regards,

Stephen.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Stephen,

No problem, we'll re-check again first thing in the morning. No changes as yet.

Thanks

Michelle

[5guitars]

Thanks Michelle. Look forward to hearing from you then.

Regards,

Stephen.