Packet Loss Is Becoming A 'Thing'

[xoxShwingxox]

Hi all!

New to the VM Community forums - please be gentle 🙂

I've currently got the Gig1 Fibre package, but recently have noticed what I suspected was increased levels of packet loss. The main giveaway was rising levels of lag & rubber banding whilst online gaming.

In order to check this I setup a BQM via thinkbroadband - and here are a selection of graphs from the last 2 weeks...

Does this look normal? I know you will always get the occasional loss, but this seems more than that, and happening fairly regularly.

Any help appreciated.

Many thanks!

[xoxShwingxox]

Ooh, today - that's quick 🙂
Will this engineer be calling to house to check Hub / Box, or will they just be visiting the street cabinet?

[xoxShwingxox]

Quick Update...
Just rebooted router then checked power ratings - and discovered D/L QAM at 4096 (U/L power still at 32.x).
Checked again after 5 minutes... and it's now back down to 1024! 😞
Engineer due out today anyway - hopefully will finally get sorted.

[Robert_P]

They may need to check on all of the equipment, so just to be on the safe side we'd recommend moving any of the stuff required.

Rob

[xoxShwingxox]

Hi Rob.

The engineer (Michael) called out as promised - top bloke!

He's actually the one who originally installed my equipment when I first came to VM a few years ago - and seems to know his stuff!

He spent a bit of time doing a diagnostic on the Hub 4, and found there to be a signal power issue, so swapped it out for a new one.

So far everything seems spot on - but, of course, we need to give it a few days to see if the dreaded packet loss returns.

This, of course, was in complete contrast to the first engineer who came out (Brian), who said Hub had no issues and that he would arrange a separate cabinet engineer to call out - and then check in with me at end of week to ensure all done & sorted. Never heard from him again or had a visit!

As I said it's still early days, but I'm hopeful that the issue is now sorted (thanks to you & Michael) 🤗

One last thing - for anyone interested, after new Hub 4 setup I noticed a difference in the 3.1 Downstream stats - specifically this number in red...

3.1 Downstream channels

Channel ID Lock Status RxMER Data (dB) PLC Power (dBmV) Correcteds (Active Profile) Uncorrectables (Active Profile)

159

Locked

41

1.1

110918710

0

If you look back at my original posting of this stat (from the old Hub) it reads 0.0 (zero)!!!

So looks like Lotharmat was correct in that it was down to 'power'.

I'll update this thread after a week or so to confirm if everything still error free - thanks all!

[Serena_C]

Hi @xoxShwingxox

Thanks very much for the update on how things went with our engineer Michael. Iy's great to hear that your packet loss issue has been resolved and that you were pleased with the assistance our engineer gave 🙂

Please do continue to monitor things and let us know if anything changes.

Best wishes,

Serena

[xoxShwingxox]

Hi @Serena_C

Following the engineers visit and replacement Hub 4 on Saturday I have been getting no packet loss, and an all round great service (see Pic 1 below).

Was so happy everything seemed to have been solved... until today!

Today has been horrendous for packet loss, with it spanning multiple hours in a row! (see Pic 2 below).

It's now a month since I flagged this issue (albeit it's been going on a lot longer) - and as you can imagine the frustration levels are topping out.

Online gaming, amongst other things is hopeless due to rubber banding / lag - to the point where everything on screen just freezes for seconds on end.

Can you advise what happens now?

Thanks.

PS If an engineer needs to come out again can you request it's Michael (ID 7991) - as I've found him very good.

Pic 1 - The last couple of days were excellent following the replacement Hub... example below

Pic 2 - Todays BQM graph - packet loss currently worse than it's ever been...

[lotharmat]

Hiya,

Welcome back - although not under great circumstances:

1. Check 0800 561 0061 for any local faults
2. If no faults: Post up your hub stats again!

[xoxShwingxox]

Thanks for the welcome back, lol!
Yeah I had already checked both the VM website & phone number - neither of which are reporting any issues.
I'll post up the stats again.
Just of note, I see the QAM has gone from 1024 in the original stats to 2048 now. This still isn't what you reckoned it should be at 4096? Also the upload numbers 32.x haven't really changed.

