30+ mbps and terrible connection

[#1]

I have broadband (not fibre) with PlusNet, who I have been with since about 2008.

My connection is terrible - had a BT router and it wasn't great, that packed up and got PlusNet to send me a new router. The room I work in is at the opposite end to the house to the router and gets about 4mbps, so I bought a cable to connect laptop to router. It's not like the house is a mansion so I'm not sure why it won't reach anyway.

If I plug in the LAN cable from router to laptop, it's tells me I am getting over 30 mbps download and over 10 mbps upload. The quality of video is still really poor - saying that it's due to poor connection and video keeps freezing or cutting out. How can this be if I'm plugged in and says I'm getting that speed?

I'm at work now on WiFi and everything is fine on the laptop - I did wonder if it might be the computer itself, but there's no issue here.

Spoke to PlusNet a few weeks ago and they said that it all looks fine their end. Is there something that they are missing that an engineer could sort out?

It's driving me nuts.

Thanks

[#2]

@AndyD2 Welcome to the forum. I am assuming from your comments above that you are on FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet). Do you still have a land-line phone connected?

[#3]

If you have "Broadband (not fibre)" and are getting 30 Mbps download - you are getting truly exceptional service! 😉
Something not quite making sense here...

I think you must have FTTC (fibre) broadband, with possibly a "terrible connection". More details are needed here.

Are you on the 40/10 Mpbs fibre option* (like me)? That should give good live video streaming (with normal quality video).

What are the line stats from the router Status page? S/N ratios etc

* Sounds unlikely with over 10Mbps upload.

[#4]

Not sure - I have a phone line via PlusNet.

My account says "Unlimited Fibre inc. Line rental".

Thanks

[#5]

Ah so you are on a 40/10 FTTC  connection. How far away from the Hub are you (roughly) when working at home - this sounds like a Wi-Fi issue to me?

[#6]

So it says: 

Here's all the speed details you need to know. Unlimited Fibre has an average speed of 36Mb download and 9Mb upload.

 

[#7]

So, with line rental, do you have an operational landline phone? If so you can listen to the line, to check for noise, using the Openreach Quiet Line Test: On 17070, option 2

[#8]

Ok, lets start simple:

Which test did you use to measure your speed? You might like to try this one: https://speed.cloudflare.com/ ... takes a bit longer to run, but does some extra tests, that might give some useful info.

What happens if you (as a test) put the laptop adjacent to the router, and (a) use a short cable (eg that comes with the router); (b) use wifi?

Which site you trying to watch videos on? You Tube? BBC? Netflix?

As for "why the wifi doesn't reach"... you only need a brick wall or two, and your wifi signal will be badly attenuated. Also, the position of the router is important. No good having it down on the floor behind the settee, it needs to be high, and away from obstructions.. like on top of a cupboard.

For anything important, a good cable is the way to go.... so your thinking is good!

[#9]

@AndyD2 When you are at home, can you do a couple of speed tests via https://www.speedtest.net/ please - one using the Ethernet cable, and one using your WiFi ?

[#10]

Also, when you are at home, can you post a screenshot of this page from your router, please.

But obscure your 'username'.

[#11]

The cloudflare test is possibly slightly better than the speedtest.net one, as it does "during upload" and "during download" tests too, with some "summary advice".

[#12]

@paul_blitz Yes, it does give more info. and thanks for posting it. However, I suspect this is a Wi-Fi issue, so a simple, quick test will confirm or disprove that.

[#13]

Test about 3 metres away on WiFi

[#14]

[#15]

This is with the cable in: