Upstream regularly drops close to 0Mbps on ethernet

[willypimpernel]

Hi, my upstream speed regularly (several times a day) drops to close to 0, meaning video calls (for work) and gaming (for fun) drop out. 

My tale of woe: I've spoken at length to VM and haven't got anything very useful, no faults reported on the status page but they always say there is one on the phone (this has been true for over 5 years); an engineer visited about 6 months ago and said it was a network problem and that i'd be contacted when it was resolved, which I never was, and no fault was ever reported on the status page.  

• My power levels and SNRs all look ok (from reading Sephiroth's post) as far as I can tell, but I seem to have a large number of Pre-RS and Post-RS errors, which I can't explain
• One of the Upstream channels is usually degraded to 32qam
• I usually get one SYNC Timing Synchronization failure in the network log each day
• I've left a Google Meet tab running for a few days with the Troubleshooting tab open which it displays a graph indicating the connection delay (round-trip from me to google and back), which spikes when issues occur
• I think the problem is with the upstream because on video calls I always drop for the other people but continue to be able to see/hear them for a minute or two, before the connection is lost completely
• Drops last around 2-3 minutes, long enough to break anything I'm currently doing
• This occurs around 5 times a day, so hits quite a lot of calls/games
• When a drop occurs, it affects all devices on the network including PCs, Samsung TV and my phone (which uses wifi)

I would very much appreciate any help, as this is having a significant impact on my work which is mostly video calls.

I'm using all-cabled connections on several devices going via Google Nest Wifi routers, so this is not a Wifi issue.  Google Nest Wifi routers helpfully don't respond to ICMP so my BQM graph is all red.

• VM Package: M350 Fibre Broadband (this is FTTC, I have a cable modem and coax into my house)
• Connection type: ethernet
• Cable Modem: VM Hub 3
• Router: Google Nest Wifi

Downstream 

Channel	Frequency (Hz)	Power (dBmV)	SNR (dB)	Modulation	Channel ID
1	379000000	1	38	256 qam	31
2	203000000	1.5	38	256 qam	9
3	211000000	1.2	38	256 qam	10
4	219000000	1.4	36	256 qam	11
5	227000000	1	37	256 qam	12
6	235000000	1.2	38	256 qam	13
7	243000000	1.4	38	256 qam	14
8	251000000	1.2	38	256 qam	15
9	259000000	1.2	38	256 qam	16
10	267000000	1.5	38	256 qam	17
11	275000000	1.4	38	256 qam	18
12	283000000	1	38	256 qam	19
13	291000000	1.7	38	256 qam	20
14	299000000	1.7	38	256 qam	21
15	307000000	1	38	256 qam	22
16	315000000	2	38	256 qam	23
17	323000000	2	38	256 qam	24
18	331000000	2	40	256 qam	25
19	339000000	2.5	38	256 qam	26
20	347000000	2	38	256 qam	27
21	355000000	1.2	40	256 qam	28
22	363000000	1.5	38	256 qam	29
23	371000000	1.5	38	256 qam	30
24	387000000	1.2	38	256 qam	32


Downstream bonded channels
Channel	Locked Status	RxMER (dB)	Pre RS Errors	Post RS Errors
1	Locked	38.9	1158517	308320
2	Locked	38.9	2393328	667015
3	Locked	38.9	2306810	594655
4	Locked	36.3	2455347	685086
5	Locked	37.3	2495919	706910
6	Locked	38.9	2267671	627921
7	Locked	38.9	2168268	551649
8	Locked	38.9	2137122	441966
9	Locked	38.9	2099122	453249
10	Locked	38.9	2687894	573101
11	Locked	38.9	2242148	603459
12	Locked	38.9	1928027	402340
13	Locked	38.6	1755404	242894
14	Locked	38.9	2170356	268031
15	Locked	38.9	1828817	257877
16	Locked	38.9	1483253	179696
17	Locked	38.9	1391721	150750
18	Locked	40.3	1207568	107512
19	Locked	38.6	1111062	79179
20	Locked	38.9	1124642	85321
21	Locked	40.3	1138249	104252
22	Locked	38.9	1143833	104495
23	Locked	38.9	1192386	121278
24	Locked	38.6	959152	77654

Upstream

Upstream bonded channels
Channel	Frequency (Hz)	Power (dBmV)	Symbol Rate (ksps)	Modulation	Channel ID
1	46200025	48.8	5120	64 qam	3
2	39399830	48.8	5120	64 qam	4
3	60299784	50	5120	64 qam	1
4	53700088	49.8	5120	64 qam	2


