Terrible Verizon DSL - The Plot Thickens - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2018, 11:13:20 pm
content: Ah, yes...another DSL horror story...from our wonderful friends at Verizon...Have you heard one this bad? I've mentioned this on the forum before...but now I've had ENOUGH!I've always had terrible internet at my mom's house, but it's been absolute trash lately. How bad? We're supposed to get 1MBps...what we actually get is LITERALLY the speed of dial up...as in 56K modem dial-up. Apparently that's all you need to post on this forum...albeit at snail speed.Most people scream and cry when they do the 56K modem challenge...WELL IMAGINELIVINGSLOWLY SINKING INTO INSANITY WITH IT!I've had enough now!We have the modem connected properly, it's not the jack or cord (I tried different ones), and we've had the house recently rewired (the phone lines broke). No difference between WIFI and ethernet either, and the modem is less than a year old (we had it replaced because we had issues before).They ran their stupid little speed test and said we're getting 680KBps, which is what Google says.These apparently test raw throughput, not data integrity which is the issue. It's clearly evident when trying to do anything that most of that 680KBps is getting absolutely corrupted!Chrome has a terrible time downloading anything, it drops and stays dead at zero often, only downloading in short bursts of a few KBps. Steam downloads things at about 10 to 60KBps (fluctuating wildly). An "internet health test" (apparently better than those stupid speed tests), says an average of 30KBps download, 10KBps upload! Absolute dial-up level shit!Some programs can't even handle it and fail to operate (update and download failures).They are going to increase us from the 1MBps plan to the 1.5MBps plan, but I'm pretty sure that won't make a damn bit of difference at this level of loss.They said they "ran a test on our lines" and that they are "fine". Are they bullshitting us? Or is something else going on here?I want them to actually send someone out here to show them the actual problem. Or are their "techs" to stupid to understand data integrity?

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 12:06:40 am
content: What do you mean, "the phone lines broke"?Copper POTS are notoriously unreliable from corrosion and water ingress, limiting the usable life of a local loop to 10 years or less (more if fully underground). Maintenance costs are high and phone companies really want to minimize maintenance. How is your voice call quality?

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 12:17:03 am
content: Is there phone service on the same pair as the DSL service, and is the phone actually used regularly? If you don't use a phone regularly on these lines, corrosion often causes troubles at the joints. If you do use a phone the DC in the loop is generally enough to reseal joints. Even if you don't have a phone, as long as there is DC on the pair you can try shorting the wires for a few bursts. The current is limited at the source, so a short is harmless. That may be enough to reseal bad joints.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 12:42:11 am
content: Quote from: helius on March 28, 2018, 12:06:40 amTry and convince the Australian government of that! Apparently our 50 year old copper lines are perfectly suitable for today's broadband needs.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 04:43:23 am
content: Quote from: helius on March 28, 2018, 12:06:40 amIt literally broke, the underground line snapped (tree root?). So they went ahead and rewired the whole house with an overhead (a few years ago).Quote from: Halcyon on March 28, 2018, 12:42:11 amExactly what I think the problem is. The telephone works fine, my mom uses it often (and for annoyingly long periods). But I think they're "your lines are fine" bullshit is there lazy excuse for not wanting to rewire the city for proper DSL. The funny thing is, I looked up service stats for the city on Verizon DSL, and 99% get decent speeds. Of course, that's probably subscribed to speed, not actually recieving adiquately.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:03:23 am
content: What is the transfer rate between computers on the LAN - preferably wired rather than wireless?Do you have/need DSL filters on each and every device on the phone line other than the modem?Does your modem have a web page? Some of them allow you to see line parameters like gain, errors, etc. If you could post that info, someone might be able to help interpret the numbers.Ed

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:05:54 am
content: Simple question/suggestion/test.If you do an extended ping to 8.8.8.8, what results are you seeing (8.8.8.8 is Google's DNS server)? Here is an example from my machine ...ping 8.8.8.8PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.56(84) bytes of data.64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=60 time=31.9 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=60 time=31.9 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=60 time=45.7 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=60 time=41.0 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=5 ttl=60 time=47.6 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=6 ttl=60 time=44.4 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=7 ttl=60 time=55.2 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=8 ttl=60 time=54.3 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=9 ttl=60 time=47.7 ms64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=10 ttl=60 time=34.1 ms^C--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---10 packets transmitted, 10 received, 0% packet loss, time 9012msrtt min/avg/max/mdev = 31.910/43.427/55.291/8.118 ms

