Forum Discussion

adq_corbie's avatar
adq_corbie
Joining in
27 days ago

Massive drop in speed since last Friday 14th Feb in Edinburgh

Hello, I'm a gigabit subscriber in Edinburgh, and I was quite happy with your service. Up until Friday 14th Feb.

My download speed suddenly cratered to more than a 10th of what I'm used to on the morning of the 14th. I've tried restarting the hub/etc (I'm running it in modem mode). I have a Hub 4.

The VM checker says there are no issues. But clearly there are. I'm not downloading anything during the test: this is a persistent problem within my network. I've checked my network and nothing is downloading excessively (certainly not 24x7).

This is becoming more of a problem as I work from home and rely on this for my business.

Interestingly, if I reboot the VM Hub (and only the VM Hub), speeds return to normal for a while. Then they drop back to extreme slowness.. I'm not sure how long it takes to do this, but it is over the next few hours.

I've performed a speed test (speedtest.net), from a machine attached via ethernet. Prior to this problem starting, I would regularly see speeds in excess of 700mbps. Now I'm lucky if I see more than 10mbps.

Also, you'll notice my upload bandwidth is ~10 times my download bandwidth, which is not right from how the service is contended (the upload speed seems about right though, from what I remember).

Here are the Downstream and Upstream network status details from the Hub 4. From what I can see I do not have packet loss/noise issues.

 

  • carl_pearce's avatar
    carl_pearce
    Community elder
    27 days ago

    Confirming the speed to the hub over the VM network will help determine if you could, potentially, have faulty hardware.

    https://samknows.com/realspeed/

    • adq_corbie's avatar
      adq_corbie
      Joining in
      27 days ago

      Hi, thanks for the suggestion, however, the samknows test says "Searching for a compatible router" and finally says "RealSpeed is not available on this network". I'm not on a VPN or anything.

      Do you know if it works with a VM Hub in modem mode?

  • adq_corbie's avatar
    adq_corbie
    Joining in
    27 days ago

    Decided to do some more sustained testing before saying its fixed

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    26 days ago

    In Modem mode, you first have to verify ( i.e. not assume ) your kit is not the problem, even if that means briefly reverting the Hub to Router mode to perform a Realspeed test giving you the service speed to the Hub figures.

    Also check & re-check later for known service faults ... 

    Call the local fault line : 0800 561 0061 – this is an automated number.

    https://www.virginmedia.com/help/check/status/identification/identify


  • adq_corbie's avatar
    adq_corbie
    Joining in
    26 days ago

    Thanks, I'll give them a call.

    I've now verified it is definitely not my kit: I can now switch cables between my own router and a test laptop directly plugged in to the Hub via ethernet without restarting the hub: they show exactly the same symptoms.

    After I power cycled the Hub last night, speed was the normal speed I expect from my VM contract. Overnight, it has dropped back to the figures I speed tested above.

    This morning, removing my router and directly connecting my laptop instead (and then running a speed test) shows exactly the same speed problem.

    So: I need help from someone at Virgin now I think.

  • adq_corbie's avatar
    adq_corbie
    Joining in
    26 days ago

    Hello everyone, thank you for the helpful suggestions. I've now switched back to Router mode so I'm able to run the tests with samknows.com/realspeed and remove any doubt. Here is what I'm seeing after the Hub4 has been up for a while:

    As before, immediately after the Hub4 was rebooted, I was seeing 900Mbps+ on the samknows realspeed test.

    These tests were done with ONLY my test device connected to the Hub4 via ethernet, and with the Hub4 wifi disabled. So I am certain nothing else is using the connection during the test.

    Since I'm in router mode, I also ran the "Network Diagnostic Tool" on the Hub4. It does report an issue, but I don't believe the gateway address is anything within my control (I disabled wifi as I have my own, and all these tests are done on an Ethernet connection)

    Temperature of the Hub feels normal to me; its also not moved from where its installed for over a year though!

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    26 days ago

    The download speed is very poor but the upload speed is quite normal. 

    You are unlikely to be the only one in the street suffering this degradation. 

    Have VM reported any known issues yet ? 

    • adq_corbie's avatar
      adq_corbie
      Joining in
      26 days ago

      Nothing on the 0800 number.

      However, the status-checker is now saying "Intermittent signal in your area" and to check back in 21 hours.

  • adq_corbie's avatar
    adq_corbie
    Joining in
    25 days ago

    Wee update - getting around 100Mbps to the hub right now... still only a 10th of the usual speed, but better than a 20th of it!

    VM's issues checker says I need an engineer visit, so that is now booked in.

  • adq_corbie's avatar
    adq_corbie
    Joining in
    24 days ago

    Hi all, virgin have "applied a remote update" overnight and it does seem to have solved the problem.

    Question for you all: Virgin's status checker site suggested an engineer visit yesterday, which I've booked: should I cancel it since the problem seems to have been resolved? (Don't wanna waste their time)

    • Matthew_ML's avatar
      Matthew_ML
      Forum Team
      21 days ago

      Glad to hear your issues has been fixed adq_corbie.

      Please do let us know f you need any further help, with the engineer visit you can cancel this from your online account  

  • adq_corbie's avatar
    adq_corbie
    Joining in
    9 days ago

    Thanks all, everything is fixed; also the engineer did come round with a upgrade to a Hub 5.