Upstream bonded channels
Channel	Channel Type	T1 Timeouts	T2 Timeouts	T3 Timeouts	T4 Timeouts
1	ATDMA	0	0	1	0
2	ATDMA	0	0	1	0
3	ATDMA	0	0	2	0
4	ATDMA	0	0	2	0

[Gareth_L]

Hello willypimpernel

Thanks for the updates and stats 

Happy to get an engineer out for you as a few of the downstream levels a just out

I will need to send you a private message to pass security 
If you can check the purple envelope top right of your screen that would be great 
Regards     
Gareth_L

[willypimpernel]

After a couple of engineer visits and a total loss of service, I'm still experiencing dropouts.  These seem more severe, which is to be expected now the cable is flapping around outside the trunking?  Both engineers said the problems would be fixed by things other people were doing.  I'm not sure how to get this addressed?

Weirdly downstream power levels are now around 3 compared to 6 yesterday, but the engineer said that was within range

06/01/2022 17:49:47	Warning!	RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=**:**:**:**:**:**;CMTS-MAC=**:**:**:**:**:**;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;

06/01/2022 17:48:38	critical	Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received - T4 time out;CM-MAC=**:**:**:**:**:**;CMTS-MAC=**:**:**:**:**:**;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;

06/01/2022 17:46:27	Warning!	Lost MDD Timeout;CM-MAC=**:**:**:**:**:**;CMTS-MAC=**:**:**:**:**:**;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;

06/01/2022 17:46:23	critical	SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=**:**:**:**:**:**;CMTS-MAC=**:**:**:**:**:**;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;

Downstream bonded channels
Channel	Frequency (Hz)	Power (dBmV)	SNR (dB)	Modulation	Channel ID
1	323000000	3.2	40	256 qam	24
2	203000000	3.2	40	256 qam	9
3	211000000	3	40	256 qam	10
4	219000000	3.2	36	256 qam	11
5	227000000	3	37	256 qam	12
6	235000000	3	40	256 qam	13
7	243000000	3.2	40	256 qam	14
8	251000000	3.2	40	256 qam	15
9	259000000	3	40	256 qam	16
10	267000000	3.2	40	256 qam	17
11	275000000	3	40	256 qam	18
12	283000000	2.5	40	256 qam	19
13	291000000	2.7	38	256 qam	20
14	299000000	3	38	256 qam	21
15	307000000	2.5	40	256 qam	22
16	315000000	3.2	38	256 qam	23
17	331000000	3.2	40	256 qam	25
18	339000000	3.9	40	256 qam	26
19	347000000	3.5	40	256 qam	27
20	355000000	3	40	256 qam	28
21	363000000	3.2	40	256 qam	29
22	371000000	3.2	40	256 qam	30
23	379000000	3	40	256 qam	31
24	387000000	3	40	256 qam	32


Downstream bonded channels
Channel	Locked Status	RxMER (dB)	Pre RS Errors	Post RS Errors
1	Locked	40.3	45	0
2	Locked	40.3	113	11
3	Locked	40.3	105	12
4	Locked	36.6	71	5
5	Locked	37.6	40	0
6	Locked	40.3	43	0
7	Locked	40.3	47	0
8	Locked	40.3	49	0
9	Locked	40.3	58	0
10	Locked	40.3	89	2
11	Locked	40.3	45	0
12	Locked	40.3	58	0
13	Locked	38.9	71	1
14	Locked	38.9	54	0
15	Locked	40.3	35	0
16	Locked	38.9	42	0
17	Locked	40.3	43	0
18	Locked	40.3	27	0
19	Locked	40.3	17	0
20	Locked	40.3	30	0
21	Locked	40.3	32	0
22	Locked	40.3	45	0
23	Locked	40.3	21	0
24	Locked	40.9	22	0

Upstream bonded channels
Channel	Frequency (Hz)	Power (dBmV)	Symbol Rate (ksps)	Modulation	Channel ID
1	60300000	47.8	5120	64 qam	1
2	53700000	47.8	5120	64 qam	2
3	46200000	47	5120	64 qam	3
4	39400000	47	5120	16 qam	4


Upstream bonded channels
Channel	Channel Type	T1 Timeouts	T2 Timeouts	T3 Timeouts	T4 Timeouts
1	ATDMA	0	0	0	0
2	ATDMA	0	0	0	0
3	ATDMA	0	0	0	0
4	ATDMA	0	0	0	0

[John_GS]

Hi @willypimpernel

Thanks for coming back to us. I am sorry it's not sorted. I've done some further checks and there's low SNR on two of the upstream channels. 