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:11:58 am
content: Quote from: edpalmer42 on March 28, 2018, 05:03:23 amWe have filters, and only two phones, one regular and a wireless station, although it was just as bad with only one plugged in.I could check the LAN transfer rate, but I highly doubt that's the problem.No idea if there's a webpage.EDIT: It does, but it's just some useless junk.EDIT2: it's a D-Link DSL-2750B

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:25:18 am
content: I am still in wonderment that you have 1MB and 1.5MB is considered a high speed upgrade!What speed do neighbours get? Is the problem local to you, or the area.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:46:42 am
content: Quote from: Towger on March 28, 2018, 05:25:18 amMy neighbors...have Comcast...And bro...I said...I'm getting...30KBpsAnything would be considered a high speed improvement at this point. I think they should try to get the megabyte through first.EDIT: My mother is also technically challenged...so trying to convince her that they're screwing with us results in shouting.I need to get on the phone myself...I won't tolerate a nanosecond of their bullshit.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:10:33 am
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on March 28, 2018, 05:11:58 amThe problem is often found where you don't expect to find it. After all, if it was where you expected it to be, it wouldn't really be a problem, would it?These are the kind of tests you have to do to rule out absolutely everything but the line/modem combination.If your LAN throughput is good, i.e. over 90 Mbps for wired connections, it proves that those computers with those cables are working properly. If they can't get good Internet speeds, then the problem has to be in the line and/or modem.If your LAN throughput is poor, you then have to repeat the test with the same computers and cables plugged into another switch to prove that those computers with those cables get good throughput on another switch, but not on Verizon's switch.QuoteWell, I just googled for some info on the DSL-2750B and under the Status tab there appears to be a Statistics button that includes Errors and Drops on both receive and transmit. There's also an xDSL page that includes things like SNR Margin, Attenuation, Attainable Rate, Actual Rate, HEC Errors, OCD Errors, LCD Errors, Bit Errors, etc. You can even do an ADSL BER Test. Does your modem show anything like that? I know that some ISPs don't let customers access those pages.Tracking down problems like this is a royal PITA. One bad cable, one loose screw, one loose connector and your throughput tanks. Everything has to be absolutely perfect. And your ISP, whoever it is, doesn't want to roll a truck and spend an hour to find that the problem is in your equipment. That's why they install equipment to allow them to test remotely. In your case, those tests are saying that the ISP's equipment is working properly so you have to do the legwork to prove that's not the case.Ed

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:25:28 am
content: I usually only have one device connected at a time. And it's always crap. My computer is also new and works fine elsewhere.I see none of that. And the diagnostic basically just goes "K, green, you's connected, totes peachy o'er here"

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:25:39 am
content: Some modems will give you signal-to-noise and other stats. If your modem is maxing out the gain (I think they go up to something like 21 dB) and your SNR sucks, it's a line issue. But it depends on how long the cable is between you and the exchange.This graph will give you some idea of attainable sync speeds.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:34:26 am
content: I just said...I see absolute basic connection info. Devices conneced, firmware info, the fact that it is actually DSL (no shit Sherlock Modems), a few IPs, and that it's set to 1MBps by the ISP.And the K, tote's fine meter. This is the diagnostic page...

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:38:19 am
content: Your local telco box will be the problem just as ours was for many years.When they installed ours (yay) and we were able to get DSL instead of only dial up, then we thought yahoo .....for a while.Turned out it was fitted with SH old HW and DSL #1, only capable of a theoretical 2 MB/s but really as it's copper backhauled over 4km 1.7MB/s only at some ungodly hour with a tail wind and a downhill run.At this time of day (7-9pm) our connection was bloody useless with only a few 10's of kB/s obtainable and after a couple of years chasing the infrastructure providers right to the top brass we got utterly sick of waiting for upgrades (planned and costed) and pulled the pin on a copper connection and went for a 10km 5GHz microwave link with another ISP and connected our landline phone to it too for less than previous total costs for at least a 10x better service. Now, well so you want to watch some online video......on how many devices at once ?Whoever is responsible for infrastructure upgrades in your part of the world should be contacted to find out about upgrade rollouts and then maybe it's time to look hard at other alternatives.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:41:31 am
content: Wow, that's terrible. It tells you exactly nothing.I don't suppose you have another modem you can try?

