Internet speed...Router problem?

Gillor

Over the last couple of weeks I have been having regular problems with my wi-fi internet connection to my desktop PC which has either been dropping out or running at a snails pace.

Because of my distance from the local exchange I don’t expect get blisteringly fast speeds – the best I can get is 2.5 Mbps, the average around 1.1Mbps – but generally this is fine for me as I just use the internet for general surfing, emailing and the odd YouTube video.

I have swapped the ADSL filters, checked that the router is operating from the telephone master socket and even plugged it into the test socket. Speed rate increases to around 2Mpbs, quickly settles down to around 1Mbps then later starts dropping out again.

I haven’t recently added any hardware to my network nor electronic equipment so that seems to rule out the possibility of interference.

The distance from my PC to the router is about twelve feet so I have excellent signal wireless strength.

Before I get in touch with TalkTalk (which I dread) someone has suggested it may be my wi-fi router which is causing the problem on the basis that when I switch it off and on again the line speed seems to increase for a short time before dropping down again later.

I have tried connecting it directly to my PC via an Ethernet cable but I get a message something along the lines that I don’t have a network adaptor fitted so I can't test it that way.

Is there any way of checking whether my router is working correctly? I don’t want to buy a new one if the problem lies with TalTalk.


Grateful for any suggestions but not too technical please – I don’t really know what I am doing with all this, just what I have picked up via Google.

Gillor

XP Service Pack 3
Firefox 5
TalkTalk Broadband and Home Phone (LLU)
Siemens Gigaset SE587 WLAN dsl router

penrhyn

Talk Talk, and the folks here will tell you that you need to connect via Ethernet to check your connection first.

Its possible that you need to enable the network port on your PC, you may also need to reboot the PC after swapping over from wireless.

You could also log into your router and post its line statistics.

coolagarry

I'm with Talk Talk as well and similarly am a long way from the exchange... I too get from 1 to 2.5 mbps.
I find that this depends largely on the time of day and I can only suppose that this is where the contention ratio kicks in. Most isp's have a contention rating of 50-1. That means that you share your line with 50 people.
If they are all at work and you are in a residential area then you will get reasonable speed. If they are all at home, ie evenings and weekends, and on the internet, then your speed drops dramatically - at least tthat's what happens in my case.
I fins that other people in the area have the same problem regardless of which isp they use (including BT).
Unfortunately the only answer seems to be wait until the exchange is upgraded.
My download speed at the moment is 1.7

santer_2

TalkTalk has been voted the worst landline and broadband provider for the second time, as revealed Thursday by Ofcom. The independent telecommunications regulator ran the survey on customer satisfaction levels and found that 23% were dissatisfied with TalkTalk's broadband service, and 24% were dissatisfied with their landline offerings.

It comes as new rules come into force (22 July) which will require communications providers to do more to help consumers resolve complaints.

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2011/07/customer-service-satisfaction-levels-revealed/

GunJack

that gigaset router is a truly awful bit of kit. To troubleshoot this you need your line stats (log into router to get these) .

TalkTalk

Hi Gillor,

the best suggestion I can make is to register at https://www.talktalkmembers.com. We would be happy to help resolve the issue.

Ady

pcombo

Buy your self a Netgear DG834GT, Switch to ADSL24 and it will be happy days from there on.

Gillor

Sorry if I seem to have ignored all your helpful replies but my internet connection packed up completely on Saturday night so I was incommunicado.

The upshot is that I had to have a Talk Talk engineer in today to sort it out which he appears to have done successfully.

I don't quite understand everything he did but a combination of noise on the line, a dodgy filter on one of the extensions and a suspect telephone handset seem to have contributed to the problem.

Hopefully everything is now sorted (and my download speed has improved) but again many thanks for your help.

santer_2

Thanks for the update

Gillor

As a postscript but slightly off topic.....

TalkTalk have consistently had cr*p reviews but this is second time I have had to call on their technical services and if both occasions were typical then I have no complaint whatsoever in the way my problems have been handled.

The Asian call centre was is a bit of a nightmare - I dread phoning them - not because they aren't helpful - I just have difficulty with the accent, but the engineer couldn't have been more helpful.

Mind you having had a week of trying to get some sense out of a number of financial services organisations even Trotters Independent Traders would look good by comparison.

spud17

Check your next bill to see how much you have been charged.
Several threads HERE about sneaky charges from TalkTalk.