who to believe? VM Broadband Speed issue

goz83

I noticed yesterday that my BB speed in 80-90MB when it should be at least 240mb. I upgraded to 360mb yesterday with a new bundle. I have the VMDG500 (white) modem.

I use a wired connection and checked speed on speedtest.net. Also, a technician called out on Saturday to install the tv service, putting a horizon box and he split the wire for the box and the modem. I hadn't really noticed the difference until I checked yesterday.

When I click to check the Local Area Connection, the speed reading says 100mbps. A virgin tech support guy tried to have me manually change the setting to 1gb, but the connection was lost, so had to change back. One tech guy said there was no issue with the signal, while another one said there was :mad:

I was then told that the issue was with the intel driver, so I updated the software and still no joy. Microsoft tried their hand at it too and say it's my ISP with the problem. My PC is a self build, just over a year old with overkill specs for the use I give it (32ram for example) so I am pretty sure it can take over 100mb speed.

The only other thing I can check/change is the cable, which I think is cat6. Any other thoughts on this? I would prefer not to be hit with a technicians call-out fee if I missed something myself.

ED E

If you have the correct driver installed and it offers 10/100 and 1000Mb in the dropdown then it is a gigabit NIC and is capable.

Setting it to 1000Mb and losing the link means your cable is shíte or has been badly terminated.

editorsean

I reckon it is either a faulty cable or a problem one of the network sockets.

I would suggest trying the following, checking the speed reported for the Local Area Connection after each step:

1. Unplug the the cable from both ends, then plug the PC cable back in and the other end in a different LAN socket on your router.
2. Unplug the network cable from the PC and check the socket with a torch to make sure there's no lint or other debris inside.
3. Try a different network cable. A Cat 5E cable will also work fine for a 1Gbps connection.
4. Try another network card or with a laptop that has a 1Gbps port to rule out the router.

Generally you don't need to manually configure the port's connection speed. It will first attempt to connect in its fastest mode (i.e. 1Gbps) and if it fails, it will try the next lowest speed (100Mbps full duplex) and so on until it gets a stable connection.

goz83

Thanks. I will try a laptop later to rule out the ISP. If I get a gigabit connection, I will get back onto MS and if not, I will test cables.

goz83

Important info in BLUE. Ranting in black

So, I tried a couple of other cat5 cables. No change.
I tried connecting a laptop and was getting the same issue.

Then, yesterday morning....NO WIRED INTERNET!! Wireless was working, but my PC has no wireless card and that's where I work from.

I had a pre-scheduled tech call-out arranged for the morning, but that could have been anywhere up to 1pm, so I called 1908. A reset of the modem gave only a minute of connection. This was repeated several times from 9am to 10am with the same result. I called 1908 again and asked for a priority call-out, as I was unable to work. This was granted. I was told I would have a technician call out in about a half hour. By 1pm, nobody had called. Another call to 1908 revealed that I was down for an afternoon appointment. This was news to me, as I requested morning. The priority status had been cancelled, but nobody bothered to tell me. The only thing stopping me from cancelling, was the knowledge that I would be without BB for a few days if I did, but I was so close to cancelling and was speaking to the loyalty team.

5:30 rolled past and I called 1908 again. Nobody had called and 6pm was coming in fast. The lady told me that I was still on the list and she would get back to me. At 6pm I phoned the direct dispatch number and the girl there told me I should have been called into by now, but that the tech guy would still be calling. Technician arrived just before 7pm. Really sound guy and not his fault that it was so late. He showed me his schedule and I was indeed in for a PM call, not an AM call. The call centre messed up and I was not surprised after dealing with them.

The technician tested the equipment. He was experiencing the same problem after testing multiple cables. There was a connection showing, but it wasn't translating into internet access. The speed was showing at 100mbps capable. The wireless worked, so he figured it was either the new splitter installed when the other tech guy installed the horizon box, or it was the modem. Both were unlikely guesses in their own right, but it had to be one. It was late...he replaced both. Now I the broadband is working and I am getting great speeds....see attached.

The pain in the butt is that I now have to change over the passwords on everything connected to the modem. Printer, Alarm, phones, pads and other devices.

jca

goz83 wrote: »

Important info in BLUE. Ranting in black

So, I tried a couple of other cat5 cables. No change.
I tried connecting a laptop and was getting the same issue.

Then, yesterday morning....NO WIRED INTERNET!! Wireless was working, but my PC has no wireless card and that's where I work from.

I had a pre-scheduled tech call-out arranged for the morning, but that could have been anywhere up to 1pm, so I called 1908. A reset of the modem gave only a minute of connection. This was repeated several times from 9am to 10am with the same result. I called 1908 again and asked for a priority call-out, as I was unable to work. This was granted. I was told I would have a technician call out in about a half hour. By 1pm, nobody had called. Another call to 1908 revealed that I was down for an afternoon appointment. This was news to me, as I requested morning. The priority status had been cancelled, but nobody bothered to tell me. The only thing stopping me from cancelling, was the knowledge that I would be without BB for a few days if I did, but I was so close to cancelling and was speaking to the loyalty team.

5:30 rolled past and I called 1908 again. Nobody had called and 6pm was coming in fast. The lady told me that I was still on the list and she would get back to me. At 6pm I phoned the direct dispatch number and the girl there told me I should have been called into by now, but that the tech guy would still be calling. Technician arrived just before 7pm. Really sound guy and not his fault that it was so late. He showed me his schedule and I was indeed in for a PM call, not an AM call. The call centre messed up and I was not surprised after dealing with them.

The technician tested the equipment. He was experiencing the same problem after testing multiple cables. There was a connection showing, but it wasn't translating into internet access. The speed was showing at 100mbps capable. The wireless worked, so he figured it was either the new splitter installed when the other tech guy installed the horizon box, or it was the modem. Both were unlikely guesses in their own right, but it had to be one. It was late...he replaced both. Now I the broadband is working and I am getting great speeds....see attached.

The pain in the butt is that I now have to change over the passwords on everything connected to the modem. Printer, Alarm, phones, pads and other devices.

Good result. You'd have been waiting a lot longer for eir to call to you. A lot of damage was done by lightning around here 3 weeks ago and some people are still without phone/BB. Mine was down for less than 5 hours I'm with VM.