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:49:31 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on March 28, 2018, 06:41:31 amSeveral modems we used would report 6MB+ connection capability to the shitty Conklin's in the local cabinet but the copper that supplied them wasn't up to the task of providing enough data for the # of end user subscribers.I'll bet quids this the same problem Cyberdragon has.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:58:26 am
content: QuoteI know damn well it's their problem. They're lazy bastards that don't want to fix it.I seriously hope their shit gets hit with lightning and blows the ass out of everything. Then they'll have to change it.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 07:15:51 am
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on March 28, 2018, 06:58:26 amYou'll find with investigation it's not broken, therefore doesn't need fixing. YES really !It's not their fault everybody comes home and wants to be on the 'net at the same time !Their backhaul connection will be working to capacity and the local link to mums house will report good connection capability and unless they've promised 'X#' MB/s to your door there's shit all you can do other than go 3,4 or 5G wireless or LOS microwave like we did.I've bashed my head against just this wall for at least a couple of years, even petitioning all the locals on the same telco box for all sorts of demographic data to make 'quality' submissions to 'prove' need of an upgrade.Got nowhere !4 months of microwave link and now I never care if a file or image looks big, I just click it anyway.Do yourself and your graying/balding head on this matter a favor and look for a better alternative.Old saying: wife happy, everybody happy !

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 07:25:36 am
content: At my old house, I was on the 8mb dsl, and outside the effective range. When I started, I paid for a 4mb connection. There were some hiccups and on occasion, whenever the phone ringed or I tapped the hangup, connection rate dropped down to a puny speed, though 4mb was still reported by the modem. My only effective solution was to move the modem to the basement where the telco wires came in, wire the modem right onto the wires, and I added 2, not 1, but 2 line filter in series before the phone line fed the rest of the house. It worked like a charm for 2 years and I had the best consistent connection in my neighborhood for 2 years. Then, when the telco offered 6mb, I upgraded and still everything was great. Then, during the last year, the telco upgraded all local 6mb connections to 8mb for free. Holy crap, my performance took such a nose dive, you wouldn't believe. I didn't know why since the 8mb upgrade was done to everyone without my notice. But noticing the modem reporting a 8mb connection a few days later, and realizing this was the cause of the crap, I had to call up my telco's ISP to demand a slow-down, limit my rate to 6mb. It took me a bloody hour to convince the damn tech that this was truly an improvement as he kept reading on his screen that I had an error free 8mb connection and it should be full speed now. Once finally done, everything ran at full speed once more.Lesson, the techs don't know all the ins and outs of these stupid modems & their head-ends. There is a mix of wire lengths, wire quality, head end modems and home dsl modems with differing qualities and sometimes maxing thing out may read good on the modem tests and specs, but, this doesn't necessarily mean crap in the real world.If you have an 8mb connection and modem, and you dont want to wire the modem like I said, or try a different DSL modem, I can only recommend asking your ISP to drop your maximum download & upload speed by 1 notch to see if that cleans up the data hiccups. Sadly, you may be in a situation where you need to do a bit of everything while there may not be anything your telco may be able to do to improve anything since they have to work by the 'book'.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 07:51:06 am
content: To all that find themselves in a similar pickle:What's your hobby/profession ? Electronics of course !Learn about DSL technology....there's at least 3 versions here in NZ. A(Asymmetrical)DSL 1, ASDL2 and ADSL2+.Each use different backhaul technologies from Conklin 2MB/s protocol over copper pairs to ADSL2+ that's commonly connected directly to fiber.End user performance is directly related to 3 things: backhaul capacity, DSL type and congestion.How do you find what you have ?Well you modem can only tell you (only if you have admin access/rights) line attenuation and theoretical connection speed. Sure it might have printed on it it's ADSL2+ or whatever but it doesn't indicate the type or capability of the DSLAM you're connected to !Get to know the telco guys on the ground, cups of tea or a chat about what they do in the course of a day...what's the local problems....what sort of HW is in the local telco box (think mini exchange).....what's the infrastructure really like, OK or f**ked ? Where's the closest fiber ?It can go on and on.....like 'my hobby's electronics' .....leading to some 'shop talk' and maybe what theirs is.You wouldn't have some single strand hookup wire for breadboard jumpers would you mate ? ....and so on.(roll on my shelf and a pot of Scotchlok telco connectors, thanks very much guys)They are your/our window into what your local telco has or doesn't as far as 'net connection capability.....use them just like their bosses are using/f**king you !As Brian points out there are a few things you can do for yourself to gain a few % improvement.Hardwire filter at the point of entry and a dedicated line direct to your modem.Make that dedicated wire a CAT5 or better.At the end of the day your supplier's HW and congestion have the greatest impact on 'net connection speed providing you have your 'house in order'.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 07:57:01 am
content: Quote from: tautech on March 28, 2018, 07:15:51 amNobody's on the internet at 4am though...still garbage as always.Comcast says we have to get a damn bundle...which means buying new cellphones.Assuming we can get around that, we can't run a new cable line for internet either since it's a rental. Any chance of getting a box that does cable TV and internet through one connection?

