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Switched from BT and throughput has dived

darsuke
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Registered: ‎19-12-2017

Switched from BT and throughput has dived

I'm struggling to understand why real life throughput is so poor after I've switched from BT. 

 

My sync with BT was 52Mb on a 3 SNR and went to 38.55 on a 6 SNR after the switch. Attainable is 45Mb so I wasn't too concerned thinking it will sort itself soon. 

But what I can't fathom is real life surfing. Speed tests clock up mid 30's which is still acceptable. But downloading files is so much slower, a Mac os update wanted 13 hrs. Streaming catch up buffer's, something I've never had to experience before. And even web pages just feel sluggish with images playing catch up to display. 

 

I am exclusively using WiFi and even kept the smart hub 6 connected since switchover. I've tried different channels without any difference but even the youview box connected by power line plugs suffers now too. 

 

I did resync the router after a couple of weeks hoping to reach the attainable rate but that didn't shift.

I'm lost to understand what happened after the switch to give such an inferior experience or what I can do to get things back to how they were? 

26 REPLIES 26
Gandalf
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

Welcome to the community forums @darsuke

I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing speed problems

 

Our tests aren't showing any issues.

To narrow down where the issue might be, are you able to plug your Mac into the router using an ethernet cable?

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
darsuke
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

Thanks Smiley

I can do, need to order a super long cable first. 

Are you predicting it sounds like a WiFi issue?

The only one change apart from the ISP switch is going from infinity 1 to Plusnet extra but I can't see that being the issue Sad

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules.

Gandalf
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

It does sound like a WiFi issue. If you're using a different router it could have chosen a different wireless channel.

In the meantime whilst you're getting an ethernet cable, I'd run through the troubleshooting here.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
darsuke
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived


@Gandalf wrote:

It does sound like a WiFi issue. If you're using a different router it could have chosen a different wireless channel.

Yeah it's what I assumed straight away after transferring. And I have played with channel numbers since without effect. Plus, the power line plug isn't performing correctly since the switch either so I'm not sure now. 

 

Anyhow I've a BT whole home WiFi arriving this week. It's for a future project but I'll give that a try when it arrives and see if we can rule out a WiFi issue. 

But it's not making sense to me, I've kept the same router in situ throughout the transfer.

LaurenB
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

Sorry about the issues you are having, hopefully the BT Whole Home WiFi will help.

 

If you are still having problems let us know.

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Lauren Barry
 Plusnet Help Team
Baldrick1
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

@darsuke

You could try a factory reset on the Hub 6 by pressing in the switch on the back using a paper clip or similar. Keep it pressed in for at least 20 seconds then set it up with your Plusnet particulars as you did before.

Another thing to try is to separate the 2.4 and 5GHz channels. Do this in the router advanced settings and rename the 5GHz channel by adding 5 to the name. You can then try each to see which is best.

Rather than change wireless channels blind, if you have an Android device download a WiFi 'sniffer'. I use 'WiFI Analyser'. With this you can see which channels your neighbours are using and select the 'quietest'.

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darsuke
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

Thanks for the tips guys.

@LaurenB WiFi thing is arriving today but perhaps not the best week to start messing 😉

Besides, I found one glimour of hope last night, so not enough testing to see if it's the solution. But changing the DNS settings in the YouView box has stopped the buffering. At least for one evening so will keep an eye on that.

If that is the fix then I reckon it's a Plusnet issue rather than my equipment. Keeping an eye on it in case it's a fluke.

@Baldrick1 I'm hesitent to reset the hub just yet. The reason I kept the BT hub connected over the switchover is because of how solid it was performing while with BT.

Other than changing the username and password in it's settings, nothing had changed whatsoever. So, I was on seperate bands anyhow, and they were manually chosen using the MAC's built in WiFi analyser to avoid interference.

But, since the issue with throughput, I have changed the bands in a bid to rectify. And right now I actually put them back to a single channel just for comparison.

