Wifi connection problems for no apparent reason

[#1]

We are in an area which seems to be low priority for full fibre upgrade despite BTO forever shutting roads nearby. The best speed we get is about 24Mbps. Not only that, the mobile signal is virtually non-existent and since Plusnet took our landline away, we rely on WiFi calling to make phone calls.

About three weeks ago, every device in the house that browses or streams via WiFi started to suffer slow speeds and periods when there seemed to be no connection. As an example, just last night I was watching a YouTube 1080p/25 video and about half way through, it stopped and from then on I could only watch about five seconds about every 20 seconds - playback was stalling for 15 seconds. It also just took two minutes to send a message on eBay. Phone calls either do not connect or drop out.

I tried all kinds of troubleshooting, changing channels, disabling 5GHz (2.4GHz should better penetrate walls etc.), swapping the Hub Two with a similar BT model. I used a TinySA and found that parts of the house which previously could download (on a Mac Mini) at over 2MB/s had a signal which was barely 5dB above the noise floor so it was unsurprising that there were problems.

After explaining this to a Plusnet support person, I was sent a new Hub Two but after installing it yesterday and seeing that the signal was between 10 and 15dB above noise where the Mac is, found that the problems persist.

I have been scratching my head to understand what is suddenly causing the problems and it is driving me up the wall - not least because being the only person in the house with a technical bent, it falls upon me to sort it out.

I just called Plusnet again and did not feel inspired by the support I received; e.g. I was told to perform a factory reset on the Hub Two which was only installed yesterday.

I did a speed test on an iPad and an iPhone about 15" from the new Hub Two and the connection speeds were erratic varying from 0 or 800Kbps to 16Mbps so was told that that was acceptable. It kind of reminds me about connection problems I had with O2 who phoned me, the phone rang but cut off as soon as I answered and was told that because my phone rang, it proved I had a signal - just because I might get an occasional burst of 16Mbps does not mean I have a functional connection and as the problems have occurred in close proximity of three routers, I kind of suspect that it isn't actually the WiFi - though I note that all three routers' firmware has been updated recently according the the web interface.

I've ordered some Powerline adapters but because the router is necessarily on the ground floor and most devices are upstairs and on a different circuit, I'm kind of expecting them not to work.

I've lived here for 16 years, nothing much has changed with the layout and I've had problems before but nothing like this.

A bit of a ramble but it was difficult to explain in a straight line.

I'd be grateful if anybody has any thoughts.

[#2]

As a start, @flamesong , can you attach a screenshot of your Technical Log - Information page, obscuring personal details? 

[#3]

@flamesong 

Can't help with your specific problem.

However, have you checked recently if OR have any plans for your address. Note that it's possible their build plans only go up to the end of 2026. I've not heard anything definitive about 27 and beyond.

www.openreach.co.uk

Brian

[#4]

To slightly refine @bmc's point,

When checking the various Openreach checkers for the status of the Full Fibre build program rollout,

it appears that the Openreach schedule for the next 12 months, is typically updated in March and October,

therefore the furthest date projections that say -

        "We'll be building here soon, with services available in the next 12 months"

are probably up to March 2027.

So @flamesong if you haven't check your full fibre rollout since the end of March 2026, then check it again, alternatively, if you let us know your postcode, then somebody could check whether a non-Openreach full fibre network can connect you sooner.

[#5]

---

@flamesong wrote:

About three weeks ago, every device in the house that browses or streams via WiFi started to suffer slow speeds and periods when there seemed to be no connection.

I'd be grateful if anybody has any thoughts.

---

Do you happen to have new neighbours, or have your neighbours changed their internet ?, as their WiFi might be interfering with yours.

Do you have any electronics in your house that is playing up ?, as things like plug-in mains adaptors and chargers can oscillate when failing at similar frequencies to both VDSL broadband, and 2.4GHz WiFi.

Do you have any wireless home automation monitors or controllers, as they wirelessly share the same frequencies as WiFi, but won't appear on a WiFi spectrum monitor app.

Do you have any ethernet connected computers, so you can test the internet connection while the WiFi is apparently being slow ?

Consider setting up a (free) ThinkBroadband Broadband Quality Monitor to see whether your internet is doing anything odd at the times you observe WiFi issues.

I don't have Apple devices, my question is, can you tell when an iPhone is doing a cloud backup ? as that could cause the symptoms you are describing, especially if your FTTC upload speed is less than about 5Mbps.

[#6]

---

@ExForce9 wrote:

I don't have Apple devices, my question is, can you tell when an iPhone is doing a cloud backup ? as that could cause the symptoms you are describing, especially if your FTTC upload speed is less than about 5Mbps.

---

@ExForce9 I don't know about other peoples equipment, or how they have it set up, but my iPhone and iPad only do backups when they are plugged in - either to my laptop or the mains - unless I force a backup - which I don't, if they are not connected.