Conflicting Broadband speed info

[Lord Tyrion]

We had Virgin fibre broadband installed in January. Super whizz fast.

Virgin have an app which tests the speed into the hub and then the speed I get. All suitably fast, 350mbps to the hub, 250mbps broadband. However, when I do in independent test, take your pick from the Internet, I'm getting 20-40.

I've done this a few times, same results. What's this about? Is the Virgin app conning me or are the Internet checks inaccurate?

 

[PJ87]

What speed checker do virgin use?

I'd only personally trust Ookla

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I wouldnt worry. Download is one thing, but upload is probably more important

 

[Alan Clifford]

Don't believe them.

Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps.

www.speedtest.net

But the important thing is, does it matter? Is it enough for you?

 

[Bratty]

Don't believe them.

Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps.

www.speedtest.net

But the important thing is, does it matter? Is it enough for you?

Speedtest is my go to and trusted checking site. Far more reliable than the BT one.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Thanks folks. I tried the speed test site, ookla, and they reported 210mbps. Odd about the other results but maybe there is a reason they weren't great. I'll keep checking over the next few days but I'm pleased they were reporting something similar to the Virgin claim.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Don't believe them.

Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps.

www.speedtest.net

But the important thing is, does it matter? Is it enough for you?

Occasionally we get buffering when streaming, which you shouldn't with 2 people in a house and 200+ download speeds, but that might be the TV processor rather than the broadband. Process of elimination............

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Occasionally we get buffering when streaming, which you shouldn't with 2 people in a house and 200+ download speeds, but that might be the TV processor rather than the broadband. Process of elimination............

We used to get buffering sometimes when on 200, changed to 300meg and all good. However since then, Ive had a free upgrade.
Turning off the router completely every now and then also helps refresh it

 

[rulefan]

We had Virgin fibre broadband installed in January. Super whizz fast.

Virgin have an app which tests the speed into the hub and then the speed I get. All suitably fast, 350mbps to the hub, 250mbps broadband. However, when I do in independent test, take your pick from the Internet, I'm getting 20-40.

I've done this a few times, same results. What's this about? Is the Virgin app conning me or are the Internet checks inaccurate?

Try these also:

https://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest

 

[Reemul]

Use this one https://samknows.com/realspeed/ it shows what you router is connected at and can manage and also your real speed.

I have 1 gig but it's limited by many things. I never get 1 gig at peak times, if I try and download a game which is say 150gig it's throttles at peak time, also if all 4 of us are playing and using and streaming, which does happen it can be a little buffery. Online gaming and streaming can also depend on the other party.

Using a downmload manager increases the speed and I also have a Mesh network but would love to get the router moved to my gaming room rather than rely on the mesh network, direct wired connection is always the fastest

 

[PJ87]

I also have a Mesh network but would love to get the router moved to my gaming room rather than rely on the mesh network, direct wired connection is always the fastest

Firstly gaming room! Sounds a thing of beauty . Agree direct wired beats any kind of WiFi. Colleague of mine has same fibre as me (community fibre) but he spent stupid amounts on switching gear that made it spot on.

When we had it installed I was very particular about where I wanted the router. They wanted easiest , under the telly in living room, just a pain if you want to move things about. I managed to convince them if they picked some sealant out one of the armoured cable connections that come out the consumer unit they could just feed the wire in (no drilling) then it's about 2 meters (feeding it around an actual stair from underneath) one small hole (in wood) and boom hallway. I find for us it gives the best coverage for the house. (Using the mesh)

We have ridiculously thick walls so the second node in the living room (about 5 metres away, but behind that wall) then that provides all of downstairs (sort of open plan) and a lot of outsider. The 3rd node is in the spare room which provides the upstairs and in turn the loft room (which because it's an extension is modern walls so doesn't need a node there)

We get 900-1000mbps in the hall
750mb living room
450mb kitchen
350mb upstairs
250mb loft

Upload speeds are decent aswell I mean living room ATM I'm getting 400mb upload , if I plug in I get that 1gb upload

Which mesh system did you go for? I did have the deco M9 plus system when I was with BT but was extra £5 a month when going community fibre to get their Linksys one which just seemed sensible to move to ,to get the best out of what I was upgrading to.

 

[bobmac]

FAST.COM is another good site

 

[spongebob59]

Analiti, measures both wired and WiFi speeds.

 

[jim8flog]

Occasionally we get buffering when streaming, which you shouldn't with 2 people in a house and 200+ download speeds, but that might be the TV processor rather than the broadband. Process of elimination............

Probably contention issues

Think driving and motorways - they may have a 70mph speed limit but you can rarely go at that speed when motorways are crowded.

Another point is that you may that speed from the supplier but the network adapters in things like TVs are limited to around 70 which is considered good enough for streaming movies.
I have an LG TV and you can use a programme from LG to test the actual speed on the TV.

If you have skyQ and still have a 1 ITB box it will also be speed limited, similarly sky+ wifi boxes.

 

[Springveldt]

We had Virgin fibre broadband installed in January. Super whizz fast.

