BigDisk
join:2004-04-17
Montreal, QC
| Huge frustration over bad DSL connection (Acanac/Bell)
Hi,
I was a Bell Sympatico customer last summer but decided to change after being fed up of being ripped over bandwidth usage, having internet bills north of 90$ a month. So I looked arrond and found Acanac ; they have great pricing at arround 18$ a month + 8$ for dryloop, tax included for an unlimited DSL connection.
I was happy with the speeds I had with Bell, and considering Acanac was just a Bell reseller I thought I'd have the exact same connection, but only pay less.
So, I cancelled Bell phone + internet as my contract was just over, and ordered DSL from Acanac (17$), a dryloop line (8$) and VoIP phone package (10$). I'm quite happy about the price I paid (upfront - arround 400$ for the whole year).
So now, the ugly part:
I was on fast path framing and had something arround a 5000/800 profile. When I first turned my Acanac Aztech DSL605EU modem, I did a speedtest and noticed I was on a 3 meg profile. So I called Acanac, they raised a ticket with Bell and got my profile raised to a better 5 meg profile (5000/512). But unfortunatly I was put on interleave framing and my pings were very bad arround 70 ms on google.ca where Bell DSL would do arround 30ms. Also, I have arround 1 or 2 % packet loss.
So, I called Acanac a couple more times to be put on fastpath, and each time they raised a ticket with bell, yet nothing worked and Bell never could (or never wanted to) have my modem sync on FastPath... My connection is now 6000/512, and anything higher on the upload seems cause huge sync and connectivity issue on my DSL line.
Here is a snapshot of a couple of ticket conversations I had with Acanac since this summer:
September 14th, 2008
said by BigDisk :
Could another ticket be raised with Bell so that they upgrade my DSL profile currently on interleave to fastpath?
I have spoken with 2 different Acanac techs on the phone and this issue is taking long to be resolved.
I was on fastpath 5 megs with Bell before, and since I'm with Acanac I get very bad pings (70-100ms on www.google.ca) because of the interleave profile, while it was arround 30ms before on fastpath with Bell Sympatico. Online games are unplayable and my upload is very bad at 300kbit effective on speed tests and torrents.
Thanks.
said by Acanac :
Right now,Bell does not provide changing the modem status from interleave to fastpath.Please give us a call regarding this issue:
[...]
However, my issues never got resolved. So I retaliated and asked for more support:
September 28th, 2008
said by BigDisk :
Hi,
I have been with Acanac with about a month and I have had all sorts of
connectivity issue. I was with Bell just a month ago and I cancelled my
Bell's DSL + phone line in order to get Acanac's DSL + dry loop + VOIP
phone.
With Bell, I was on the 5 meg profile with 800kbps upload and I beleive I
was on the fastpath because online games were playing great - pings were
good (roughly 30ms on google.ca)
Now, with Acanac, I was first set on interleave + 3 meg profile (remember I
had 5 megs and fastpath with Bell - nothing changed except dry loop). I had
to call techs about 5 to 6 times as I wanted to be put back on FastPath but
all they did was get Bell to raise my profile speed. I am now on 6 meg
profile but I get huge packet loss and frequent disconnects - I guess that
my line can't withstand this bandwidth. Also, whenever I upload just a small
bit of data (say arround 20kbyte/s), my pings go through the roof at arround
200-1000 ms.
I get disconnected at least 2 times a day and sometimes I can't get internet
working stably at all for hours. This is VERY annoying and I use internet
for VOIP and during those downtimes I cannot use the phone at all.
Is it possible that the Bell tech that installed my dryloop screwed up or
something? What can I do to be put on fastpath again? Online games are
really unplayable because of the lag on interleave mode PLUS the frequent
disconnects.
Here are my modem stats:
Connection Status Connected
Us Rate (Kbps) 768
Ds Rate (Kbps) 6016
US Margin 6
DS Margin 25
Trained Modulation ADSL_G.dmt
LOS Errors 0
DS Line Attenuation 11
US Line Attenuation 20
Peak Cell Rate 1811 cells per sec
CRC Rx Fast 0
CRC Tx Fast 0
CRC Rx Interleaved 0
CRC Tx Interleaved 4
Path Mode Interleaved
DSL Statistics
Near End F4 Loop Back Count 0
Near End F5 Loop Back Count 0
speed test : »www.speedtest.net/result/330455916.png :: 2500/316
Please help me because I'm seriously concidering ordering Cable from
Videotron if this doesn't get any better soon. My DSL is currently down
AGAIN and I have to post this using one of my neighboor's WiFi connection.
