This topic

Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

AaronP — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 08:18:05 GMT

Hello everyone.

I'm on Full Fiber 500 and noticed I was only getting 200-300 speed instead of the guaranteed minimum 425. Had a frustrating engineer visit this morning where they placed there laptop next to the router and via wifi showed them getting full 500ish speed on both his laptop and phone.

I preformed the exact same test same test on my PC, phone & after they left, my gaming consoles, and they all showed the exact same slower speed of about 280. It turned into a back and forth of mine says this your says that, so I asked what could be the issue effecting my devices but not his and he had no idea.

I would understand if it was just one device but ALL of my devices have the exact same, consistent (regardless of wifi or ethernet) lower download speed when I did tests one after the other. I must be missing something.

I'm at a complete loss here and I'm having a catch-up call Monday and I don't know what to say. Any advice?

Note: I have CAT 6 ethernet cables and using 5GHz Wifi.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

AaronP — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 09:37:36 GMT

Update: I installed a third party router but it doesn't seem to have changed anything.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

iniltous — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 11:02:14 GMT

There have been many similar posts and it’s invariably the customers kit , or unrealistic expectations of WiFi that are the problem , the way FTTP works isn’t like FTTC or ADSL in that there is no reduction in the connection rate depending on variables like line length , line quality, FTTP either connects or doesn’t , and provided the administrator has set your profile correctly ( so in your case set as a 500Mb ) then that what you get…..throughput is different as that isn’t entirely within the control of your ISP, have you tried the ‘BT’ speed tester making sure to use the 500/1000Mb option ?, what results do you get from that.
Any speed test should be done on a cabled Ethernet connection as WiFi speeds cannot be guaranteed,
If your laptop can support Gb speeds connect it using the Ethernet cable that would plug into the router from the ONT , and set up a PPPoE connection direct from the ONT , if that gives the speed you expect , whatever the issue is , isn’t really your providers problem , unless the router is kaput

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

NigelB72 — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 11:49:15 GMT

As @iniltous says, there are so many variables that affect the speed that your devices can handle. You could have a gigabit ethernet card, a fast CPU and fast RAM but if you have a poor quality HDD, it will drag your speeds to down to a level it can handle. This will apply to every piece of hardware that is running on your network. One teeny bottleneck will drag the speeds down for that device.

This is why ISP's only guarantee speeds to the hub and no further.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

AaronP — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 12:19:42 GMT

Hi, thanks for the reply.

It was BTs router and the speed test on the engineers laptop showed 500mb speed fine over Wifi. There aren't any connection issues with wifi (or eithernet), it's connecting fine and single strength on wifi is consistent upstairs and downstairs. It's just my devices are not getting the full speed, only around 300mb instead of 500mb. My devices connected with an Ethernet cable also show this same speed.

Again, if it was just Wifi devices with a speed limitation and my Ethernet connected devices were getting full speed, then I would determine it is a wifi issue, but my Ethernet devices are getting the exact same limited speed.

I have tried BT speed tester (https://speedtest.btwholesale.com). Results were: -8 ping, around 300mb Download and 72 Upload (I should note I am receiving my Full Upload speed). I ran this on my PC and I did read the disclaimer regarding 500/1000mb testing speeds and my pc specs, ethernet cables[CAT6a], OS etc all are within minimum spec.

I do understand this looks like it may not be a provider issue, I am just frustrated the engineer was not able to provide any insight.

UPDATE: I unplugged the BT router and plugged in my own 3rd party router and it does appear to be slightly increasing the speed. The speed before ranged from 220-300 now it is closer to 300-340 (on all my devices). Tho other factors may be contributing to this.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

AaronP — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 12:24:52 GMT

Hi, thanks for the reply,

Yes I agree completely, my main issue however is that every single device regardless of connection type, storage speed, distance from router, all seem to be limited to the same speed. I do a test on my pc, then phone then game console, all the same number. (+/- 5mb).

Which leads me to believe that something specific is limiting my devices.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

gg30340 — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 21:15:15 GMT

When the engineer carried out the speed test were all you devices turned on and connected to the Internet?

