Slow Fibre broadband - review before calling CS

[#1]

Hello all,

Sorry this is a bit long. In short, I'm not happy with fibre broadband speed and looking for helpful suggestions to better the connection.

I have been with PlusNet since 2013 and, though I thought I had a valid community account, I have just today signed up for forums.

I recently got an email from PlusNet about changes to fibre broadband ( and a slight cost increase) with this statement;

'Our superfast fibre broadband is even faster - we’ve increased upload speeds from up to 1.9Mbps to up to 9.5Mbps (that’s 5 x faster)'.

I dream of that type of upload speeds!

I'm thinking about phoning PlusNet to try to sort out speed issues but had a really bad experience with CS on my previous call some months ago. I cannot find an email address to post directly to PlusNet so thought posting here before or instead of calling PlusNet could be fruitful!

Since getting PlusNet I have never had speeds anywhere close to what I expected and have tried several things to try to rectify this including phoning PlusNet, having engineers called out and changing equipment. Nothing has worked well except a recent modem router upgrade. Even Openreach engineers were stumped as to why my speeds are so low.

Before upgrading my modem router to a NetGear AC2600 Nighthawk X4S VDSL/ADSL (D7800), my internet speeds were around 10Mbps down and .56Mbps up. Those speeds where with a Belkin router that was bought to replace the PlusNet sent router that would often overheat until it, actually, started smoking. The Belkin router complemented the Openreach fibre modem but my new device is both modem and router.

A test of availability via BT webpages gave this;

BT Wholesale testing gave results;

Further BT Wholesale testing results;

I currently have PlusNet Unlimited Fibre (broadband only - no phone) as I pay for the broadband £22.49 and house owner pays the telephone bill including line rental. The speeds above indicate my now usual approx. 12Mps down and .5Mbps up whilst using one laptop connected with a Cat5e cable, one mobile phone dormant but on 2.4GHz WIFI and no devices on 5GHz WIFI or otherwise connected. That list is my normal testing scenario. According to PlusNet webpages, my account should be enabled for up to 66Mbps (https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/broadband-only/). I have seen that BT Wholesale is putting my line capability as 17Mbps down. I know neighbours have substantially higher speeds than mine.

I have to justify my spending and have difficulty justifying my current subscription to PlusNet based on cost, price hike (though it is small and not going to break the bank) and current down speeds. In particular the laughable up speed I have is a hard pill to swallow averaging around .5Mbps up compared to the above quoted speeds from the PlusNet email.

My education is in computing and I have a fair understanding of home networking. I have checked all devices that connect to my network regularly, have no phone extensions on network, guest networking via WIFI is switched off and WIFI is protected.

In fairness, although not as fast as expected, I have had few problems with PlusNet and they have been somewhat minor. I'm now doing more with my internet usage such as uploading short videos to YouTube and seeing how painfully slow my connection really is compared to what I believe I should be getting for the price paid.

I'm kind of torn at the moment as I would like to stay with PlusNet rather than move on but the speeds are really of concern just now.

I'm asking for suggestions to further improve things on my end but feel there is little to nothing I can do. I am physically disabled and this means sitting waiting for an hour plus for a call handler to take my call as in the past is not a fun prospect - especially if the handler is as rude and seemingly uncaring and unwilling to listen as the one I have earlier mentioned. Maybe a moderator on this forum can help!?

Thanks for reading and I will appreciate any help.

Further info

Speed testing setup is;

Internet: PlusNet Unlimited Fibre (broadband only - no phone)

Modem Router: NetGear AC2600 Nighthawk X4S VDSL/ADSL (D7800)

Laptop: MSI GE62VR 7RF Apache Pro

Testing via: BT Wholesale, BT Fiber availability tester, OOKLA speed test and TechRadar.

Connections: Outside line > Inside 'junction box' > Open reach plate > Modem router (also one landline phone) > Laptop.

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Post released from Spam Filter.

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Links fixed for display purposes.

[#2]

It seems I am unable to edit the above OP. The [img] is not working but the links do!

[#3]

What does the DSL Checker say you should be getting?

Do you have modern filtered Master Socket?

Have you tried from the hidden test socket?

Is your phone line quiet - dial 17070 option 2?

Once we know these things, people might be able to give you some more advice.

[#4]

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@Night_Watch wrote:

It seems I am unable to edit the above OP. The [img] is not working but the links do!

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To add links to display the image in the body of the post click on the picture Icon above the edit box. In the newly opened frame click URL and enter the image link and press 'Enter'. Once the image is shown click Done. Hope that helps.

[#5]

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@Night_Watch wrote:
Maybe a moderator on this forum can help!?

@Night_Watch

Moderators are customers like yourself who have no access to your account or Plusnet systems. But there is a wealth of knowledgeable members who may be able to offer help.

[#6]

Hello and thanks for answer. The Master Socket is modern and as fitted in installation by Openreach engineer. Enginner on later call out tested from hidden socket. Phone line is fine as tested by OPenreach. I have not recently done a quiet line test but had previously and all was good.

AH! Yeah DSL checker showing issue! forgot that one;

UPDATE: Corrected image to remove personal data on host site and re-linked here. (Having a copy paste moment!)

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Personal information in image removed from a public forum.

[#7]

Things can go wrong - but your line is performing to its expectations, not showing a problem.

[#8]

Ah! Moderators not CS. I get it. The image insertion help was good - funny I did not see the 'icon' as hard as I looked. Must have been having a moment!

Thanks.

[#9]

I did answer other questions! I can tell you I have not recently tested via the hidden socket and suspect that will not help as it never has before. Always had way under expected speeds.

Update: Just done quiet line test without issue.

[#10]

Yeah! I posted that last image rather hastily! Thanks for the removal Mav.

[#11]

Like you, I can edit posts - and like I said, it is performing as it should - the only way you are going to see any improvement is to move a bit closer to the cabinet.

[#12]

I don't know why you had a swipe about editing post. I do not edit posts lightly and any alteration would have been minor and reasonable.

Anyway! Move closer to cabinet. What a laugh. I'll just pop out and tell my next door neighbours they have to move closer to the cabinet too. OR not. I know others living very near have much better speeds than I get. I also know exactly which in the street cabinet is in use and that it is a moderately paced five or so minutes walk away (for someone in good health). I would have to measure using googl maps or something to be sure of distance but I'm fairly certain that the cabinet is as close to me as any of the seven or so within a circular perimeter of my home and those nearby including my semi-detatched neighbour..

I really do appreciate your input and know I may have come across badly just then. I was taken aback by the editing comment though.

[#13]

The first time I saw post 6, it did not have the DSL Checker table in it - if not you, maybe it was Mav doing his edit at the time.

But in any event, your speeds are determined by how far away your line run is from the cabinet - all ISP's will use the DSL checker to determine your expected speeds. So really don't understand why you think they should be higher. 

[#14]

Yes! Maybe that post editing thing was an accident.

I know that the speed is affected by the cabinet to property run (and many other factors). As stated though my next door neighbours and others nearby in same street all report having faster speeds.

Why should I thinlk I might get better speeds? Neighbourhood has better speeds for one. I could argue that I'm not getting what I am paying though but I know that it looks like it may be out of the hands of Plusnet.

I do not expect any special treatment. I'm not some special little snowflake! I posted here for the reasons stated in OP.

Thanks for the help but it looks like little can be done. I'll sit on the contacting Plusnet over the weekend then have a bit more think about how I want to carry on.

[#15]

Hey Mav or other able to do so, I consider this thread done with now. Go ahead and close it if you want.

With thanks to contributers.