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Advice on BT download speed issues

shaurysaw85
Member

So I’ve had BT Infinity Broadband in for almost two months now on the 52mb package. However the speeds I’ve been getting are terrible. Generally mornings are ok with a download speed of around 30mb but after around 1pm up until early morning it’s been averaging around 2.5mb, regularly even dropping to 0.5mb. If more than one device is connected to the WiFi it’s practically unusable, any attempt at streaming results in constant buffering and it ends up taking 20 minutes to watch 5 minutes of video. Trying to download games on Steam takes forever with the download speed peaking, on average, at 1.5mb. Considering I’m paying for up to 52mb I don’t think these speeds are acceptable. I don’t expect to be getting 52mb download speed constantly especially during peak times but what is the point in me paying for the 52mb package when I could be on the 17mb package and be getting the same speeds? An Openreach engineer visited earlier and told me there was no problems with the line but there could be a problem with the router so I could request a new one but might get charged by BT. So what is my best option here? Should I request a new router in the hope that it fixes it? Should I go out and buy my own router (suggestions on that are welcome)? Or should I just phone up and cancel it altogether because that seems like the best option at this point. Thanks in advance for any help.

8 REPLIES 8

spank
Grand Guru

Hi there,


Sync speed and connection speed are two different things so need to be diagnosed seperately and by different methods.


So which are you having a problem with?


You can check your sync speed in the router config page by navigating to 192.168.1.254 and clicking status, you will see the sync speed like this


Downstream sync speed: 32.13 Mbps

Upstream sync speed: 4.45 Mbps


This shows the the speed the router is synchronised at with the exchange. Refresh it now and again and if this is fluctuating then you have a physical problem and will need to check wiring before reporting it as a fault to the helpdesk. Check this out first:


What BT line socket do I have? | BT Business


If the sync speed is stable then the problem is connection speed. This is trickier because it's down to something on your internal network across all your devices and requires trial and error to pinpoint.


So I assume you have some wired, some wifi devices and does the issue happen on them at the same time? or is it just the wifi devices that have an issue?


If you have no wired devices then get yourself a cable and do a comparison when the problem occurs. Go to speedtest.net on a wifi device and a wired one, do they have the same issue with speed.


The reason I'm focusing on this is that wifi speeds are susceptible to interference and rely on signal strength which determines what speed you will achieve. It's also the easiest to eliminate. If it turns out wifi is the issue then get yourself some whole home wifi mesh discs https://www.businessdirect.bt.com/learnmore/bt-business-direct-brands-and-services/bt-whole-home-wi-...


If the problem exists on all devices, wifi and wired, then it's a case of pinpointing which device is chewing through your bandwidth. This is the tricky part.


If someone in the house is maxing out the download or upload bandwidth then it will affect the whole network and there will be no bandwidth left for anyone else. Your speedtest will also be extremely low, due to lack of bandwidth, so to figure out which device it is:


Go back to the router at 192.168.1.254 and click the My devices panel. This will list everything that's been connected to your router. On the filter button choose Show Connected to see whats connected to your router at the moment.


Make sure you know what every device is here. You can see which are using upload and download via the up and down arrows so straight away you can see your big users, focus on these devices.


You can refresh this page at any time by hitting F5 on the keyboard.

 

More Below....

spank
Grand Guru

Let everyone in the household know what you're doing and make sure they all have their devices ready so when the connection gets bad you start to disconnect them one at a time. Do it like this:


Wait until the connection is bad, run a speedtest, take note of the speed and confirm it's a problem.


Ask 1 person who is currently connected to disconnect their wifi and only them. Confirm they have disconnected by refreshing the BT router page and checking their device, if it dissppears from the list (or if you haven't filtered it to show only connected devices then it will be greyed out) then they have disconnecte.


Do a speedtest again. If no change then keep doing one after each user disconnects, until everyone in the house has disconnected their devices. During this process hopefully your speed will jump up to what you want and you'll know who the culprit is.


If you have disconnected everyone, apart from your own computer, then connect your phone to the wifi, disconnect your computer and run the test on the phone to make sure it's not actually your device that's the problem.


Be prepared to do this a few times before you figure it out.


If you suspect it's a certain device then have them connect and disconnect while you run speedtests to confirm.


Hopefully it's a wifi issue Smiley Happy


Thanks

Enriquez451
Member

Thanks for the information 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Omegle

JezebelLouisa
Member

Thanks for sharing.

AndrewToni007
Member

Use a speed test website to check your download Video and upload speeds. If your download speed is significantly lower than what you are paying for, then you may need to contact BT to investigate the issue.

Best Regards: 

juliakachova
Member

I understand your frustration with the BT Infinity Broadband speeds you've been experiencing. It's definitely not ideal when you're paying for a 52 MB package but only getting a fraction of the promised speed. Before you decide to cancel the service altogether, I would suggest trying a new router. You can either request one from BT or consider purchasing your own (make sure to research the best options). Sometimes, the issue could be with the router itself, and a new one might fix the problem.

On a side note, having a stable internet connection is essential for managing social media accounts, and one great way to do that is by using Instagram tools. I recently came across this helpful website, Famium, which offers various Instagram tools to improve your online presence. If you manage to fix your internet issue, you might also want to check it out!

Best of luck with your broadband situation, and I hope you find a solution that works for you.

Adward4321
Member

Experiencing slow download speeds with your BT (British Telecom) internet connection can be frustrating, but there are several steps you can take to troubleshoot and improve your download speeds. Here are some pieces of advice to help you address BT download speed issues:

  1. Check Your Plan: Ensure that you are subscribed to a plan that offers the download speeds you expect. Sometimes, slow speeds might be due to the limitations of your plan.

  2. Perform a Speed Test: Use a reliable speed testing website newtoki or app to measure your current download and upload speeds. This will help you establish a baseline and determine if your actual speeds match your subscribed speeds.

  3. Connect via Ethernet Cable: If you're using Wi-Fi, consider connecting your device directly to the router using an Ethernet cable. Wired connections tend to provide more stable and consistent speeds compared to wireless connections, which can be affected by interference.

Amelia543
Member
  1. Check Your Internet Plan:

  2. Run Speed Tests:

    • Use online speed testing tools to check your current download speeds. This can help you determine whether the issue is persistent or temporary.
  3. Test Wired and Wireless Connections:

    • Connect your device directly to the router using an Ethernet cable and run a speed test. If the speeds are significantly better, the issue may be related to your Wi-Fi connection. If so, consider optimizing your Wi-Fi setup or using a wired connection for bandwidth-intensive tasks.