*After reading the support forums I have seen suggestiongs to ask to be put
on the 5 meg FAST PATH profile.*
»community.acanac.com/acanac/view···72#37872
said by Acanac :
Hi,
A ticket will be issued for you in Bell today and a tech will be on site within next few days if needed.
Best Regards,
Acanac Inc.
That tech never showed up. Acanac sent me a new modem though (identical branding - Aztech DSL605EU-, slightly updated firmware). Unfortunatly, the new modem showed the exact same behavior.
After more call and emails, I finaly could get a stable connection. They had to lower my upload to 512kbps but they raised my download to a 6 meg profile. Great? Not really! Web page speed is *very* random, and I can barely get 4500kbps in speed tests - and ONLY in speed test. No download what so ever can reach 500kbyte/s. And, as soon as I upload only 10-20 kbyte/s, the whole downstream slows down almost to a halt.
I love playing games on xbox live but I get very annoying interminent lag. Every 10 seconds or so I get a full second of lag where the game almost freezes, then everything goes fast paced trying to catch up in the next second. This kills the fun for me in fast paced Xbox live games. I hate it!!
I have tried adjusting the MTU thinking it might be wrongly set. I tried different setup all the way from 1392 to 1492 bytes in my modem/router config and none showed any improvement.
I have tried all phone plugs in my appartment. No other device is plugged in any of the phone jacks. I have tried different Ethernet cables with no luck. I have tried updating my modem firmware and it does not help at all. I have tried putting the xbox 360 into the DMZ and it doesn't change much, same freeze/choke behavior in games. Why can my connection play smoothly for 10/20 seconds and then lag a whole second ?? How is that happening?
As you can see from my modem stats above, the US Margins (or upstream SNR) is very bad at arround 6dB. My guess is that the Bell tech that came and installed my dry-loop screwed up his job or something like that. It is really sad that there is no way I can get a Bell tech home. None never showed up, regardless of me asking for one. Acanac asked me 3 different times for a good appointment schedule, but Bell never showed up. A Bell tech called me once last week saying "I have fixed your problem, it was in the profile". I asked them what was changed and he said that he "changed a card in my profile". What? A card? If I asked for more details he said he wouldn't get down in dirty technical stuff with me. Clearly he had no idea what he was talking about. After asking him about my *very* bad upstream SNR and the interleave framing the dude told me "if i put you on fastpath, you won't sync at 6meg... maybe 4 megs..." I said "Fine, just do it, I want better pings for gaming", he replied "ok" and hanged up on me instantly. Obviously they changed nothing what so ever on my connection!
Finally, does anyone know if there would be a private tech in Montreal I could call that would test my telephone box cabling to see if the problem is on Bell's end or if it can be fixed by adjusting wires. Or does anyone have any idea about what could be causing my xbox live intermittent lag? Why can it play fine for 10-20 seconds and then lag for a full second? Are the interleave framing and bad pings really the culprits?
Should I just leave Acanac and look for some cable alternatives? |
|
BigDisk
join:2004-04-17
Montreal, QC | Does anybody think my two Aztech DSL605EU modems could be at fault? Or a bad configuration in the modems?
I would hate to invest into a 2wire to see the same behavior and finaly switch to cable. |
|
darknestgirl
join:2008-08-11
Montreal, QC
 ·Acanac
edit:
November 18th, @06:51PM
| Your margin is the problem it means you have wiring problem if you can post your modem stat at the demark box to see if the margin improve if it does it's Bell wiring if not it's an inside wiring the problem, or it can be the phone jack the problem we see that a lot lately with Acanac customer and yes Bell tend not to show up when they have too some customer had to call Acanac at least 4 time before they showe up,
you can IM Acanac PN, he helped a lot of customer lately with the same problem. |
|
oh well
@videotron.ca
| reply to BigDisk
seems to me you have 2 problems and both problems are being ignored by acanac.
said by BigDisk  :Right now,Bell does not provide changing the modem status from interleave to fastpath. LOL thats a load of bullshit. Bell will change you from interleave to FAST. But acanac doesn't seem to want to bother to get this done for you.
