Speeds on 4mbps?

Computer is pretty much new, so shush you :p Same speeds for the laptop as well, so I'm certain :p

Over the last 2 hours, so far, RouterStats shows a straight line with an almost imperceptible inclination on the downstream noise - basically 28.2 - 28.6. Upstream is perfectly straight and hasn't deviated from 14 at all.

Can we conclude that I hate Telkom and that it should burn?
 
We're not done with RouterStats yet!

1. In the RouterStats window, click the "Configure" icon.

2. Click the "Netgear Telnet" tab.

3. Click "Enable ..." and choose "DG834(G) Version 4 or DG834GT" (no need to check "Router uses DGTeam firmware"). Under "Downstream (Rx) Error Monitoring Period" , choose "Errors since last reboot".

4. Click "Apply & Save". Click "Close".

5. Click the "Telnet Router" tab, and then the "Summary" subtab. You'll see three columns (frames) of information. Please copy and paste each one here. The third one is the most important, as it will list number of errors picked up on your line.

Errors on the line (due to bad wiring, for example) is the only other thing that I can think of that may be causing your problems.

Lastly, since you have a wireless router and a laptop, I would recommend you try plugging in your router to a different wall point if you can - perhaps the wiring on the extension it is currently plugged into is problematic - and then you can still use your laptop to conduct speed tests.

Good luck.
 
Seems you're quite right.

First Column:

Noise Margin: 28.5 dB
Connection Rate: 4096 Kbps
Line Attenuation: 10.0 dB
Power: 0.3 dBm

SF: 1732829
SF Errors: 0
Reed Solomon: 0
RS Corrected: 0
RS Un-Corrected: 0
HEC: 0
Errored Seconds: 2320
Severe ES: 10
Interleave Depth: 1

Second Column:
Noise Margin: 14.0 dB
Connection Rate: 512 Kbps
Line Attenuation: 7.5 dB
Power: 5.3 dBm

SF: 1734666
SF Errors: 3
Reed Solomon: 0
RS Corrected: 0
RS Un-Corrected: 0
HEC: 3
Errored Seconds: 0
Severe ES: 0
Interleave Depth: 1

Third Column:

Total Up Time:
8 hours 56 min 15 sec

CRC: 20121
LOS: 6
LOF: 28
ES : 2320


Bytes Transferred (ppp0):
Tx: 12269036 (11.7 MiB)
Rx: 54698243 (52.1 MiB)

So... How doth I fix it? A phone call? And what do I say? :(

Edit:
P.S. Just one wall point in my apartment and I'm using it. It's a dual-socket one but both have the same prob.
 
Last edited:
I'm glad we've finally discovered what the issue is: your line.

The problem now will be convincing Telkom to fix the issue. I reckon bad wiring is to blame (although your impeccable line statistics [besides the errors] would seem to indicate otherwise). If it is not the wiring, it *may* be the DSLAM port (?) - but this is speculation on my part; admittedly, I know nothing about DSLAMs and what-not (although I've read that there can be problems on DSLAMs too).

There are two things you can try. Phone them, and tell them that you are experiencing errors (and if they ask what kind, you can tell them CRC errors) that are affecting your line speed (but not synch speed). Perhaps they will know what to do then. If not, you can prompt them to either: rewire your apartment, or have a technician check out the DSLAM. I'm hoping others will chip in here regarding what to ask them to do. If not, you should start a new thread with your figures above and ask for advice.

Just for interest's sake, here's what the acronyms mean:

CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check
LOS: Loss of Signal (I think this should show up as drop to 0 noise margin on the graphs - but you said there was no spikes/valleys?)
LOF: Loss of Frame
ES : Errored seconds (seconds out of the total uptime that have been affected by errors)

The high number of errors you have in a relatively short time period shows that something is very wrong with your line. These errors corrupt the data that your line is downloading. Therefore, as you are doing those speed tests, the errors are causing your line to have to re-download a lot of the data, which in turn is affecting your effective download speed.

It may be interesting to note if the raw amount of data coming into your PC/laptop is still at 450KB/sec (the speed you can expect on a DSL 4Mbps connection) but because the data is corrupt, only 172KB (1379/8) out of that 450KB is usable. You can do this with a program such as Netmeter (assuming you are using Windows)

Here are my figures...

