WIFI wireless issue?

[Will14]

Hi all

Apologies for going off topic but I have an issue with my home WIFI and am hoping someone on here may have more know how than me

so I have recently moved from Talk Talk to Plusnet as Talk Talk hiked my price once out of contract and didn't want to play ball on a new deal so after reading reviews I punted for Plusnet, I have opted for the unlimited faster fibre service and was given a min speed of 64Mb, when connected to wired connection I am getting approx 80Mb however when running the same lap top off a wireless connection the speed drops to around 40Mb and frequently less which is the same on other devices so I have ruled out the lap top being the issue  - This drop never happened or was never as bad with the Talk Talk router

I have tried moving the router etc etc as advised with no improvement, I have made numerous call & web chats with Plusnet who advised to change a few settings but apart from that they were no use at all and have now informed me that they do not guarantee wireless speeds

Does anyone know if this is correct and is it usual to have a 50% speed drop from a wired to wireless connection, also does anyone know if it would be possible for me to use the old Talk Talk router in place of the Plusnet One router, I would like to see if the speed drop is as bad as I have now convinced myself that there is an issue with the Plusnet router but some of this stuff goes over my head I'm afraid   

Many thanks

Pete

[gsxbarmy]

First off Pete, it's very unlikely that you can use the Talk Talk router for the Plusnet service - in fact I'd go so far as to say you can't.

Secondly there should not be a drop in speed going between wired and wireless - speed will vary on connections according to the time of day and how many people are using the inetrnet in your area - so for instance it will get a little slower in the evenings than during the day - but not by 50%, nowhere near.

It probably is a setting somewhere, the "common" area here being the router, if it is happening on all devices. What you could try, is to switch everything off that uses the internet and which you have connected to your router - so mobile phones, PC, SKy box etc - everything. Then switch the router itself off and let it stay off for about 5 minutes. Then switch the router back on and let it power up normally until it's connected and got signal. Then switch everything that uses the internet back on one item at a time.

Typically routers build up a "pattern" of what is connected and of usage, so by powering everything off and connecting them back one at a time, it starts to build a new map from scratch allocating resource as necessary.

See if that works. But don't be tempted to keep swapping between the wired and wireless as that will confuse it.

Its also worth checking your upload and download speed as you connect items. I use http://www.speedtest.net/ If you do a check as you add each item, if there is one piece of kit slowing things down then this should prove it as your upload/download speed will change quite dramatically (there will always be some variation, but it should only be slight). If you can to check it first (before doing anything else), try plugging your PC directly into your modem using a cable, to get a speed reading. Then disconnect and check it using the PC wirelessly. Then connect your phone(s) etc wirelessly, checking as you go until everything you need connected is connected

[Gegs]

Bear in mind that the [presumably] free router they gave you will most likely be the cheapest they could provide and as a cabled router is pretty much just verifying the username/password then passing data straight through then this will clearly be the best speed it can provide; however the wi-fi hardware/firmware may be quite limited in its performance and may have additional quality [QOS] and packet inspection [security] settings enabled. If you have the login details for your ISP account it would be worthwhile trying a better quality router if you are able to borrow one somehow to try.

Personally I'm not sure why you wouldn't be able to try the talk talk router if it's reset to factory defaults then your new ISP login details are entered. As far as I'm aware that would be no different to buying a new router. There's no harm in trying that if you just disconnect your Plusnet router without making any changes to it. If the talk talk router doesn't work then just plug the plusnet one back in.

[Hooli]

It could be your laptop is connecting with an older wireless protocol on the 2.4Ghz range rather than 5Ghz. You can often turn the older ones off on the router if all your devices can use 5Ghz.

[ARH]

I had similar issues - I have 120Mb connection and was suffering a 20% drop in overall speed and increasing latency.  Found the router simply was not able to handle everything so set that up as a simple gateway (wireless disabled), added a 8 port gigabit switch and then wired 2 AC1750 WAP (wireless access points) to the switch - placing 1 upstairs and 1 down - fortunately my house was wired with Cat5 cable when built.  The WAP's control access and manage each device independently but allow roaming between floors.   Drop in speed is now negligible.  Not the cheapest way to do it but as my house is a concrete construction this was the only way I could ensure full wireless signal coverage - even out into the garden.

As Barmy mentioned - these things do need maintenance and the process he mentions (switch everything off and then add devices one by one) should be done fairly regularly - I do it every 3 months or so.  I believe Routers/WAPs prioritise bandwidth in your LAN based on usage, so if you use a device heavily it will allocate more bandwidth to that device... but this is not dynamic so if you reduce usage on that device it will still get the same bandwidth and block that bandwidth for use elsewhere!  Having said all that...Im not an IT guy so maybe someone else will come along and tell me I'm talking rubbish 

[Will14]

Thanks for the information to date, there are certainally a few things that I can try there which will hopefully improve things

I'm hoping that if the talk talk router will work it may help prove that the Plusnet router is the cause of the speed drop when connected wirelessly

Thanks again

Pete.

[gsxbarmy]

Bear in mind that the [presumably] free router they gave you will most likely be the cheapest they could provide and as a cabled router is pretty much just verifying the username/password then passing data straight through then this will clearly be the best speed it can provide; however the wi-fi hardware/firmware may be quite limited in its performance and may have additional quality [QOS] and packet inspection [security] settings enabled. If you have the login details for your ISP account it would be worthwhile trying a better quality router if you are able to borrow one somehow to try.

Personally I'm not sure why you wouldn't be able to try the talk talk router if it's reset to factory defaults then your new ISP login details are entered. As far as I'm aware that would be no different to buying a new router. There's no harm in trying that if you just disconnect your Plusnet router without making any changes to it. If the talk talk router doesn't work then just plug the plusnet one back in.

In principle I agree with you Gegs but in the U.K. the service providers typically lock down the routers they supply to their service only, so you can't swap between providers - they only way to have that flexibility is to buy a separate (non-locked) router and configure it yourself.

[grog]

Ive had adsl 2 for 6 years. never a prob. Few weeks ago was forced to change to our new NBN, national broadband network. Was really not interested but no choice. They sent new modem, hooked up very easily, worked for 2 weeks then didnt. 2 weeks of dropping out all the time. I got on the phone, no one in Oz was helping or really caring. Got on the phone again, was directed to Manilla. I was thinking this will be useless. Bloke on call centre was amazing, he took over my computer remotely, went thru everything to do with new modem etc. We had a great time talking, about bikes, golf, cars, a great guy. He changed a few settings, have had many texts from him to check up, now works perfectly. My faith in life restored. I like to share happy stories. Anyone in Oz wanting a new /good internet provider, try I Primus.

[Mick_J]

I'm with plusnet and use their router, my wired and wifi speeds are virtually the same at 5Mb, I would be very happy with 40Mb.

[Gegs]

Ahh thanks for that gsxbarmy, I wasn't aware but figured you must have known something I didn't 

[Will14]

Just an update for anyone who is interested or if anyone suffers the same type of issues with Plusnet in the future

It seems that calling the Plusnet customer service line & web chats are a waste of time, but if you publish problems on the open forum for all to see there are more Plusnet staff trying to help than flies around a shit pie!

So my wired speed dropped by 50% last night and the wireless connection to approx 30Mb although the line into the house is showing the full 80Mb with no faults present - Plusnet have now put a replacement router in the post towards me as they suspect this may be the fault, as I am not much of an IT tech all I can do is hope this is correct and when the new router is plugged in the problems go away, I am a little dubious but if the speed drops continue as they have been by Monday I will be trying to get on my neighbors WIFI!

Cheers for now

Pete