18-08-2018, 11:50 AM
Hi again, OldSparky,
Regarding Q1, we might have a problem...
I remembered that you gave me you home phone number many years ago (so we could arrange delivery of your PC IIRC). So I took the liberty of entering that into the BT Wholesale test page. This didn't return a result, leaving me to wonder if you've changed your phone number since then...
But you are with TalkTalk, so perhaps that's why? With that in mind, I remembered that one of my relatives is with TalkTalk, so I entered their phone number into the BT Wholesale checker, and got the same result. Hmm...
However, given that you're close to the exchange, and are getting good upload speeds, I'd suggest that your line is good for at least 8Mb/s download. If you wanted to check the potential of your telephone line, I suggest that you go to a competitor's website and enter your phone number and post code - they will give you an estimate of the speed you can expect to get from them (no commitment to buy anything!).
Because of the good upload speed, I have my suspicions, but before expanding on that, please can we think about Q2.
Have you ever logged into your router before?
If not, it's really easy. You need to know the IP address of the router first of all - this is something like 192.168.1.1 - and you need to type that into the address bar of Firefox. Simples!
If you don't know the IP address of your router, here's how you find it:
1. Click on Start and type "cmd" (quotes not needed, but won't hurt). After a couple of seconds of thinking about it, you will be offered "Command Prompt". Click on that.
1.1 Alternatively, you can press "R" while holding down the Windows key on the keyboard. This pops up the "Run" dialogue. Type "cmd" in there and hit enter.
2. In the black box that appears, type the following:
A load of text will appear on the screen in response to that - you might need to scroll up and down, but you should find the words "Default Gateway" in amongst it all. Make a note of the numbers - it will be something like 192.168.1.1. This is the IP address of your router.
3. Type those numbers into Firefox. You need to type them into the Address Bar, where you would normally type website address - where the cursor is by default when you open a new tab. Just type the numbers - you don't need anything like "http://" at the front. Then hit enter...
4. You should now be seeing a page in Firefox that has been generated by your router - you might well recognise the logo of the manufacturer, for example. Somewhere on that page will be a place to enter a password (and probably a username first of all). If you don't know these details, they will most likely be found on the router itself - for Talktalk routers there is usually a sticker giving the login details on the bottom of the router. Enter these, and see if it lets you in!
4.1 Note that sometimes, before you see a page from the router, you might get a username/password popup first. If so, that's fine - just follow the rest of the instructions in step 4.
5. Now that you're finally in, you will see several menus and options. At this stage, I can't provide specific help because every router is different. However, you're looking for a page that reports the status of the current ADSL connection - and buried away on that page will be something called "line speed" or "sync speed". We need to know what these figures are - there will be a number for upload and one for download. These numbers are the "raw" speed that your modem/router has negotiated with its counterpart at the exchange, and will help us to decide what we do next.
5.1 If you tell us the make and model of your router, it's possible that I might be able to come up with more specific instructions. Or perhaps a member here - if they have the same router - will be able to assist.
Again, it's really important that we press on with these basic checks, as if a visiting engineer determines that the fault in with your PC or internal phone wiring, and not the phone line, then you could be charged for the visit.
I hope this all makes sense - please try your best with this.
Mark
Regarding Q1, we might have a problem...
I remembered that you gave me you home phone number many years ago (so we could arrange delivery of your PC IIRC). So I took the liberty of entering that into the BT Wholesale test page. This didn't return a result, leaving me to wonder if you've changed your phone number since then...
But you are with TalkTalk, so perhaps that's why? With that in mind, I remembered that one of my relatives is with TalkTalk, so I entered their phone number into the BT Wholesale checker, and got the same result. Hmm...
However, given that you're close to the exchange, and are getting good upload speeds, I'd suggest that your line is good for at least 8Mb/s download. If you wanted to check the potential of your telephone line, I suggest that you go to a competitor's website and enter your phone number and post code - they will give you an estimate of the speed you can expect to get from them (no commitment to buy anything!).
Because of the good upload speed, I have my suspicions, but before expanding on that, please can we think about Q2.
Have you ever logged into your router before?
If not, it's really easy. You need to know the IP address of the router first of all - this is something like 192.168.1.1 - and you need to type that into the address bar of Firefox. Simples!
If you don't know the IP address of your router, here's how you find it:
1. Click on Start and type "cmd" (quotes not needed, but won't hurt). After a couple of seconds of thinking about it, you will be offered "Command Prompt". Click on that.
1.1 Alternatively, you can press "R" while holding down the Windows key on the keyboard. This pops up the "Run" dialogue. Type "cmd" in there and hit enter.
2. In the black box that appears, type the following:
Code:
ipconfig /allA load of text will appear on the screen in response to that - you might need to scroll up and down, but you should find the words "Default Gateway" in amongst it all. Make a note of the numbers - it will be something like 192.168.1.1. This is the IP address of your router.
3. Type those numbers into Firefox. You need to type them into the Address Bar, where you would normally type website address - where the cursor is by default when you open a new tab. Just type the numbers - you don't need anything like "http://" at the front. Then hit enter...
4. You should now be seeing a page in Firefox that has been generated by your router - you might well recognise the logo of the manufacturer, for example. Somewhere on that page will be a place to enter a password (and probably a username first of all). If you don't know these details, they will most likely be found on the router itself - for Talktalk routers there is usually a sticker giving the login details on the bottom of the router. Enter these, and see if it lets you in!
4.1 Note that sometimes, before you see a page from the router, you might get a username/password popup first. If so, that's fine - just follow the rest of the instructions in step 4.
5. Now that you're finally in, you will see several menus and options. At this stage, I can't provide specific help because every router is different. However, you're looking for a page that reports the status of the current ADSL connection - and buried away on that page will be something called "line speed" or "sync speed". We need to know what these figures are - there will be a number for upload and one for download. These numbers are the "raw" speed that your modem/router has negotiated with its counterpart at the exchange, and will help us to decide what we do next.
5.1 If you tell us the make and model of your router, it's possible that I might be able to come up with more specific instructions. Or perhaps a member here - if they have the same router - will be able to assist.
Again, it's really important that we press on with these basic checks, as if a visiting engineer determines that the fault in with your PC or internal phone wiring, and not the phone line, then you could be charged for the visit.
I hope this all makes sense - please try your best with this.
Mark
