Aol speed keeps dropping and disconnecting

[uwais]

HI guys

Im new to this forum I live in UK.

Please can you help me resolve my internet issue my speed keeps dropping and at times DSL will disconnect when it rains or when it’s windy. I have logged a call with AOL on the 6^th Sept still facing the same issue.
when I have a good connection I have speeds between 5-6mb but when its damp or windy the speed drops to 0.25mbps.

I was told I need a home visit  to ensure everything is ok within the property before BT (line supplier) can be sent out
I have had a home visit by the AOL engineer who couldn’t find a fault within my property  (20^th Sept) line test was 4mb on a sunny day.
line test done by AOL show faults always escalated to networking team.
on one occasion I was told there was a issue found with my profile and will take 3 days for DLM to reset. Issue still faced after this.
They say will call back in 48 hours but never seem to call back and when I call after 48 hours the ticket is closed down as there was no update on the call. I have now started to call within 48 hours to ensure the call remains open but I am always told the call handler will escalate back to the Network Team. Despite reminding AOL the issue is faced by bad weather they have not sent out a BT engineer to date.
I have contacted BT and due to calls being ok and issue faced by the internet I was advised to contact my ISP and they need to open a call with them.

 

I have done the following router connected to test socket
Replaced the router and filters
Reinstalled everything on my PC
got my LAN Cable tested and also tried a different cable.
tried another PC
Tried on the wireless

replaced my home telephone.

I am still faced with the same issues after this.

 

Please can the experts here advise where the fault can be?
what needs to be done to resolve this?
If this is a line issue how can I get this resolved?
 

Thanks in advance for all responces.

 

Regards

Uwais

[mudmanc4]

Hey uwais , welcome to testmy.net forum.

 

 First I would assume there is a tel line connection loose or frayed at or around the drop. Although with you saying there is a speed drop, not a total disconnect, this could be a direct short - hence the damp as well as windy. 

 

Only advice i could give is to relentlessly use the call center, when I say relentless, I mean to say be kind and assertive the same. Call back much more frequently than 48 hours or less, if you can call several times a day. You know what has taken place in the conversation thus far, use it to passively aggressively push your way to getting the attention of a higher tiered tech. Or someone that can actually diagnose from their knowledge instead of just passing a ticket.  

 

 You could also take another road, call in and stake a claim that you are considering canceling the service due to not being able to utilize the service you've signed for. With reasons why , keep to the repeated contacts and tickets, many times this gets the attention needed. 

 

Please post back frequently as to your outcome , when you can yes ? 

[uwais]

Thanks for your reply.

 

I called back today I was told end of road nothing can be done as line test was ok refused to let me speak to a manager, wants me to monitor for 72 hours and call back if threes still an issue. Tried explaining the issue hang up on me.

 

Called cancelations who are only interested in me taking my tel line with them after telling them if you cant provide me with internet how do you expect me to take my line with them they spoke to technical and transferred the call but call got disconnected on two occasions.

 

Third try update sent back to the network team all recommended tests have been carried out wait 48 hours for update

 

Spent a total of 3 hours on the phone with AOL.today.

[uwais]

Had a thunder stom no connection but connection came back during call as usual wait 48 hours. This time been told BT should be in touch within 48hours if they don’t then AOL will follow up the call.

 

I was charged £50 for an engineer’s visit despite having no fault within my property and being told will not be charged for the visit, manager confirmed invalid charge and refunded back

 

I also spoke to a Customer services manager as I am told contradicting information by the reps on the phone.
Inconsistent info regarding reasons for call closures.
Inconsistent info regarding contact SMS when no one has actually attempted contacting me.
Inconsistent info regarding the complains process.
Inconsistent info regarding formal written complaints. Given last months charges refunded as compensation.

told will talk to the faults team and attemt to speed up the process.

 

Spent another 2 hours on the calls.

[mudmanc4]

Now you are getting somewhere. 

 

Some companies seem to assume the " give the customer the run around until they just stop bothering us " mentality. 

 

Having this thread also is and will help you.

 

Thanks for keeping us updated, I for one will cheer when you finally get whatever small issue is causing your problem repaired. All the while watching the carnage the company is causing themselves in order to avoid taking proper measures to insure the product you have purchased is delivered. 

 

Kudo's on your tenacity

[Roco]

 

Had a thunder stom no connection but connection came back during call as usual wait 48 hours. This time been told BT should be in touch within 48hours if they don’t then AOL will follow up the call.

