Unlimited Fibre Extra - speed poor and wifi dropping out

[#1]

Been happily with plusnet for years but over the past 6 weeks (before the lockdown) we are having major problems with our speed issues and drop outs. 

I understand that for the past 3 weeks our usage like many has gone up however, not being able to access business work websites or VPN, when my kids are streaming music and my wife netflixs (not normally an issues) is now a major pain. ONly way around it is for me to grab an ethernet cable.

Cant see that there are any reported network issues but seeing other posts, not sure if this means anything.. Or do I get a new router? Its bad timing for Plusnet as my contract expires in the next month so not sure whether to stay or go.. any help gratefully appreciated.

[#2]

@gamber  Welcome to the forum.

If you get decent speed using an Ethernet cable then it’s not a network problem.

 Have you tried splitting the wireless bands and maybe using a different one from the rest of the family? See. https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/2-4ghz-and-or-5ghz-best-practice/m-p/1351966#M840

If you consistently want the best performance then using an Ethernet cable is by far the best option. 

[#3]

Hi @gamber,

Thank you for taking your time to get in touch.

 The username linked to your community account seems to be incorrect therefore I cannot access your account. Due to security please do not provide us with the correct one on a post.

As you have stated that the wireless is affected when others are using it maybe that there is no more bandwidth available through this for the VPN. Using an Ethernet cable will always provide you with a faster connection.

As per the response from @Baldrick1 if you try splitting the networks this may help. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to call our support team on 08004320200. There current opening hours are between 9am until 6pm due to the current scenario.

Kind regards,

Josh

[#4]

Thanks for this @Baldrick1 but is there any down side to this and also how do I decide to use a different band to the rest of the family.. this is all nwe territory to me?

Also the router I have is over 4 years old (from Plusnet) should I buy a new one - will there be any benefits and will this allow me to assign bands to individual users.

Thanks for your help in advance

[#5]

@gamber 

The logic behind having the bands synchronised is that as you move around your property your mobile device will pick up the best band. The downside is that some devices get confused with receiving the same data on two bands simultaneously and either flip flop between the two, slowing the speed down or give up altogether.

If all devices in your house use the same band then this can result in a data bottleneck, again slowing things down.

Once you have split the bands you go into your device wireless settings. There you will find not only your original router SSID, which will be the 2.4 GHz transmission but also a new one with the same SSID with -5 tagged on the end. This is the 5GHz band. The password is the same for both.

I would try both initially for your most important device with other devices switched off and select the best. Then connect the others to the other band and see how you get on. So yes, you assign a band to each device by selecting the band you want it to use in the device wireless network settings.

If you need more help do come back.

[#6]

thanks for this, will give it a try