Terrible internet speeds, technicians can't solve the problem [ Edited ]

[vanhoand]

I have a problem that 5 At&t service technicians and probably 10 hours with phone tech support haven’t been able to figure out. It’s a long story but I’ll try to make it as brief and to the point as possible.

We’ve had U-verse for over a year now. Things have always worked great and we’ve haven’t really had any complaints at all up until about a month and a half ago when our internet started flaking out. In terms of hardware, we had a 2nd Linksys wireless-N router behind the At&t modem/router so that we could benefit from the extra speed for streaming media to tv’s via xbox’s as well as data transfer to our NAS device (Drobo FS).

About 6 weeks ago, our internet speeds dropped significantly and would sometimes be 0. We pay for 12MB service and the typical average would be around 1 or 2 during this time. This was intermittent and occasionally we’d get around 10 or 11 but the norm was 1 or 2. I thought it might be the Linksys so I unplugged it and we started just using the stock At&t router by itself, however nothing changed. When connected via wire, speeds are slightly more stable (and are higher). Because of that, the technicians replaced every single component in the system (outside box, line in, modem/router over about 5 or 6 visits. None of these changes has helped. Even sitting 5 ft from the router produces terrible and inconsistent speeds. I’ve asked if there are firmware updates for their equipment, but they don’t seem to have very much information on their devices. I’m at a complete loss at this point and the technician actually said that we should consider switching to Comcast… (aaaackkkk!) I should note that one of the line techs that came out said he found a bad connection at their box at the end of the street. But that was fixed and they can’t find any issues anywhere else in the system.

To be clear, the issue isn’t seeing the router. I have 4 bars (full signal strength) anywhere in the house and can still transfer files locally through the network to other devices at full speed via the wireless. The issue is only when getting out to the internet.

My next step will be installing a secondary router instead of the Linksys to see if I can get things working with that. My thought is that the Linksys died and I was never able to get good speeds from the At&t box anyway. To be honest, I can’t remember if we ever tried getting out to the internet with while being connected to their router so I don’t have a baseline to compare with. The Linksys was only a year old but I suppose like any electronic device; it could fail at any time.

Has anyone ever had this experience? Every technician is at a complete loss and the guys on the phone just want to keep sending techs out. And of course they’re blaming it on our house (even though it’s not the wi-fi signal that’s weak, it’s the internet connection). Oh, and the TV is fine, it’s strictly internet access…

[BeeBeeSA ACE - Wizard]

Please download and install this maintenance tool developed by a forum member Somejoe7777. Here is the link:

http://www.uverserealtime.com/

After installing the tool, please post screenshots of the following tabs: IP/Profile, Error Table, & Bitloading. After posting the above screenshots, we can review them and see if you are having problems with your system.

[vanhoand]

Thanks in advance for the help! Here's the screenshots from this evening...

[removed image with IP and MAC addresses]

[vanhoand]

Any thoughts? I spent another 2 hours on the phone with another helpful support rep but again didn't make much progress other than documenting speeds all over the map from test to test and agreeing that it isn't the wireless signal itself but the stability/quality of the internet connection inside of the wireless signal.

One update is that the wired connection seems to be much more stable now (10Mbps or therabouts) but I think that was always working to some extent. I guess I can't fault some of the tech reps for trying to be helpful, but trying to be helpful is only good so far as it actually solves the problem. I'm awaiting a call back from the tech support lady who said she would take my case to some of her higher-ups to see if they had any ideas. I'm not exactly holding my breath...

On an unrelated note, is there a way to delete previous posts (or edit them)? I just found the privacy feature on the UVRealtim program and would like to edit that last post a bit....

[vanhoand]

thanks for the edit... here's a better view of the IP/Profile screenshot minus some specifics...

[vanhoand]

Anyone? Anyone?......

Bueller? Bueller?......

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

With the error counts you have, there appears to be some line issues.  It could possibly be interference.

You may be able to look for and eliminate these sources of interference. Possible sources include:

* Power line interference, such as:
* Fluorescent light ballasts
* High-intensity gas discharge lights like mercury vapor
* Grounding problems, such as improper ground at the NID, the pedestal, etc.
* Electrical system grounding problems, such as improper ground on the RG's outlet, the breaker panel, etc.
* HAM radio broadcasts in the HF band
* AM radio transmissions, such as a nearby radio station

Try to isolate any potential source of these problems and see if you can find one that eliminates the interference.

If not, then your next step would be to contact AT&T Customer Care:

Since this is account specific I would recommend that you send a private message to the escalation team at ATT Customer Care and someone will get in touch with you. Their normal business hours are from 7am to 10pm Central Time. Please take into account weekends when contacting them.

