Full Fibre 900 speed lower than expected

[#1]

Hi everyone,
I have just upgraded to Full Fibre 900 on 30/12/24 from 145Mb which I had on contract for last 24months. Needed sth faster as I recently use my laptop heavily for home office. Checked my speed on recommended by plusnet Bt speed check. WiFi only 180mb, best 280mb/s. Contacted CS for help and was told it needs 10 days to settle, but they will try to fix and will call me back to check the doors again on 02/01/25. No one called, I did, basically was told I am not very well educated if it comes to how the full fibre works, that 900mb is not what I will get if it comes to the speed and choosing a bigger package does not mean a better speed on any single device. Why do we then update anyways ? They closed my question and sent me this:

“ Thank you for speaking with me on the phone. As discussed, I can see no problems with yoru line or connection, and we logged into your router together and I showed the wan sync speed which is showing 1000mb coming into he router. As I explained you will not get this type of speed on one individual device. Getting 280mb download via wifi is likely as much as you will get on an individual device. The Fibre 900 package is really meant for a large family who are all have multiple devices in multiple rooms all doing things at the same time. The increase in speed that the 900mb package provides is so that you have lots of speed to share amongst all these devices. An individual device will eventfully reach a limit of how quick it connect and test the internet, no mater how quick the internet package is. As I advised quicker internet is designed for multiple devices ina household. You advised you will continue to monitor this and come back to us if you feel you have paid for a higher package that you are unable to take full advantage of due to only using a few devices in your house.”

Why the different faster packages we are being offered? Why the minimum guaranteed speed and BT speed checks exist if we cannot get the advertised speed at all and this is completely normal according to the CS?
Can anyone help? I don’t want to pay more if I cannot get the better speed, which apparently is not a thing at all xd

[#2]

@Yoda89 What complete and utter rubbish you were told, particularly

Contacted CS for help and was told it needs 10 days to settle,

There is NO settling period on FTTP.

As discussed, I can see no problems with yoru line or connection, and we logged into your router together and I showed the wan sync speed which is showing 1000mb coming into he router.

The router will ALWAYS show a sync speed of 1000Mb, its the link speed on the ethernet connection to the ONT. It will be 1000Mb irrespective of the FTTP product!

Now for reality...

An individual device will eventfully reach a limit of how quick it connect and test the internet, no mater how quick the internet package is

That's partially true, and particularly if the device is old or is connected wirelessly. An individual wireless device speed using the Hub 2 will max out at around 450Mb.

You need to do a test using a wired connection , most devices will be able to achieve the 900Mb and so testing this way will prove if there is a basic problem with the connection or its a wireless issue

[#3]

Thanks a lot for your reply.
I am using wifi mostly, my hub 2 is in the living area in the spot where I cannot use Ethernet to plug with my laptop. My work laptop is one year old dell and receives the speed in the same way as my personal hp pavilion which is 5 yes old. The speed is really various, I am home alone mostly during work, only my home cameras are using the WiFi except for me at the time. Usually WiFi speed on both is 180-300 mb/s… I am really gutted as I decided to pay almost £10 more for the better service which is nowhere near to 900. Honestly I don’t know what should I do, downgrade to 500mb/s if the service cannot be provided ? Or try to somehow continue to fix it with CS ? Very disappointed..

[#4]

@Yoda89 I know this might sound a stupid question, but if you are using a laptop, can you not move it temporarily closer to the router to enable you to do a wired test?

[#5]

I can, I am actually working in the living area temporarily, but eventually I will have my office in a different room anyways. Cannot work on the laptop without a proper monitor and stuff for ages hehe. Besides the speed was the only reason I picked the package and any of my devices shows a better speed than 300mb. I had 145mb before, was a bit slow to work, that is why picked a full package, but the results are horrid.. also I cannot use an Ethernet for every device that uses the internet at my home haha

[#6]

Also, how does it look like for the rest of you guys? If you currently have full fibre 900 what is your speed on speed checks when using WiFi?

