Getting annoyed with UTV

Macker

I was delighted when they arrived ,so much so that I signed up asap ,but this weekend has annoyed me ,kicked at least 20 times in the last 24 hrs ,and now ,2 am connected at 28,800 ,stays the same after 5 logons ,grrrrrr

Pick up or I'm gone

Macker

Valentia

I think you need your settings or phone line sorted mate.

No problems here. At all at all.

Jeez this type of post drives me around the twist

Now what ISP in their right ming is going to connect you at 28000.

Think about it!

Macker

That's fair enough but at 7am this morning I was connected at 48000 ,and getting 5 kb ,now I'm connected at 28000 with 1 kb ,you think my phone line changed in the last few hours or maybe UTV can't handle heavy traffic.

Macker

Valentia

Was it raining down your way tonight? If so your line could be damp. Happens here regularly.

Seriously.

spongebob

Originally posted by Valentia
Was it raining down your way tonight? If so your line could be damp. Happens here regularly.

Seriously.

especially that misty drizzle 'gets everywhere' kind of rain.

I have an ambient dampness/linespeed drop correlation issue as well.

The worst place I ever saw for this was Montenotti in Cork.

M

joec

I have had similar problems with utvip.I have had IOL gold for a year and connected to utvip in the past week.I have found that during the day my download rates are poor at best.i was getting between 5 and 5.5 with IOL with utv it seems to be around 3 in th daytime.........in the evening it starts fine but i find after about an hour the rate drops down and also hops around a lot it doesnt seems as stable in terms of consistency with the speeds..

pete

Nets/Comms?

sceptre

Originally posted by pete
Nets/Comms?

Aye, indeed, moved there

jonski

I needed to d/l a file yesterday for the game i play (new mappack) , 109mb ,it came down at 5.5 fairly consistantly over a 6 hour period , no problems.

eth0_

Is anyone else finding it impossible to stay connected with UTV this evening? I'm connecting ok, only to be kicked off after about one minute. V annoying. Having to use Indigo now.

Haven't heard of any credits on our accounts after the problem they had the other week after that upgrade when no one could get connected. I spent 2 days having to use Indigo.

dood

Yeah mine is constantly retraining to about 3k per second, its telling me im connected at 45.2kbps, might as well be 28.8kbps...

Martin-UTVi

now I'm connected at 28000 with 1 kb ,you think my phone line changed in the last few hours or maybe UTV can't handle heavy traffic.

Even at our peak usage, it won't affect your connect speeds (from our end). The modem negotiation happens entirely independently of whether we have one customer online or 1000. You might want to look at having the gain on your line raised in case it is an intermittent line issue. I know we say this a lot (but only because we know it makes a difference), but are you running the latest drivers and firmware?

in the evening it starts fine but i find after about an hour the rate drops down

This came up in the mega-thread towards the end where we diagnosed it was the modems renegotiating the speed (you can check this in your modem logs). Again, line gain and ensuring latest drivers/firmware may help this.

Saruman

How many of those with problems are using crappy winmodems that come out of a Christmas cracker??

eth0_

I have no problem with speed but I NEVER get on first time, always get error 629 or 731 or 619. I've tried everything suggested on modemhelp and my modem drivers and firmware are up to date so I pretty much refuse to believe it's anything on my end as i've never had these problems with any other ISP in Ireland.

Only a few weeks left till I get DSL tho so i'm not tooooo peeved.

Martin-UTVi

but I NEVER get on first time

Used to see this quite a bit during the "old days" Try adding at&f0&w or at&f&w to your init string to see if that helps. I remember some modems having issues doing sequential connects unless their S registers were restored to factory defaults.

gurramok

Originally posted by Saruman
How many of those with problems are using crappy winmodems that come out of a Christmas cracker??

Hey !, please don't brand all winmodems as crappy !

I still use a winmodem since i got it in summer '99.
Had no problems with it, connects at 50-53kBps and download speeds quite consistent (5-6kbps) on nearly every isp since.
Heck i even used it as part of 1-way satellite when i had netsystem

As it's a software modem, i guess connection stability and consistency depends on the pc itself (ruling out phone line problems) as well as getting latest driver updates

Martin-UTVi

i guess connection stability and consistency depends on the pc itself

Not to mention your choice of OS (linux, beos, BSD etc. etc.) :cool: :cool:

TomF

For all us knuckle-draggers, it may help to know this. I did a Google search on "edit initialization string" and found this for editing the string in Windows98.

Start>Settings>Control Panel>Modems>Properties>Connection>Advanced
Then in the blank panel, enter Martin's suggested "at&f&w" or the other one.

I don't know if you should "append to log" or not.

I did all this, then OK>Close

The result is now the modem wouldn't dial, so I took it all off and am back to square 1. Sigh.:(

TomF

I went back over it all again, didn't "append to log" then OK>Close, then restarted Windows and now the modem works fine (although it took two attempts to connect) and tells me I am connected at 115,200 bps??!!:eek:

eth0_

Originally posted by Martin-UTVi
Used to see this quite a bit during the "old days" Try adding at&f0&w or at&f&w to your init string to see if that helps. I remember some modems having issues doing sequential connects unless their S registers were restored to factory defaults.