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 08:18:42 am
content: CyberdragonI look back now and wonder why it took me so long to take the leap....a few things. Our copper was pretty bad every winter as it was installed some 50 years back when I was at primary school BUT it was 'upgraded' read; all faults found and fixed, well very nearly all. Techs told me my old 'drycore' copper was preferable for signal strength as it was a heavier gauge the the newer grease filled cable (we have 2 going past our door) so with that in mind and hope that an upgrade would go ahead we waited....and waited....and waited.But then one day our landline died BUT the 'net still workedSome ham fisted tech had been in a pillar or our local box and knocked off one of our wires for our ph/'net DSL pair and bugger me only the phone was affected, not so much the 'net. I can't give any quantitative % of now much it affected the 'net but it was bugger all. Techs told me that DSL would work with 'one leg down'.Many of the 'cable' TV suppliers have 'net subscription capabilities these days and there's a few in NZ, Netflix probably the most popular. The wife has a sub but I don't bother as with a decent connection now you can find most things online and just stream them......from a proxy server if necessary.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 08:21:13 am
content: If you have access to the phone line entry into your house, the only test I can think of is do a quick wiring of the modem to the wires entering the house & disconnect the rest of the house temporarily, since you are up at 4am, you can try this...If there is an improvement, upgrading from 1mb to 1.5mb will actually make things worse (unless you are changing modems and changing modulation types) as your problem is wiring load&noise.If the direct wire test truly makes a difference, I'm afraid your telco/ISP will never be able to help you unless you once again change ASDL format/modem, and/or, keep you modem wired at the line coming into your house and take your line filters & place them there before the phone line proceeds to the rest of your house.And, those single block line filter transformers designed to be hand wired like this actually perform worse than using 2 small black box filters which are designed to go inbetween the phone wall jack and the phone. I don't know why, but, when my line was services and the telco put in a professional box, problems came back & I disconnected it and re-wired my 2 cheapo tiny boxes.

author: fourtytwo42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 09:30:04 am
content: IMOP there is only one way to deal with persistant DSL problems and thats equip yourself with a modem that supports diagnostic tools like DSLstatshttp://dslstats.me.uk/this has allowed me to prove problems to my ISP such that I have the highest linespeed by far in our villageUnfortunatly many modems simply have a green dslok led or similar that is completely an utterly useless!!Enclosed are some example plots that have helped me diagnose my problems.BTW my modem is a W8960 with Broadcom chipset but only the older models firmware support Telnet access

author: senso
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 11:55:18 am
content: When I had ADSL, getting a decent TP Link modem/router was a god send, went from 1Mb to 2Mb just because the modem part was so much better than the crap the ISP offered with the contract.But I also had to call them every day for 2 weeks until they came and replaced 800m of cable that was behond degraded..So, getting a decent modem would be the first step, they cost around 40$, just set it up and enjoy a much more stable connection, then using the modem stats like others are saying, you can prove them that the line is a POS.And dont forget the stupid bits vs Bytes thingy.If anything on your PC is trying to download an update, it will drop your speed even lower, if they say you have some 600Kb, and you download at 30kB, there is something else either download or your SnR is so bad the modem is dropping packets left right and center.

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 12:03:13 pm
content: May I suggest an EEVBlog POTS BBS for the internet impaired?I have Verizon FiOS and they have been fine, but that's about all I can say. DSL always has the potential to leave you with the short end of the stick.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 01:11:21 pm
content: As already mentioned, one cause for DSL problems can be the combination of DSL modem and DSLAM. Some devices don't get along very well. If possible try a different DSL modem/router.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 02:42:41 pm
content: Quote from: TwoOfFive on March 28, 2018, 12:03:13 pmIf you run EEVblog forum without any javascript support, or a javascript blocker, it operates on a fraction of the bandwidth. Though some functions are missing, you can use this forum with dialup except for large external images in posts.When I say fast, I mean 33.6k without javascript will outrun 1mb with javascript. The page load and topic switching is truly that much faster.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 04:13:48 pm
content: I run double adblockers. It actually runs a lot faster than the schools website (I'm at school doing online classwork).I don't know if I can use another modem as they have to "activate" it every time we get a new one. It was crap on the last one too though. They scammed us $60 for this POS though, they'll rip you off if you want a new modem.If it is, I'm complaining they sold us an incompatible one and they should give us a free replacement!The phone box is out on a pole in the yard...I'd have to run a power cord all the way out there to plug it in.And, like I said, they alreadt replaced the phone lines in the house. They said we are in range for at least a megabit, which means it has to be their wires, or a bad modem config.There's no overload, this is 24/7 shitnet on every device. I went to the advanced router page and the only piece of additional info it gave was it claimed no dropped packets. I'll repeatNO MODEM STATS EXIST.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:10:01 pm
content: Since your neighbor's have it, you could give Comcast a try. I have them and don't like them at all. I'm looking to switch for AT&T now that it is available as an alternative. Be advised Comcast will give a good rate for the first year then jack it sky high. You have to call every year and renegotiate. I did have to get a bundle last time for the lowest price, but it was only standard definition TV with Internet. I just don't use the TV part. They've never tried to force a full TV, phone, internet bundle on me.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:29:58 pm
content: We only get standard TV anyway. So a TV and internet package would be fine. The problem is both need the coax cable but there's only one for each TV, and the landlord probably won't allow more wiring to be done on the house. Do they have a combination TV and internet box? I don't care if it then has to then be connected to a separate router, as long as the system only requires one input (and that both TV and internet work at the same time).

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:36:27 pm
content: Have you tried the modem without the filter, I mean moden connected directly to the wall?In my case without a filter I got +2MBit in Download.Then I replaced the old ADSL smelly filter with a new one and got 16Mbit in Download (was 14Mbit).I'm happy like a puppy.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:52:04 pm
content: They gave me a cable TV box that had cable in/out connections. The cable went to the TV box then out to the cable modem. I only used it that way for a short while before running the cable direct to my modem and storing the TV box away in a closet.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 05:56:07 pm
content: Quote from: zucca on March 28, 2018, 05:36:27 pmWhat modem filter? I've only ever heard of phone filters.(Obviously we don't have this mysterious device.)Quote from: rdl on March 28, 2018, 05:52:04 pmYes, this is what we need. Did you remove the TV box because you didn't need it or because it caused problems?

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:02:33 pm
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on March 28, 2018, 05:56:07 pmYes the phone filter. In my case the phone filter was so shit it was bringing down the signal at the modem.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:13:35 pm
content: I just don't watch much broadcast TV. I remember now I also used it for a while with a splitter right at the wall. I don't recall any problems either way. That was a few years ago, so I also don't remember why I spent money on a splitter. This all reminds me that I haven't called to renegotiate in quite a while and the monthly bill has gone up 60% in that time. What I really should do is get back in touch with AT&T.

