Fluctuating dsl speeds

I have AT&T elite (up to 6mbps) DSL speed in my house. I moved in about 2 months ago, but noticed over the past few weeks my DSL speeds fluctuates wildly moment to moment.

Sometimes I will have 4-5mpbs then 2-3 minutes later almost no speed whatsoever. I don't recall having this problem at my previous address or in the first few weeks living in this house (though I suppose I may just not have noticed).

This happens with wired connections (desktop) and wireless connections (laptop and a brand new iPhone4). I first picked up on the issue because of problems downloading over the WiFi, but I can replicate the problem on the wired connection as well. I've had this problem at all times of day and night and tested with everything off the network but one device.

AT&T has run tests on the line, went to the local box down the street and run tests, and ran tests on the box in my house and say that can't find a problem. Of course when their tech plugged into my router it was at a time with great bandwith so they said they had no idea what the issue was.

They switched the port a couple of days ago on their end but I am still having the problem. I then a new 2Wire 2701HG-B in case my router was going bad and still have the problem.

My DSL modem NEVER drops the "internet light" and my computers/iPhones always say they have connections to the router, so it must be something about the signal coming INTO The router that just randomly drops speed.

Considering that I am having this problem on every piece of hardware I have, new and old, and wired/wireless connection, the problem must be originating somewhere in the wiring but I don't know what the next step would be. I do not have a regular landline; the only thing plugged into the phone jack anywhere in the house is the dsl modem/router.

Any ideas?

Have you rebooted the dsl modem? Reboot that as well as your router. I agree that if you have good signal from your router and can connect out even when speeds are slower, clearly the router would seem to be working correctly.

Here is a test. Why not unplug your router, and plug directly into the modem with a wired connection. Then see if the issue persists. One way to do this, check out speedtest.net, and you can do an internet speed test. Do these at random, and see what kind of results you get. If you get similar results as before, especially after rebooting the modem, and you are wired directly to the modem, that would mean your equipment would be fine.

Question, you say router, and modem. Do you have 2 seperate devices, 1 router and 1 modem, or is it one of the all in one units?

Well sounds like it's something on their end, because honestly, it's their equipment correct? As well as you said it worked fine at your old residence. If you've not changed any software settings, then theoretically, it should not be your software.

Doy uo have a Virus on your PC or any Spyware maybe. Try giving that a check I ahve had those problems before! As far as wiring see if you can purchase a cable bandwith tester and check your lines!

I haven't figured it out still. I did try purchasing a newer 2Wire combined dsl modem/router and was having the same problem so I returned it. I just purchased a separate DSL modem and wireless router off of Amazon so will give those a try next. Beyond that I have no idea. The tech people at AT&T are stumped.

I agree that this does appear to be acting more like cable then DSL, though AT&T assures me I have my own dedicated bandwith. I ended up purchasing a new DSL modem from another company and a separate Netgear router and ditched the 2Wire combined modem/router to see if that made a difference, and it actually has made a small improvement.

I still am having lengthy periods where the bandwith drops dramatically and noticeably, but now instead of dropping all the way to zero, it will drop to around 1-1.5mbps and stay there for random periods of time.

This is happening on both the desktop (with a direct ethernet connection), powerline networking (bluray/xbox), laptop (wireless connection), and iPhones I use on the network, so I can't believe that it would be a malware/virus issue across all devices, especially since some of them can't interact. I tried to stream a movie on my blu-ray last week using Blockbuster on Demand and the bandwith was so low at the beginning that I couldn't even watch it. After 20-30 minutes the bandwith went back to normal (this is all with nothing else being used on the network).

I haven't actually tried resetting the modem during periods of slow speeds but will try that next time it happens. I honestly don't know enough to do start messing with DNS settings; any particular suggestions?

If I can't get this resolved I am tempted to call the cable company for service but won't I have fluctuating speeds with them also? Or will they come out and boost the bandwidth somehow if it drops too low?

I guarantee you that this is an AT&T problem. Over a couple of beers I could tell you several tales where AT&T SWORE it wasn't their problem but in the end it was. What I do is find out where the SLIC (DSL box - big white thing in somebody's side yard) and watch for techs hanging around there. Then I stop and talk to them. They'll either come over or tell you to open a ticket and they'll pick it up and come by. They should be able to work it from there.

Does your new modem have DSL and SYNC lights? These should NEVER go out. If they blink it HAS to be an AT&T problem in the provisioning. Look at them while your speed is slow. I'll bet they're blinking.

I read somewhere that it could be the phone jack you're plugging into that is faulty. If you have another jack in your house, you could try setting it up there and see if there is an improvement.

I have been having this same speed problems with AT&T DSL Elite service.

I have called them so many times and they sent a line tech out who tested the line at 9Mbps, plenty of margin to run at 6Mbps.
I mentioned this to a friend at work he said he had a similar problem some time ago. He had to get tier 3 support from AT&T to get resolution. He claims that there are 2 scripts running on 2 different machines at AT&T one will set the router to 1.5Mbps and the other will set it back to the normal Elite 6Mbps. The profiles were all screwed up for the DSLAM and router.

One time when I called, the tech told me that I had no profile! figure that. AT&T will lose my business on my Phone, internet and Cell if they keep giving me the run around.

When you call ask for AGENT and then a higher tier of service, this is on there end not your equipment or line. AT&T can run a line check and know if the line is bad. AT&T wants you to run slow since they do not want to purchase the equipment to support the bandwidth needs.

Hmm - the necro posters are having a field day.

Try on the off chance of using new DNS settings. So go to Start-->Control Panel-->Network And Sharing Center-->Change Adapter Settings. Right Click the connection you use and click properties. Click Internet Protocol Version 4, click properties. At the bottom of the page tell the computer to "Use the followin DNS Addresses"

I personally use google's dns servers. They are

8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

Enter those, hit ok, reboot, and try again. DNS is like a phone book for the web, so if ATT's dns servers are slow, theoretically you could have a slow browsing experience.

Awesome, glad to hear it. Sometimes dns settings can cause whacky issues.