This topic

BT Halo3 FTTC upload speed only 340Kbps and cannot run MyBT speed test

Taffia — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:18:52 GMT

As per subject.

For a few weeks now I hav noticed how long it is taking to upload documents so I logged into the BT Smart Hub and saw that my download speeds had dropped from about 23 Mbps to just over 19 Mbps but more alarmingly my upload speeds which used to be closer to 2Mbps is now about 350Kbps !!. I cannot attempt any sort of cloud backups with these upload speeds.

I have done a factory reset of the hub and it makes no difference. I also noticed that the logged uptime from the most recent check of the log and also the previous occasion showed just a couple of days, so something somewhere is breaking my connection I suspect.

At least once or twice every month for the last 4 months there have been Openreach (and worse still Kelly Communications working for Openreach) vans working inside the duct across the road. I asked an actual OR guy last autumn what was happening and he said someone further down the estate had had his phone line cut off by a non-OR person and he was having to sort it out. Since then there have heard of other people in the vicinity having problems with noisy lines or a dead line. Call me suspicious but I suspect my speed reductions are connected.

I tried to use the MyBT speed check and all that happens is that the purple wheel just goes round and round and nothing happens. I tried Ookla and it said my speeds were 16.25/0.20 using a server in Eastbourne.

The BT Smart Hub log shows this -

DSL Uptime 2 days 20 hours

Max Data Rate 353 Kbps / 19.234 Mbps

Noise margin 5.6 / 3.3

Signal attenuation 31.1 / 37.3

Now what ?. Log a fault with BT ??

Re: BT Halo3 FTTC upload speed only 340Kbps and cannot run MyBT speed test

Taffia — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:48:59 GMT

Update

I tried the Speed checker again via different pathway and this time it reported an error on the line and invited me to report the error via the link ,which I have. A few minutes later a recorded message from OR said the fault is outside my premises so I don't have to do anything.

So that'll be yet another OR (or subcontractor) van across the road, fixing my problem 😞

Re: BT Halo3 FTTC upload speed only 340Kbps FIXED

Taffia — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:22:50 GMT

Update:

Fixed. Turns out it was the new fangled NTE5 faceplate that was installed by OR when they converted me to Digital Audio, which wasn't sitting on its backplate properly.

I may have bumped it a while ago while shifting TV furniture and dislodged it (it just clips onto the backplate with some clips that are difficult to engage fully),but after pushing it back on it looked as though it had engaged correctly so I never checked the router stats at the time.

The OR guy measured the speeds with his device and agreed there was a problem but simply removing the faceplate and pushing it back on firmly my speeds suddenly shot up to 34 Mbps down and 4.45 Mbps up !!. This is double what I ever saw previously for upload and 50% faster than my previous download average.

Question: Does the faceplate of the new NTE5C have any filters or is it just a cosmetic cover plate ?. If there are no filters, what is its purpose ?.

He also saw a potential issue 32 metres away which is the location of an underground joint outside my neighbours house originally under the grass verge. Previous neighbour did a self-build extension and moved his garage and driveway a metre away from its original location, then block paved his front garden and to allow all three parked vehicles to access the road he widened the council frontage, and dropped the kerb himself (without permission from the council or using an approved contractor). This BT/OR cable joint is under the concrete that he replaced the grass verge with (didn't even bother to tarmac it properly).

If OR come back and dig a hole and create a new undergound chamber with an access panel it will be right where the new neighbour and her kids drive their cars across !. Interesting times ahead.

Re: BT Halo3 FTTC upload speed only 340Kbps FIXED

chrisjp — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:42:33 GMT

Yes, I'm not impressed with the Openreach NTE5 faceplate with its clip-on design that can easily get dislodged. The screw-on faceplates of earlier designs were much better.