Good speed, crummy internet, do I need an access point?

marello25

marello25

marello25

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Joined
30 Dec 2012
Posts
9
Hey,

I am currently with Sky broadband with their standard internet deal. I have a SamKnows box so I know that my internet speed is technically great for the price. Download is usually 18mbps. However, when using the internet (cable or wifi) is ridiculously slow and often timesout. This happens whether or not I've been downloading a lot so I figure this is some sort of router issue.

I spoke to Sky and they offered to upgrade me to FTTC, which doesn't seem to make sense as the router I currently have would remain the same. Can anyone recommend me a solution?

Thanks!
 
Adsl is rubbish but whether or not that's the issue it's difficult to say. Did sky talk you through testing at your master socket and trying different microfilters?
 
Even a 1Mbps connection wouldn't be slow and time out..

Sounds like an issue needs to be resolved.

Is it ok with all other phones/sky boxes disconnected? Does the connection drop?
 
I literally just have Sky broadband. I don't even plug a phone in. My SamKnows box which is reporting 18Mbps is plugged into the back of my Sky router so I'm not sure it would be something to do with my socket? The issue happens across all devices (phone, PS4, PC, laptop) and both wifi and ethernet connections.

Also, I can't get fibre to home because I live in a large private flat complex, otherwise at this point I'd just cough up :)
 
Changing the DNS settings is always worth trying. Google's DNS at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 are usually reliable.

If you can't change it on the router you'll be able to change them on at least one of your devices.

Even if it doesn't help it'll rule one thing out.
 
marello25 said:
Also, I can't get fibre to home because I live in a large private flat complex, otherwise at this point I'd just cough up :)
Click to expand...

Why would living in a flat make any difference if you can get FTTC? FTTC is fibre to the cabinet so it would still use the copper to your flat. If they offered to upgrade you to FTTC then you can probably get it.
 
Does it work well without the Samknows box? Keep it as simple as possible and test.

Tried another microfilter ? They can become faulty..
 
Most likely to be a flaky modem/router/AP if you're using the box they sent you. Are things improved right after turning it off and on?

If you have several devices, is it the same on all of them?

bremen1874 said:
Changing the DNS settings is always worth trying. Google's DNS at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 are usually reliable.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend giving Google all of your browsing history.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

I'm terrible at networks. Had a look at the Sky router DNS settings and got a bit confused trying to swap them over to Google.

In answer to other queries.

The router does generally improve after being rebooted for a period of time. I always assumed this was due to me downloading so much

This issue is across all devices, not just limited to one.

Running fibre to my flat would involve running cables under private and national property, some sort of issue there so sadly not available yet.

I actually got the Sam Knows box because this issue was happening. I wanted to be able to monitor my internet speed. The box showed up that the speed coming in wasn't a problem.
 
If the box is well-ventilated and the line is stable then the simple answer is you probably need a beefier modem/router/AP. I don't know what kind of hardware Sky bundle these days but ISPs usually cut corners where possible.

Caged said:
https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Still, requires a lot of trust, and checking back frequently that they don't change their policy.

Also, do you truly believe "We built Google Public DNS to make the web faster..."? Nothing Google does is free.
 
I can only go by what their published privacy policy is - at least they have one though. Which ISPs do you know who have a privacy policy regarding DNS queries?

It's in Google's interest to increase the amount of time people spend with their eyes looking at the Internet. It's totally possible that the DNS service was done to ensure that ropey ISP-provided DNS doesn't prevent people from using Google Search (e.g. some ISPs redirect mistyped URLs to a sponsored search page), I don't believe that they do anything with the data other than what is set out in the policy above.
 
marello25 said:
Running fibre to my flat would involve running cables under private and national property, some sort of issue there so sadly not available yet.
Click to expand...

Your thinking of FTTP or FTTH (Fibre to the Property or Fibre to the Home), which not many people have. FTTC is, as I said, Fibre to the Cabinet on the street.

No need to run any new cables or dig anything up, it uses the same copper cable that your current internet uses, you just get fibre to the cabinet instead of the usual ADSL line.

*Back on topic)

As bledd suggested, keep it simple, remove all devices and only have your pc or laptop on the connection and test.
 
Hi,

I've managed to capture router stats when the internet was behaving and not. This was when only my PC was connected.

Any thoughts?

Not behaving:

Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Coliision Pkts Tx b/s Rx b/s Up time
WAN PPPoA 11852393 18859730 0 0 0 121:07:12
LAN Up 9452042 6291688 0 0 1 273:44:16
WLAN Up 34195709 19985579 0 0 1 273:44:16

Behaving:

Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Coliision Pkts Tx b/s Rx b/s Up time
WAN PPoA 5506554 8362716 0 10626 62849 22:58:11
LAN Up 6939133 4748678 0 934 659 175:35:15
WLAN Up 26345634 15378659 0 474443 23076 175:34:41
 
When it was bad my connection speed was 21022kbps, line attenuation 18dB and noise margin 29dB. When it was good those stats were identical except noise was 31dB.
 
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