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New FTTP Connection Query

tasmanuk — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 09:48:23 GMT

Hello. I have recently signed up to the 900 mb/s FTTP package from BT and it is being installed in a week or so. However after reading a lot of posts here I am wondering if I am actually going to get those speeds and if it is worth going for the 300 mb/s package instead. I will only be using the SH2 router for now but am looking at getting ethernet cable run from where the connection enters my house, over to my office which is the other side of the house. I like the stay fast guarantee of 450 that the 900 package gives you but I believe that is the line connection speed rather than what my devices connect with.

My question is, if I get the 900 package now, and find that I am not getting decent speeds, can I downgrade to the 300 package within the 14 day cooling off period? However if I go for 300 will my speeds just drop even more using wifi or if I can get 300 using the 900 package will I at least be able to get 300 by getting the 300 package?

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

pippincp — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 09:56:46 GMT

It is impossible to say what speeds you will get wirelessly, there are too many variables not least are your devices capable of 300Mb wirelessly?

You can upgrade/downgrade during the 14 day period. A wired connection will always give you the best speeds.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

licquorice — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 10:02:22 GMT

The fundamental question is what speed do you need.

Unless you have a house full of people all streaming different UHD channels, do you actually need all that speed?

Your actual wifi speed itself won't change because of lower sync speed, it is entirely independent. Throughput is limited by the slowest link in the chain, broadband or wifi.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

tasmanuk — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 10:01:39 GMT

This is sort of why I think 900 may be overkill if I am just using wifi for now (I guess I can always upgrade my package with BT later). Devices using wifi are latest iPad and iPhone 12, Apple TV 4K, Xbox Series X, PS5, iMac (3 years old) and LG Smart TV (2 years old).

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

tasmanuk — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 10:05:01 GMT

To be honest, probably not. My wife still watches SD tv and thinks it is acceptable 🙂

I however want to be able to stream 4K movies on my Apple TV and not wait for days (on my current 10 mb/s connection) for game downloads to download. Also there was only £2 a month difference between the 500 and 900 package, which is why I went for the top one. I never checked what the 300 one would have cost.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

licquorice — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 10:13:21 GMT

4K streaming only needs minimum of 25M but 50M preferable.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

Will168 — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 22:03:40 GMT

@tasmanuk It is certainly possible to get 900 mbps on it. I can get that when wired in and on wireless I can typically get 350-420 mbps throughout the house using a Deco M9 mesh. You can see both wired and wireless speed test results that I just ran.

I have seen on this community that some people seem to struggle to get decent speeds out of the faster FTTP packages and I guess there are a variety of reasons. Any time I run a wired speed test, I get 900/110.

Is the 900 mbps overkill? For me, certainly! I have three gigabit switches, one on each floor of the house, just to have as many devices wired in as possible, to attempt to make the most of it. But I doubt there is any point in a normal day when more than 200 mbps is being used at any one time. 300 mbps would have been enough for me, but I did my FTTP switch as part of a home move last year and the 900 mbps and 300 mbps packages were the same price, so obviously went for the 900 mbps. I think normally, the difference is £10 per month.

Do you need the 900 mbps? Only you can determine that. You'd have to be hammering it fairly often to notice 300 mbps being a bottleneck.

Either way, both packages are really fast and nothing ever needs to load or buffer, which is very nice!

The upload speed on the 900 mbps is 100 mbps vs 50 mbps on the 300 mbps package. That might make the difference for some people.

I'm sure you'll be impressed with the download speeds whichever way you decide to go

WifiWired

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

tasmanuk — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 13:03:06 GMT

Thankyou. That is very useful. I think if I could get over 400 download using the SH2 on wifi I would be very happy. Then I could decide whether to get ethernet cable laid through my house or instead buy one of those fancy Asus or Netgear routers that seem to do a better job than the BT one. I will see what it is like for a few days and make a decision then on whether to downgrade to 300 while I am in my cooling off period. I'm sure 300 will be enough and as I currently have an upload speed of 1 mb/s (on a good day) then even 50 up will be a massive improvement. It's possible the price difference will be really small so maybe worth sticking with the higher speeds though.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

Will168 — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:00:02 GMT

@tasmanuk No problem! Note that the 400 mbps over wifi was on the Deco mesh, not the SH2. Typically, I can get around 350-380 mbps on the SH2 over wifi and is not as consistent across the whole house. In some corners of the house, it can be around 280 mbps (all internal walls in the house are stud walls, not solid).

