When is superfast fibre not all that fast

oldernonethewiser

Right - so the issue is your kit not a problem with the BT broadband.

Moving on......

victor2

Gwladys said:

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

Gwladys said:

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

So the BT hub is delivering the contracted speed. Is 50Mbps fast enough for your individual existing devices? I would guess it is. If you have a smart TV, that could be streaming high definition video at the same time as your phone & laptop are accessing the internet.

If you really need faster throughput on an existing device, such as your mobile, it should do so if connected at 5GHz. It is impossible to say what frequency the engineer connected his mobile at, as some 2.4GHz devices will run at your line's rated speed.

If you are familiar with installing apps on your phone, there are ones that will scan for all available WiFi connections and show their frequency.

Maybe your laptop would get a faster connection if you purchased a USB dual band WiFi connector and disabled the built-in one, and made sure it is enabled on the hub, but how would that benefit you?

I can understand the frustration that you are not getting the speed you are paying for, but as has already been said, that is not BT's fault.

flashg67

Sorry, but it seems ridiculous to carry on blaming the supplier - out of all the thousands/(millions?)of devices you could possibly own/connect - how the heck is the supplier supposed to check what you have/may own in the future/your visitors may own? Most people wouldn't even know how to check - it seems the OP didn't until shown. 
 Supposing they did give you a slower speed & price compatible with your devices, then you upgrade to a new laptop/phone/TV etc - do you expect them to give you a free speed upgrade then? Mind, boggled....

Gwladys

flashg67 - I am not expecting the supplier to check every request for broadband. But how about just one piece of advice / warning to any potential customer that their devices may not be compatible with the speeds offered and should be checked before purchase. The onus would be on the purchaser but at least they would have some inkling of a potential problem - rather than waiting until the problem is created? If I did a subsequent upgrade to a faster speed, I should think that it was fairly obvious that I would expect to pay for it - not that mind-boggling??

molerat

But it is not just the one device that is important.  They would need to check for each device you own, ask how many devices you are going to be using at once, if you intend buying anything else in future etc etc, the list of questions goes on.

I don't remember the car dealer asking me why I needed such a big car when I bought it, he could have sold me a much smaller or cheaper  one or told me the car I was trading in was perfectly adequate for my needs.

It is up to you to check what you need and if you can use it.

brewerdave

Gwladys said:

flashg67 - I am not expecting the supplier to check every request for broadband. But how about just one piece of advice / warning to any potential customer that their devices may not be compatible with the speeds offered and should be checked before purchase. The onus would be on the purchaser but at least they would have some inkling of a potential problem - rather than waiting until the problem is created? If I did a subsequent upgrade to a faster speed, I should think that it was fairly obvious that I would expect to pay for it - not that mind-boggling??

Bear in mind that with the advent of full fibre to the home (FTTP), most people in future ,will have much faster broadband connections than their equipment can use eg I have a desktop PC running Windows 10 but the network card is only capable of 100Mb , so couldn't use anything faster than the "80/20" connection speeds - waste of money having say, a 300 Mb connection. In fact none of my devices could use 300 Mb and I don't intend to scrap them all !!
 But there won't be any choice once the "old" copper systems are shut down.

matelodave

Would a similar analogy be that you'd like a refund on your car tax because you only drive at 50mph rather than 70 so you don't really get all the benefit that you pay for.

hareng

Gwladys said:

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

Can i just add your on the slowest FTTC 1 as it is, thats up to 38meg.

Considering BT only got 16.875meg i would say your a fair distance from the cabinet, hence the degrade.

Aside it really narks me these providers calling 'SuperFast' and the like why dont they call it what it is, its misleading to most unsavy. In your case thats the min speed they offer as theres FTTC2 which is up to 76meg i was on for 11 years but could only achieve 55 meg being 280 yards from the cabinet using aluminium wire from the 70's.

Then theres FTTP Fibre To The Premises, now thats superfast i am achieving 500meg and thats with Win 7.

FindMyWayBack

I have read all that and it clearly is the devices and not the supply. 
I have FTTP and can get the top available speeds. But the thing is most don't need it.
I get the advertised 74mbps on all my devices but they are all up to date and updated.

oldernonethewiser

hareng said:

Gwladys said:

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

Can i just add your on the slowest FTTC 1 as it is, thats up to 38meg.

Considering BT only got 16.875meg i would say your a fair distance from the cabinet, hence the degrade.

Aside it really narks me these providers calling 'SuperFast' and the like why dont they call it what it is, its misleading to most unsavy. In your case thats the min speed they offer as theres FTTC2 which is up to 76meg i was on for 11 years but could only achieve 55 meg being 280 yards from the cabinet using aluminium wire from the 70's.

Then theres FTTP Fibre To The Premises, now thats superfast i am achieving 500meg and thats with Win 7.

What are these figures in relation to the OP's speed and that as tested by the engineer?