Switched to fibre, still on sub-par internet speed.

[#1]

Hi there, I was on the standard plusnet package for ages and the internet speed was fairly poor. Lots of buffering when trying to watch a film on netflix, that sort of thing. After expressing my disappointment to plusnet I was convinced that a switch to fibre would cure my woes, albeit at a higher price point. I have now been on fibre for 6 months and my internet speed is still abysmal. Indeed I ran a uSwitch speed test recently and was informed that my internet speed is just 6.4Mb. That's worse than it was before! uSwitch also tells me that I'm 82% slower than the average in my area and Virgin are offering speeds of 72Mb for cheaper! Those are big numbers, so I had to use a calculator to determine that its 11.6x faster than my current service for less money. It really begs the question of why on earth I've bothered sticking with plusnet at the time of my last contract renewal.  

A second gripe that continues to add insult to injury is my perception that the plusnet service is heavily biased in favour of new potential clients. Given the capacity constraints of any customer service team this presumably comes at the expense of existing clients. For example, when I logged in I could immediately speak to a consultant if my intention was to buy a new product, but I had to sit refreshing my browser like a wally while waiting for a representative if I wanted to discuss an existing account. No doubt human apathy means this is a profitable business decision. Once ensnared by plusnet's false promises people like me will generally endure the mediocrity rather than waste time trying to resolve it. Never the less it is deeply frustrating.   

Please advise on how to improve my internet speed. Note this is no less than the third time I have raised the issue with plusnet. Each time I have been told I will receive an email post some diagnostics being run. No such email has ever been forthcoming. Note I would also sooner initiate the termination of my contract than endure being asked yet again whether I have tried turning the router off and on again while standing on one leg under a full moon. 

Suffice to say, in stark contrast to the slogan, plusnet is certainly not "doing me proud"!

[#2]

Sorry to hear that.

Our tests are showing your router in sync at 40mbps and aren't finding any issues.

Are your devices connecting over WiFi or straight to the router using an ethernet cable?

If you're using WiFi, would you be able to try a wired connection? This will help narrow down where the problem lies. If your speed is OK that way, then it's likely the issue lies with the wireless signal and further help can be found here: https://community.plus.net/t5/Plusnet-Blogs/How-to-boost-your-wi-fi/ba-p/1450193

If you're still having problems using a wired connection, please can you run a speed test at www.speedtest.btwholesale.com completing the further diagnostics at the end?

[#3]

Thanks Gandalf, I do appreciate you taking the time to get back to me. I dug out an old laptop with a port and plugged in an ethernet cable. Ran the test on the link you provided and it came back at c. 6mbps. Did it a second time at it came back as 0. Figured that couldn't possibly be the case, so did it again and got a very healthy 36mbps. Restarted the laptop for the avoidance of doubt and ran the test again, and again go 36mbps, which is sort of encouraging if a bit variable.

I then tried to do the "further diagnostics" at the end (just to be thorough), but having entered my address I received an error message that plusnet was not providing a fibre connection to this address. All seems a bit odd. 

Any thoughts on how to proceed? In the meantime I'll restart all equipment and try again. When in doubt... 

Thanks again  

[#4]

I then tried to do the "further diagnostics" at the end (just to be thorough), but having entered my address I received an error message that plusnet was not providing a fibre connection to this address. All seems a bit odd. 

As you don't have fibre to the property you don't input your address into the wholesale speedtester. You'll just use your landline telephone number instead. The further diagnostics should then work for you.

EDIT: It might also be worth comparing speed test results between a wired and wireless connection.