Download speed drops

[DoubleP]

My 1 Gb download speed regularly goes down to 550 Mb, and seemed to be limited there until I restart my modem.  It stays fine for a few days, but eventually seemingly goes back to the 550 Mb limits...  restarting the modem re-established the download speed I am subscribed for...  anyone else noticed this issue?

[ZaneP]

Hi @DoubleP ,

My speeds have been consistent. You should to talk to Bell support about your download speed issue, but first I think you should run the Virtual Repair Tool: https://support.bell.ca/Troubleshooting_tools_and_Help/Internet . It could help diagnose any problems.

[DoubleP]

rebooting the modem restore the full speed for about 1 day.  today, the modem speed test shows that the speed is throttled at 550mb once again.

[DoubleP]

thank you.  one of the first thing the virtual repair tool is rebooting the modem... since the download speed problem goes away for a few hours after a modem reboot, everything looks fine.

[DoubleP]

Talking with a bell technician, over the chat, he initiated a firmware upgrade on the HH4000.  It has been two days now, the speed is still 1Gb, as it should be.  So far so good, hopefully the firmware update did the trick.

[ZaneP]

Good to know there's a stable 1Gb. What firmware version are you on now? I'm still at 1.75, and an update is being pushed out. 

[DoubleP]

1.7.5 as well… I did not pay attention to what it was before, tbh.  You think an update is being pushed out above this version?

[ZaneP]

1.7..6 is being pushed out. I know some people have had it since the first week of September.

[DoubleP]

nope... today it unfortunately went down again to what seems a deliberate 550 Mbs limit cap...

[BellPatricia]

Great work and troubleshooting guys! This definitely seems odd.

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[DoubleP]

This problem is still there.  I has regular drops of download speed last fall that Bell technicians believed they would fix via a modem replacement. 

I received a new modem in October and I was hoping it would help resolve the stability of my 1Gbps service.  Unfortunatly this isnt the case.  I noticed my download speed being capped around 200mbps since novembre, I was too busy to reach out to technical service and start again the waltz of 1st level support rebooting my modem, fixing the problem for a couple of days only for having it capped again to 200mbps after a couple days.

From my screenshot, the download speed drops around the 190mbs after a few days of uptime; rebooting the modem re-instate the proper download speed, but only temporarily.

Being from the IT Infrastructure industry, I asked around if any of my collagues experienced similar issues and I was told that the fibre optic signals strenght management were problematic on Bell networks still using Huawei network switches that were not fully compatible/up to date with the modem provided in customers' household; the signal strenght monitoring between the swith and the modem was erroneous, causing the switch to downgrade signals and impacting service to my modem (systematically downgrading my download speed to a fifth of what it should be)  Bell technicians who replaced these Huawey switches fixed the issue.

Hoping this insight could help solving my issue in some way

[ZaneP]

Hi @DoubleP ,

Unfortunately you're not the only person who's posted about this issue lately. Have a look at this thread, in which someone describes a very similar problem. 

https://forum.bell.ca/t5/Internet/Internet-Speed/td-p/11665

If the modem replacement didn't solve this, and If it's a Bell infrastructure problem you need to make a Bell engineering team aware of it.There's not much the first level of tech support can do for you, but you could call and request a conversation with a higher level of support.

If you're not making any headway then you have a couple of options:

1. Use the resolve-a-concern route. https://support.bell.ca/resolve-a-concern

2. Post the issue in the DSLR, Bell Direct forum (link below). This forum is monitored by some Bell tech employees, and they are very responsive to getting problems solved. Your post is private: the content can be seen only by you and the Bell techs. You will need to create a user account to post in this forum.

Give them very specific information, including your suspicion that a network switch may be the problem.

https://www.dslreports.com/forum/sympatdirect

Hope this helps. Keep us posted!

Cheers,

ZaneP

I don't work for Bell, I'm just a customer

[DoubleP]

This morning, a technician came over and re-routed my fiber to a different neighbourhood connection, hoping this would help.  The WAN devices in my sector are mostly Alcatel switches, so... no faulty Huawei.  I doubt that the technician's action, despite his best efforts, will make a difference.

But I am still hopeful; the DSL Report tip was excellent, @ZaneP, funny enough, I have been there in the past, completely forgot about its existence...  Anyhow; talking with a Bell Network engineer, he applied a temporary fix to hopefully prevent my profile to be switched to a slower speed.  Apparently, under certain conditions, some Juniper appliances switch clients to a erroneous speed profile.

[ZaneP]

Hi @DoubleP 

Fingers crossed that the temporary fix will hold! 

Your comment was very interesting:

" Apparently, under certain conditions, some Juniper appliances switch clients to a erroneous speed profile."

I know that some people have an incorrect speed profile, especially when they've upgraded their service, but I didn't know it can sometimes be caused by a Juniper appliance.

Cheers,

ZaneP

[DoubleP]

I am hoping this will work as well. 

I had a hunch that it was a speed profile bug since the first moments I noticed the very precise and consistent download speed limit adjustments (550mbps on first modem and 190mbps for the replacement modem) because each time, my upload speed remained stable and un-changed (820mbps)...  

I am not sure what conditions are creating this bug, not sure if it is related to clients consumption or external factors.

The Juniper appliances needing a fix is also news to me...  Hoping our friends at Bell are able to find a more permanent fix sooner than later.

Technical support scripts should also be updated in order to avoid repeating the very long troubleshooting journey I had to undertake.