 

I was charged £50 for an engineer’s visit despite having no fault within my property and being told will not be charged for the visit, manager confirmed invalid charge and refunded back

 

I also spoke to a Customer services manager as I am told contradicting information by the reps on the phone.

Inconsistent info regarding reasons for call closures.

Inconsistent info regarding contact SMS when no one has actually attempted contacting me.

Inconsistent info regarding the complains process.

Inconsistent info regarding formal written complaints. Given last months charges refunded as compensation.

told will talk to the faults team and attemt to speed up the process.

 

Spent another 2 hours on the calls.

Hi Uwais ,

just scanning through your post , indeed you seem to have a line fault,

probably a poor connection on the overhead copper ( hopefully, as some are aluminum , indeed the fault might clear in dry weather ,

I have no experience with AOL , and the modem/routers they use on ADSL

as far as logging faults goes the DMT tool is excellent if it's available

for your modem/router , also shows a graph with Signal to noise ratio etc

and logs drop outs , ( and much more ) ,http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/DMTv8.htm , it's standard must have for line and speed chasers in the UK,

indeed no point in changing ISP until the fault gets sorted ,

BTW , during the storm/rain does your phone still work ? .

if so try a line test , just dial 0 wait to the tone stops,

you shouldn't hear any hisses or crackles ,

Regards

Roco UK

[uwais]

Thanks for your reply and appolagies fo late response

AOL / Talktalk use the Huawei Echolife HG532 which isn't supported by the DMT Tool.

 

I managed to dig up my old Thomson router which was supported by V7.

this is the results

 

Number of resets             :  2

 

Errors
   Received FEC           :   2690983

   Received CRC           :      1660

   Received HEC           :      1470

   Transmitted FEC        :    373202

   Transmitted CRC        :     52016

   Transmitted HEC        :      4456

 

  Near end failures since reset

   Loss of frame          :         0 failures

   Loss of signal         :         0 failures

   Loss of power          :         0 failures

   Errored seconds        :       298 seconds 

 

  Near end failures last 15 minutes

   Loss of frame          :         0 seconds

   Loss of signal         :         0 seconds

   Loss of power          :         0 seconds

   Errored seconds        :         0 seconds

 

  Near end failures current day

   Errored seconds        :         0 seconds

 

  Near end failures previous day

   Errored seconds        :        10 seconds

 

DSL-Link Uptime :  0 days, 23:41:41

 

 

I have also attached two print screans with the graphs

 

Please could you explain the errors, wht I'm I looking for in the graphs

.

 

When the speed is effected my line is clear I did notice calls seem to be getting silent but not disconnected (contacted BT and this has now been resolved but still facing speed issues DSL has become more stable and disconnections are less).

[uwais]

after contacting AOL spending several hours on the phone daily, they are now sending out a BT SFI (Special faults investigation) engineer date still to be confirmed.. I shall keep you guys posted with what happens.

 

Has anyone had any experience with them? Tried google but noticed it’s a money making scheme where they try charging for anything possible even if issues are with the line. .... But the best reviews are from the customers so if anyone has had any experience please can you share them.

[CA3LE]

after contacting AOL spending several hours on the phone daily, they are now sending out a BT SFI (Special faults investigation) engineer date still to be confirmed.. I shall keep you guys posted with what happens.

 

Has anyone had any experience with them? Tried google but noticed it’s a money making scheme where they try charging for anything possible even if issues are with the line. .... But the best reviews are from the customers so if anyone has had any experience please can you share them.

 

Haven't heard of BT SFI yet... let us know how it goes.  Don't let them rip you off!

[tommie gorman]

_{Roco would know better. He has years with BT. PM him maybe.}

[uwais]

Had the visit today and my luck no rain when the engineer came. The line test passed as expected. I explained the situation and was told not much can be done if no fault is detected on the tests. After I showed him the results from the DMT tool He spoke to someone over the phone (said the people between Openreach and ISP) and made some changes and said the current download speed set was higher than what the line can handle I will need to wait 48 hours for the line to adapt to the changes and this should minimise the errors. He then went to do some checks at the exchange and I didn’t hear back.