Cheers Martin, will give it a try although it didn't happen for the first month I was using utvip. Will try it tonight.

David C

Originally posted by Martin-UTVi
Not to mention your choice of OS (linux, beos, BSD etc. etc.) :cool: :cool:

Of course Winmodems won't work at all on anything other than Windows

TomF

Here's some reading about what line gain means. It was all news to me.

http://www.oftel.gov.uk/consumer/advice/faqs/intfaq1.htm

Telephone lines to homes from the exchange have a "limiter" to reduce the power of the line. How much limiting is applied will depend on how close the exchange is to your home. If your telephone company "increases the gain" on your line, it is actually reducing the limit placed on the line. The limiter is placed on a line to produce the optimum line conditions.

<snip>

Whether or not your telephone company chooses to alter the gain on your line will depend on its policy regarding the issue. For example, some companies will only alter the gain in conjunction with normal fault finding practices.

It should be pointed that what appears to be a lack of speed in data transfers may not be the fault of your telephone company. The operating speed of a modem is determined not only by the line but by the web site the customer accesses on the Internet, the time of day the web site is accessed, and the Internet service provider used.

Saruman

Originally posted by David C
Of course Winmodems won't work at all on anything other than Windows

Actually some do but i would not trust one.. fair enough winmodems can sometimes be good if you have a good and stable system. But why risk it? I have an external 3com modem and its class. Cost me £99 a few years back and never a problem... if anything the winmodem downstairs is a pain.. like if im on the net and someone tries to connect downstairs it cuts me off.. But if they are on the net and i try and connect, it leaves the other connection intact..

jonski

I am no tech head but I have a lucent winmodem and have been told its as good as u can get ,especially for use with the technology utvip use...i have it for the last 3 years and always (until the utv upgrade a few weeks ago) connect at 52000 (since upgrade its usually 5000 or 48000 (don't know why )).Its also a very stable connection.

po0k

Hardware DSP, "software" controller.
The faster cpu you have the better it can perform.

I've had a lucent. I liked it
Have a Rockwell HCF now, simply cos i got it free. Gets me better connects.

po0k

Originally posted by TomF
I went back over it all again, didn't "append to log" then OK>Close, then restarted Windows and now the modem works fine (although it took two attempts to connect) and tells me I am connected at 115,200 bps??!!:eek:

that's your PC-to-modem serial speed, not your modem-to-ISP speed.
It was caused by one of the INIT strings.
It means nothing to be honest.
There's more then likely a string to get windows to report the "real" speed.

macronot

Originally posted by jonski
I am no tech head but I have a lucent winmodem and have been told its as good as u can get ,especially for use with the technology utvip use...i have it for the last 3 years and always (until the utv upgrade a few weeks ago) connect at 52000 (since upgrade its usually 5000 or 48000 (don't know why )).Its also a very stable connection.

Jonski - I also have this problem -

I had a Motorola Software modem running at 50000 - 52000
When utv upgraded - I now get 43000 - 45333

The motorola is no longer supported so there was no update to drivers of firmware I purchased a hardware modem from Creative

I updated it to the latest V.92 drivers - still getting 43000 - 45000

TomF

<that's your PC-to-modem serial speed, not your modem-to-ISP speed.
It was caused by one of the INIT strings.
It means nothing to be honest.
There's more then likely a string to get windows to report the "real" speed.>

Yes, I thought it was odd. After posting my amazement about the very fast rate, I went back to the modem setup screen in Windows and changed it to 57,600 bps, and it is rock stable, indicating that it is strictly a number that refers to something here in my computer. Odd, because before adding the statement to the Initialization string, the connection speed indicated by the two little monitor icons at the bottom of my screen would change depending on conditions. Now it appears that I no longer look at the connection speed. Maybe the change is only a "feel-good" thing. Still, call it wishful thinking, it seems to me that I connect more often on the first call now, and that I seldom get booted-off UTVip since making the UTVip-recommended change to the string.

andreio

I signed up for UTVip back in September, 1/2 hour after they announced the new product. As most people posting on this board, I had high hopes for getting a lower phone bill.

4 months down the road, I am seriously considering moving back to Eircom for telephony and Esat NetSmart for Internet access.
I can't make international phone calls since November, so I have to go through €ircom, the Internet access is slow, had lots of problems with the Internet access (ISDN), so at the end of the day I don't get what I want.

I'm really sorry to leave them after all, but I'm voting with my wallet. Good bye UTV!

BanjoDanjo

I have Utvi and it says its connected at 115.2 ... lies?
Does anyone know if UTVi's Proxy server is compression enabled.

Even if its not, if i use it will there be a speed difference?

BanjoDanjo

Also, sorry for posting again, but i just thought of it.
I don't seen to get itemised bills from UTVi
and my phone bill is a lot higher than it was with eircom.
Anyone know how to access your bill online.
i called their support but was told there was nobody there to help me.
Thanks in advance

mike65

You should get an e-mail every month with the url to your account page which is accessed with your e-mail address and a password.