[#7]

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@Yoda89 wrote:
I can, I am actually working in the living area temporarily, but eventually I will have my office in a different room anyways. Cannot work on the laptop without a proper monitor and stuff for ages hehe. Besides the speed was the only reason I picked the package and any of my devices shows a better speed than 300mb. I had 145mb before, was a bit slow to work, that is why picked a full package, but the results are horrid.. also I cannot use an Ethernet for every device that uses the internet at my home haha

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So, do a wired test. As @MisterW  said earlier, you will never experience full speed over a wireless connection. Most devices don't need the full speed anyway, so you only need to connect a device that (you think) needs the full speed.

[#8]

If you currently have full fibre 900 what is your speed on speed checks when using WiFi? 

@Yoda89 as I posted above, my laptop ( a year old Intel I5 based ) maxes out at around 450Mb when sat around 4 meters line of sight to the router. That's about the expected speed for a Wifi 5 router ( which is what the Hub 2 is )

A wired ethernet connection to the same laptop gives 910Mb.

If your laptop is Wifi 6 compatible then you might get better speeds by buying a Wifi 6 router.

[#9]

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@Yoda89 wrote:
Also, how does it look like for the rest of you guys? If you currently have full fibre 900 what is your speed on speed checks when using WiFi?

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Using Wifi, sat in the same room about 8 ft from the router with no obstruction or interference from other wireless networks I get

Which is as much as you will get in optimal circumstances, move to another room and speed drops off. 
In one of the upstairs room it's 'only' about 130Mbps. 
Environment is everything.
I run an ethernet cable to the home office as that's where I need the speed and lower latency and get this:

[#10]

Thank you everyone, that is very helpful. Do you think it’s worth keeping 900mb if my household made of two uses WiFi mostly? Maybe best is to downgrade ? Thank you all again

[#11]

If you're using Wifi only and don't need the extra upload speed then you're not going to benefit from the 900mb package.

[#12]

Do not confuse the speed (capacity) of the uplink with the speed of wifi - they are very different considerations.

To get the best speeds out of wifi, BOTH the router and device need to be WIFI 6 or 7. That means a router not supplied by Plusnet and probably the latest generation of devices.

Even then INDIVIDUAL devices might struggle to max out the bandwidth of the top FTTP products. Just because your devices can’t use it, does not mean it’s not there. It’s a bit like having a clapped out old motor car only capable of doing 50mph … on the 70mph limited M6 toll motorway … then complaining you’re not getting all that you paid for in road tolls.

[#13]

I don't think many realise the astonishing speed of a 1Gbps link. Neither is it realised that it is but a link between two computer system. Both ends have to be capable of not only sending and receiving the data at this speed, but also do something useful with it without having to hold up the incoming data, whilst it processes the last tranche.

To get this speed into some sort of context. Each single bit is being transferred at the same speed as light travels about 30cm. If you look at it in terms of printed characters, it is about 120,000,000 characters per second.

[#14]

I do realise that devices might have limited options if it comes to receiving the max speed, depending on the device and it’s WiFi adapters, same as routers, although I did not realise the speed might be this low. I have always been using different packages from different providers and the speed has always been close to the advertised one. If not I was reporting this back to the provider and they always been agreeing with me and somehow been able to fix the problem, achieving better results in the speed. Been with plusnet for couple of years now, gradually upgrading the package every two years, on this occasion I was very surprised I cannot get the speed or even get close to it. Been advised to downgrade to 500mb as my family is to small to make a full usage of the biggest package, which got me surprised..

[#15]

@Yoda89 

If you really do want this speed on your laptop then consider installing an Ethernet cable. You can buy pre terminated cables in various lengths or with moderate DIY skills install your own fixed cabling. If you need advice on this then please ask. You can use up to 100m of CAT5e, CAT 6 or higher rated cable. You will find that CAT5e is the smaller diameter and most flexible. You can also buy flat cable to run under carpets.

Whilst in the past providers may have been able to increase your speed, it sounds like Plusnet are fulfilling their obligations by providing 900Mbps to your hub. This should be available over an Ethernet connection. They  are unable to provide any guarantees regarding the speed available over wireless.