Hyperoptic WiFi Connection

ZacharyJohn

Hi,

My girlfriend and I moved into a new flat a couple of weeks ago and decided to use Hyperoptic as a supplier for our broadband as they seemed to offer a very fast service (500mbps) at a reasonable price (£33 p/m).

The broadband/WiFi works perfectly with every device we have (phones, personal laptops, tablets, etc) but for my work laptop the WiFi inexplicably seems to judder every few seconds. I use a Remote Desktop and am constantly on Skype calls and the connection will be smooth for about ten seconds, then stop completely before taking three or four seconds to catch up again.

IT at work seem to have no idea what the problem is and Hyperoptic themselves tried to apply what I think was called a static IP address to my account but this didn't work. Strangely, if I hotspot my phone, the work laptop works just fine. I don't know if this is a laptop issue or a WiFi issue (or a compatibility issue with both) - does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

Neil_Jones

Use a wired connection from the work laptop to the router.  If the issue clears up the wifi is causing the drop-out.  The phone hotspot probably works because its most likely physically closer.

This "video call stops and then suddenly runs fast/jumps" thing is unfortunately quite common with video calls and wifi.  It sometimes cannot cope.

matelodave

As Neil says, you are probably better off running an ethernet cable directly between the router and your computer. You'll get maximum speeds and it wont be subject to interference or the vagaries of wifi.
t.

One possibility that might be worth exploring is the wifi band that you are using - 2.4 or 5ghz. Some computers will hunt between the two ifdepending on how strong the signal is - try setting it to using one or the other rather than letting it sort it'self out.

We have a different SSID address for 2.4 and 5gz and that solved a problem we had with using a single SSID for both - my laptop and the SKY box couldn't decide which band to use and sometimes hunted or just disconnected. We get much faster wifi speeds with 5ghz but the range is a lot less than 2.4ghz especially if there are several walls in the way.
(I've got two routers from BT, an HH6 and a BT Superhub2 . The HH6 is much better insofar as I can set up two SSId's, whereas the SuperHub2 wont allow it and it just doesn't work properly for some of our stuff  (my laptop and the SKY box) so it's back in the cupboard)

https://hyperoptic.com/faq/posts/which-band-should-i-be-using-2-4ghz-or-5ghz/

this is what BT say - https://www.bt.com/help/broadband/fix-a-problem/broadband-and-wi-fi/i-can-t-connect/i-can-t-connect-devices-to-my-wi-fi/i-have-problems-connecting-5ghz-and-dual-band-devices-wirelessly

onomatopoeia99

If a stable connection is important, use an ethernet cable (not involving "powerline" adapters, as unshielded twin and earth also carrying noisy 240V AC is not the best link layer known to man).

You have, I hope, confirmed that skype and RDP to the same location work without "juddering" on other devices in your home and that it works on your work laptop if it is moved to the location of those other devices.

ann_droid

Hi
When using Wi-FI you sometimes get the situation where only 1 device can broadcast at a time, to avoid collisions.

Therefore wired is preferable, if using Wi-FI then choose the frequency, to the point of excluding other lesser important devices to a different frequency.

Differing SSID's and channels for any boosters or repeaters etc; if you can.

VDSL

80.0 Mbit/s20.0 Mbit/s

3

 Wi-Fi

2.4 GHz Devices

Laptop(2.4GHz)

5 GHz Devices

Smartphone(5GHz)

Mobile(5GHz)

 Wi-Fi 2

2.4 GHz Devices

5 GHz Devices

0

 Network

0

Just to be sure there are no smart thermostats or lights etc getting in the way.

Chino

matelodave said:

I've got two routers from BT, an HH6 and a BT Superhub2 .

It's more likely you actually have a BT Smart Hub and a BT Smart Hub 2:
https://www.bt.com/help/broadband/getting-set-up/user-guides-and-manuals-for-bt-hubs

matelodave

Probably but it still identifies itself as a BTHub6 (and I think the Smart Hub 2 did as well)

Just done a speedtest without moving the computer. 73mbits down and 21mbits up at 5 Ghz and 26mbits down and 9.8 up (we usually get 76 down an 22 up on 5Ghz) We have FTTP

ZacharyJohn

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have tried moving the laptop directly next to the router for a couple of hours with no luck - so I don't think it's too far away - and the lagging is definitely more than you would expect from a normal connection, it's pretty much unusable.

IT at work logged into my router remotely, played around with the settings and switched numerous times between 2.4GHz and 5GHz to no avail. They also deleted all devices off both connections except the work laptop but no luck either.

Skype and the RDP work perfectly on my personal Mac - it is undoubtedly an issue between the laptop and the router specifically. Perhaps a wired connection would work, but the router is quite far away from my desk so it's definitely not ideal. I also feel like in this day and age I should be able to contently work from home over WiFi without this kind of problem!

Neil_Jones

Consider yourself relatively lucky your IT department got involved with your home setup.  Most companies just say not our problem.

The obvious solution you haven't tried (or you haven't said you've tried) is a cable.  That will be the next thing IT will tell you to do/try.

matelodave

ZacharyJohn said:

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have tried moving the laptop directly next to the router for a couple of hours with no luck - so I don't think it's too far away - and the lagging is definitely more than you would expect from a normal connection, it's pretty much unusable.

IT at work logged into my router remotely, played around with the settings and switched numerous times between 2.4GHz and 5GHz to no avail. They also deleted all devices off both connections except the work laptop but no luck either.

Skype and the RDP work perfectly on my personal Mac - it is undoubtedly an issue between the laptop and the router specifically. Perhaps a wired connection would work, but the router is quite far away from my desk so it's definitely not ideal. I also feel like in this day and age I should be able to contently work from home over WiFi without this kind of problem!

If as you say the broadband works perfectly with every other device, then there's a compatibility problem between your laptop and the router. Likewise if the laptop appearrs to work with everything else then theres still a compatibilty problem but only between your specfic laptop and your specific router

You appear to be laying the blame on the router when it could quite easily be a problem with the computer and, in the whole great scheme of things they just may not like each each other and it could never ever get solved.

therefore your options seem to be,

a) use a cable,
b) get a new router
c) change your laptop,
d) put up with it
c) try a powerline or wireless extender

ZacharyJohn

Cheers guys.

I'll use an ethernet cable to test the wired connection and perhaps that will help narrow down what's actually causing the problem. Then a call to Hyperoptic to see if they can figure out the problem after explaining exactly when the connection does/doesn't work.

@ann_droid I not sure I can follow the screenshot you've given in the context of my issue (I'm not a hugely tech-minded person) any chance you could elaborate?