No One Can Solve This DSL Issue

[celticsdiehard]

I initially ordered Bellsouth DSL about five years ago. If I remember correctly, it was the DSL light plan. At that time, I rarely downloaded large files and wasn't particularly concerned with download speed. As time went on, and an increasing amount of video and music was made available to stream, I noticed my speed was just not up to par. So, I called Bellsouth and had them upgrade me to the 1.5Mbps speed. Immediately, I noticed my videos were still stuttering quite a bit. However, I lived with it. Some time later, I discovered through several speed test sites that I was only pulling down about .800-1.0Mbps. So, I contacted AT&T and they suggested I move to the 3Mbps plan, which I did. Again, I checked my speed, and although it had risen a bit (roughly 1.0-1.5Mbps), I knew something had to be wrong. So, I called AT&T again. They convinced me to move to the 6.0Mbps plan, which I did. Ran more speed tests, and found my speed to fluctuate wildly between 2.5-4.5Mbps. To make a long story short, more calls to AT&T brought four or five service techs to the house over the course of a few months. They tested this, and tested that, and rewired my jack, and swapped out some stuff on the side of the house. Still, no change. Each tech checked my line, said it was basically perfect, and that I should be getting better than the advertised 6.0 speed. They all just kind of shrugged their shoulders and gave up. My modem stats are below: Broadband DSL Line DSL Sync Up Internet Connection Up User ID *personal information removed for safety* Downstream Rate 8000 (Kbits/Sec) Upstream Rate 512 (Kbits/Sec) WAN IP Address *personal information removed for safety* Gateway IP Address *personal information removed for safety* MAC Address *personal information removed for safety* Primary DNS *personal information removed for safety* Secondary DNS *personal information removed for safety* Primary DNS Name dns.bna.bellsouth.net Secondary DNS Name dns.asm.bellsouth.net Funny thing is, my brother-in-law started having some connection issues with his DSL, as well. I walked up the street (we live in the same neighborhood) and decided to run a speedtest. Same exact issue as me. His speed was nowhere near what he was paying for (I think he was on the 3.0Mbps plan and was getting like 1.0Mbps) and it was fluctuating pretty bad. I've spent months troubleshooting this issue. Unplugged all the phones, connected computer directly to modem, filters on everything (except modem), AT&T loaded McAfee, etc., etc. It's important to note my upload speed is great (avg. 41 Kbits). Only the download is creating issues. So, with my brother-in-law and I having the same issue, and only living a few houses apart, could it be a bad card in the DSLAM that we share? I'm just totally frustrated because none of the techs seem to know what the issue could be. In fact, the last tech stated that the speed test sites are all wrong and that if the modem says I'm getting 8000Kbits, then I'm just fine. I think he just wanted to go home . Any advice/support will be appreciated more than you know.

Minor update: I talked to AT&T the other evening and they moved me to a different "port". Nothing changed. Speed is still a whopping 2.5-4.5. On occasion I've seen the speed spike to 5Mbps, but not very often and only for a split second. A line specialist is coming to the house Friday morning. Is a line specialist different than the techs who have been to the house?

[Karen_2]

Hi celticsdiehard!

I am sorry you've been having issues with your internet service and getting a slow internet connection for quite a while now. If you have the 3.0-6.0MBps speed package, you should always receive the guaranteed speed of 3.0MBps and higher. Since you've already made sure that your DSL equipment are working and setup properly, and our field technicians confirmed that the physical lines are fine, definitely the slowdown is not due to an issue on your end. There's a possibility that AT&T cannot handle the network load that may cause the internet speed to slow down at times. Slower than normal speeds can occur due to local Internet congestion (Internet Traffic) when many people are online. The routers and servers used to provide the service may experience a technical issue or may be overloaded that temporarily slows down the speed. A possible resolution that AT&T can do is to move/rebuild your service to a different router/server. We send out field technicians/line specialist to check the AT&T's and other outside lines.

Again, I am really sorry for all the troubles you've experienced. We value you and your business. Thank you for giving us feedback so we can better serve our members.

[celticsdiehard]

Hi Karen, Thank you so much for your reply. A congested router/server makes perfect sense. How can I be moved to a different router/server? I'm ready to give anything a shot.

[Karen_2]

As a last resort, the field technician/line specialist may request or process to rebuild you on another remote server/router. Don't forget to mention this to the service technician that will check your line this coming Friday.

[celticsdiehard]

The line specialist came and, as usual, my speed was all over the place 2.5Mbps - 4.5Mbps and my lines/signal are excellent. The line specialist wasn't sure what Karen meant about requesting to rebuild me on a different server/router. He stated there have been multiple issues from this neighborhood and he would let his supervisor know. He thinks there may be an issue with the box feeding this neighborhood, which different technicians work on. I've had this issue for years now, so how can I ensure something is actually done? How many phone calls and technician visits does it take for AT&T to resolve the problem? How difficult can it be to send some guys out to the feeder box for my neighborhood, check it out, and fix it?

[celticsdiehard]

Well, had another frustrating conversation with AT&T Saturday morning. They rebuilt my profile twice and said there is absolutely no reason why I should not be getting a consistent 6Mbps down, based on my modem stats. Their only explanation is that it must be something inside my house. So, the signal to the modem is excellent, but once it leaves the modem and enters the computer it bounces all over the place? Even though I'm directly connected to the modem, could something in my house really be causing this? I'm not buying it especially since several of the techs connected directly to the box on the side of house, got excellent line signal, but download was AT LEAST half of what I should be getting. Look, I don't expect to get 6Mbps. 5 would make me very happy. I tend to agree with a poster on DSL Reports that it's an oversold network (although it only seems to affect people in my neighborhood). I'm sick of fighting with AT&T. Life is too short. Seriously, no one can solve this dsl issue.

