Fibre 500

[#1]

@Dc9 

" We live in a detached bungalow and there's another bungalow to our left but nothing to our right but a road as we live on a corner. "

OK, but how far away from your property are they?

[#2]

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@Mr_Paul wrote:

@jab1 

"Unless the OP is using a wireless device a long way from the Hub, those reported figures do not make much sense."

They might if the OP is experiencing WiFi interference from neighbouring properties.

@Dc9  - how far away are your neighbours house's from yours?

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The neighbours would have to have some serious kit to do that - IMO. I live in a 4-house terrace, with plenty of other networks showing, and get no discernable interference.

[#3]

@jab1 

"I live in a 4-house terrace, with plenty of other networks showing, and get no discernable interference."

You and your neighbours clearly have your WiFi networks properly set up then, whether by accident or design!

My neighbour, (other half of semi-detached house), for some reason has two independent WiFi networks, (possibly for personal and home business), each using different channels, (I can see them in my WiFi Analyzer app). He also has a number of Wireless Access Points on each network.

As you may be aware, on the 2.4GHz band, whilst there are in theory 11 channels available, there are in fact only 3 that do not overlap each other: channels 1, 6 and 11. The remaining eight channels all overlap two of 1, 6 or 11.

WiFi in my house was so unreliable that I had to invest in a BT Whole Home WiFi mesh system in order to "fight" his system.

In addition, I have found that the default option on many ISP supplied routers: "Smart" channel selection is anything but!

I fixed my WiFi on to channel 1 on 2.4GHz, but I still see my neighbour's two networks alternating between 6 and 11, so I guess they are still set to "Smart" and fighting each other for channel selection!

@Dc9 

Have you done a test via ethernet cable yet? That really needs to be the first step so that a network of WiFi issue can be identified.

.

[#4]

@Mr_Paul  - it must be by accident, as my neighbours are what you may call 'not that technically aware', although, should I find it a problem, I am quite able to sort myself out.

From what I know of two of the three other properties, they have fairly simple set-ups - no extenders/dual networks/APs - not really needed in what are in effect 2-up, 2-down properties.

Yes, I am aware of the channel issue, I ought to be after 30 years use of the internet. 😉

It may be that my neighbours are using ISP supplied routers set to 'smart' - which as you say, isn't, but I luckily have a 'proper' router - Fritz!Box 7530 - also on 'smart', which seems to be fairly efficient at sorting itself, as I say, I have no obvious issues and to be honest while that continues, I just leave things alone.

[#5]

@Dc9 

As stated, you really need the wired test is see if it's a problem with your connection that requires either PN or OR to fix or wether it's a WiFi problem which is your problem.

There is one other thing to mention. I believe, although I stand to be corrected, that with WiFi you'll only get speeds of up to around 400 due to the limitiations of WiFi. I believe WiFi 6 is better but the Hub2 doesn't support this and your equipment also needs to be compatible.

Brian

[#6]

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@jab1 wrote:

@Baldrick1 Unless the OP is using a wireless device a long way from the Hub, those reported figures do not make much sense.

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One thing that I learnt many years ago was that before trying to find a fix, one should start by clearly identifying the problem. 
Before contemplating possible solutions it needs determining whether this is a network, wireless or combination of both issue. The only way to do this reliably is to try an Ethernet cable. 

[#7]

I'd say around 12 ft.

[#8]

@Baldrick1 I totally agree, but sub-50Mb/s on a 500 connection seems way low to me.

@Dc9 Then you should be seeing much better speeds, even on wireless - IMO.

[#9]

@Dc9 

A ready terminated say 5m CAT 5e Ethernet cable is readily available and cost you less than £10.

[#10]

I don't even know if we have an active phone line in our house. (apologies in advance if the sounds stupid) as I'm not really a technology minded person.

[#11]

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@jab1 wrote:

@Baldrick1 I totally agree, but sub-50Mb/s on a 500 connection seems way low to me.

@Dc9 Then you should be seeing much better speeds, even on wireless - IMO.

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Unless of course the walls incorporate foil backed insulation.

I have had experience of a decent WiFi signal failing to get from one side to the other of such a wall.

[#12]

Fair enough, @Baldrick1 - I agree, but we don't know. Let's wait and see what a wired test gives. 😀

[#13]

I am not surprised a non-technical user could find some of the replies in this thread confusing. As others have repeatedly stated, forget anything to do with Wi-Fi for now and test your speeds using a wired network connection.