Downstream Rx
Noise Margin: 26.2 dB
Connection Rate: 4096 Kbps
Line Attenuation: 19.0 dB
Power: 8.3 dBm

SF: 18077540
SF Errors: 0
Reed Solomon: 0
RS Corrected: 0
RS Un-Corrected: 0
HEC: 0
Errored Seconds: 0
Severe ES: 0
Interleave Depth: 1


Upstream (Tx)
Noise Margin: 14.0 dB
Connection Rate: 512 Kbps
Line Attenuation: 12.0 dB
Power: 8.1 dBm

SF: 18078492
SF Errors: 0
Reed Solomon: 0
RS Corrected: 0
RS Un-Corrected: 0
HEC: 0
Errored Seconds: 0
Severe ES: 0
Interleave Depth: 1



Totals
Total Up Time:
1 days 13 hours 23 min 8 sec

CRC: 0
LOS: 0
LOF: 0
ES : 0


Bytes Transferred (ppp0):
Tx: 147052127 (140.2 MiB)
Rx: 1530286499 (1.4 GiB)

(yes, yes, I'm somewhat of a leecher :D)
 
Thanks again, as always, fz1. I'll probably give them a call in the morning and see what they can do about it. Although I imagine that I'll be going through the same nonsense as before, so my expectations aren't exactly high.
 
Sure. Just nag them until they do something about it. If you get no joy, see if you can escalate it. Demand that a technician test everything. Be clear that it isn't a synch issue - you are synching just fine at 4Mbps - it's a line issue (errors) and it may be your wiring. Don't let them change your profile to a lower speed one either (that's typically their solution).

Best of luck. Remember to report back :)
 
Can I chip in here with my story please. :D

I moved house recently and got Telkom to activate my 4Mb line. The line was fine for the first few days but then I used to disconnect/lose sync CONSTANTLY. Dropped the speed to 3Mbps but the sync loss still continued.

ATTEMPT 1: Telkom techie came out and replaced the wall jack that the router plugged into, fine for one day and then the problem started up again.

ATTEMPT 2: Telkom techie neatened up the wiring that comes into the room (the previous owners of the house left the wiring in a mess), fine for a few days and then the problem started again.

In between all of this, Telkom dropped my speed to 1Mbps without my consent and I think it lost sync only once over few weeks at this speed.

My line is fine now but I notice that at night my attenuation and margine figures are crap but during the day they seem normal.

fz1 & co. any comments or suggestions?
 
I know very little about synch problems since I've been quite lucky in that regard. I'm sure though, that the problem can't be with us though, can it? Unless the problem is the wiring from the exchange to our homes... But then... I'm royally screwed unless you can see Telkom rewiring an entire 6-storey apartment complex.

As for Telkom dropping your line speed... *hiss* Kick their butts and make them put it back to what it should be and have them fix it from there, rather than using a quick-fix drop-your-speed solution. You're paying for 4mbps, make 'em give you that.

I'm not looking forward to the call I have to make on Monday... I'm dreading the multiple people I'll be put through to that will either try lowering my speed against my consent, will misunderstand my problem or even worse, won't understand a word I say. I'm so tired of dealing with Telkom that I could... well... I dunno what I could do :/
 
Lycanthrope said:
I know very little about synch problems since I've been quite lucky in that regard. I'm sure though, that the problem can't be with us though, can it? Unless the problem is the wiring from the exchange to our homes... But then... I'm royally screwed unless you can see Telkom rewiring an entire 6-storey apartment complex.

As for Telkom dropping your line speed... *hiss* Kick their butts and make them put it back to what it should be and have them fix it from there, rather than using a quick-fix drop-your-speed solution. You're paying for 4mbps, make 'em give you that.

I'm not looking forward to the call I have to make on Monday... I'm dreading the multiple people I'll be put through to that will either try lowering my speed against my consent, will misunderstand my problem or even worse, won't understand a word I say. I'm so tired of dealing with Telkom that I could... well... I dunno what I could do :/
Click to expand...

actually we are paying for UP TO 4MB
 
Lycanthrope said:
I know very little about synch problems since I've been quite lucky in that regard. I'm sure though, that the problem can't be with us though, can it? Unless the problem is the wiring from the exchange to our homes... But then... I'm royally screwed unless you can see Telkom rewiring an entire 6-storey apartment complex.

As for Telkom dropping your line speed... *hiss* Kick their butts and make them put it back to what it should be and have them fix it from there, rather than using a quick-fix drop-your-speed solution. You're paying for 4mbps, make 'em give you that.

I'm not looking forward to the call I have to make on Monday... I'm dreading the multiple people I'll be put through to that will either try lowering my speed against my consent, will misunderstand my problem or even worse, won't understand a word I say. I'm so tired of dealing with Telkom that I could... well... I dunno what I could do :/
Click to expand...
Well my speed is back up to 4Mbps after yesterdays call to them so it's fine.

Basically, I just wanna know why my attenuation and margin stats are so bad at night and how exactly do I get them to fix it.
 
Lycanthrope said:
Don't I know it :o

@ feo - Does it at least work the way it should? And glad to know your line's back to 4 :D
Click to expand...
Yeah, at least the operator was competent and reset the speed without any problems.

My line is fine now but for some strange reason my stats become really bad at night which causes CONSTANT losses of sync, it's basically impossible to browse at night.