Anyhow, what I said above with the DNS might have sorted me out. Did the same to the FireTV today so will see how streaming goes this evening.

RichardB
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

@darksue

The synch speed drop when swapping from ISP A to ISP B is typical behavior for a line that had a 3dB profile & had G.INP error correction applied.

When swapping ISPs on BTs network (BT Openreach/BT wholesale) they reset the VDSL port at the cabinet and ditch the historic line data! Thus, the 3dB profile and G.INP are lost and default settings are applied to the line until Dynamic Line Management (DLM) decides to, hopefully, eventually intervene and improve matters.

Are you using the PN Hub one (= same hardware as the BT Home Hub 5a)?

If so it does not fully support G.INP (due to the chipset used inside) whereas I believe the BT Home Hub 6 does fully support G.INP.

I found swapping from a BT ECI modem (intel chipset) similar to the PN Hub One to BT Huawei modem which fully supports G.INP (broadcom chipset)  increased my line speed and reduced interleaving.

 

Hence, using your BT Home Hub6 in preference to the PN Hub One would be a good move.

Richard

darsuke
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived


@RichardB wrote:

@darksue

The synch speed drop when swapping from ISP A to ISP B is typical behavior for a line that had a 3dB profile & had G.INP error correction applied.

When swapping ISPs on BTs network (BT Openreach/BT wholesale) they reset the VDSL port at the cabinet and ditch the historic line data! Thus, the 3dB profile and G.INP are lost and default settings are applied to the line

 

Thanks for the insight @RichardB !

This does explain the sync precisely then. I was only put on the 3dB 2 days before the switchover. Up to that I was around 45Mb on the 6dB. Hopefully DLM will sync me back at the attainable as a New Year gift 😉

I haven't even opened the PN Hub box so never tried their hub. Got two OR white modems knocking around but can't remember which variations they are.

Baldrick1
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived


@darsuke wrote:
Other than changing the username and password in it's settings, nothing had changed whatsoever. So, I was on seperate bands anyhow, and they were manually chosen using the MAC's built in WiFi analyser to avoid interference.

I doubt it's relevant to your problem but my router is in the centre of my house where there are few neighbours WiFi transmissions detectable. So the router can automatically select any channel in blissful ignorance because.they are all 'quiet'.

In the living room, where wireless devices are used, I am much nearer to my neighbour who obviously has his router located in an adjacent room. I therefore can get a stronger signal from the neighbour as from my router in that part of the house. My router is not detecting this so can (and did before I set it manually) automatically select this effectively congested channel.

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darsuke
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived


@Baldrick1 wrote:

I doubt it's relevant to your problem but my router is in the centre of my house where there are few neighbours WiFi transmissions detectable.

I'm actually down in the smoke, in a heavily congested residential suberb where there are tons of SSID's around. That said, it didn't cause an issue before I switched.

I'm sure there's something more going on here than WiFi anomalies.

Terranova667
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

Also to take into consideration is network traffic routing, BT may have had faster & shorter routing through their network compared to Plusnet, I don't know if you ever did a trace route when on BT if so you could have compared it to Plusnet and see if there was a difference.

the the higher the ping the more hops through servers along a route can affect throughput although that said it's normally not that huge unless congestion is involved.

darsuke
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

No trace routes....I'm not that techy. Ping is just over double after the switch, was quite low at 7 with BT. 

If there's any hint of a congestion issue is that at an ISP or exchange level?

Moderator's note by Dick (Strat): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules

Gandalf
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Re: Switched from BT and throughput has dived

If there's any hint of a congestion issue is that at an ISP or exchange level?

It can be either, but if there was an issue at our level then I'd expect we'd receive a lot more reports.

Our suppliers haven't advised of any congestion on the VLAN your service is connected to.

 

I'm going to try something as a test.

Can you reboot your router when you can next and let us know how it goes?

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet