BT Home Hub 6 (Smart Hub) on PlusNet

[#1]

Thanks LOM, I took your advice and did that this evening. Plusnet tested the line and said it was low - 16mb. My speed should be between 19mb and 25mb. They suggested I open a fault which I did. Will keep you updated with the outcome.

[#2]

A question out of curiosity:

I've just switched back to Plusnet from BT, connected the Plusnet Hub One to confirm broadband is working, then swapped my my BT Smart Hub back in. I changed the broadband username and password  but did not reset the Smart Hub, or change any other setting. It works fine. 

- is there any reason I should perform a hard reset given that it works anyway?

- Why is it recommended to disable smart setup, I thought this was just a helper tool for connecting devices that didn't affect router function?

[#3]

I think you might find that the box is labled "BT Business Smart Hub" for the fttp and "BT Smart Hub" on the fttc version. The business one is normally supplied only with a BT Engineer booked to fit it.

[#4]

@smc

If it ain't broke then don't fix it.

Again if you're happy to keep the Smart Setup function then fine. Most people find it is just an unnecesary irritation. 

So if you're happy with how it is working then just leave it alone.

[#5]

Ok, so I am confused.

Plusnet came back to me. They have performed an internal test and 'no fault found'. Interestingly they achieve an average of 21.3 Mbps where the range should be between 18 and 26. This is higher than the 17Mbps max I experience. 

How have they performed this feat of magic? By using the BTW for speed testing: http://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com

Now, I understand the theory that the BTW site has no congestion like the likes of Ookla (which takes into account ISPs congestion at a given time of day), but I have an issue with this:

• Shouldn't the broadband speed promised be a 'warts and all' speed where the congestion of the ISP (ie Plusnet) *IS* taken into account?

Also,

I'm still not understanding why my BT Home Hub Router dropped from approx 21Mbps (with BT)  to 17Mbps (we are talking Ethernet into the hub here after a reboot using Ookla) but is more around 23Mbps using the Plusnet One Hub (which is more unreliable) and also testing using Ookla.

Still no logical answer as far as I can see

[#6]

PlusNet presumably have tested the sync speed on your router, which you can also do by logging into it and seeing the connection speed. Speed tests that you are doing will be subject to many other things, not least other programs running on your computer, other devices on yoir network, and other users testing their speeds at the same time, possible congestion at your exchange, oh, and the speed test site you are using.

[#7]

Yeah I get that and I guess there is no perfect test. 

Testing with Ookla etc subjects you to the possible congestion you talk about - some of which may be Plusnet's issue, and some of which not.

Testing with BTW removes ALL congestion (including any congestion on Plusnets side) and gives potentially an unrealistic speed which is not attainable in the real world - so this is not ideal either.  

You can just imagine the conversation with any ISP:

"My broadbands slow"

"Well BTW shows your line is capable of XX Mbps"

"I'm not getting anywhere near that.."

"Not our problem mate... BTW says XX Mbps, so don't blame us!"

"But but but nooooooooooo"

[#8]

So lets go back to basics, what is your expected speeds according to the DSL Checker?

Much will depend on your internal wiring, if you have a DSL master socket, and the condition of your phone line.

You may want to start a new thread.

[#9]

Slight digression there as a result of the line check carried out by Plusnet. 

This threads about the BT Home Hub 6 running on Plusnet. Comparing apples with apples (i.e. a non- BTW speed test) its slower than it was over the BT network and I'm still trying to work out why. It could be the dynamic line management.. gonna try and not reboot the router for a week (should be easier now I'm not working for a week) and see if speed improves.

[#10]

Exactly the same experience for me too.

was with BT Infinity for a year .  I8 down, 1.2 up.  Pretty stable, never less than 17.5 down. BTHH6

changed to Plusnet fibre just before Christmas. New Plusnet router installed  

Initially got 15mbps down, 1.1 up. 

FTTC cabinet is 1km distant, mixed overhead and UG cable   No noise on the line.  

Then noticed the Plusnet hub reset itself several times over the following next 24 hours with 15 resets between midnight and 6am, and total failure 4 hours  later. 

Plusnet support initially said fault was handed to Openreach then admitted 72 hours would elapse before anything happened.  Little change except that the line is operating at 10mbps up 0.9 to 1.1 up.  

That suggests someone (OR or PN?) has changed the FEC to downgrade the speed in return for more reliable performance.  

It it begs these questions:

1. Why was BT perfectly capable of 18mbps and PN can’t match this.  The exchange is Market 1 so PN is being provided by BTW

2. In a change of service provider like this, is the physical pair re-jumpered in the exchange or is it all software? 

3. Is BT and PN hardware up to FTTC cabinet the same? 

4. Am I doomed to a substandard PN line speed? 

Incudentally, PN Support said an OR engineer would visit and check the physical line backwards from my premises to the exchange “to eliminatesny connection issues”. When I pointed out it’s the same pair as BT had been successfully using only days before, he then suggested it was “a loose card in the DSLAM”.  