To check for their reply, click the little blue envelope.

[vanhoand]

Hm... Thanks for the tips. I'll double check all that interferrence stuff again but off the top of my head, I know there isn't any of the stuff you listed nearby. I will check the grounds though... I'll shoot those guys an email and see what they say too. I know they've already got a huge file on me...

If it is some sort of interference, wouldn't that also affect my ability to connect to and transfer files wirelessly inside the network (not out to the internet)? Right now, the only thing wrong is internet speed stability and not the wireless signal itself. Data trasfer speeds to the NAS are not being affected.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

No, the interference is different because different frequencies affect VDSL and 802.11.

VDSL is sensitive to impulse noise and AM & HF transmissions in the 100 kHz - 8 MHz band. This low band spectrum is notorious for having a lot of background noise and interference.

802.11 is way up in the microwave range at 2.4 GHz, which has not a lot of background noise, but is crowded because everyone uses it.

[vanhoand]

Ah ok, that's a very helpful tip. The weird thing is that that our problems occured suddenly and I can't think of anything that we added to the area (or house) that would have introduced a new interferring frequency. We've been using the same setup for over a year now. 

One other question, if it is an interferrence issue with the VDSL, running a second aftermarket wireless router wouldn't help much, because it would still be channeling the same messed up VDSL signal, correct??

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

Correct, a second wireless router will not help.

[vanhoand]

Do you know if the technicians that come to the house have the ability to pinpoint interferrence or at least determine fo sure if that is the issue? Up to now, the idea has been to keep throwing new parts at the problem...

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

To get a senior technician who is capable of doing that, you will probably need to go through customer care. Use the link to send them a private message that I posted above.

[vanhoand]

Got it. Thanks for the help!

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

sn't there an old post about searching for interference with an am radio & finding bad power brick(s)?? Wasn't that you, somejoe??

How about a surge protector that went bad??

[Computer-Joe]

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aviewer wrote:
sn't there an old post about searching for interference with an am radio & finding bad power brick(s)?? Wasn't that you, somejoe??

How about a surge protector that went bad??

---

IINM, the gateways should not be plugged into a surge protector.

On another note, looking at the bitloading, there's definately some crippling interference of the upload bands above 4 MHz. Severely reduced upload, will also severely reduce download.

Which begs the other question. Why are there four sets of upload bands, is that something new, part of their plan to boost speeds?

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[vanhoand]

The router is plugged directly into an outlet. Upload band interferrence would be of the higher "Ghz" band type right? Although maybe not the root of the problem, would switing the wi-fi frequency to 5Ghz insead of 2.4 or whatever most routers run on help that? (obviously, that'd have to be done on an aftermarket router)

[JefferMC ACE - Wizard]

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vanhoand wrote:

The router is plugged directly into an outlet. Upload band interferrence would be of the higher "Ghz" band type right? Although maybe not the root of the problem, would switing the wi-fi frequency to 5Ghz insead of 2.4 or whatever most routers run on help that? (obviously, that'd have to be done on an aftermarket router)

---

All of the VDSL2 traffic is in the MHz range (from 0.5 to 10 MHz).  That's all below 0.010 GHz.  2.4/5 GHz is way higher frequency that the VDSL2.  AM, FM  and VHF TV stations are down in this range.  HAM radio operators at 40m or larger.  Then there's just plain noise from malfunctioning equipment.

[vanhoand]

Oh ok, I didn't realize the upload frequency Computer-Joe mentioned was still referring to the VDSL.

[teh_ninjaneer]

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vanhoand wrote:

I have a problem that 5 At&t service technicians and probably 10 hours with phone tech support haven’t been able to figure out. It’s a long story but I’ll try to make it as brief and to the point as possible.

We’ve had U-verse for over a year now. Things have always worked great and we’ve haven’t really had any complaints at all up until about a month and a half ago when our internet started flaking out. In terms of hardware, we had a 2nd Linksys wireless-N router behind the At&t modem/router so that we could benefit from the extra speed for streaming media to tv’s via xbox’s as well as data transfer to our NAS device (Drobo FS).