[#14]

You need to watch out for Mbps and MB/s

Speed tests usually quote Mbps; If you are downloading something from the internet the download program quotes MB/s

300 Mbps = 37.5 MB/s

500 Mbps = 62.5 MB/s

[#15]

FTTP data test speeds not as expected

There have been numerous reports of measured data speeds not fulfilling users' expectations of their shiny new FTTP service. An end-to-end data speed test is a somewhat blunt instrument with which to test the connection speed. In most instances the FTTP service is running at the product's connection speed, but the user's environment or the data speed test service cannot make full use of (saturate) the FTTP connection's bandwidth.

We can no longer have confidence that the cause of slower-than-expected data transfer speed is due to the broadband connection's performance. If there is any doubt that the user's technology, infrastructure or chosen test service cannot make full use of the FTTP link's bandwidth, then a data speed test is likely to deliver misleading results.

Here are a few things to consider / investigate...

1. Is the ethernet cable between the router and the ONT (Optical Network Terminator) CAT5e or better?
   CAT5 or below will not transfer data faster than 100mbps thus a simple cable could be the cause of slow data speeds. The ethernet link rate between hub and ONT can be observed in the Hub Two GUI under 'Status'. This is a good indicator of router <> ONT cable function.
    
2. Is the device on which the data speed test is being run connected over (CAT5e) ethernet cable (not WiFi)?
   A device connected over 2.4GHz WiFi absolutely will not get anywhere close to 300mbps. It will typically be less than 100mbps. Typical 'good' 5GHz performance using the Hub Two is likely to be below 500mbps and will get lower the further away the device is from the router. More optimal Wi-Fi performance is possible but involves sourcing your own third-party equipment that is capable of the newer standards. Also Wi-Fi performance is equally dependent on the type of device and the age of its technology standards. Some older devices do not support 5GHz, even the most recent smartphones only have a 2x2 antenna array, which limits the number of concurrent Wi-Fi streams. The Plusnet Hub Two can use more streams (go faster), but most types of device cannot.
    
3. Is the device on which the data speed test is being run connected over (CAT5e) ethernet cable with no intermediary devices (like Powerline adapters, switches and physical ports) on the LAN side?
   Irrespective of cabling, if there is a 10/100 ethernet switch in the chain then it is going to bottleneck things. Similarly Powerline adapters are highly unlikely to be able to pull anywhere close to 300mbps through electrical wiring. Many Powerline adapters that are rated at e.g. 500mbps, actually have only 10/100 ethernet ports which means the advertised speeds are near fiction.
    
4. There are no other devices active on the network at the time of the test.
   Other concurrent use of the network will reduce the bandwidth available for the data speed test, thus delivering a misleading result.
    
5. If on a static IP or using the Plusnet firewall (configured in the user portal) has the Plusnet IP profile updated?
   Data speed tests performed soon after the service has been connected (but before Plusnet's systems have updated) might be constrained by the account's line speed profile. Disconnect the router from the ONT, wait a short while, reconnect then check that the Current Line Speed (Download) reported in PN Broadband Status reflects the FTTP product's profile.
    
6. If using a third party router ensure that QoS (Quality of Service) and other traffic shaping tools are disabled.
   QoS and other tools have been seen to cause havoc with attempting to saturate FTTP links. Prioritisation and QoS features are very processor intensive and can (probably will) significantly bottleneck speeds. Notably there have been numerous reports of Netgear Orbi maxing out at 550mbps when connected direct to the ONT, rather than being connected to a Plusnet Hub Two.
    
7. Is the test device configured to use any VPN or corporate intranet connection?
   VPNs and corporate intranets can also be potential bottlenecks.
    
8. Is the data speed test device capable of moving the data at FTTP speeds?
   Some kit simply does not have the power to make full use of FTTP connection speeds. Whilst undertaking data speed tests, if running on MS Windows, use Task Manager's performance tab to check throughput limitations do not arise from...
   • CPU performance
   • Disk read/write speeds - FTTP will easily outpace a 5400 rpm disk
   • Memory utilisation - the data has to go somewhere!
   • Network performance - unless the machine is reasonably new, the ethernet port will be limited to 100mbps!!
      
9. Speed test service
   Not all speed test services are dependable nor consistent, so run some comparable tests on different speed test services, at different times of day and night (both on and off-peak) where possible. The following are good points of reference.
   • Think Broadband who also offer a number of download files to soak test connections.
   • Ookla aka SpeedTest.net who also have a client-side speed test application which is preferable.

Please check out the above factors, to ensure that the perceived data speed is not compromised by some other factor limiting the data throughput-speed of your full-fibre FTTP.

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A user has observed that different devices ran at different speeds and their problem was discovered to be the LAN card settings on their Laptop...

My PlayStation was connecting at around 535mbs all the time, but the laptop was only running about 130mbps max. On checking the internet settings I found that speed and duplex were set to auto. I changed this to 1 Gigabit and now the test speed is 838mbps.

To find the settings for your ethernet adapter, go to advanced after selecting properties.