I detected 🐴💩

[#11]

Birdsong,

I think its a physical change in the cabinet that takes place - reason being, I was going to move from BT to another provider (instead of Plusnet) and they cancelled the order citing lack of space in the cabinet to complete the order. So I ended up going to Plusnet.

You had a pretty similar speed with BT though - the 18 mbps. I was slightly higher when I was with BT (21/22).

The difference I saw was that when I first switched on the Plusnet hub I was getting an all time high (~24mbps) of download internet speed. I think if you only get ~10Mbps (Plusnet) down from 18Mbps (BT) you have some sort of physical problem with your line or equipment /connection in the box.

Initially, when I switched out the Plusnet One router and replaced it with the BT HH6 (due to finding the Plusnet one 'unstable) I saw an instant drop from early 20's Mbps down to 17 Mbps.

However, having waited for a few weeks without rebooting the Home Hub 6 router, I am noticing moderate improvements to the download internet speed. Its now a good 2.5 mbps faster than it was a few weeks ago when I first reported the issue on this forum. My guess is therefore that there was some sort of dynamic line management going on. 

I'm definitely sticking with the BT hub anyhow, it feels a lot more stable than the Plusnet One was and after waiting a couple of weeks, it  'feels' more like the BT experience I had before... hope its not just the Christmas holidays and less traffic on the net.

[#12]

Welcome to the community forums @Birdsong

1. Why was BT perfectly capable of 18mbps and PN can’t match this.  The exchange is Market 1 so PN is being provided by BTW

It's possible that your connection was on a 3db SNR target.

Upon migration to another provider, DLM is generally reset.

2. In a change of service provider like this, is the physical pair re-jumpered in the exchange or is it all software? 

An engineer would still go out and complete jumpering work at the exchange/cabinet.

3. Is BT and PN hardware up to FTTC cabinet the same? 

As far as I'm aware.

4. Am I doomed to a substandard PN line speed? 

Mind sending me a PM with your username?

I'm not finding your account using the details in your forum profile.

[#13]

Some points of clarity...

• There is nothing "Out there" "owned" by PN - it is all BT Openreach (last mile copper connect) or BT Wholesale (WBC) the former is used by all ISPS other than cable providers such as VM
• If not using a LLU ISP, BTw provides the WBC products to all ISPs
• Therefore if there is a speed issue, it is somewhere in BT provided services - not PN so the concept of "a substandard PN line" does not exist - if there are any line issues, then its "a substandard BT Openreach" line
• Speed estimates are given in the context of line synch speed - that is the bit sync rate between your router and the exchange
• "Speed tests" measure and report data transfer speeds between your PC and a test service somewhere in the internet - this is not the same and is subject to a whole host of variable factors
• "Speed tests" to BTw are intentionally intended to measure data transfer rates over a "as clean as possible" connection so that (from a diagnostic perspective) issues outside of the provider's domain can be eliminated
• If speed tests reported by BTw are better than those reported by other speed test providers, then one ought first to identify why the third parties performance over the SAME link is not as good

Measuring speed down to the last Mbps can be futile - the real question should be "Is a couple of Mbps actually making any real difference to the use of the service?".  If it is, then speed might not be the issue which requires investigation.   @Gandalf has already hinted that your previous provider might have used different line settings, which though delivering a slightly better speed, might have done so with a higher level of instability / error rate.

[#14]

Just wanted to add that I also just switched from BT to Plusnet and kept my HH6. The switch over happened today. I got the same thing that another user mentioned with just a red "Error" pop-up with no code or further detail when attempting to connect and it would not even try to connect using details that work to access the member site. I'm pretty sure HH6 has some inbuilt password check feature and the password I had chosen for Plusnet was just rejected by the hub. I think this is what the error pop-up is trying to tell you (would be useful if it actually mentioned that!). I just changed my password on the member site and am now connected and achieving the same speeds I used to get with BT inifinity, so very happy to have finally figured it out. Unfortunately I don't know what password rules are being enforced, it may be in the hub documentation somewhere?

[#15]

@Greytech BT Business Smart Hub in terms of hardware is exactly the same as the standard Smart Hub that BT retail customers get both are FTTC only. Business Smart Hub you only get if you are a BT Business customer and believe it is self install. Only difference between the two is the business version has different firmware that allows you to enter your own DNS settings as well as a bridge mode which allows you to put the Business smart hub into modem only mode. Another version of the BT Smart Hub also exists for FTTP customers but still just says "BT Smart Hub" on the packaging and is the same as retail version apart from one Ethernet port being used for WAN.