Recommend adsl2 plus modem

[Muse]

I was getting 5.5Mbps DL speeds WIFI a few weeks ago, noticed a drop to 4.5, called my ISP (sonic.net), they said they'd send me a new DSL/phone filter/splitter and have an AT&T guy come out. He rewired the box and checked the line coming in from the street. I had to leave before he came back to my house so I don't know if he found anything of interest checking that.

The new DSL/phone filter/splitter finally came and exchanging it for the old one I found that the speed actually decreased a little to 4.2Mbps. I call ISP today and they say they see nothing wrong with my line and suggest that my modem may be going bad (it's a Comtrend CT-5072T adsl2 plus modem I got from the ISP that I've had a few years). Sonic.net (my ISP) suggested renting me a Pace 4111n modem/router (@ $6.50/mo), I said no, I have a good Asus N router, maybe I'll get a new adsl2 plus modem.

Can I get a recommendation for just what I might want in an adsl2 plus modem? I don't know networking hardware and the issues. Thanks!

 

[JackMDS]

Rule 1 - Download Bandwidth should be measured via computer connected with a Wire (Not Wireless)

Rule 2 - DSL if it does yield the correct "Speed" should be tried with the Modem connected temp to theTelco, NID ( the box that the service is connected to the house wiring) in order to bypass all the internal.Tel. lines that might be faulty and or insert noise that reduce the Internet riding signal..

If the Speed at the NID is slow, then the Telco should come and make sure that the local area wires (copper) are OK.

If you have a problem and they claim that their computer show that everything is OK do not accept it, their claims of what they can see from their Central computers is Grossly Exaggerated.

 

[Muse]

Yeah, I'm thinking that they are snowing me. May have something to do with the fact that I discovered a couple of weeks ago that they have been charging me rent since March 2013 of $6.50/month for a router/modem that I never had! Their guy brought it, we tried it, it didn't help and he put it back in his truck, a Pace 4111n modem/router. However, he evidently didn't inform them that he didn't leave it with me. They said they'd take my word for it and wouldn't charge me $90 for not returning it but they wouldn't credit me for all those monthly charges. I called back a few days later and said I wanted them to credit me and the guy talked to his supervisor and then tells me they'd credit me half. I asked to talk to the supervisor and got a call from one later in the day, leaving a message that they decided to give me full credit of over $307. I think they looked at my statistics and realized that I use a very modest amount of bandwidth. I don't stream movies, play online games. I'm the only person in the house. I watch occasional Youtube videos, other than that I use very little bandwidth.

In any case, I think maybe they decided to not respond to my entreaties about poor download speed. My feeling is that I should bitch bitch bitch until they itch! Fix me! 4Mbps is the slowest I've ever gotten from them. Bad modem? That's the question. I have another adsl2 plus modem, a ZTE 100II, and I tried it today and it was slightly slower, around 3.88Mbps. Would a new modem boost me over 5Mbps? Maybe, but I'm not optimistic, I think there's something else going on. Thing is, ~3 weeks ago I was getting 5.5Mbps.

I'm finding right now that my Wifi is about the same speed as my ethernet connected machine. Today I tried hooking the modem directly to the homerun that comes from the box, but the improvement was very little.

I'm wondering if the AT&T guy who came here last week missed something or screwed something up. If anything, my speed decreased at that point.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yeah, don't try to speedtest over WiFi, it's nearly always inaccurate, to some degree.

I would try doing some time-of-day speedtests, and see if it changes during different times of the day. It might just be "peak hours", and they might not be able to do much about it. Your line itself could be fine.

Are you accessing your modem's line stats, and looking at the actual rate negotiated by the line, or just internet download tests? The former could be indicative of line issues, but the latter could just be internet variance.

Also, try to see if you can see line error stats in your modem as well.

Edit: I would say, if you look at the actual DSL line stats, and your line rate, S/N ratio, and error counts look good, then they're probably not blowing smoke, your line is probably fine, and it's just time-of-day or internet variance issues going on.

 

[bruceb]

A lot can affect ADSL Speeds .. First is how far you are from the central office. The farther away you are the speed will go down. Second, if you have a bunch of little DSL filters installed at various telephones, your speed will not be good. Better way is a Whole House DSL Splitter installed at the point where the Telco (AT&T) line comes into the house. It has 2 outputs on it: One is for Voice -- that goes to the telephone sets (remove the little filters at each phone) ... The other is for Data and you will connect it to the DSL / ADSL Modem Input Jack (usually an RJ11 Type) .. I had DSL when I was in Wayne, NJ and was very close to the distance limit from the CO (NJ Bell) -- the line would sometimes drop out and speed was not that good. After installing the filter and running the feed to it, it never went down again and speed went up.