[wd511]

My dsl peridodically flashes red and then comes back a while. No point in calling as it could be back on again. Getting very annoying as I am in the middle of ordering something and the system goes up and down.

[Penny_1]

Hello wd511, If the DSL light flashes red on your modem/router, this is an intermittent connection issue. Sporadic or intermittent loss of you connection to the Internet is often caused by electronic or physical interference. If your Internet connection is coming and going, you may want to check the following things: Cordless phones and other electronic devices are the most common cause of intermittent Internet connectivity issues. Cordless phone systems running at 2.4 GHz often run at the same frequency as your DSL modem or home networking router. If you are experiencing intermittent connectivity issues, you may need to replace your cordless phone with one that runs at a different frequency. Large metal objects and electrical equipment such as televisions, home entertainment electronics, and microwaves can also cause interference. Try to keep your DSL modem and wireless home networking router away from these sources of electronic interference. Check with your neighbor. You may both be running wireless networks at the same frequency. The solution may be as easy as changing the channel of your wireless router. Physical obstructions such as walls, floors, home entertainment electronics, appliances and furniture can cause interference if the wireless signals have to pass through them. Move your DSL modem or wireless home networking router to another location so it isn't in the line-of-sight of these potential interference factors. Sporadic or intermittent loss of you connection to the Internet is often caused by electronic or physical interference. If your Internet connection is coming and going, you may want to check the following things: Your phone jack may be defective or damaged. Try connecting the modem to a different phone jack, if possible. If the hiss and background noise is gone, the initial phone jack is defective and should be replaced.Sporadic or intermittent loss of you connection to the Internet is often caused by electronic or physical interference. If your Internet connection is coming and going, you may want to check the following things: The RJ-11 phone cord that connects your modem to the phone jack may be damaged and need replacing. If your phone cord is over 14 feet long, the signal may be weakened sufficiently that it is intermittently lost.Sporadic or intermittent loss of you connection to the Internet is often caused by electronic or physical interference. If your Internet connection is coming and going, you may want to check the following things: DSL filters are needed on all phone devices except the DSL modem. If you have more than one phone line entering your home, DSL filters should also be installed on the second line, even if it is not connected to your DSL equipment. Phone ringing disconnects DSL service If your DSL service is disconnecting when your phone rings, you probably have a phone somewhere in the house/office that doesn't have a DSL filter installed between the phone and the wall jack. Sporadic or intermittent loss of you connection to the Internet is often caused by electronic or physical interference. If your Internet connection is coming and going, you may want to check the following things: The inside phone wiring in your home may also cause intermittent loss of the DSL signal. Shorts, grounds, poor line quality, etc. can degrade the DSL signal. After trying all the troubleshooting steps mentioned above, if the issue persists, it is recommended that you immaterially contact AT&T technical support, if require technical support advisor will run a line test on your AT&T DSL line. If you are in, 'AR, CA, CT, IL, IN, KS, MI, MO, NV, OH, OK, TX, & WI ', you may click on the following link to connect to AT&T eChat technical support. https://pattta.att.motive.com/netagent/questionnaire_c2c_dsl_sw.aspx I regret all the uncertainty you have experienced. Please feel free to reply to the post if you have any further questions.

[celticsdiehard]

The following was posted on the dslreports AT&T Southeastern forum and seems to describe my issue fairly accurately. Since this seems to be happening to multiple people in my neighborhood, resetting the CCU seems like the fix. If anyone can offer some insight on how this can be accomplished, I would be most grateful. said by tel601 : Is the slow speed a constant or does it vary? If it varies the answers below does not apply. Looking at the sync rate of 8000 Kbs , I'll take an educated guess that you are served from Disc*s MX ONU ped. I can think of two main possibilities. First the profile is set wrong for your account (your account is set for 1.5 meg service instead of 6 meg). Second the Cell Controller Unit (CCU) for the Disc*s shelf that you work on has encountered a error and is having data issues, this problem is known by Marconi an I have seen it in the field. If it is the everybody around you will have the same issue. Fix for the profile is to correct the profile entry. The fix for the CCU is to reboot, the CCU either by manually re-seating the unit or by a software restart, either way it is a touchy thing to do as it shuts off all adsl to that system for a period of time. Because of this it sometimes takes some permission from some people higher than the techs for this card to be cycled. Also the reboot is not handled by a normal adsl tech.

[Gravijah]

I also have been having this same issue,with loss of connection sporadically and viewing the red light on when it does happen,are you using a wireless connection? It would seem that a lot of the answers dealing with interference issues would relate to a wireless signal from modem/router to computer which one would assume wouldn't necessarily cause the red light to come on as the loss of connection is a different issue than the loss of wireless signal? Has any of the suggested fixes helped or are you still having issue?

[celticsdiehard]

Not a wireless issue. Happens with wireless and wired and seems to have affected several people in my neighborhood. AT&T tier 2 support is working on it, which I'm grateful for. It's just unfortunate it took me years to have the issue escalated to tier 2. Not only that, but it was only escalated thanks to my posts on dslreports.com. Those guys are great and actually try to resolve your issue instead of sending tech after tech to your house for an issue that is obviously further up the network. Doesn't make sense to me.

[celticsdiehard]

What years of tech support calls and line tech visits could not do, - Keep it spam-free -

.  Those guys are great!  Hours upon countless hours of fiddling with this, tinkering with that, one support call after another...  After line techs told me there was nothing that could be done.  After one line tech told me all the speed test sites must be wrong...  The guys at dslreports new something wasn't right and actually tried to help.  From my first post on  - Keep it spam-free - until the issue was solved was about three weeks, give or take.  Those guys are awesome!!!