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:14:49 pm
content: With cable available you couldn't pay me to use DSL. It's just too finicky. I've had Comcast for years an no problems. There's no huge rate increase at the end of the contract - no more than any of the other providers do. I just call and generally get something for the price I used to pay, without dropping services - you just have to pay attention. With no change in price, I've had my speed upgraded twice - I was originally at 100Mbps, then they upped it to 150, and finally I now have 200. You rarely get 200 to anyone outside of Comcast's own servers, but it's still well over 100Mbps. They don't require bundles here, although I have TV as well, and the last go around, the package with voice was cheaper than keeping the internet and TV package I had. Truly, the pricing models make absolutely no sense - you are going to give me MORE services for less money than the package with fewer services? Eh, whatever. I purchased my own cable modem so I do not have to pay the ridiculous and ever-increasing rental fee. I've had no real problems, except last year when I started getting slow speeds and horrible signal levels as shown by my modem. The tech they sent would have eventually found it without my help, but his troubleshooting skills were just horrible. Firs thing he did was cut off all my neatly crimped cable ends and put new ends on, despite the signal quality on his tester showing poor BEFORE the splitter any of this was connected to. He had good signal at the line from the pole ahead of the lightning arrestor, but poor quality at the other end of the cable that went across the most inaccessible area of the house. Of course you can see where this was going, but when he proposed running a new line in the space, I pointed out that he did not check the signal after the arrestor but before this portion of wire. Sure enough - 5 minutes later, after wasting a half hour before that, everything was back to normal and I had my 200Mbps back. Other than that though, I've never had service problems, and whiel the bill has crept up (I'd really ditch most of the TV stuff if I was by myself), there never were any giant leaps and I've had no hassle, didn;t have to threaten to quit or anything, to negotiate a better rate at the end of each contract period.No chance in this world or the next I'd ever swap what I have for Verizon or AT&T DSL. Someone wants to run fiber to my house, I'll consider it. What's funny is how they keep advertising Version FIOS locally, but I guess that's now just their branding for anything, not just fiber, because they are doing no new fiber buildouts. ANd I love the FIOS commercials that complain about cable jacking the rates at the end of the contract, when a look at the FIOS regular and introductory rates shows at least the same price increase after the initial contract.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:16:13 pm
content: Quote from: rrinker on March 28, 2018, 06:14:49 pm+1Anyway when the tech is around I'm checking him like a cop with a prisoner. They just don't care.Last time I come back home and no internet. 5 second later I knew it was something outside my home. I called in, lost time, the tech arrived of course 2 days later and we discovered some professional tech had disconneted my line just for fun in the attempt of giving service to a new customer.If you are an EE always check the tech if you can.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:26:23 pm
content: Quote from: zucca on March 28, 2018, 06:02:33 pmUm...as far as I know, the phone filter REMOVES the DSL signal. So if you put it inline with the modem...it won't work anymore.Quote from: zucca on March 28, 2018, 06:16:13 pmThe problem is convincing my technology challenged mother to get past their marketing wank bundle shit and just get SD TV and internet. No idea how much it will be, but Verizon is already ripping us off. They want an extra $40 for that 1MB to 1.5MB increase (which is not going to work anyway).

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:32:57 pm
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on March 28, 2018, 06:26:23 pmI never wrote that.Forget about the phones, just connect the modem directly to the wall. Don't use the filter.This will tell you if the filter/phones are doing funny business.I suppose in your case it will not help, but in my case it did.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 06:55:59 pm
content: What? There's nothing from the modem to the wall. They told us putting any filter on the modem itself would cause it not to work at all because they remove the DSL signal. So there is definitely no filter.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 07:14:11 pm
content: The AT&T here that is competing with Comcast is fiber and it's also faster and cheaper than Comcast. Attached are pertinent sections from two of my Comcast bills. I don't have any older, but I know for certain I was paying under $50/month in 2011 because that was the price I got the first time I called to renegotiate.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 07:33:03 pm
content: I don't even know if we get AT&T here. Plus, we need to have it bundled with the TV due to the only one connection issue. I would be a PITA to switch TV providers.Verizon's already charging us over $200 for Cell, hardline, andinternetShiternet(R). So Comcast might still be cheaper, not sure though.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 07:43:31 pm
content: An I thought we had it tough with Canadian ISPs. I got lucky at my new apartment. I got ADSL2 bottom end 15mdown/10mup 40$ service and the telco central hub is 2 blocks away (I can go up to 25/50down/10up). Meanwhile all my neighbors who lived here before me went from the old sluggish ADSL went straight to 90$ fiber + a little extra for TV& phone package, and their speed is only a hair faster than mine since they were never told they can just upgrade to ADSL2 by changing modems and going from a 45$ package down to a third party 40$ ADSL2 package.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 08:15:55 pm
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on March 28, 2018, 06:55:59 pmIf the cable from the wall go straight to the modem then the problem is 99.9% outside your home, and you have VOIP.Just to make sure, here one example of VOIPand here analog phone line (about 300-3,3KHz from the wall)If you have VOIP you don't need a filter and you can ignore me. Please consider this ADSL/phone filter too:even if it looks like there is no devices between the wall and the modem, the filter is ALWAYS connected in PARALLEL to the modem line!This is the ADSL/phone circuit:If you have analog phone line you need the filter and bad quality filter can cause signal quality problems.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2018, 09:37:14 pm
content: OK, so they've managed to boost it to 400KBs actual speed. But it's being unstable for upload, and certain ports. They said the "fix" won't be finished till friday evening, so we'll see if it overloads and dies.