topic Re: Slow speeds through router in Broadband

Slow speeds through router

Ferrush — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:10:18 GMT

Hello,

Our internet speed has dropped massively in the last few months, now getting download speeds of 1mb a second when previously we were getting download speeds of 10mb a second. This has impacted streaming and the ability to WFH.

Our router is around 6 years old so think this is likely to be the issue. Speed does not change when plugging into router using ethernet cable. I have also reduced the amount of devices connected to the WiFi and tried some other tips and tricks from this support forum, with no change to speed.

Please provide any help you can.

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:20:42 GMT

@Ferrush Welcome to the forum. From your description, this sounds more like a BT/OR network issue. Which router do you have, and then we can offer further advice?

Re: Slow speeds through router

Ferrush — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:23:58 GMT

Thanks for your quick response. The router is a Sagemcom, Plusnet Hub One. Do you need any further identifying information?

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:29:29 GMT

OK. Now I know what you have, for other Community members to be able to offer advice, we need some specific information.

For Community members to be able to help, information from these two sites, as screenshots, posted as pictures within the topic, not as attachments:-

BT Broadband(obscuring your phone number) and BTW Performance Tester - Over a wired (Ethernet) connection if at all possible, please report the 'ADDITIONAL DIAGNOSTICS', and sight of the broadband connection status from your Hub (with the 'Username' obscured) would be a good starting point.

For the Hub One -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Troubleshooting > Helpdesk

For the Hub Two -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Advanced Settings > Technical Log > Information

It may also be a good idea to report the results of a Quiet Line Test - dial 17070 option 2 from a (preferably corded) phone. After the confirmation of your phone number, there should be total silence apart from the regular 'Quiet Line Test' announcement. Any other noise - report a PHONE fault first.

If you are unsure about any of the above, please just ask - I am happy to help.

Re: Slow speeds through router

Ferrush — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 09:20:25 GMT

BT BroadbandBTW TestActual download speeds

Router info

Top image is the BT Broadband link, second image is BTW Tester and third image is the actual download speeds I am getting when downloading an example 3gb file in Steam. It's worth noting that I last ran a speed test using Google's inbuilt speed tester and I was getting figures in the low MB, this was on Friday, so seeing nearly 15mbs is a bit of a surprise and not an accurate reflection of our actual download speeds. Let me know if anything further is required.

Re: Slow speeds through router

Ferrush — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:05:30 GMT

We have tried a couple of times to post images of what you required but they aren't sticking, our post count increased both times we've tried but the posts aren't showing. I am wondering if they have been flagged as spam for some reason and that's why they are not showing. Any idea on how to get them released by a mod so we can proceed? Thanks

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:08:49 GMT

I can't see an active mod at the moment, but I'll flag your post for their attention.

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:36:31 GMT

@Ferrush I can see the images in your profile. The Helpdesk shot is the useful one - it suggests you are having xDSL drops which strongly suggests a BT/OR network issue, unless you have turned the Hub off for any reason? The other interesting data on there suggests you have downloaded a massive amount of data in the six hours the Hub has been up - do you have anything like Microsoft OneDrive running? If so this will massively impact your throughput.

Re: Slow speeds through router

Baldrick1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:53:38 GMT

Moderators Note

Post released from automatic spam filter and duplicate removed..

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:56:14 GMT

@Ferrush Your post is now released. Have you done the Quiet Line Test?

Re: Slow speeds through router

Ferrush — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:59:01 GMT

Thanks for your help. The large amount of data may or may not have been a member of the family downloading programs through Sky... Which is confusing because on Friday I was getting 1mb download speeds on a 12gb file and took a couple of hours to download, I also have massive issues accessing network files whilst working from home (when Sky on Demand/streaming isn't an issue) but streaming services and the Sky on Demand services don't appear to be impacted as this can be done comfortably (almost like the laptops have been given a lower priority connection). As for OneDrive I am aware this is active on a family members phone and laptop, but expect use of this to be light.

We currently don't have a landline phone to hand to try the Quiet Line test (we'll try to find one from a relative), do you have any other suggestions on how we can proceed?

Again, thanks for your continued support.

Re: Slow speeds through router

Dan_the_Van — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 11:08:48 GMT

@Ferrush

You need to watch your MB and Mb.

Broadband speed tests and the router syncing are quoted in Mbps ( Mega bites per second) where downloads are usually quoted using MB/s or MBps (Mega Bytes per second)

So a download speed of 1.7 MBps (MB/s) equates to 13.6 Mbps (Mb/s) which is close to the current router sync speed

But you do have an issue with your connection.

Re: Slow speeds through router

Baldrick1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 11:09:38 GMT

@Ferrush

As @jab1 states, you need to ensure that there is no other background traffic when doing a speed test. It must also be conducted over a directly wired Ethernet cable between your router and the testing computer.

I also note that your speed test is reporting in MB/s, note the capital B, which means Bytes. The hub stats report the speed in b/s, which means bits. There are 8 bits in a Byte so whilst this speed is way short of your estimated speed it is maybe 8 times faster than you realise.

Edit

@Dan_the_Van types faster than me.

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 11:14:02 GMT

Looking again at the information you have provided, I suspect there is more going off somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it. Your connection speed is a little low, but not massively so - you are obviously a distance away from your Fibre box, so will never get great speeds.

I'm no great expert on OneDrive - never having used it - but if it is active, it will still be having an effect - AIUI.

Until we can rule out a phone issue, there is little more I can suggest, but I am still a little concerned over you low uptime. Is it possible to post the output from the WAN tab of your Hubs Event log, please?

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 11:16:07 GMT

@Dan_the_Van / @Baldrick1 - thanks for the input.😀

Re: Slow speeds through router

Baldrick1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 12:50:16 GMT

@Ferrush wrote:

....Which is confusing because on Friday I was getting 1mb download speeds on a 12gb file and took a couple of hours to download,

Assuming that you have your b's and B's mixed up as downloads are, in my experience, always measured in Bytes, not bits:

!2GB = 96Gb. So if this took 2 hours then this is 48Gb/hr.

Dividing this by 3600 gives us 13.3 Mb/s, which sounds about right for your current download speed.

BT estimates that you should be getting nearer 80Mb/s

I suggest that you use the mobile bot to report a fault, see: https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/broadband/#broadband

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 13:08:11 GMT

@Baldrick1 As I have noticed quite a bit recently(ish), the BTw report is giving some dodgy possible speeds. Looking at the OP's attenuation, and putting it in a couple of calculators, their Hub-reported figures (attainable) look more realistic, although I agree there is something dodgy on their circuit.

Re: Slow speeds through router

Baldrick1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 13:17:30 GMT

@jab1

On the other hand there are all sorts of faults that would attenuate the signal, giving the observed results. Attenuation is affected by the condition as well as the length of copper in circuit.

Re: Slow speeds through router

jab1 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 13:20:24 GMT

Fair enough.

Re: Slow speeds through router

Ferrush — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 13:58:45 GMT

Thanks @Baldrick1, I imagine I am not the first person to get confused between MB and Mb/s :-). To confirm, the download on Friday was 12.6GB in total, and I was regularly getting speeds of under 1Mb/s (luckily I took a screenshot).

Thanks for the link to the Mobile Bot, I will give this a shot and update.