Very Slow Upload Speed

[#1]

Hi there,

I'm a Plusnet Unlimited (ADSL) customer and have just run a few speed tests this morning after upload some reasonably small files took longer than expected.

Download speeds are coming out at 10-15Mbps, which is totally fine. But upload speeds are consistently around 0.6-0.8Mbps, which seems very slow to me.

Is this normal? I had a look around the forum and noticed a few cases where slow speeds like this were due to a fault or capping of the service, so just thought it would be worth checking. 

I'll copy my router information below, but unfortunately can't test if this is a wifi-only issue as I don't own any devices with an ethernet port!

If it makes a difference, we live close to the telephone exchange (about 300ft).

Thanks in advance for any help,

Tom

1 - Product name:	Plusnet Router
2 - Serial number:	N7192391B009307
3 - Firmware version:	7.275.11_F2704N_Plusnet
4 - Board version:	F@ST2704N
5 - Mode	ADSL
6 - Uptime:	10 days 16:38:40
7 - Data rate:	1050/20879
8 - Maximum data rate:	1464/23140
9 - Noise margin:	5.2/3.0
10 - Line attenuation:	6.1/12.5
12 - Data sent/received:	926.1M/1.8G
20 - Broadband username:	twhite768@plusdsl.net
21 - Wi-Fi network/SSID:	PLUSNET-X67R8X
22 - Wi-Fi connections:	Enable(802.11 b/g/n(up to 144 Mb/s))20 MHz WPS enabled
23 - Wi-Fi security:	WPA2
24 - Wi-Fi channel:	Automatic (Smart Wireless)
25 - Firewall:	Default
26 - MAC Address:	ec:be:dd:59:9f:56
27 - Software variant	Version 1.0
28 - Boot loader:	7.275.11

[#2]

The maximum sync rate for ADSL2+ is 1.2Mbps - your connection is 1.05Mbps, which is pretty good. With the usual overheads taken into account you won't see much above 800Kbps upload, so although it seems slow it is about as fast as ADSL2+ will allow.

[#3]

Welcome to the forums, @tommo1 

Looking at your data above, you do have a good connection, with rates I'd kill for but I'm afraid the upload speeds you are seeing are probably about the best you are going to get, especially over a WiFi connection.

There are a couple of things to take into account here (1) the quality of the WiFi on the router (which is not the best) and (2) the connection at the other end, which you can do nothing about, unfortunately.

@corringham  beat me to it, but kind of confirms my comments.

[#4]

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@tommo1 wrote:

...can't test if this is a wifi-only issue as I don't own any devices with an ethernet port!

---

Welcome to the forum. 🙂

With those stats I suspect you would get nearer 16 - 17 Mb/s down and 1 Mb/s up with ethernet.

The router is set to Automatic (Smart Wireless), which in my experience can be anything but smart. 😉

If you have a suitable phone or tablet, I'd recommend installing a WiFi monitor app, checking for the clearest channel out of 1, 6 and 11 and manually setting the router accordingly.

[#5]

Thanks for the speedy help! 

I'll have a go at tweaking the channel, looks like OSX has a utility to check this - otherwise sounds like I'll just have to keep patiently waiting for fibre... fingers crossed not for too much longer...

Thanks again 🙂

[#6]

OK, good luck.

Bear in mind, though, that the Plusnet-issued routers are not renowned for top WiFi coverage.

If you do manage to improve your upload speed, it's still not going to exceed around 1·1Mb/s at best on ADSL.

This site will give an indication on what you could achieve with FTTC.