This is another tech visit so I shall PM you now to advise further.

Best,

[John_GS]

Hi @willypimpernel

PM has been sent with the time and date of the tech visit. This can also be found in your online account where you can track and re-arrange the visit if needed.

There will be no charge for this visit unless:
• The technician diagnoses the faults as not being caused by our network/equipment 
• The technician discovers that the fault or problem relates to your equipment
• The technician discovers that the fault or problem relates to any system that we are not responsible for
The technician will confirm during their visit if any of these instances apply, and if so, a £25 charge will be applied to your account. 
Please ensure there is someone over the age of 18 present at the time of the visit. If you need to change or cancel your appointment you can do this online or via the MyVM app by 4pm the day before the appointment.
If you do miss an agreed appointment for any reason, a £25 missed appointment charge will be applied to your account on the day of the appointment

Kind regards,

[John_GS]

Hi @willypimpernel

Thanks for your message but please don't send a PM unless we ask 🙂

How's the internet been since the message? No issues are showing for the checks ran so I am hoping it was just a temporary blip.

Best,

[willypimpernel]

Sure thing, sorry.

Unfortunately there's no improvement.  The connection is dropping regularly, just as before.  Looks like a replacement router has not solved the problem, so I still think the issue is outside my house.

Here are the numbers since yesterday

Downstream bonded channels
Channel	Frequency (Hz)	Power (dBmV)	SNR (dB)	Modulation	Channel ID
1	139000000	4.6	38	256 qam	1
2	147000000	4.4	38	256 qam	2
3	155000000	3.5	38	256 qam	3
4	171000000	3.5	38	256 qam	5
5	179000000	3.7	38	256 qam	6
6	187000000	3.5	39	256 qam	7
7	195000000	3.5	40	256 qam	8
8	203000000	3.2	38	256 qam	9
9	211000000	3	39	256 qam	10
10	219000000	3.2	38	256 qam	11
11	227000000	2.9	38	256 qam	12
12	235000000	3	40	256 qam	13
13	243000000	3.2	40	256 qam	14
14	251000000	3	39	256 qam	15
15	259000000	2.9	40	256 qam	16
16	267000000	3.2	39	256 qam	17
17	275000000	2.7	38	256 qam	18
18	283000000	2	38	256 qam	19
19	291000000	2.5	38	256 qam	20
20	299000000	2.5	38	256 qam	21
21	307000000	1.2	40	256 qam	22
22	315000000	2.2	38	256 qam	23
23	323000000	2.2	38	256 qam	24


Downstream bonded channels
Channel	Locked Status	RxMER (dB)	Pre RS Errors	Post RS Errors
1	Locked	38.9	1044015	906849
2	Locked	38.9	703229	74217
3	Locked	38.9	1257067	686031
4	Locked	38.9	494499	48391
5	Locked	38.6	1297116	871498
6	Locked	39.8	1087157	491274
7	Locked	40.3	112963	5234
8	Locked	38.9	58037	2604
9	Locked	39.8	56068	1969
10	Locked	38.6	56880	1918
11	Locked	38.2	53009	1958
12	Locked	40.3	61199	2126
13	Locked	40.3	50762	2498
14	Locked	39.3	33774	1539
15	Locked	40.3	41804	2408
16	Locked	39.3	99561	4094
17	Locked	38.9	69282	3851
18	Locked	38.9	39502	2313
19	Locked	38.9	42410	3672
20	Locked	38.9	104843	6449
21	Locked	40.3	75228	5196
22	Locked	38.9	32271	1471
23	Locked	38.9	22376	973

Upstream bonded channels
Channel	Frequency (Hz)	Power (dBmV)	Symbol Rate (ksps)	Modulation	Channel ID
1	39400131	48.3	5120	32 qam	4
2	46199951	48.8	5120	64 qam	3
3	60300000	49.5	5120	64 qam	1
4	53700063	49.3	5120	64 qam	2


Upstream bonded channels
Channel	Channel Type	T1 Timeouts	T2 Timeouts	T3 Timeouts	T4 Timeouts
1	ATDMA	0	0	1	0
2	ATDMA	0	0	2	0
3	ATDMA	0	0	0	0
4	ATDMA	0	0	3	0

[willypimpernel]

Things seem much worse than before.  Dropouts are far more regular (several times an hour) and the numbers look much worse.  There are several million more post-rs errors on each channel compared to yesterday, and a bunch of T3 errors on the upstream.  

I'm no longer able to take video calls, which is a real problem as I work from home.  Is there any way to go back to how it was before?  That would at least keep me going until I can get a new provider installed.  I really don't want to switch because the speed is important to me, but speed is useless if I can't maintain a connection.