What I did try was this: whenever the line stats were REALLY bad and I was losing sync every few seconds, I immediately took my router and connected it to the jack in the lounge and guess what...no disconnects. This leads me to believe that there is a problem with the wiring coming into the room where the router is currently.

How easy is it to get Telkom to re-wire the place (from scratch) and would it cost me anything?
 
No idea. I don't think they should charge you either, but good luck on that...

Feel free to let me/us know how it turns out :)
 
Lycanthrope said:
Seems you're quite right.

First Column:

Noise Margin: 28.5 dB
Connection Rate: 4096 Kbps
Line Attenuation: 10.0 dB
Power: 0.3 dBm

Second Column:
Noise Margin: 14.0 dB
Connection Rate: 512 Kbps
Line Attenuation: 7.5 dB
Power: 5.3 dBm
Click to expand...

fz1 said:
Downstream Rx
Noise Margin: 26.2 dB
Connection Rate: 4096 Kbps
Line Attenuation: 19.0 dB
Power: 8.3 dBm

Upstream (Tx)
Noise Margin: 14.0 dB
Connection Rate: 512 Kbps
Line Attenuation: 12.0 dB
Power: 8.1 dBm
Click to expand...

What is Power in the sense that it's used here? Could that be causing my problems as well?

I'm on the phone... holding for the last 20 minutes for Telkom to pick up... *sigh* If I hear that idiot pronounce "currently" "corruntly" again I will scream. And for the love of all that is holy, I'M AWARE THAT I'M HOLDING FOR A CONSULTANT!
 
Sorry, Lycanthrope, no idea what the 'Power' figure means. But compared to mine, yours is on the very low side, so perhaps it has to due with the problems you are facing.

Complete shot in the dark (I'm guessing): has to do with how 'strong' the actual ADSL signal is (vs. how 'clean' the ADSL signal [or telephone line itself] is with noise margin)...?!
 
That's what I figured as well :) I wonder if they'd be able to increase it?

Just got off the phone with Telkom... 40 minutes later... Long story short, I have yet another reference number, they're going to test the line again, and if that doesn't help they'll send a technician again... And we'll see from there.

First thing I asked when she picked up was whether or not she'd understand what I meant if I said that I'm having CRC errors and she said no. I stressed that my line is synchronising correctly. Same old, same old. She said that she's forwarding the previous reference number with this one to whomever it is she's forwarding it to and stating that it hasn't been fixed and that the problem still exists.

I guess I sit back and wait now...
 
Cool. I hope they do send a techie out so you can nag him in person and show him those (error) stats.

I doubt the 'testing' they do looks at whether errors are generated or not (so they probably don't look at effective speed relative to synch speed). I would not be surprised if all they really look at is that you are synching...
 
Problem is that the last techie I nagged said there was a fault, knew full well there was a fault, could SEE there was a fault, but couldn't do anything about it except escalate it to whatever people deal with the DSLAM, and I imagine from the first text I got saying, "Your fault has been cleared" that according to them, it was fine. After replying to the first text which had said that, "If your fault has not been resolved, reply to this SMS" I received a second which said, "Your fault has been resolved. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS SMS." So, I don't really think that anyone's interested in fixing it. Nor is it a concern to them.

One thing the techie did say though, was that at least three people connected to the DSLAM need to whine before they do something about it. He said that only two people had complained and he was seeing both of us that day.

Eh well... I'll keep hoping that someone does something about it. Maybe this time they'll pick up on something they hadn't before.
 
feo said:
Yeah, at least the operator was competent and reset the speed without any problems.

My line is fine now but for some strange reason my stats become really bad at night which causes CONSTANT losses of sync, it's basically impossible to browse at night.

What I did try was this: whenever the line stats were REALLY bad and I was losing sync every few seconds, I immediately took my router and connected it to the jack in the lounge and guess what...no disconnects. This leads me to believe that there is a problem with the wiring coming into the room where the router is currently.

How easy is it to get Telkom to re-wire the place (from scratch) and would it cost me anything?
Click to expand...

Hi feo

Sorry - did not mean to ignore your post. Can you please post what your line stats are during the day (when you say it works fine) and what they change to at night (when you experience problems)? From what I have read, apparently a decrease in noise margin at night is normal (although I don't see this myself). Additionally, what are your line stats at the other line point that you take your router to (and experience no problems at)?

Regarding the wiring - if you can prove to them that there is a problem with where you normally place your router vs. no problems at the other location you take it to (and it works fine), then I would say they should not charge you for wiring as there is obviously something wrong. I have never been charged for wiring (although the most that has been done is some splicing and rejoining, and replacing certain segments of the cable within the house - I guess, the latter of which is what you would need done). Just act casual once the techie is done with re-wiring, be grateful, smile while showing them the way out of your house and tell them they must have a nice day. Maybe they will let you off the hook without a charge ;)
 
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