Have you tried turning all your devices that are connected to the Internet off then turn only one on and run the speed test then turn that device off and turn on another device and run the speed test again and repeat with all your devices.

This might show if it is a specific device that is dragging the speeds down.

When doing the speed tests ensure that none of your devices are doing any cloud backups or downloading anything.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 08:27:34 GMT

@AaronP

Have you checked that the device drivers for the various components inside your ethernet connected PC, (for example), are all up to date?

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

Tap-a-Lap — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 02:31:41 GMT

It does seem odd seeing this across multiple devices, wired as well - All I can really add in is when we had full Fibre 100 installed I couldn't get anywhere near 100 > 150 d/l using any speed tester on my phone - but my partner could on her phone - reason?.... my phone doesn't support the faster 5G wifi band, hers does - that said you're also seeing this on multiple devices and ethernet too so probably not that but just though I'd mention just in case - and re the BT Wholesale speed test - I note you said that you read the disclaimer on there but it does seem maybe a bit too coincidental that they state:

2. When testing assets above 330Mb please ensure your device and set up meets the required specifications. For more info click here

... and you're seeing around that same figure?

I'd be interested to find out what it was anyway

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

PB54 — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 06:29:18 GMT

Unless I’ve missed it the speeds received by the devices have been listed but what does the router manager state it is getting?

Also might help to know the specs of the devices / network devices you are using.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

Keith_Beddoe — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 07:04:19 GMT

@AaronP

You are unlikely to get anything like the full speed over wireless, on a single device. Even on Ethernet, you need a high specification device.

It was never intended that people get 900mb on all devices, especially on a wireless connection. The intention is to allow that bandwidth to be shared among family members and multiple devices, without each user noticing any slowdown.

Here is a quote from old post by @SeanD on 18/06/2021

"I think for the first time ever we are in a situation whereby the speed you can now get through Full Fibre outperforms the capabilities of many devices.

The Smart hub 2 does not come with Wi-Fi 6 but this is something we are looking to include in our next generation of Hub. I don't have any info as to when we will launch a new router by Wi-Fi 6 will bring some improvement.

As an example of what I mean in terms of devices not being able to support the full breadth of speed available on Full Fibre 900, take a look at the table below. This is just for a couple of Apple Smart Phones and Tablets along with popular Samsung models,

Apple (Smartphones)	Dualband (2.4 & 5Ghz)	Theoretical Max speed on 2.4Ghz connection	Theoretical Max speed on 5Ghz connection
IPHONE SE	Yes	60mbps	300mbps
IPHONE SE 2020	Yes	135mbps	600mbps

Samsung (Smartphones)	Dualband (2.4 & 5Ghz)	Theoretical Max speed on 2.4Ghz connection	Theoretical Max speed on 5Ghz connection
galaxy-s10e	Yes	135mbps	600mbps
galaxy-s10-5g	Yes	135mbps	600mbps

Apple (Tablets)	Dualband (2.4 & 5Ghz)	Theoretical Max speed on 2.4Ghz connection	Theoretical Max speed on 5Ghz connection
IPAD pro 3rd gen (Nov 2018)	Yes	135mbps	600mbps
IPAD pro 4th gen (March 2020)	Yes	135mbps	600mbps

Samsung (Tablet)	Dualband (2.4 & 5Ghz)	Theoretical Max speed on 2.4Ghz connection	Theoretical Max speed on 5Ghz connection
galaxy-tab-s5e	Yes	100mbps	300mbps
galaxy-tab-s6	Yes	60mbps	600mbps

