Just had full fibre 500 installed in the wrong place!

[#1]

I’ve just had Full fibre 500 installed. We wanted the router to be in our lounge where everything is - TV , mobile phones, tablets. 
The installer said to do that the cable would have to go all round the outside of the house. He advised against this as it could eventually lead to problems with the fibre cable potentially becoming damaged because it had to go around corners. Instead it was installed where it came into the house - the upstairs loft room. This means it’s as far away as it can be from where it’s being used.

I know that using the Speedtest on a mobile phone isn’t the best way to test the speed but when I did I got 16mbps download and 12mbps upload. 
If I go upstairs it reads 5x as fast.

It go’s without saying that I will be on the phone tomorrow to Plusnet - if I can get a strong enough signal that is!

[#2]

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@Pauper123 wrote:

... it was installed where it came into the house - the upstairs loft room. This means it’s as far away as it can be from where it’s being used.

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If the ONT is in one corner of the house, and the TV etc is on the opposite diagonal corner,  can't you simply run a 15m ethernet cable across the attic space, and locate the router, or a wired WAP (Wireless Access Point) directly above the TV ?

If you had both the router and a WAP on opposite diagonals, then you would have the whole house covered by WiFI.

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@Pauper123 wrote:

... using the Speedtest on a mobile phone ... I got 16mbps download ... If I go upstairs it reads 5x as fast.

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From your speed test results it sounds like you're WiFi is connecting by 2.4GHz, why aren't you using the faster 5GHz band ?

I find the Ookla Speedtest to be hopeless, try these instead - Samknows , ThinkBroadband , Waveform 

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@Pauper123 wrote:

It go’s without saying that I will be on the phone tomorrow to Plusnet - if I can get a strong enough signal that is!

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What do you expect Plusnet to do about it ?

They are only responsible for the connection up to the ONT's ethernet port, and they have supplied working 500Mb Full Fibre.

The Hub Two is well known for having poor WiFi, and Plusnet don't provide an alternative router or WiFi solution.

Plusnet can't be responsible for your in home WiFi, as that can be affected by so many factors such as foil backed ceiling plasterboard, stone walls, interference from neighbour's WiFi on the same channels, kitchen microwaves, fluorescent lights,  etc.

It's up to you to now run ethernet cables as needed, and fit wireless access points to provide adequate WiFi coverage.

.

[#3]

Thanks for your advice, it’s much appreciated.

[#4]

Moderator's note:
Thread moved from Full Fibre to Everything Else

[#5]

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@Pauper123 wrote:

I’ve just had Full fibre 500 installed. ......... it’s as far away as it can be from where it’s being used.

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The Router does not have to be installed next to the ONT, You can have up to 100m of CAT 5e or better Ethernet cable between the two. This can be installed either internally or externally (using external grade cable).

Unfortunately installing this is neither the responsibility of Openreach or Plusnet. Consequently, it's either a DIY job or find a local tradesman.  If you want further advice regarding a DIY solution, please ask. Several of us around here have undertakeb similar installations.

[#6]

Thanks for your reply.

Is there a specific wap that works best with the Plusnet router?

[#7]

Before going down the WAP route, try moving the router first as suggested.

A temporary try out using a long cable. This one on Amazon is £13.
https://amzn.eu/d/dCDC2Rx

Just run it through the loft opening and down the stairs to find the best location.
Then you can work out how to get an external run to it.

[#8]

@Pauper123 

Although the installer advised against running the fibre cable round the outside of the house there's nothing stopping you from running an external ethernet cable.

Using good quality external grade ethernet cable drill out from beside the ONT, up the wall, round the house and down to where you want the router to bring the cable back inside.

Would cost a few bob to get someone in to do the work but it is future proof.

Brian

[#9]

The only difficult bit about running an ethernet cable is terminating it after you've pushed the ends through the wall.

Luckily nowadays you can get toolless RJ45 plugs and/or wall plates, depending what sort of installation you want.

I know that satellite installers typically just push the cable straight through with a sort of mushroom disc to cover the edges of the hole. Personally for ethernet I'd go for a wall plate then a patch cable to whatever you're connecting it to.

Here's a typical cheap RJ45 plug, delivered directly from China! RJ45 CAT6 LAN UTP Cable Plug Tool-Free Cat6 Installation Cable Connector | eBay

If you get a long-enough pre-terminated cables, test it out, then cut one end off to feed it through your walls, you'd only need one of these to reterminate the chopped end!

[#10]

This was my original gripe about the installation. I was advised that running the cable around the outside might lead to future problems . Now it looks like I’m having to do the job myself. It’s my fault for not insisting having it located in the correct location.

[#11]

@Pauper123 as noted earlier, running Ethernet is easier, less likely to be damaged and MUCH easier to fix/replace than fibre.