Connection issues with Microsoft Teams

[#1]

Hi all
I have been a Plusnet customer for a good number of years now.

In the last few months, I've noticed lots of issues when working from home and on Microsoft teams calls where connection briefly drops in the call itself, and other people say I'm breaking up etc.

Is there any way on the router i can prioritize a particular LAN port so that the one i use for my work laptop has priority?

I'm desperately waiting for fttp to be available. I saw the fibre being cabled on our street in may so I'm hoping it's not too long till i can get it, but until then.... Id like to be able to make some sort of improvement to my fttc.

Thanks.
Craig

[#2]

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@cs10 wrote:

Is there any way on the router i can prioritize a particular LAN port so that the one i use for my work laptop has priority?

If your work laptop was to be given priority,  what else on your network would it be taking bandwidth away from ?

What is your broadband upload speed ?

What router are you using, and what others do you have ?

What "Bufferbloat grade" do you get running this test - https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat 

[#3]

Thanks for the reply.

Sometimes, the kids can be streaming Netflix etc, but that's not all the time. It happens when I'm the only one home, so yes i see your point .

In terms of speed, my router reports 17.98 download, and 3.899 upload.

The router is the Plusnet Hub One.

I get a B grade on that test, but i think a better test will be tomorrow from the laptop rather than my phone.

[#4]

So you have enough bandwidth for teams and netflix at the same time, does anyone else do video calls, file uploading, or use BitTorrent while you are using teams ?

I don't believe there is much you can do with a Plusnet Hub One,  you probably need a router that can handle QoS (Quality of Service) or has anti-bufferbloat SQM (Smart Queue Management)

Do other activities on your broadband have drop-outs or buffering (e.g. YouTube or Netflix) or is it just Teams ?

Assuming that your broadband isn't actually dropping out,  then you need to concentrate on getting a better bufferbloat score.  Have a read about how to overcome bufferbloat in the FAQ at the bottom of the page in the link I posted previously.

Is there anything that you can do to improve your broadband upload speed ?,  for example does it go faster when you plug the router's DSL cable into the TEST socket behind the phone master socket faceplate ?

There might be some useful info here -

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/prepare-network 

[#5]

No one else does Video Calling, file uploading or bittorrenting.

I can confirm that Netflix, Prime etc all stream flawlessly, i get no buffering etc.

I haven't tried the test socket, but could do if it might make a difference?

Regarding the suggestions in the FAQ on the blufferboat page, it seems to be, get a new router.

Is it worth contacting Plusnet about getitng the next model router up from mine first? Are they better and will they offer improvements in this area? My router is getitng on a bit now.

Thanks,
Craig

[#6]

@cs10 

What the test socket does is to isolate all internal wiring so you're on a "pure" connection.

If things improve you've got a potential internal wiring problem, If they don't you've got a potential external problem.

Brian

[#7]

I've got a master socket 5c, and i don't think this has a test socket does it?

[#8]

@cs10 the faceplace just clips onto the 5c box and once taken off reveals the test socket. 

Faceplate view from the back, left unfiltered faceplate, right filtered faceplate with two sockets.

You'll need a ADSL inline filter to connect to the test socket.

HTH

[#9]

Thanks, that does help although i have no splitter haha