Gig1 Fibre Broadband - Slowish Speeds

[Jmste]

Hi all, hope someone can help.

I upgraded from M350 to Gig1 Fibre Broadband a few weeks ago but I'm not getting the speeds I thought I would. I'm getting around 400-500Mbps on a wired connection in modem mode.

Now *I think* it might be because of my current setup at home. I currently have my VM Hub 4 in Modem Mode downstairs with a CAT6 cable running around 5 meters or so to a TaoTronics Mesh Wi-Fi Router which is placed directly below my bedroom which is then connected to another TaoTronics Mesh Wi-Fi 'node' upstairs in my bedroom by wireless. This one in my bedroom is then connected by Ethernet to my Computer and PS5. I assume because of this I wont be getting the best of speeds? I know on the M350 package I was receiving full speeds with this setup.

The problem is that as my Computer is upstairs I cant test directly to the VM Hub 4 to see if I am receiving the Gig1 and I don't have any laptop to test this. I guess the only way would be to take my PS5 downstairs but unsure if this will display the correct speeds.

Although I had a look at my Hub 4 stats and I don't think they look quite right. I will post them here and see what you think.

Cable Modem StatusItem Status CommentsChannel Overview Downstream Upstream

Cable Modem Status	Online	DOCSIS 3.1
Primary downstream channel	Locked	SC-QAM
DOCSIS 3.0 channels	31	4
DOCSIS 3.1 channels	1	0

[Jmste]

3.0 Downstream channels

Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) SNR (dB) Modulation Channel ID

25	331000000	0.200001	40.946209	QAM256	25
32	387000000	-3.599998	38.983261	QAM256	32
33	395000000	-3.599998	38.605377	QAM256	33
34	403000000	-3.299999	38.983261	QAM256	34
4	163000000	5.699997	40.946209	QAM256	4
5	171000000	5.000000	40.946209	QAM256	5
6	179000000	4.800003	40.366287	QAM256	6
7	187000000	4.800003	40.366287	QAM256	7
8	195000000	4.400002	40.946209	QAM256	8
9	203000000	4.099998	40.946209	QAM256	9
10	211000000	3.700001	40.946209	QAM256	10
11	219000000	3.200001	40.946209	QAM256	11
12	227000000	3.000000	40.366287	QAM256	12
13	235000000	2.599998	40.946209	QAM256	13
14	243000000	2.599998	40.946209	QAM256	14
15	251000000	2.799999	40.366287	QAM256	15
16	259000000	3.099998	40.946209	QAM256	16
17	267000000	3.000000	40.366287	QAM256	17
18	275000000	2.400002	40.366287	QAM256	18
19	283000000	1.799999	40.366287	QAM256	19
20	291000000	1.400002	40.366287	QAM256	20
21	299000000	1.099998	40.366287	QAM256	21
22	307000000	1.200001	40.366287	QAM256	22
23	315000000	1.099998	40.366287	QAM256	23
24	323000000	0.900002	40.366287	QAM256	24
26	339000000	-0.299999	40.366287	QAM256	26
27	347000000	-0.500000	40.366287	QAM256	27
28	355000000	-0.700001	40.366287	QAM256	28
29	363000000	-1.099998	38.983261	QAM256	29
30	371000000	-2.000000	38.605377	QAM256	30
31	379000000	-3.000000	38.983261	QAM256	31

3.0 Downstream channels

Channel Lock Status RxMER (dB) Pre RS Errors Post RS Errors

25	Locked	40.946209	0	0
32	Locked	38.983261	0	0
33	Locked	38.605377	0	0
34	Locked	38.983261	0	0
4	Locked	40.946209	0	0
5	Locked	40.946209	0	0
6	Locked	40.366287	0	0
7	Locked	40.366287	0	0
8	Locked	40.946209	0	0
9	Locked	40.946209	0	0
10	Locked	40.946209	0	0
11	Locked	40.946209	0	0
12	Locked	40.366287	0	0
13	Locked	40.946209	0	0
14	Locked	40.946209	0	0
15	Locked	40.366287	0	0
16	Locked	40.946209	0	0
17	Locked	40.366287	0	0
18	Locked	40.366287	0	0
19	Locked	40.366287	0	0
20	Locked	40.366287	0	0
21	Locked	40.366287	0	0
22	Locked	40.366287	0	0
23	Locked	40.366287	0	0
24	Locked	40.366287	0	0
26	Locked	40.366287	0	0
27	Locked	40.366287	0	0
28	Locked	40.366287	0	0
29	Locked	38.983261	0	0
30	Locked	38.605377	0	0
31	Locked	38.983261	0	0

3.1 Downstream channelsChannel Channel Width (MHz) FFT Type Number of Active Subcarriers Modulation (Active Profile) First Active Subcarrier (Hz)

159

96

4K

1880

QAM2048

759

3.1 Downstream channelsChannel ID Lock Status RxMER Data (dB) PLC Power (dBmV) Correcteds (Active Profile) Uncorrectables (Active Profile)

159

Locked

35

-12.7

26799895

1

[Jmste]

3.0 Upstream channels

Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) Symbol Rate (ksps) Modulation Channel ID