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

licquorice — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 07:30:04 GMT

@PB54 The router will always report 1000Mbps as that is the link speed between the ONT and the router. You can't see the received rate with FTTP as that is only seen at the ONT which isn't user accessible.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

stevebrass — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 07:53:55 GMT

I would concentrate on the Ethernet connected device first. Can you check if in theory it’s network card can deal with 500mbs.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

oldbuffer1 — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 10:14:13 GMT

Hi, I don’t know if this thread is closed, but if not, I have just had FTTP 900 installed with the following set-up :-Single Ethernet connection from the Homehub 2 to two daisy-chained 8-port Netgear switches. All ports are in use (or are at least connected to something – tv, xbox, sky Q etc). One port is connected to a 3-Dish Wholehome Wifi (a lot of wireless connections hanging off it). As reported, speed to hub is a healthy 947mbs but on my side, every device is running at 94mbps tops. This includes devices directly connected to the Netgear switches and all the wifi devices served by the dishes. What is puzzling is if I disconnect all devices by removing the ethernet cable and plug a laptop directly into one of the router ports, I get the same result. This, I think, should discount any and all of my connected devices leaving only the laptop connected. Perhaps the laptop cant operate at more than 100mbs, I don’t know. If this is true, if there is a device lurking among my many other devices that cannot handle d/l speeds of more than 100mbps, would this pull all the others down to the same speed?

Help please.

PT.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

iniltous — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 10:42:17 GMT

It’s possible your laptop doesn’t have a Gb lan , or if using Windows OS , that it’s not correctly set up , as stated , it’s invariably the end users kit that is responsible for poor performance when hyper fast FTTP speeds are purchased but the consumer is underwhelmed by the ‘performance’

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

oldbuffer1 — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:58:19 GMT

Thanks for that. I appreciate that connected devices generally function at considerably lower speeds than the fibre to the router, but 84mbs against 900mbs is abysmal. However, I think I may have found the problem - one of my two switches only operates at 10/100mbs which might explain the low download speeds from most of the devices connected to it (desktop included). This the one that connects to the HomeHub. I'll swap it for a 10/100/1000 job which should do the trick. I suspect my laptop will only work at 100mbs as well whether it be by wi-fi or ethernet.

Cheers

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 15:25:48 GMT

@oldbuffer1

"I suspect my laptop will only work at 100mbs as well whether it be by wi-fi or ethernet."

You could prove that easily by temporarily plugging the laptop directly in to the Hub - making sure that the cable you use is either Cat5e or Cat6.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

oldbuffer1 — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 16:53:51 GMT

Tried that with nothing else connected. Could only squeeze about 90mbs which leads me to suspect further that one of my switches (the 10/100) is throttling everything since this is the switch that is connected to the hub. Wholehome Wi-fi and all other devices fan out from there. Replacement 10/10/1000 switch on order which should up the speeds considerably (I hope!)

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 17:47:10 GMT

@oldbuffer1

One of us is getting confused - it might well be me!

A 10/100 switch connected to one ethernet port will not "drag down" the speeds available on the other ethernet ports on the hub.

If your laptop is capable of 10/100/1000, then provided it is connected directly to the hub, (ie no switches in the line), with a cable of at least Cat5e, then the laptop will connect at 1000 regardless of what is connected to the other hub ports.

If you are saying that the laptop is connected directly to the hub, but can only achieve a 100 connection, then either that is all your laptop is capable of, or the cable is only Cat5 - not Cat5e of Cat6. If that is the case, then a 10/100/1000 switch will make no difference to the speed your laptop connects at.

Re: Engineers devices get full speed but mine do not

yorkspark — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:22:05 GMT

@Anonymouswrote:
@oldbuffer1
One of us is getting confused - it might well be me!
A 10/100 switch connected to one ethernet port will not "drag down" the speeds available on the other ethernet ports on the hub.
If your laptop is capable of 10/100/1000, then provided it is connected directly to the hub, (ie no switches in the line), with a cable of at least Cat5e, then the laptop will connect at 1000 regardless of what is connected to the other hub ports.
If you are saying that the laptop is connected directly to the hub, but can only achieve a 100 connection, then either that is all your laptop is capable of, or the cable is only Cat5 - not Cat5e of Cat6. If that is the case, then a 10/100/1000 switch will make no difference to the speed your laptop connects at.

Or your Cat5e cable is faulty or damaged as it may be using only the orange/green pair which would limit the speed to 100meg