topic Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed in Full Fibre

Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

srangeley — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:29:35 GMT

Hi,

I had Full Fibre 300 installed last Thursday (previously had FTTC). Immediately after installation by Openreach I checked download speed on my mobile using the Opensignal app and got 300 Mbps download / 50 Mbps upload which I was really happy with.

I wasn't at home on Friday but when I checked on Saturday I couldn't get anywhere near that download speed - in some cases it was worse than my old fibre connection! Even with my PC connected via a LAN cable I could only get about 85 Mbps download using either Speedtest.net or the BT Wholesale speed checker.

Obviously this was nowhere near my guaranteed download speed of 165 Mbps so I reported the issue using the automated text number. I got replies but after I was told an advisor would call me within 15 minutes or so, no-one did so I phoned Plusnet yesterday.

The advisor did all the checks and couldn't find any issues, nor could she explain why I wasn't called back. She then went on to claim there was a 3-10 day stabilisation period which I obviously questioned as I didn't believe that applied to Full Fibre.

I replied to the question last night to state that I didn't think this was correct but haven't heard anything back yet.

Therefore I would like to ask advice please:

1. Was I being misled by the advisor?

2. What needs to happen to ensure I get the full download speed I'm paying for?

Thanks

Steven

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

jab1 — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:35:34 GMT

@srangeley (1) yes you were being 'misled' by the advisor, but to be fair, I don't think the first-line staff have all been fully briefed on Full Fibre - I could be wrong.

(2) I'm not up to speed with FF either - it is a couple of years away from me yet, but have you tried rebooting the Hub or the ONT?

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

srangeley — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:40:44 GMT

Hi John,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes I would agree that some retraining is required!

I haven't touched the ONT. I did reboot the Hub 2 on Saturday but it didn't make any difference - all the poor test results I mentioned were after the reboot.

Thanks

Steven

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

jab1 — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:45:08 GMT

Steven - I don't know enough about FF to really offer much more advice - I think there is a way to connect direct to the ONT, but it is only think.

You could try rebooting the ONT - it shouldn't cause any issues, AFIAK.

Anyway, I'll tag @MisterW - he's one of the experts on here.

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

MisterW — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:49:56 GMT

I think there is a way to connect direct to the ONT, but it is only think.

you connect a pc directly using ethernet and then configure a pppoe connection on the pc with your Plusnet credentials

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 17:47:38 GMT

@srangeley While you are configuring the PC network adaptor for PPPoE (to connect directly to the ONT), also check the PC's network adaptor connection status to ensure it is connecting at 1Gb Ethernet speeds - just in case you are inadvertently using a network cable that isn't capable of 1Gb transfers ! - such as old two-pair 100Base-T Cat5 Ethernet, used for slow ADSL modems or legacy printers, scanners, etc.

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

srangeley — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 19:31:21 GMT

I've no idea how to create a PPPoE connection on my PC although I'm sure I could Google how to do so!

I'd just like it to do what it says on the tin - if I got 300 Mbps on my phone straight after installation then why couldn't I get that over the weekend when I hadn't changed anything?

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

jab1 — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 19:39:41 GMT

Steven - it is useful to find out whether it is your internal network or something in the Openreach network which has caused this - creating a PPOE connection will show if you can get 300 when directly connected - rather like connecting to the test socket in the days of ADSL/FTTC.

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

srangeley — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:18:01 GMT

OK thanks John I'll see what I can do in the next few days but hopefully Plusnet will get back to me before then!

I don't have a home network really though - the only reason I have a LAN cable in the house is because WiFi was disabled on my very old Windows XP work laptop so I had to connect using a network cable!

Normally I just use the external WiFi adapter on my PC which I know won't be as fast as a network cable but I'd expect it to be loads better than it currently is.

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

jab1 — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:22:18 GMT

As you say you got the full 300 previously on the phone, what do you get now? I suspect your external Wi-Fi adapter can't handle 300mbps anyway - they were made a long time ago, and will not be designed to handle that speed.

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

srangeley — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:35:30 GMT

I'm not at home tonight so I can't check at the moment sorry.

My WiFi adapter is this one, I bought it last year:

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/adapter/archer-t2u/

I think it's connected using 2.4GHz, not sure if it's possible to force it to use 5GHz instead?

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:44:40 GMT

@srangeley wrote:

... the only reason I have a LAN cable in the house is because WiFi was disabled on my very old Windows XP work laptop so I had to connect using a network cable!

If your LAN cable came with an XP laptop, that makes it even more likely that the cable is only rated for up to 100Mb !

and therefore it wouldn't be unexpected to only get 85Mbps speedtest result on a wired connection !

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

srangeley — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:23 GMT

Fair point, it was provided by work so how can I tell what speed it supports?

Regardless, it still doesn't explain how I could get 300Mbps on my phone on Thursday but nowhere near that over the weekend 🤔

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

jab1 — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:49 GMT

Good point, @Anonymous - hadn't thought of that.

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

jab1 — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:53:24 GMT

@srangeley wrote:
Fair point, it was provided by work so how can I tell what speed it supports?

Regardless, it still doesn't explain how I could get 300Mbps on my phone on Thursday but nowhere near that over the weekend 🤔

The cable should be marked with a category - what is it?

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

srangeley — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 21:45:24 GMT

OK well I've got home earlier than expected so I can confirm that the cable is Cat 5E and states on it that it supports Gigabit Ethernet.

I can also happily say that tonight I'm getting 300Mbps or thereabouts in every room in the house on my mobile! I haven't tried my PC yet but what I did notice is that my phone was connected on the 5 GHz frequency but I did nothing to select this. Maybe yesterday it was using the 2.4 GHz frequency or maybe Plusnet have actually done something at their end, I don't know?

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

jab1 — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 21:49:08 GMT

Your phone will connect to the strongest frequency band, but they can be a bit choosy. Your laptops wireless adapter should do the same, but sometimes they need configuring - sorry I can't help with that, as I don't have the experience.

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 21:50:28 GMT

@srangeley wrote:

... it still doesn't explain how I could get 300Mbps on my phone on Thursday but nowhere near that over the weekend 🤔

That could easily happen if one of your neighbours router's was using the same WiFi channel number as yours, which potentially could halve your available bandwidth.

Ideally you need to use a WiFi channel scanner to find (preferably on the 5Ghz band) a WiFi channel that your neighbours aren't using, and set to router to that.

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

MisterW — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 07:36:31 GMT

but what I did notice is that my phone was connected on the 5 GHz frequency but I did nothing to select this. Maybe yesterday it was using the 2.4 GHz frequency

in the real world you'll be lucky to achive > 50Mb using a 2.4 ghz connection. The Plusnet Hub 2 is a Wifi 5 spec and so (in ideal conditions) a 5 ghz connection should be capable of 300Mb. For instance my laptop tops out at around 350Mb when 10ft from the router (that's on a 900Mb Full fibre connection).

Re: Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

Dan_the_Van — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 08:13:46 GMT

I think it's connected using 2.4GHz, not sure if it's possible to force it to use 5GHz instead?

@srangeley

If you open this link http://192.168.1.254/basic_-_my_devices.htm its a quick way to display all the devices connected to the Hub two, importantly you can see if they have attached to either 2.4 or 5GHz.

If you see the problem again it would be helpful if you can post a screen shot of the test results

HTH