Virgin have an app which tests the speed into the hub and then the speed I get. All suitably fast, 350mbps to the hub, 250mbps broadband. However, when I do in independent test, take your pick from the Internet, I'm getting 20-40.

I've done this a few times, same results. What's this about? Is the Virgin app conning me or are the Internet checks inaccurate?

Could be a number of things really.

What device are you testing on and how is it connected to the hub?

The device you are seeing slow speeds on, is it wifi and only 2.4ghz (should still be seeing more than 20 to 40 though)? The Virgin Hub by default merges both 2.4 and 5 ghz into a single SSID and tries to be clever and assigned the devices onto whichever one it thinks is suitable. Also, if it is wifi, how far from the hub is it? Does it have any interference near (wireless landline phone etc) or a thick stone wall in between?

I got Virgin put in a couple of months ago, got the 1Gb package (and still got my TalkTalk adsl line as well as the wife won't give up the landline that no one uses and Virgin doesn't do VOIP yet in my area) and I got a free wifi pod off of them to boost the signal out to the garage for my Ring security camera. Had to fudge the results a bit as the garage is across my back garden and the hub is at the front of the house, so it had no chance of reaching out there anyway.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Could be a number of things really.

What device are you testing on and how is it connected to the hub?

The device you are seeing slow speeds on, is it wifi and only 2.4ghz (should still be seeing more than 20 to 40 though)? The Virgin Hub by default merges both 2.4 and 5 ghz into a single SSID and tries to be clever and assigned the devices onto whichever one it thinks is suitable. Also, if it is wifi, how far from the hub is it? Does it have any interference near (wireless landline phone etc) or a thick stone wall in between?

I got Virgin put in a couple of months ago, got the 1Gb package (and still got my TalkTalk adsl line as well as the wife won't give up the landline that no one uses and Virgin doesn't do VOIP yet in my area) and I got a free wifi pod off of them to boost the signal out to the garage for my Ring security camera. Had to fudge the results a bit as the garage is across my back garden and the hub is at the front of the house, so it had no chance of reaching out there anyway.

I'm checking on either my phone, 5yr old Samsung, or even older Samsung tablet. I'm checking pretty close to the router, walls should not be making a difference at that range. The house is also a 70's house, not the thickest of walls . Maybe it is fine and it is just my devices I'm checking on.

Ultimately, I am not gaming or a heavy user. I just want to check it is getting close to the speeds we are paying for, not the older school copper wire speeds we had before.

 

[PJ87]

Could be a number of things really.

What device are you testing on and how is it connected to the hub?

The device you are seeing slow speeds on, is it wifi and only 2.4ghz (should still be seeing more than 20 to 40 though)? The Virgin Hub by default merges both 2.4 and 5 ghz into a single SSID and tries to be clever and assigned the devices onto whichever one it thinks is suitable. Also, if it is wifi, how far from the hub is it? Does it have any interference near (wireless landline phone etc) or a thick stone wall in between?

I got Virgin put in a couple of months ago, got the 1Gb package (and still got my TalkTalk adsl line as well as the wife won't give up the landline that no one uses and Virgin doesn't do VOIP yet in my area) and I got a free wifi pod off of them to boost the signal out to the garage for my Ring security camera. Had to fudge the results a bit as the garage is across my back garden and the hub is at the front of the house, so it had no chance of reaching out there anyway.

Considering what ring is designed for I find it poor at times picking up WiFi through walls

I had an issue with my laptop and connecting to 5 at home (about 2 years ago). It kept just being dumped on 2.4 , so slower speed. I fiddled around with the driver for the network connector to only look for 5 and then no issue

 

[PJ87]

I'm checking on either my phone, 5yr old Samsung, or even older Samsung tablet. I'm checking pretty close to the router, walls should not be making a difference at that range. The house is also a 70's house, not the thickest of walls . Maybe it is fine and it is just my devices I'm checking on.

Ultimately, I am not gaming or a heavy user. I just want to check it is getting close to the speeds we are paying for, not the older school copper wire speeds we had before.

Do they provide a minimum speed guarantee?

 

[GreiginFife]

I'm checking on either my phone, 5yr old Samsung, or even older Samsung tablet. I'm checking pretty close to the router, walls should not be making a difference at that range. The house is also a 70's house, not the thickest of walls . Maybe it is fine and it is just my devices I'm checking on.

Ultimately, I am not gaming or a heavy user. I just want to check it is getting close to the speeds we are paying for, not the older school copper wire speeds we had before.

Remember, the faster the speed the higher the loss over distance. Just how wi-fi works.

We have 500mbps. In the hallway at the router my iPhone will log around 460-480mbps. Take that one room away through a hollow stud wall (also a 1970's build) and that drops to 280-290mbps.

When we had 70mbps FTTC we'd get around 65 in the hall and around 58-60 in the next room.

 

[GreiginFife]

Do they provide a minimum speed guarantee?

Not sure minimum speed guarantees count for wifi, more sync speed at the router.