1	60300000	46.520599	5120 KSym/sec	64QAM	9
2	39400000	43.270599	5120 KSym/sec	64QAM	12
3	46200000	44.270599	5120 KSym/sec	64QAM	11
4	53700000	45.270599	5120 KSym/sec	64QAM	10

3.0 Upstream channels

Channel Channel Type T1 Timeouts T2 Timeouts T3 Timeouts T4 Timeouts

1	US_TYPE_STDMA	0	0	0	0
2	US_TYPE_STDMA	0	0	0	0
3	US_TYPE_STDMA	0	0	0	0
4	US_TYPE_STDMA	0	0	0	0

General Configuration

Network access	true
Maximum Number of CPEs	1
Baseline Privacy	true
DOCSIS Mode	3.1
Config file	54k;fg87dsfd;kfoA,.iyewrkldJK

Primary Downstream Service Flow

SFID	2488
Max Traffic Rate	1200000450
Max Traffic Burst	42600
Min Traffic Rate	0

Primary Upstream Service Flow

SFID	236
Max Traffic Rate	55000270
Max Traffic Burst	42600
Min Traffic Rate	0
Max Concatenated Burst	16320
Scheduling Type	bestEffort

[risc19]

Hi,

A speed test via a good quality ethernet cable directly to the hub4 to a competent PC should get you around 940mbs download.

Thats the only way to know for sure as it rules out all the other hardware.

However I can see a problem with the 3.1 channel on your hub.

159

96

4K

1880

QAM2048

759

The number highlighted should read QAM4096.

The 3.1 channel is what gives you the up to 1gig speed.

The is probably due to noise on the line or power levels out of spec.

This is up to virgin to fix as it's at there end so to speak.

If you haven't already done so try switching it on and off again then recheck this number.

Otherwise wait a few days for virgin to reply here.

Did you try the 'sam knows real speed' test?

[Jmste]

Hi there,

Yeah I thought so, I was thinking with my setup I would receive higher than 400-500mbs as I know my Mesh Router seems to have the really good spec but I just thought with me connecting to another 'node' upstairs this would maybe have issues as its connecting wirelessly. The Mesh Router is TaoTronics Mesh Wi-Fi Router, Tri-Band AC3000 (400Mbps on 2.4GHz + 866Mbps on 5GHz + 1733Mbps on 5.8GHz) & WiFi Speed up to Up to 3Gbps. It also has 4 Ethernet Ports (10/100/1000Mbps).

Also my Computer has the b450 tomahawk max which has a Gigabit LAN controller (Realtek® 8111H) and its displaying in settings 1000/1000.

So no issue with Hardware from what I can see unless I'm missing something!

I had a feeling my stats were showing something incorrect, I have tried switching it off and back on as well as a pinhole reset but not joy it seems.

I haven't used the 'sam knows real speed' as I assume I need to directly Ethernet from my computer to the Hub 4, is that correct? I wont be able to do this due to my setup.

I will await for virgin's response and see what they say first.

[Andrew-G]

Whilst in normal operation the D3.1 QAM should be 4096, the 2048 value won't of itself limit speeds because there's plenty of spare bandwidth - in theory, even 1024 QAM could work, although lower modulation is invariably a sign of other problems, and that's the case here.  The range of power levels looks too wide across the D3.0 channels, the power is far too low on the D3.1 channel and the D3.1 SNR is probably too low for consistent operation.  

I'll mark for staff to advise - unless this is part of a area SNR issue, then it may need a technician visit which they can arrange.  Seems that they can't book a technician based on customer posted data, so you will probably need to put your hub back in router mode in order for them to run remote diagnostics.

Whether that completely fixes the speed issue will depend on the mesh router - Taotronics aren't an established name in routers and mesh systems, and I believe this is still an 802.11ac system, in which case the max speed over wifi via the mesh and a secondary node will be around 450-600 Mbps in typical domestic situations.  Given the so-so mesh, I'm not sure whether the 1 gig upgrade is really giving you much over your previous speed, although that depends on what your use and needs are.  Replacing the mesh with a Wifi 6 system (and ideally Wifi 6e from an established maker) could materially raise the speeds you see if you have Wifi 6 compatible devices, but that'll be relatively expensive.

[John_GS]

Hi Jmste

Thanks for posting and welcome to the community.

Apologies for the broadband issues. I'll be happy to get a tech out for the downstream levels. 

Kind regards,

[Jmste]

Hi Andre-G,

Thank you very much marking it for staff to advise, I really appreciate it.

In terms of the Mesh WiFi, that makes sense now! Thanks for the information again. I will have a look at a WiFi 6e system, I have seen the price - very expensive but may be worth it if I can better speeds! Ideally I would like to stay on this package so I guess I could try a WiFi 6e system and if it doesn't work any better I can return.

[John_GS]

Thanks for joining me on PM @Jmste

Just to update the thread, the engineer visit was booked in. 

This can be tracked or altered in your online account

Let us know how the visit goes.

Kind regards,

[John_GS]

Hi @Jmste

Thanks for messaging but we'll need to keep it public 🙂

The tech will know it's an issue with the downstream levels. Whether or not this will solve the issue, it may not but at least we can do is get the levels in spec though 🙂

Kind regards,