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Connection speeds all over the place since Saturday

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stereohaven
Rising Star
Posts: 95
Thanks: 10
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎11-05-2016

Connection speeds all over the place since Saturday

I'm getting very frustrated with my connection and wondered if anyone has any additional suggestions for a resolution as I'm likely to die of old age before Plusnet pick up the phone!

In a nutshell, I have a FTTC connection which maxes out at about 41MB but is sat at 36MB 99% of the time. I have a wide range of devices in the house, some wired, some wireless.

 

I am using a BT HH6 instead of the Plusnet Hub One because the wireless coverage was useless. 

Since Saturday some websites and apps (usually but not exclusively those connecting wirelessly), are failing to load or work at all. Weirdly, different apps on the same device may work while others don't.

For example, on Sunday I couldn't stream anything via the NOW TV app on my LG TV (wired connection), yet Netflix would stream in 4K. If I tried to use my NOW TV box in the bedroom (wireless), it worked fine.

Speedtests on a variety of devices using either Ookla or the BT version come back either fine or below 5MB download with the ping moving from my usual 13ms to over 300. Or something completely random!

In fact, here are two done within 30 seconds of each other, one from the laptop I am writing this on (BT), the other from my iPhone (Ookla):BT SpeedtestBT Speedtest

 

OoklaOokla

 

 

Everything is just all over the place!

So is it a router problem? DNS? Or something else?

3 REPLIES 3
bill888
Champion
Posts: 1,254
Thanks: 263
Fixes: 38
Registered: ‎18-10-2008

Re: Connection speeds all over the place since Saturday

Fix

fwiw, it is unclear where your problems lie.  There could be more than one issue.  I would suggest you concentrate only on wired performance when posting test results.   Wireless performance can be unreliable if you live in a wifi congested area.

 

Log into the Smart hub and determine whether there has been any loss of broadband connectivity lately, and what the downstream and upstream speeds are reported.  ie. how long has the hub been connected to Plusnet service?  Hours, days?

Advanced Settings -> Technical Log -> Information

 

On the wireless side, have you tried separating the 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi, and also manually setting the channel numbers?  ie. use different wireless SSID names to assess whether one wifi band is better or worse than the other?

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14094/~/how-do-i-change-the-wi-fi-channel-on-my-bt-hu...

For 2.4 GHz band, use channels 1, 6 or 11 only.

For 5 GHz band, use channels 36, 40, 44 or 48.

If you have an android phone/tablet that supports both frequencies, download and install 'Wifi Analyzer' from 'farproc' to assess wifi congestion in your area.

 

Check the event log in the smart hub to determine whether its firmware was updated recently?

Only other suggestion is to reinstate the Hub One (and separate the 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi bands and try different channels numbers) to compare with the smart hub.

Adv.Setting-Wireless-5GHz.jpg

 ps. if you are on Plusnet 40/2mb fibre service, I note your upload speed is greater than 2mb, which may suggest you have been upgraded to 40/10mb recently.

 

 

ex-Plusnet (ADSL, FTTC) 2008-2023. now BT (FTTP) 2023-
stereohaven
Rising Star
Posts: 95
Thanks: 10
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎11-05-2016

Re: Connection speeds all over the place since Saturday

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to run through these tonight. 

 

The problems now only seem to affect wireless devices exclusively so I am thinking that the router (or settings within), are most likely to be the issue. 

stereohaven
Rising Star
Posts: 95
Thanks: 10
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎11-05-2016

Re: Connection speeds all over the place since Saturday

Well I swapped out the Smart Hub for the Hub One and all wireless devices are connecting again at full speed and I can even play a video on YouTube again! Wink

 

So it would appear to have been a fault with the Smart Hub (or a wireless setting therein), but I'll monitor things using our in house system (the kids), who will soon let me know again if there are issues

On the faster uploads speed, I didn't even know it was being updated, but I don't think I have been. I tried upgrading once to Fibre Extra but it turns out my line tops out at 41MB (stable), despite checks suggesting late 50s, so not worth paying extra for.

When they changed my profile back for some reason they did so for downloads but not uploads, so I have had the extra speed for a few years. Thumbs_Up