Not achieving guaranteed speed

[BillSarah]

Have been on Fibre 65 since 20/9/23, previously on Fibre 35.  Speed test shows a download speed of 38Mbps against guaranteed speed of 48Mbps (upload speed given as 18Mbps).  Have tried several speed tests over the last couple of weeks with same result.  Have even switched off the router for a few hours and switched it on again, and on today's speed test my router was reset, but no change to the speed in either case.

Have worked through the troubleshooter and ran more speed tests.  The speed to the router is achieving the guaranteed speed, so advised that there is probably congestion due to all my connected devices.  The speeds to all my devices are shown, six of them, none of which I recognise.  All but two of them are 38Mbps, with one at 28Mbps and one at 17Mbps.  Tried running the speed test again with the few devices I actually have all disconnected, but no improvement.

I have NTE-5C master socket with a microfilter splitter connected to nearby telephone and lead to two socket extension, to which I have connected another telephone and the router.  This arrangement has worked fine for 12 years and as expected speed is reaching my router there is presumably no issue with it?

All I have connected to the router is my PC and a 12Gigabit Passthrough Powerline Adapter to which I have connected the TV (we have TalkTalk TV).  We have two iPhones which use the wifi.  Disconnecting these devices and re-running the speed test made no difference to the speed.  Occasionally we use a laptop though this was not switched on and connected when I ran any of the speed tests.

Attempting to access live chat I receive the message, "Go back to previous page or log in to continue your conversation".  No help at all, as I am logged in and there is no link to chat on the previous page.  It is very difficult to contact TalkTalk support isn't it?

I am beginning to think there is a problem with my router though the router check says it's OK.  What is the answer?

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi BillSarah

Thanks for your reply.

Please can you keep the new router and return the old router using the pre paid returns bag.

If you do need any further help then please post back here and let us know.

Debbie

[BillSarah]

We've had a long chat about this at our end.  If there is not a problem with the line or the router then clearly we need to take a long look at our set-up, which is probably a good thing as we now only use our landline 'phone for incoming calls.  For the sake of gaining a few more Mbps, buying more cables and snaking them around the house, and finding gizmos to allow our devices which cannot receive wifi to receive wifi - with no certainty it will make a shred of difference - really does not seem worth the hassle and expense.  We need to do a little research and work out the most efficient and cost-effective way of rewiring our system, so we'll leave things for now and maybe return to this topic in the future if things don't improve.

In the meantime, do we return the new router with all its packaging or keep it and send back the old one for recycling?  The new router came with a plastic bag for this purpose.

[ferguson]

Try a long ethernet cable to connect the router to the PC. And why are you averse to a wireless connection? 

[BillSarah]

I thought about that, but if the speed is OK up to the router would this make a difference?  Not tech enough to understand how that would affect the speed beyond the router.  And this has never been a problem before, only since upgrading to Fibre 65.  The problem with connecting direct to the socket is that the socket is in our hall and my PC is upstairs, hence the extension lead.  If I plugged the router directly into the socket via the splitter I would first have to run an extension lead (or get a two/three way adaptor) so I could plug it into an electrical socket and secondly figure out how to run a network cable upstairs - or rely on wireless (which I'd rather not).  If it's still worth a try I can see if I can figure something out?

[ferguson]

Just looking at the way you have described your setup initially. The router should be connected directly to the broadband socket on the NTE5C rather than via a plugin splitter, try that and check your speeds again.

[BillSarah]

Hi, the new router has arrived and is now set up.  Unfortunately it makes no difference whatsoever to the speed.  I am in despair as I cannot think of anything else to do.  I checked whether the firewall might be causing an issue but can't find anything obvious in the logs.  Is this something which might affect the speed?

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi BillSarah

Thanks for your reply.

I have ordered a replacement router, please allow 24-48hrs for this to arrive.

Let us know how the connection compares with this router.

Debbie

[BillSarah]

Sorry, really struggling with this forum - I think I've just replied to myself rather than to you!  Yes, still need help.  I think a good idea to try out a new router as everything seems fine up to that point.

[BillSarah]

Yes, still need help.  The problem seems to be between the router and my devices so perhaps we should test a new router as you suggest?

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi BillSarah

Do you still need help with this?

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi BillSarah

I'm sorry to hear this.

The line test is clear - No faults detected, and the line is in sync at 42.1mb.

Would you like me to send a replacement router for testing?