Following issues with FTTC speed last year (prev post), I was finally able to order FTTP 500 in early December, with an install date of the 16th. Two Openreach engineers arrived early that morning - my neighbour across the street was also getting upgraded - and worked together on the installations. Mine took just under 2 hours including replacing a fairly long uphill dropwire, and they installed the ONT exactly where requested via a neat external cable run, with only minor damage to the harling around the external access hole. After connecting my new SH2, I immediately saw 510 - 520Mb down and 60 - 65 up (wired) on fast.com, and it has never varied, so all in all a good experience. My neighbour's install was equally smooth.
HH5 as Repeater
Wifi was initially between 200 - 250, so after a week I set up my old HH5 as a repeater (guide here), which meant I could use it's split wifi bands for an elderly single band Kindle, switch 2.4 off on the SH2, and set separate fixed 5GHz bands. There's now 300 - 350 (iPad) around most of the house, with little to choose between the hubs, and I've seen just over 400 in the same room as the SH2. I also have 3 distinct bands available when needed.
