Sluggish 500M Broadband

[Gordonwd]

The @virginmedia Twitter account suggested I post here to attempt to resolve my broadband speed issues. 

I have the 500M service but never seem to get much above 200. Frequently during the evenings it drops to well below 100M. 

https://twitter.com/gordonwd/status/1592270575007064064?s=20&t=C8BuXi_qxJcIgM07wGTQSA

[jbrennand]

Can you start with a pure speedtest to see what speeds your Hub is receiving.
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If you think that you have a BB speed problem, then to check the speeds coming in to your Hub properly, and whether they match what you should be getting, you cannot rely on wifi tests, - no BB supplier can guarantees full speeds - only speeds "TO" the Hub and out on ethernet cables are.

So, can you test speeds directly like this. as you expect >100Mbps then connect a 1GB enabled computer/laptop, with up to date drivers, via a NEW and working Cat5e/6a ethernet cable, directly to the Hub which you have put into “modem mode” (https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-hub-modem-mode ). This ensures that NO other devices are connected

Test speeds at https://speedtest.samknows.com/ - or https://www.speedtest.net/ - try on 2 different browsers - as Chrome sometimes gives odd results.

If they are still low – boot your device into Windows safe+networking mode - to disable any potentially interfering software - and try again.
There are many posts on here (I have a list of ~30!) where QoS software, anti-virus, unknown/flaky software, old network card drivers, corrupted browsers, bad cables or other connected devices are limiting speeds on tests.

Report back what that gets. For examples of why... see message 7 in the first thread and 9 in in the second and 3 in the third

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Speed/HUB-5-and-IGB-wifi/td-p/5088163

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Networking-and-WiFi/Slow-Ethernet-Speed/m-p/5060946#M484321

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Speed/Upgrade-from-M600-to-Gig1-no-speed-change-with-Hub-4/td-p...

[Gordonwd]

Hi - thanks for your response. I only have a Chromebook which doesn't have an ethernet port.

[jpeg1]

Without a wired connection to the Hub you are unlikely to receive the full speed that Virgin are sending to it. 

The speeds you are quoting are quite reasonable for WiFi connections. They will be affected by how far you are away from the Hub and how many devices are sharing it at the time. 

[Gordonwd]

Honestly? Every so often I get speeds in excess of 200M (using the same speed test). You're honestly saying that with a quoted 500M service, speeds of around 10-20 are reasonable on WiFi connected devices??

[jpeg1]

It's a 500Mbps into the Hub. If you want to use the full speed every time you'll need an ethernet connection on your side. 

With a suitable modern WiFi device, close to the Hub and connecting on the 5GHz band, you may get most of that speed. If you are in another room with walls/floors between, the speeds will fall considerably and may even drop out completely at further distance.

For full speed coverage throughout a house you will need better equipment than the basic VM Hub. 

[Gordonwd]

I agree. Also - I've just carried out a (samknows) test and achieved 271M sitting in exactly the same spot that has been giving me 10-20 (and lower) over the last few days (a spot that has very few physical barriers between me and the router).

This is my point - my suspicion is that there is insufficient local network capacity to service everyone in my locality - speeds are often good during the day and usually terrible in the evenings.

They can also be terrible during the day.

Thank you thus far for taking an interest in my problem.

[carl_pearce]

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@Gordonwd wrote:

I agree. Also - I've just carried out a (samknows) test and achieved 271M sitting in exactly the same spot that has been giving me 10-20 (and lower) over the last few days (a spot that has very few physical barriers between me and the router).

This is my point - my suspicion is that there is insufficient local network capacity to service everyone in my locality - speeds are often good during the day and usually terrible in the evenings.

They can also be terrible during the day.

Thank you thus far for taking an interest in my problem.

---

If you have at least a HUB 4 use this site to see the speed to the HUB vs what the device sees:

https://samknows.com/realspeed/

This will allow you to determine if it's the connection over the VM network or the wireless connection itself.

[Gordonwd]

I have a Hub 3.

[Gordonwd]

However I have run the test you suggest and get perfectly acceptable numbers....

....just now.