Full Fibre 300 - not getting full download speed

[#1]

Hi,

I had Full Fibre 300 installed last Thursday (previously had FTTC). Immediately after installation by Openreach I checked download speed on my mobile using the Opensignal app and got 300 Mbps download / 50 Mbps upload which I was really happy with.

I wasn't at home on Friday but when I checked on Saturday I couldn't get anywhere near that download speed - in some cases it was worse than my old fibre connection! Even with my PC connected via a LAN cable I could only get about 85 Mbps download using either Speedtest.net or the BT Wholesale speed checker.

Obviously this was nowhere near my guaranteed download speed of 165 Mbps so I reported the issue using the automated text number. I got replies but after I was told an advisor would call me within 15 minutes or so, no-one did so I phoned Plusnet yesterday.

The advisor did all the checks and couldn't find any issues, nor could she explain why I wasn't called back. She then went on to claim there was a 3-10 day stabilisation period which I obviously questioned as I didn't believe that applied to Full Fibre.

I replied to the question last night to state that I didn't think this was correct but haven't heard anything back yet.

Therefore I would like to ask advice please:

1. Was I being misled by the advisor?

2. What needs to happen to ensure I get the full download speed I'm paying for?

Thanks

Steven

[#2]

@srangeley  (1) yes you were being 'misled' by the advisor, but to be fair, I don't think the first-line staff have all been fully briefed on Full Fibre - I could be wrong.

(2) I'm not up to speed with FF either - it is a couple of years away from me yet, but have you tried rebooting the Hub or the ONT?

[#3]

Hi John,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes I would agree that some retraining is required!

I haven't touched the ONT. I did reboot the Hub 2 on Saturday but it didn't make any difference - all the poor test results I mentioned were after the reboot.

Thanks

Steven

[#4]

Steven - I don't know enough about FF to really offer much more advice - I think there is a way to connect direct to the ONT, but it is only think.

You could try rebooting the ONT - it shouldn't cause any issues, AFIAK.

Anyway, I'll tag @MisterW - he's one of the experts on here.

[#5]

I think there is a way to connect direct to the ONT, but it is only think.

you connect a pc directly using ethernet and then configure a pppoe connection on the pc with your Plusnet credentials

[#6]

@srangeley  While you are configuring the PC network adaptor for PPPoE (to connect directly to the ONT),  also check the PC's network adaptor connection status to ensure it is connecting at 1Gb Ethernet speeds - just in case you are inadvertently using a network cable that isn't capable of 1Gb transfers ! - such as old two-pair 100Base-T Cat5 Ethernet, used for slow ADSL modems or legacy printers, scanners, etc.

[#7]

I've no idea how to create a PPPoE connection on my PC although I'm sure I could Google how to do so!

I'd just like it to do what it says on the tin - if I got 300 Mbps on my phone straight after installation then why couldn't I get that over the weekend when I hadn't changed anything?

[#8]

Steven - it is useful to find out whether it is your internal network or something in the Openreach network which has caused this - creating a PPOE connection will show if you can get 300 when directly connected - rather like connecting to the test socket in the days of ADSL/FTTC.

[#9]

OK thanks John I'll see what I can do in the next few days but hopefully Plusnet will get back to me before then!

I don't have a home network really though - the only reason I have a LAN cable in the house is because WiFi was disabled on my very old Windows XP work laptop so I had to connect using a network cable!

Normally I just use the external WiFi adapter on my PC which I know won't be as fast as a network cable but I'd expect it to be loads better than it currently is.

[#10]

As you say you got the full 300 previously on the phone, what do you get now? I suspect your external Wi-Fi adapter can't handle 300mbps anyway - they were made a long time ago, and will not be designed to handle that speed.

[#11]

I'm not at home tonight so I can't check at the moment sorry.

My WiFi adapter is this one, I bought it last year:

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/adapter/archer-t2u/

I think it's connected using 2.4GHz, not sure if it's possible to force it to use 5GHz instead?

[#12]

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@srangeley wrote:

... the only reason I have a LAN cable in the house is because WiFi was disabled on my very old Windows XP work laptop so I had to connect using a network cable!

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If your LAN cable came with an XP laptop, that makes it even more likely that the cable is only rated for up to 100Mb !

and therefore it wouldn't be unexpected to only get 85Mbps speedtest result on a wired connection !

[#13]

Fair point, it was provided by work so how can I tell what speed it supports?

Regardless, it still doesn't explain how I could get 300Mbps on my phone on Thursday but nowhere near that over the weekend 🤔

[#14]

Good point, @Anonymous  - hadn't thought of that.

[#15]

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@srangeley wrote:
Fair point, it was provided by work so how can I tell what speed it supports?

Regardless, it still doesn't explain how I could get 300Mbps on my phone on Thursday but nowhere near that over the weekend 🤔

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The cable should be marked with a category - what is it?