For reference, my SH2 is running firmware v0.24.04.11017-BT and although I see a lot of complaints about how temperamental the BT hubs are, I've never had any issues with them in the past, except the wifi range on my previous HomeHub. But when I moved into a bigger house last yeah, I decided the Deco mesh was a worthwhile investment.

As you said, there's no harm in getting the SH2 setup and seeing how it goes for you first before deciding whether or not to fork out for the fancier routers. Although if wifi range and speed stability is important, I would definitely consider a mesh option...I'm extremely impressed with how well the one I have performs.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

tasmanuk — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:25:09 GMT

I didn't know what Mesh was so have now looked into it. Seems more useful than standard range extenders. So many choices though when I look at the options to buy. I looked at the Deco on Amazon and bizarrely a 3 pack was £150 (which seems reasonable) whereas the 2 pack was £240. Not wifi 6 enabled for those prices but not sure if I need that.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

Will168 — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:49:07 GMT

@tasmanuk Mesh systems are much better than range extenders. I have tried range extenders in the past and although cheaper option, there are lags when transitioning from main router to wifi extender and vice-versa. In my experience, mesh systems work flawlessly, the switching is seamless and you never notice at all. Which is I guess the purpose of them.

Not all mesh systems are created equal though, so do your research before deciding what will work best for you.

I didn't personally worry too much about wifi 6 when I bought mine because I have no wifi 6 devices and the good wifi 6 mesh systems were around double the price of the Deco M9s that I picked up on the big sale day that a certain massive online retailer has. I figured by the time I have a few wifi 6 devices, those mesh systems would have come down considerably in price and probably improved a lot during the intervening period. But some people will prefer to get into wifi 6 now rather than getting wifi 5 and then having to make another purchase 2 years down the line.

I think you are looking the 3 pack of M5 vs the 2 pack of M9. The M9 are a more expensive product, has more antennas, dedicated wifi backhaul etc.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

tasmanuk — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 15:28:38 GMT

Have now done a bit of research and think I will go for the Asus ZenWifi AX Mini (XD4). As that is wifi 6 that will future proof me. Just need to decide if I need a 2 pack or 3 pack now (about £100 difference)

Am I right in thinking I replace my SH2 with one of these, which becomes the router?

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

pippincp — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 15:40:07 GMT

Yes, you replace the SH2. All you need to do is configure it to use PPPoE and set the following.

Username: bthonehub@btbroadband.com

Password: BT

Note: If you go for digital voice you MUST use the SH2, better to go for a third party VoIP.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

Will168 — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 15:40:42 GMT

Yes, it can completely replace your SH2. You can connect the main Zen directly to the Openreach ONT and put the SH2 somewhere safe for when you will eventually need to return it to BT.

You could keep the SH2 plugged in too and have it as a go-between, but there isn't really an advantage of doing it that way, other than it's easier for BT to do their standard troubleshooting steps if an issue ever arises. But if that happens, you could always just plug the SH2 back in at that point.

The SH2 will also form part of the BT Wifi public hotspot service too, if it is plugged in.

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

tasmanuk — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 16:00:32 GMT

Thankyou to everyone for your help so far. After 10 years of basic but very reliable copper line internet it is a big jump that I am about to take and I want to make sure I get the right kit to maximise the speeds I can get. I still have the option of getting an electrician to wire up my house with ethernet cable but it sounds like I may not have to. Appreciate that I am probably asking my questions in the wrong forum now but as it is my post I hope that is ok.

What is the benefit of a Mesh system over a stand alone Wifi 6 enabled router like the Nighthawk or Asus model?

Re: New FTTP Connection Query

licquorice — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 18:22:53 GMT

They are different things.

A mesh system provides seamless wifi coverage from a number of different locations, the standalone router will only provide wifi at that location and extra wifi access points would need to be provided at the dead spots to give coverage, but devices wouldn't roam seamlessly between them as they do with a mesh system.

If you go for Ethernet, get a network guy rather than an electrician.