Then there is the problem with your upstream. If you never had problems on your old line, then chances are its a problem with this dry-loop and it seems again acanac doesn't want to help to get a tech out.
This is how I see it.
Its easy to blame bell, but with the bullshit answer you got about the path and no tech sent, the problem here is acanac.
This is one of the reasons people tend to go with another DSL wholesaler. too much BS with acanac and how they can't get anyting done for their customers.
you get what you paid for. You went cheap and saved a few bux.
When your year contract is up you know what to do.
As for the modem... if both modems give the same result then its likely a line issue. |
|
BigDisk
join:2004-04-17
Montreal, QC
| Unfortunatly I don't have access to the demarc point because I live in an apartment building.
I could ask for access to the telephone room but i'm not sure how I could plug in a laptop + modem in the demarc point.... Wouldn't that disconnect everyone else's phone line?
So, does anyone know if there are private techs in Montreal I could pay for to check out my wiring?
I'm really desperate to get this thing fixed. |
|
BigDisk
join:2004-04-17
Montreal, QC
| Also, about the intermittent lag/choke issue:
Do you think fixing my upstream would fix this behavior? When I did a tracert on google.ca, I see a hop that takes a lot longer than others on the cogent network. Unfortunatly I am not home but I'll post a tracert detail later.
Is it possible that Acanac is routing trafic very badly? Is there any way this would be fixed some day by Acanac?
Could that routing be causing the lag on xbox live? |
|
Acanac PN
Acanac Support
Premium
join:2008-10-27
Montreal, QC
| reply to BigDisk
Big Disk, Please send me your ID info. I will check this.
Thanks.
And just for your info: The famous fast path is not part of the contract. Neither the millisecons added to your ping are.
I am with same type connection and a lot CX are too.
Not only Acanac. Most of DSL isp's (wholesalers, NOT resellers is the right word) offer similar technical conditions. |
|
BigDisk
join:2004-04-17
Montreal, QC
edit:
November 18th, @09:50PM
| PM sent. Help would be greatly appreciated.
What I have a hard time understanding is why it worked good with Bell and now online games are very laggy with Acanac.
Here is a trace route from my computer to google.ca:
And here is a Line Quality test :
»/linequality/nil/2454912 |
|
oh LOOK
@videotron.ca
| reply to Acanac PN
==================
said by Acanac PN
And just for your info: The famous fast path is not part of the contract.
==================
LOL well this said a lot. Direct from the acanac employee too!
In other words, if its not written down we won't go out of our way for you and we won't give you the "path" you requested. heh
now this is cheap service and a cheap reply. "fast path is not part of the contract." lol |
|
easy 123
@videotron.ca
| reply to BigDisk
said by BigDisk :What I have a hard time understanding is why it worked good with Bell and now online games are very laggy with Acanac. Its clear from your ping times thatyou are on interleave. With Bell you were likely on fast path.
Don't ask acanac anything too difficult now... |
|
Pepsi90919
join:2002-10-07
Hamilton, ON
edit:
November 18th, @10:16PM
| reply to BigDisk
This thread is full of anonymorons (well really just one) with an axe to grind with Acanac. There doesn't seem to be a real issue here. |
|
BigDisk
join:2004-04-17
Montreal, QC | What do you mean no issue?
I can't play online games without lag, isn't that an issue? I have very poor US Margins and can't get a tech to come and fix it, isn't that an issue?
Thanks for the input, Pepsi90919. |
|
boo ANON
@videotron.ca
| reply to Pepsi90919
ty for your concern. I have no "axe to grind". The acanac employee reply speaks for itself as to the quality of service this person has recieved.
First he got lied to:
==================
Said by acanac:
"Right now,Bell does not provide changing the modem status from interleave to fastpath."
