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martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Silly question, if I change provider am I likely to get an increase in speed?

I currently get about 4Mbps on EE but it fluctuates. No one seems interested in putting cable or fibre along my street any time soon so I'm thinking of changing provider to see if it helps but I doubt it will cos the line will be the same.

Thoughts?
 

Broadside

Guru
Location
Fleet, Hants
I wouldn't expect to see any significant increase by moving to another provider if they are just offering another "up to" 24Mbit type product, it will face the same constraint in to your property.

Have you tried an adsl filter plate on your master socket? This improved our bb speed from 3.5 up to 7.5Mbit
 
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martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
I wouldn't expect to see any significant increase by moving to another provider if they are just offering another "up to" 24Mbit type product, it will face the same constraint in to your property.

Have you tried an adsl filter plate on your master socket? This improved our bb speed from 3.5 up to 7.5Mbit
No I'm just using a standard ADSL filter attached to the socket. Is the filter plate likely to make that much of a difference?

EDIT: I see an issue as my router is connected to an extension in the office. :sad: I could use a BT i-Plate though
 

Oldfentiger

Veteran
Location
Pendle, Lancs
I doubt you'll see an improvement because, as you say, the line is the same.
I spent 10 years struggling along with 0.5mbps first with BT and then with TalkTalk. Even that was unreliable with me spending countless hours on the helpline trying to get my service back.
Boundless Communications have been my saviour. Excellent wireless broadband network giving me 10mbps which is 99.9% reliable (can have 20 if I want to pay more).
Their network only covers up norf, but I wonder whether there is a similar service where you are?
 

Broadside

Guru
Location
Fleet, Hants
No I'm just using a standard ADSL filter attached to the socket. Is the filter plate likely to make that much of a difference?

Yes, it can make a big difference but it depends on your property wiring. Best way to check is to remove the face plate off the master socket and then connect your router in to the test socket and retest the line speed, sometimes you may need to allow the line to settle for a couple of days because your modem and the exchange will negotiate a different speed when it notices an improved connection, but often this happens straight away.

If this improves the speed then the faceplate filter is the way to go. It doubled our bb speed. You do need to connect the router in to the master socket permanently if you use a filtered faceplate.
 

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
Yes, it can make a big difference but it depends on your property wiring. Best way to check is to remove the face plate off the master socket and then connect your router in to the test socket and retest the line speed, sometimes you may need to allow the line to settle for a couple of days because your modem and the exchange will negotiate a different speed when it notices an improved connection, but often this happens straight away.

If this improves the speed then the faceplate filter is the way to go. It doubled our bb speed. You do need to connect the router in to the master socket permanently if you use a filtered faceplate.
^this
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
Silly question, if I change provider am I likely to get an increase in speed?

I currently get about 4Mbps on EE but it fluctuates. No one seems interested in putting cable or fibre along my street any time soon so I'm thinking of changing provider to see if it helps but I doubt it will cos the line will be the same.

Thoughts?
If you use a provider who uses the openreach network (bt) your speed which not change much as it comes down the same connection .Is fibre to the cabinet (fttc) in your area that would increase your speed check with cps
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Others have given the basics: easiest way to improve speed is usually a faceplate filter and short high quality cable to the modem-router kept away from sources of interference.

Changing away from BT is often a good idea three ways: some ISPs use different equipment in the exchange, they often have fewer customers sharing the uplink (not always the case with talk talk/Opal) and their technical support is usually better and willing to try different settings/profiles to optimise line performance. Plus it stops rewarding BT for being a monopolist.

Install a WiFi war Walker app like WiGLE and see what hotspot names are in your street. If it's full of BT home hubs, then switching to a less common provider may be less congested. Oh and if there's lots of BT, commiserations because your WiFi is likely to be rubbish: BT hubs only seem to use three channels, so they always interfere somewhere because you can't colour a map properly with three colours.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
If you use a provider who uses the openreach network (bt) your speed which not change much as it comes down the same connection .Is fibre to the cabinet (fttc) in your area that would increase your speed check with cps
If fibre is available it can really increase your speed , i used to get the same speed then switched to fibre and even though i am far from the exchange which limits my speed i still get 15-17 mbits now.
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
If fibre is available it can really increase your speed , i used to get the same speed then switched to fibre and even though i am far from the exchange which limits my speed i still get 15-17 mbits now.
Fibre to to green box basicly moves your broadband equipment from the exchange to the green box therefore cutting distance down
 

ELL

Über Member
A change in provider can make a difference depending on what they are offering. My brother changed and went from about 1-2mb to 30mb. BUT this was because the provider he was with was keeping the speeds very low whilst still offering upto the high speeds. It's well worth having a shop around.

I found when I was looking last time that providers can give a much better estimate for speeds now. I would suggest spending some time calling round and seeing what they can offer.
 
Check Samknows to see what your exchange is capable of. You might be on ADSL instead of ADSL2+ which I think is called BT Wholesale now. You might need a simple line regrade.
 
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martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Right I've ordered an iplate as a starting point then will look into the other stuff. Thanks for all the advice.

Just wish they'd get a move on and cable the street
 
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