Can't find any solution to very slow broadband

glasgowdan

If anyone can advise I would seriously appreciate it.

Since setting up broadband in the home over 2 years ago we have never had a decent connection. O2 said they could not offer us their own connection and are therefore renting the line from BT. In the house the phone socket by the front door (I would have thought this would be the main one but I do not see some of the features inside it that I have been told shows it's the main one) does not appear to work, from plugging in the telephone to it, so we use the connection in the lounge. I have tried both the wireless adaptor and an ethernet cable and it makes no difference to the slow connection.

The other half phoned O2 to see what they suggest and got a list of charges from them if they come and a fault is found, so she left it at that.

My question really is would it be worth getting someone out to check that front door phone socket with a view to connecting the router to that one? BB speeds are MAX 600kbps, yet doing a local search it seems others in the area are getting normal 3-4mbps speeds. It is so frustrating and we have been unable to watch iplayer and the other channel versions since we moved here. Would moving from O2 to BT make a difference?

Who would I phone to come and look at this? Electrician? I just don't know what to do at all and have got no guidance from anyone, least of all O2.

Thanks

Myser

There are a number of reasons why you may have a slow speed. You firstly need to identify which socket is the main one. If the main socket hasn't been upgraded to a newer style (NTE5) that has a split allowing you to remove the bottom half then, you can identify which one it is by looking at where the BT phone line enters the property.

Do you have an overhead BT line or underground one?

Have you tried a different micro-filter and router/MODEM? It may be worth borrowing one to avoid unnecessary costs if an engineer finds the fault is with your equipment or wiring.

What router/MODEM do you have?

How many telephone extensions are there in your house?

Also, on newer ADSL 2/2+ services, you may not immediately see a drastic change in connection speed. You often have to wait for the maximum speed for your line to be determined by equipment at the exchange. See my post (86) on the Internet forum:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/255613

How are you measuring the speeds - on the router/MODEM status?

penrhyn

Hi OP, care to post your router's line statistics?

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php

k66yla

I've also a very slow BB connection due to being over 3 miles from the exchange. How far are you from your local exchange? Nothing can be done until line upgrade. No matter who your provider is with they still use the same equipment. Do you have Cable in your area?

agrinnall

I'm pretty sure any broadband supplier will charge you if they come out and find that the problem is the wiring inside the house beyond the main socket. You really need to find out where the main socket it, can you not trace the line from the pole to where it comes into the house? If you can identify the main socket and the speed at that socket is not what you should expect to get then report it to O2, it should be checked, and hopefully fixed, without costing you anything.

By the way, whoever you report it to it will be investigated by BT Openreach. I have had them out many times and find individual engineers to be helpful (if not always the best informed) but the organisation is a nightmare - I'm currently in discussion with my MSPs (and through them, the Scottish Secretary) about their performance.