I really appreciate any help.

Downstream bonded channels
Channel	Frequency (Hz)	Power (dBmV)	SNR (dB)	Modulation	Channel ID
1	139000000	4.9	38	256 qam	1
2	147000000	4.6	38	256 qam	2
3	155000000	3.9	38	256 qam	3
4	163000000	3.5	38	256 qam	4
5	171000000	3.9	40	256 qam	5
6	179000000	4	38	256 qam	6
7	187000000	3.9	39	256 qam	7
8	195000000	3.7	40	256 qam	8
9	203000000	3.5	38	256 qam	9
10	211000000	3.4	38	256 qam	10
11	219000000	3.5	38	256 qam	11
12	227000000	3.2	38	256 qam	12
13	235000000	3.4	38	256 qam	13
14	243000000	3.5	40	256 qam	14
15	251000000	3.4	38	256 qam	15
16	259000000	3.2	40	256 qam	16
17	267000000	3.5	38	256 qam	17
18	275000000	3.2	38	256 qam	18
19	283000000	2.2	38	256 qam	19
20	291000000	2.7	38	256 qam	20
21	299000000	2.7	38	256 qam	21
22	307000000	1.5	40	256 qam	22
23	315000000	2.4	38	256 qam	23
24	323000000	2.5	38	256 qam	24


Downstream bonded channels
Channel	Locked Status	RxMER (dB)	Pre RS Errors	Post RS Errors
1	Locked	38.9	6652417	5327661
2	Locked	38.9	5022492	1244656
3	Locked	38.9	7897896	3830535
4	Locked	38.9	7432306	7446048
5	Locked	40.3	3383184	1245466
6	Locked	38.9	7204357	5218098
7	Locked	39.3	7219605	2797920
8	Locked	40.3	2399817	479608
9	Locked	38.9	2167376	351763
10	Locked	38.9	2038816	242641
11	Locked	38.6	1977259	233305
12	Locked	38.9	2037420	249935
13	Locked	38.9	1889675	221322
14	Locked	40.3	1717953	159258
15	Locked	38.9	1589353	132473
16	Locked	40.3	1576527	149247
17	Locked	38.9	2004205	291037
18	Locked	38.9	1928429	312701
19	Locked	38.9	1758558	160497
20	Locked	38.9	1461550	104469
21	Locked	38.9	1712562	189699
22	Locked	40.3	1501724	182239
23	Locked	38.9	1225313	66535
24	Locked	38.6	1172652	42618

Upstream bonded channels
Channel	Frequency (Hz)	Power (dBmV)	Symbol Rate (ksps)	Modulation	Channel ID
1	39400000	47.8	5120	32 qam	4
2	46199824	48.3	5120	64 qam	3
3	60300000	48.8	5120	64 qam	1
4	53700063	48.5	5120	64 qam	2


Upstream bonded channels
Channel	Channel Type	T1 Timeouts	T2 Timeouts	T3 Timeouts	T4 Timeouts
1	ATDMA	0	0	4	0
2	ATDMA	0	0	5	0
3	ATDMA	0	0	3	0
4	ATDMA	0	0	7	0

[willypimpernel]

My BQM is showing what's up

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality/share/498daf68d346f94fc3be5cc631f5681275...

[Ayisha_B]

Hi @willypimpernel,

Sorry to hear you're having some issues with the service.

I've taken a look at the account and our system has identified errors on the broadband network for several days. This could be causing slow speeds or a degradation of service (pixelating/buffering whilst streaming). I am going to pop you a PM now so we can take a closer look into this.

Hope to hear from you soon.

[Ayisha_B]

Thanks for confirming the requested details via PM @willypimpernel

I've booked a technician for you to come out and have a look into the issue with your service. You can find confirmation of the visit via your online account.

Please let me know if there are any problems with the date or time and I can look to reschedule this for you. In regards to the appointment there are some details you need to know about. There will be no charge for this visit unless:

•The technician diagnoses the faults as not being caused by our network/equipment
•The technician discovers that the fault or problem relates to your equipment
•The technician discovers that the fault or problem relates to any system that we are not responsible for

The technician will confirm during their visit if any of these instances apply, and if so, a £25 charge will be applied to your account.

 Please ensure there is someone over the age of 18 present at the time of the visit. If you need to change or cancel your appointment you can also do this online or via the MyVM app by 4pm the day before the appointment.

If you do miss an agreed appointment for any reason, a £25 missed appointment charge will be applied to your account on the day of the appointment.

Let us know how the visit goes!