Like this -

Details of your November 2002 online usage and telephony are now available by visiting

http://www.utvip.com/youraccount

This link will give you a fully itemised breakdown of all calls and charges based on the following account details. You must use the details listed below to access your account online:

Registered Email: ********@utvinternet.com
Online Account Password: *******
Account Ref: *******
Active telephone number(s):*********
These charges include your subscription to UTVip for the period December 2002 as well as call charges during November 2002.

Should you have any concerns or queries, please don't hesitate to contact us by telephone from 9am to 9pm on 1890 926000 or by emailing admin@u.tv.

*** Reduce your UTVip cost even further ***
UTV Internet are delighted to announce an extremely generous refer-a-friend scheme where you can get up to 49.99 (euro) credit for each and every person you get connected!
For details see the banner in 'Your Account' section of the website.

UTV Internet

Mike.

BanjoDanjo

Thanks for that Mike.
It seems that my emails were going to a different account.
All sorted now though thanks to you.

mike65

No Probs!

Mike.

Neil_Sedaka

Malcom,

I can connect to e-live (My Old Reliable ISP) at a stable 52,000, Eircom at a stable 50,000 odd, Esat / Bt at 48,000 odd but only connect to UTV at a very unstable 48,000 MAX.

I have to limit my connection speed to 46,667 otherwise I am disconnected every few minutes, is this not costing you money from Eircom everytime I re-connect??

To check my e-mails, browse the boards and see what movie is currently playing in my local can rerquire 3 or 4 dial up's
Surely this is costly for you?

Any suggestions???

joec

i really feel something has to be done on tuvs side here.....i have a lot of epopel online and a lot that have changed over to utvip...................................everyone of them has had problems
never once did i ever as far as i can recollect dropa call in all my time with iol gold i do it every day with utv..............i took the advice from martin from utv who i would really appreciate of he could reply to this gave......i rang the helpline and to be honest the people there that i spoke with on the 2 occasions i called seemed more interested in surfing the web than helping me........
i was told to get the latest drivers which i did and it hasnt made any difference at all...........im a lazy bugger at times and it took me bother to change to uvtip but i did cuz it was gonna save me money adn there was a pricipal behind it to take money away from eircom......a lot of people at the start since this service came online have spoke in glossy terms of the service but the fact remains that most poeple are having data transfer issues and dropped callls.......albeit im saving money its starting to wreck my head!!!u start downloading soemthing and it starts fine and then it drops .....then while ur downlaoding its impossible to browse the web cuz theres feck all bandwith cuz og thr slow speeds.......
i never once had aproblem with iol and to be honest if somethign isint looked at with this im gonna goto netsmart and also warn anyoen iknow off about this service.....its bad enuff that ur stuck with 56 k but hell i at least expect to get 5 kbps d/l rates and jumping from 1.3 too 2.9.....................the fact remains utv have done soemthing good by offerign this service but if theres something up with the service something has to change or help has to be given...........martin can u either respond to me privately or reply on this thread ?

flamegrill

UTVip for me has been good. There have been hicups and time to time the connection slows down quite a bit. I personally think an upgrade to a V.92 hardware modem would do the job for me. I use linux so its typically not a driver problem. Currently UTV is quite fast. I've been on and off tonight for a bit and its been grand. Nice and fast which is good.

Now all i got from Martin and the guys was "driver this" and "firmware that" which tbh was quite insulting

But Martin did try to help me with a few init strings etc, nothing seemed to help really, but the constant problems i was having seem to have gone away. I don't mind re-connecting to get the speed back, because at the end of the day its costing them not me

All in all a fine server, and a great Tech support team (:p)

Regards,

Paul

dood

I had a lot of problems with UTV slowing down after about an hour online. Found out my modem was doing a retrain i.e. initially connecting at 45.2k then renegoiating to 28.8k.
A few weeks ago the main telephone line in our house stopped working (i have my own line in the house as well as the main line going into the house,they come down the same cable i think or something). Turned out to be a fault in the main line coming into our house. Once Eircom fixed that my UTV connection has improved an awful lot - still get the odd retrain but its much better. May be worth while checking out your line quality if you are having trouble.
This didnt happen me with other ISPs so maybe its the fact that utvip is more "sensitive" to bad lines or something???

Martin-UTVi

martin can u either respond to me privately or reply on this thread ?

I've PM'd you Joe.

Because I don't get the time to spend as long as I'd like on the forums, please feel free to email me (martin@u.tv) directly.

jonski

I know there was another thread concerning this but my eyes are starting to water after spending the last 30 minutes looking for it ,so i will put it here for now..

once more its about ping times...they have never been great but have usually been workable ,but since before the weekend they have been really bad , haven't played a full game since sometime last week..anyone else have this problem...

god..bring on adsl before i lose my mobility.

ButcherOfNog

am on ISDN on UTVip, constant 7.xx kbs+ type download speeds, latency is a bit high for fps games but its playable (round 110-130ms). Rarely if ever get dropped, rarely have to redial to connect unless trying at peak time.

no problems, good service.