==================
The he gets a realy cheap reply
==================
Said by Acanac PN
The famous fast path is not part of the contract
==================
I mean.. heh come on. If this is their standard, I don't blame them for making their own forum on their own website so people can't see the lies and cheap reaplies being given to them.
They said it themselves, no one else did.
Did I make acanac lie and give cheap replies like that? |
|
BadConnection
@acanac.net
| reply to BigDisk
said by BigDisk :Here are my modem stats: Connection Status Connected Us Rate (Kbps) 768 Ds Rate (Kbps) 6016 US Margin 6DS Margin 25 Look at your modem stat you can see right away, your Upload margin (Signal to Noise ratio) is very low = 6... if this number go below 6 then you will get a disconnection...
BTW, the modem send by Acanac is not really good... I've trouble shoot the similar disconnect problem for my friend (use the similar Acanac modem)... somehow, he put wireless router above the modem, the modem get hot cause the signal to noise drop below 6 = disconnect... Now he put the modem alone and it a bit cooler, and get lucky signal to noise above 6 to prevent disconnect...
For you, probably you can try the same or buy different modem until you see the upload signal to noise well above 6 then you can ask Acanac to change your profile to fast path... or try connect at Demarc to see if the signal to noise improve or not... |
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maninthemoon
join:2008-10-14
Toronto, ON | reply to BigDisk
Well..All I have to say is I'm with Acanac and I'm on Fast Path. Lots of people on the forum get it changed if necessary. Anyway good luck.
I answered your same post on the Acanac forum.
Sorry I can't be of more help. |
|
darknestgirl
join:2008-08-11
Montreal, QC
·Acanac
edit:
November 19th, @12:06AM
| reply to BigDisk
BTW the community forum is for EVERYONE not just Acanac customer.
Every internet provider has a bad and good support, i was with teksavvy before and had problem with my line but teksavvy always told me it was my line and Bell said is was Teksavvy modem and guess what, none of them did find the problem.
So no matter what company you are with, if you got a problem it doesn't mean that everyone will have one.
Ho and one little thing, he doesn't need to wait at the end of the year to cancell it, they will refund him the year minus the month he had the service, so if you had Acanac internet for 2 month they will send a refund for the 10 month left without any cancellation fee. |
|
true enough
@videotron.ca
| said by darknestgirl :Every internet provider has a bad and good support, You're right. I jumped on the lie and the cheap reply he got. Guess I didn't like to see a person lied to & treated like this.
But you are right, it can happen with any ISP I suppose. |
|
eviljafar
join:2007-04-10
Montreal, QC
| reply to BigDisk
Wondering about change to FastPath with Acnanc
I recently asked Acanac to change my profile to FastPath and they replied "Bell could not put your connection on FastPath mode since your line can not handle it."
All my sats look great except for upstream noise margin:
Statistics - Downstream - Upstream
Line Rate - 6016 Kbps - 800 Kbps
Noise Margin - 24.6 dB - 9.0 dB
Line Attenuation - 18.0 dB - 10.0 dB
I have had not a single packet dropped or error in the last 12 days.
I just took what Acanac told me as being true, but after reading this thread I'm not so sure about that any more. Is it worth pushing Acanac about it?
Jaf. |
|
darknestgirl
join:2008-08-11
Montreal, QC | Just IM Acanac Pn here or pm him on the community maybe he can help you out with that |
|
and another
@videotron.ca
| reply to eviljafar
said by eviljafar :I recently asked Acanac to change my profile to FastPath and they replied "Bell could not put your connection on FastPath mode since your line can not handle it." All my sats look great except for upstream noise margin: Statistics - Downstream - Upstream Line Rate - 6016 Kbps - 800 Kbps Noise Margin - 24.6 dB - 9.0 dB Line Attenuation - 18.0 dB - 10.0 dB I have had not a single packet dropped or error in the last 12 days. I just took what Acanac told me as being true, but after reading this thread I'm not so sure about that any more. Is it worth pushing Acanac about it? Jaf. Seems they just don't want to bother and take the time with their customers. Says a lot. Your stats are great and if there was a rpoblem, they can drop you from 6-meg to 5-meg to achieve it.
They lied to you. |
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