About 6 weeks ago, our internet speeds dropped significantly and would sometimes be 0. We pay for 12MB service and the typical average would be around 1 or 2 during this time. This was intermittent and occasionally we’d get around 10 or 11 but the norm was 1 or 2. I thought it might be the Linksys so I unplugged it and we started just using the stock At&t router by itself, however nothing changed. When connected via wire, speeds are slightly more stable (and are higher). Because of that, the technicians replaced every single component in the system (outside box, line in, modem/router over about 5 or 6 visits. None of these changes has helped. Even sitting 5 ft from the router produces terrible and inconsistent speeds. I’ve asked if there are firmware updates for their equipment, but they don’t seem to have very much information on their devices. I’m at a complete loss at this point and the technician actually said that we should consider switching to Comcast… (aaaackkkk!) I should note that one of the line techs that came out said he found a bad connection at their box at the end of the street. But that was fixed and they can’t find any issues anywhere else in the system.

To be clear, the issue isn’t seeing the router. I have 4 bars (full signal strength) anywhere in the house and can still transfer files locally through the network to other devices at full speed via the wireless. The issue is only when getting out to the internet.

My next step will be installing a secondary router instead of the Linksys to see if I can get things working with that. My thought is that the Linksys died and I was never able to get good speeds from the At&t box anyway. To be honest, I can’t remember if we ever tried getting out to the internet with while being connected to their router so I don’t have a baseline to compare with. The Linksys was only a year old but I suppose like any electronic device; it could fail at any time.

Has anyone ever had this experience? Every technician is at a complete loss and the guys on the phone just want to keep sending techs out. And of course they’re blaming it on our house (even though it’s not the wi-fi signal that’s weak, it’s the internet connection). Oh, and the TV is fine, it’s strictly internet access…

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I am currently experiencing this exact same problem.  I have been a U-verse customer for about 1.5 years.  I also have a Linksys E3200 router, in bridge mode, acting as a sort-of wireless access point/range extender for the opposite end of the house from where the U-verse RG is located.  Both my PC and the Linksys are wired into the RG.

About 2 weeks ago I began having trouble with internet speeds.  I couldn't even load some webpages on my PC (again, which is NOT connected to the Linksys in any way).  Last Sunday, Nov. 11, I contacted AT&T support and was informed that no problems were detected with my connection.  I was asked to disconnect the Linksys from the RG.  Magically this fixed the problem on my PC.  Since then, any time I reconnect the Linksys I will have severely decreased internet speeds within 10-15 minutes.

It blows my mind that this suddenly happened just a couple of weeks ago.  It is also confusing that the Linksys is affecting my PC to such a degree.  The AT&T rep I spoke with gave the impression this is a common occurrance when a secondary router is connected to the RG, but my setup has worked fine for several months prior to this.

[JefferMC ACE - Wizard]

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teh_ninjaneer wrote:

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I am currently experiencing this exact same problem.  I have been a U-verse customer for about 1.5 years.  I also have a Linksys E3200 router, in bridge mode, acting as a sort-of wireless access point/range extender for the opposite end of the house from where the U-verse RG is located.  Both my PC and the Linksys are wired into the RG.

About 2 weeks ago I began having trouble with internet speeds.  I couldn't even load some webpages on my PC (again, which is NOT connected to the Linksys in any way).  Last Sunday, Nov. 11, I contacted AT&T support and was informed that no problems were detected with my connection.  I was asked to disconnect the Linksys from the RG.  Magically this fixed the problem on my PC.  Since then, any time I reconnect the Linksys I will have severely decreased internet speeds within 10-15 minutes.

It blows my mind that this suddenly happened just a couple of weeks ago.  It is also confusing that the Linksys is affecting my PC to such a degree.  The AT&T rep I spoke with gave the impression this is a common occurrance when a secondary router is connected to the RG, but my setup has worked fine for several months prior to this.

---

Have you made any changes to your configuration recently, even ones that "shouldn't make any difference"?

Do you have IPTV as well?

How are all your devices connected up?

[vanhoand]

In my case, no changes were made. It just started being unstable. To check for interference in the house, I turned every single electrical appliance off at the breaker except for the router and still had the poor speeds. They sent another tech out and he tried switching ports and cards on the box down the street but that didn't do anything. We also went through each wireless channel 1 by 1 to no avail. The multiple visit hotline guy who was helping my prem-tech basically said that it was still some kindof interference though. 

After he left, I installed my brand new top of the line ASUS router behind the ATT one and got slightly better speeds but still had the instability. So now instead of like 0.5 to 6, I get 4 to 10. 

Leanne, (the lady who has been digging into this for me at customer support) called me back last night and had me try a few things... One thing VERY interesting was that when I connect my laptop directly to the ethernet port at the outside gateway, I was still seeing the bad speeds (3.5 and 4.6). I think I forgot to mention that they switched me over from the phone lines to ethernet into the house. So in my mind, that pretty much rules out any sort of line into the house or bad router thoughts.