 

No fault on premises so I shouldn’t be charged as I was told by AOL (will need to wait till I’m billed to find out)

[uwais]

I have been monitoring the situation for exactly a month had no sync disconnections average line sync of 10448 KBits/s speeds of 6mb. but unfortunately my speed issue has now returned again yesterday internet speeds just drops randomly to around 100 KBits/s.with the sync at 10448 KBits/s currently router reads (Disconnected 20 mins ago) Connection Status DSL synchronization status Up DSL up time 00:20:24 Line Status Upstream line rate (kbit/s) 440 Downstream line rate (kbit/s) 10448 Line standard ADSL2+ Channel type Interleaved Upstream SNR (dB) 20.8 Downstream SNR (dB) 2.4 Upstream interleave depth 8 Downstream interleave depth 64 Upstream line attenuation (dB) 22.3 Downstream line attenuation (dB) 41 Upstream output power (dBmV) 11.5 Downstream output power (dBmV) 19.5 Upstream CRC 18865 Downstream CRC 0 Upstream FEC 42871 Downstream FEC 16 Called AOL yesterday told failed line test a few mins later the internet disconnects ~ no internet access at all Called back today password changed internet back on -~asked for update from yesterday I am told no issues found no packets were lost during the tests (however I had no internet connection) I am also told line rate changed to 8MB and that should solve the issue and advised not to restart the router for 1 week and call back if issue is not resolved. an hour later back to slow speeds Called back again I am now told there is an unstable connection the channel has been changed. I will need to wait 48 to 72 hours after the change was accepted (changing the password) before anything can be done. AOL is Monitoring the Line.

[ybnrmalatall]

aol still exists?

that name carries so much junk mail nostalgia ಥ_ಥ

(from aol itself of course)

remember those free aol cd's you would get in your snail mail? 

I think I used to collect mine and when I got enough I would shove them in some random persons mailbox

they would open it and it would be a waterfall of aol lol

[uwais]

AOL bought out by Talk talk they don't like using the AOL name anymore.

 

Got a call from AOL issue found in the exchange it has now been resolved been told wait 48 to 72 hours for the line to get stable again.

[uwais]

Issue still not resolved back to square one constant disconnections and slow speeds looks like daily calls to AOL once again. . 

[uwais]

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas mine was spoiled by AOL. Issue still ongoing daily calls and false call back promises still taking place received a text message on Christmas day

 

"We tried to contact you by telephone and try to discuss your recent complaint, Unfortunately we have been unable to speak to you. If we do not hear from you within 5 working days, we will assume that everything has been resolved and therefore close your complaint down on our records"

 

no attempt made to contact me.

 

call still with networking team (since 13th December) and no updates from them. yet ...

 

asked to wait another 24 -72 hours for  a call back. I have asked for the department above the Faults Management Team I am told it is the CEO department,  Fault management, escalations and  validation team which is different to FMT will need to Analise the situation before it can be sent to the CEO Team who would then escalate to the CEO Team if needed (after consulting with customer) I have told the Faults manager i will be escalating if he fail to call back with an update or get the issue fixed as this issue has been ingoing since 6th SEPT. (3 Months)

 

Lets see what happens now.

[uwais]

missed the call from AOL called back and was told issue has been resolved by the engineering team and all investigations have now been completed  line is now stable and hasn't dropped in 24 hours. speed issues should now be resolved I am told to monitor the line and call back if I face the same issue.,

unfortunately still facing the same issue decided to call back 3 hours later this time I am told the call is still with the Networking team and still waiting for an update. A note has been added to the call for the networking team and will need to wait till Wednesday 1st for an update promised will call back on Wednesday to update even if it means a call to say still waiting for an update..

[mudmanc4]

Hahaa yes ok , CEO this and that my tukkas . Just fix the lines already

[uwais]

Aol now calling back when promised. line test completes but with errors still waiting for an update from the Networking Team (I am told nothing can be done until AOL get an update from the networking team (BT))

[uwais]

written complain sent to CEO team issue still not resolved

[ArronStone]

o man its like 2 months!time to chang your ISP1

[uwais]

AOL site says response within 5 working days still had no response from CEO Team. will send another letter.

[mudmanc4]

keep at it, but consider it a hobby at this point. With a smile of course, in time they should opt to get the lines fixed. Although obviously not a walk over and flip the switch item. 

[uwais]

AOL site says response within 5 days but still no response sent another letter this time with a deadline of 5 days response before escalating to the ombudsman.

[uwais]

Issue still on going now escalated to ombudsman.