When is superfast fibre not all that fast

victor2

Your phone will probably have 5GHz WiFi capability. It might not be switched on in the hub though. Do you know how to login to the hub and change its settings?

oldernonethewiser

Gwladys said:

Fully accept that I am using an old machine but would it really have harmed BT to ask what devices I had before offering a superfast service that I subsequently cannot use. Or even acknowledge the problem highlighted by their own technician's report and offer a reduced service? As to whether the Ombudsman will reject this case, this still comes under the umbrella of the old Goods and Services act and the Distance Selling Regulations, whereby goods or services have to be "fit for purpose" - which tins system patently is not. One final point, whilst testing my mobile phone, it only managed a download speed of 42mbps and it is only 6 months old. It's not so much the age of the device that matters but the type of network adapter it has got.
 

The goods, ie the service, is fit for purpose.

Your laptop is not and that is not BT's problem.

Can you confirm the phone and tablet speeds?

Gwladys

Many thanks Ozzig. You comment about the television licence was exactly the point I made to the BT engineer. The difference being that it is fairly obvious that if you have a black and white television, then why would you buy anything other than a black and white licence. That purchase is made on the basis of knowledge. This purchase was made without knowing the Network Wireless Adapter designation for each device - and let's be fair how many people go into that when they purchase their broadband?

MattMattMattUK

Gwladys said:

Fully accept that I am using an old machine but would it really have harmed BT to ask what devices I had before offering a superfast service that I subsequently cannot use.

It would be an extra step in the checkout process that would confuse some people annoy others and generally if there was a section of the checking asking if specific devices one owned were capable of downloading at a certain speed if people did not know in the first place then they would be unlikely to understand the question. 

Gwladys said:

Or even acknowledge the problem highlighted by their own technician's report and offer a reduced service?

Their technician agreed that one of your devices was unable to fully saturate your connection, but you could use multiple devices at the same time, you pay purchase a newer laptop etc. You signed up for a 12/18/24 month contract, in what way could it possibly be in their interest to agree to accept less money?

Gwladys said:

As to whether the Ombudsman will reject this case, this still comes under the umbrella of the old Goods and Services act and the Distance Selling Regulations, whereby goods or services have to be "fit for purpose" - which tins system patently is not. 

It is entirely fit fir purpose, it does exactly what you signed up for, to supply a 135Mbps connection to the router, with a hub that meets various Wifi standards, that is what the contract you agreed to stipulated, the sale has nothing to do with what devices you own or connect to the network. 

Gwladys said:

One final point, whilst testing my mobile phone, it only managed a download speed of 42mbps and it is only 6 months old. It's not so much the age of the device that matters but the type of network adapter it has got.

You are correct in that it is down to the network card/adaptor that is in the relevant device, but you will not find Wi-Fi 5 in any devices released before 2014 and it did not make it's way into most consumer devices for a year or two, Wi-Fi 6 despite being adopted in 2019 only really started appearing in consumer kit in 2022, although it was in some enterprise kit before that. In older design/lower cost versions of mobile phones they will use an older chipsets which reduces costs, but does not use the most modern standards, in general that does not matter because people who want bleeding edge performance understand that comes at a cost. Device age is not an absolute guide, but it can be a fairly good proxy and whilst being more modern does not guarantee the most recent standards, being older does guarantee that the newest ones will not be present. 

Gwladys said:

Many thanks Ozzig. You comment about the television licence was exactly the point I made to the BT engineer. The difference being that it is fairly obvious that if you have a black and white television, then why would you buy anything other than a black and white licence. That purchase is made on the basis of knowledge. This purchase was made without knowing the Network Wireless Adapter designation for each device - and let's be fair how many people go into that when they purchase their broadband?

The knowledge part is down to you, not them, they offer a product without advice (in the legal sense) and you choose whether to buy it or not.

Most people will not know the specific adaptor in each device, many will know what Wi-Fi version they have. I have no idea what adaptor chipset is in my laptop, I do know that it is Wifi 6 though, no one actually needs to know the chipset. When you buy food in a supermarket do they check if you have the knowledge or equipment to cook it? When you buy a car capable of more than 70 MPH do they check you have a length of private road on which to drive it at that speed? When you buy a mobile phone or laptop, do they check you have the technical knowledge to use it's features? The answer to all of those questions is no, just the same as it is with broadband. 

Gwladys

Dear Victor 2, No there does not appear to be a wifi button. It was shipped with Windows 8.1 - which I could not get on with and had Windows 10 fitted to replace it. When the Home Tech Engineer was here he tried the speed test with the yellow ethernet cable supplied - which was the only time he could get it up to 50+ 

southsidergs

Gwladys said:

 This purchase was made without knowing the Network Wireless Adapter designation for each device - and let's be fair how many people go into that when they purchase their broadband?

Nobody forced you to make the purchase, it was your choice but now instead of taking it on the chin you seem to be demanding BT change your bb for YOUR mistake & nothing else, why can't you just accept responsibility for it instead?

oldernonethewiser

Did the engineer who visited (from BT?) test any of your other devices or any device that they had brouight with them to measure the speeds?

Gwladys

To Victor 2 - No I don't know how to log into the hub with my phone to check if 5GHz setting is correct.

Gwladys

To oldernonethewiser - Yes, he tested a laptop and mobile he brought with him. Both came out at speeds around 135mbps.

Ozzig

Gwladys said:

Many thanks Ozzig. You comment about the television licence was exactly the point I made to the BT engineer. The difference being that it is fairly obvious that if you have a black and white television, then why would you buy anything other than a black and white licence. That purchase is made on the basis of knowledge. This purchase was made without knowing the Network Wireless Adapter designation for each device - and let's be fair how many people go into that when they purchase their broadband?

It's not really up to ISPs to ask for a full specification of every device a customer intends to use.
In the same way, the TV licensing people wouldn't necessarily ask what TV you have (it may be a bad analogy as I can imagine most post offices in days gone by checking )

Broadband speed has two restrictions -
Speed between the local green box/exchange/ DSLAM and the router.
Speed capabilities of the customer's building and equipment they connect to the router.

You pay for the former and the latter is mostly down to the customer. There are various extras thrown in nowadays "guarantee" wireless speed usually via a mesh-type solution but that is still reliant on a customer having equipment capable of utilizing those speeds and also a building compatible with such a solution.