Router Advice Please

[Hugh Manatee]

Carpenters, look away now. I didn't mean that sort. I get B T Infinity broadband and, have never been massively impressed with it. It got tragically slow back in the Spring to the point even I complained. An engineer arrived with commendable speed and diagnosed a duff router.

A new one was dispatched by B T again with good haste. It was a lot better. Nothing like the speed the engineer said was coming in through the cable but, OK.

These last few days has once again seen a decline in performance where now, I can safely say dial up would give it a run for its (my!) money.

Apathy means I probably won't switch suppliers but I might summon the motivation to buy a new and hopefully better router as remote line tests say all is well.

What have you got and would you recommend it? I have two teenage kids one of whom is about to get a new gaming PC. I am not a member of any streaming service.

 

[midlife]

BT infinity Fttc here with a home hub 6. Runs several phones, 2 desktops, laptop and this tablet plus Netflix. Maybe there's a long distance to the cabinet?

 

[Grant Fondo]

Could be distance from exchange I was getting 50+ mb/s on standard infinity. Have you checked speed when wired not wifi as makes a difference. Currently on Sky fiber plus so 70 mb but it was on offer. After having both would say BT is better service on wifi.

 

[slowmotion]

I've got a BT Smart Hub, Type A. The internet connection drops out a couple of times a week but we just pull the mains plug and plug it back in. The wifi connection drops out a couple of times a day, even though my laptop is only five metres, line-of-sight from the router. It's not ideal but when it's working, the speed is pretty good. We're with BT and they are pretty good if you need a call-out. In comparison, PlusNet and TalkTalk have been utter shite when things go wrong. Really shockingly listless in sorting out problems that were entirely of their own making.

 

[Broadside]

Your home wiring can often interfere with the broadband signal and degrade it significantly. There is a special screw on filter faceplate for the master socket that sorts the issue out.

On our connection (before we got fttc BT Inifinity) it saw our download speed jump from 3.5mbit up to a reliable 7mbit.

You can work out if the filter will help by removing the master socket faceplate and connecting your router direct in to the engineer socket that sits in there. Ensure you only connect the router (no phone through an adapter or splitter). If you have any extension sockets these will all get disconnected when you do this until you put the faceplate back on.

Give it a go and report back.

 

[swee'pea99]

Home Hub 5. Was well regarded when I bought it, three or four years ago, and it's proved very good. Just did a test and...

It's not always that good, and I do have to turn it off & turn it on again every now and then (once a fortnight?) but I'd say worth a try, specially seeing as they seem to go for under a fiver on ebay these days.

 

[13 rider]

You would be unlucky to have 2 duff routers more likely a fault on the line . The bt hub 6 is probably as good as anything . Speak to bt they have a lot of data about line performance and will now if it's running a it potential

 

[PaulSB]

Although we moved from BT to Sky recently this was only because of price - saved £43/month on the deal.

I have no complaints about service, speed etc. Many years ago we did have a speed issue which was due to a line fault and old wiring. The Open Reach engineer sorted the problem quickly and efficiently.

Try plugging directly in to the main incoming socket. If this works correctly the problem is internal - that is beyond the point the broadband enters your property - if it doesn't improve the problem is external.

If it's internal BT will charge to fix it, external is free.

 

[mybike]

If you're using wifi it's always possible that a neighbour has a wifi on the same or very close channel. Try connecting with a RJ45 (cat5) cable to see if that improves it.

 

[midlife]

Normally my home hub 6 has a hicup when the neighbours turn on their WiFi but comes back again...... What is it with people who turn off the routers while they are at work and turn them back on again when they get back?

 

[mybike]

Although we moved from BT to Sky recently this was only because of price - saved £43/month on the deal.

I have no complaints about service, speed etc. Many years ago we did have a speed issue which was due to a line fault and old wiring. The Open Reach engineer sorted the problem quickly and efficiently.

Try plugging directly in to the main incoming socket. If this works correctly the problem is internal - that is beyond the point the broadband enters your property - if it doesn't improve the problem is external.

If it's internal BT will charge to fix it, external is free.

No point in leaving kit powered up if it isn't used.