Broadband support

[Scouse]

I hope this is the right place:

Recently, I noticed my broadband speed was in danger of having BT in breach of the Trade Descriptions Act! I have a Full Fibre 500 deal which has worked quite well over the 15 months or so that I have had it. I recently began to question the speed I was getting and did a couple of speed tests which showed something in the 100 Mbs range (download). As I was doing the test from my PC, via Wi-Fi, I put the low speed down to the Wi-Fi. In the last couple of days, it seemed to get worse (11 Mbs!) so I took a lap top and connected it via Ethernet cable direct to the Smart Hub 2 and tested again. Over 3 consecutive tests, the download average was 48 Mbs, with the upload average at around 21 Mbs. So I thought I would contact BT to query this and the BT Help page told me to call an 0330 number which I duly did. After pressing the relevant buttons to get to the "Broadband Fault" option, the recorded blurb tol me the best and most efficient way to deal with this was to hang up and I would get walked through steps to take, via text messages. Sure enough a message arrived on my hpone and the verdict came from the "Diagnostics bot" telling me they have been unable to auto match this mobile with a BT account so they can't help. Really! My mobile has nothing to do with BT so why should it match anything? The message went on to say I should reply with a "full phone number including area code". When I signed up for Full Fibre, I dropped my BT landline account to that won't work. I tried the 0330 number again but this time hung on in the hope that a human would eventually appear on the call. Didn't happen! BT doesn't show a suitable email contact so it looks like I will be left with the snail mail option which promises my complaint will be looked at within 8 days! When I worked in GPO exchanges in the 70s, complaints were dealt with there and then. Of course "Customer Service" hadn't been invented then!

Incidentally, the Tech Log in the router shows a firmare update happened about a week ago; could this have any effect on the operation of the router?

[imjolly]

have you tried a factory reset of the hub by pressing recessed button on back and holding for 20/30 secs until lights flash just in case the update has not fully completed

can you try  fast.com with ethernet connection and post results

[Scouse]

Many thanks for the suggestion. Sadly it wasn't a great success. Using Fast.com, I had a speed of 73 Mbs, while Ookla said 46! Coincidentally, while I was trying to persuade the BT Magic Text system to do something, I found I had received an email from BT telling me all about how my Speeds should be between 500 Mbs and 500 Mbs. Later in the message it says my Stay Fast download speed is 425 Mbs which doesn't match the first line (500 Mbs). The email was received about an hour before I got involved with the txt service! They knew I was going to try to get it fixed in advance? Marvellous. Anyway the email also suggested using the mybt speed test. I have tried this in the past and got a message saying it no longer exists. Being a sucker for punishment, I went through the rigmarole again and found they have a new service. Followed that, computer says they will reset my hub, test my speeds remotely and text me.  After the remote reset, I checked again using both Ookla and Fast.com. Okkla download speed3.91 Mbs and Fast.com 11 Mbs.  Rip-roaring success is not a term to be used here. While typing this, I have received the promised text asking if it is fixed and I have replied in the negative and am awaiting the next move.

[gg30340]

Have you reported a fault to the FTTP team on 0800 587 4787.

[Scouse]

No, I wasn't aware of that number. However, I was contacted by BT and we had a long discussion while tests were carried out remotely. By the end, the lady doing the testing confirmed that the 42 Mbs I was seeing fell well short of the 425 Mbps guarantee. She also said she had seen a few breaks during her tests and an engineer is now booked to visit on Thursday. Hopefully, this means all will be well by Thursday evening.

[DavidM · Accepted solution]

Hi @Scouse and welcome back.

Good to see you again. Sorry you're having a few problems with the connection speeds. I'd be interested to know how the engineer visit goes so please keep us updated.

Cheers

David

[Scouse]

The BT engineer duly called, as promised and the net result seems to be the LAN adaptor on my lap-top which, to be fair, is quite old! The BT guy found speeds, on his lap top, of up to 720 Mbps! There was a lot of discussion following that and I have to admit the discussion may have started to get a little heated at times! (No blows were struck!) There were differences over ethernet related questions; he had the advantage of me, being many years younger than me and probably recently trained whereas I got my City & Guilds, Radio and Line Transmission back in 1966! He did mention, more than once that I should perhaps go for a BT "Disc" but this would cost me an extra £10 per month. (My BT page is offering it at £3.00 per month) when added to the little billet doux I received from BT yesterday, telling me my contract price would increase by £7.58 per month  from March, I wasn't too thrilled. Anyway, bottom line is the BT part to my house is fine so I shall say Thanks to all concerned and spend a day or two mulling over the pros and cons of purchasing and installing an ethernet cable and removing the Home Hub from downstairs to the upstairs which is where virtually of the devices connecting to the internet are located. Happy Days!