[xoxShwingxox]

Cable Modem StatusItem Status CommentsChannel Overview Downstream Upstream

Cable Modem Status	Online	DOCSIS 3.1
Primary downstream channel	Locked	SC-QAM
DOCSIS 3.0 channels	31	4
DOCSIS 3.1 channels	1	0

[xoxShwingxox]

3.0 Downstream channels

Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) SNR (dB) Modulation Channel ID

25	331000000	-0.299999	37.355988	QAM256	25
1	139000000	2.500000	37.636276	QAM256	1
2	147000000	2.500000	38.605377	QAM256	2
3	155000000	2.500000	38.605377	QAM256	3
4	163000000	2.099998	38.605377	QAM256	4
5	171000000	1.599998	37.636276	QAM256	5
6	179000000	1.400002	38.605377	QAM256	6
7	187000000	1.500000	38.605377	QAM256	7
8	195000000	1.299999	38.983261	QAM256	8
9	203000000	1.200001	38.605377	QAM256	9
10	211000000	1.200001	38.605377	QAM256	10
11	219000000	1.000000	38.983261	QAM256	11
12	227000000	1.000000	38.983261	QAM256	12
13	235000000	1.200001	38.983261	QAM256	13
14	243000000	1.099998	38.605377	QAM256	14
15	251000000	1.000000	38.605377	QAM256	15
16	259000000	1.299999	37.636276	QAM256	16
17	267000000	0.900002	37.636276	QAM256	17
18	275000000	0.599998	37.355988	QAM256	18
19	283000000	0.500000	38.605377	QAM256	19
20	291000000	0.400002	37.636276	QAM256	20
21	299000000	0.500000	38.605377	QAM256	21
22	307000000	0.500000	37.636276	QAM256	22
23	315000000	0.299999	37.636276	QAM256	23
24	323000000	-0.299999	37.636276	QAM256	24
26	339000000	0.000000	38.605377	QAM256	26
27	347000000	-0.200001	37.636276	QAM256	27
28	355000000	-0.400002	38.605377	QAM256	28
29	363000000	-0.299999	37.636276	QAM256	29
30	371000000	-0.299999	38.605377	QAM256	30
31	379000000	-0.799999	37.355988	QAM256	31

3.0 Downstream channels

Channel Lock Status RxMER (dB) Pre RS Errors Post RS Errors

25	Locked	37.355988	0	0
1	Locked	37.636276	0	0
2	Locked	38.605377	0	0
3	Locked	38.605377	2	0
4	Locked	38.605377	0	0
5	Locked	37.636276	0	0
6	Locked	38.605377	0	0
7	Locked	38.605377	0	0
8	Locked	38.983261	0	0
9	Locked	38.605377	0	0
10	Locked	38.605377	0	0
11	Locked	38.983261	0	0
12	Locked	38.983261	0	0
13	Locked	38.983261	0	0
14	Locked	38.605377	0	0
15	Locked	38.605377	0	0
16	Locked	37.636276	0	0
17	Locked	37.636276	0	0
18	Locked	37.355988	0	0
19	Locked	38.605377	0	0
20	Locked	37.636276	0	0
21	Locked	38.605377	0	0
22	Locked	37.636276	0	0
23	Locked	37.636276	0	0
24	Locked	37.636276	0	0
26	Locked	38.605377	0	0
27	Locked	37.636276	0	0
28	Locked	38.605377	0	0
29	Locked	37.636276	0	0
30	Locked	38.605377	0	0
31	Locked	37.355988	0	0

3.1 Downstream channelsChannel Channel Width (MHz) FFT Type Number of Active Subcarriers Modulation (Active Profile) First Active Subcarrier (Hz)

159

96

4K

1880

QAM2048

424

3.1 Downstream channelsChannel ID Lock Status RxMER Data (dB) PLC Power (dBmV) Correcteds (Active Profile) Uncorrectables (Active Profile)

159

Locked

41

1.1

2928450611

0