Help with ping/latency issues

RT123 said:
Thanks again for your help Rainmaker - with the router for the OR FTTP, should I stick with the provided one or change it?
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Mostly all of the ISP provided routers are bad so it's advised to change. You can get some really good OpenWRT compatible routers for like £40 these days though.
 
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Sorry, I wrote this ages ago but I forgot to post it (kids!). It depends on which ISP you choose. Some don't provide a router at all, but they're generally poor. If you care about latency and bufferbloat then personally I'd go x86 or at least get a decent router and only shape the upstream (consumer routers aren't powerful enough to run SQM/Cake on the downstream). Do a search on the forum for FTTP and ISPs, there's literally days worth of reading to help you out.
 
Rainmaker said:
Sorry, I wrote this ages ago but I forgot to post it (kids!). It depends on which ISP you choose. Some don't provide a router at all, but they're generally poor. If you care about latency and bufferbloat then personally I'd go x86 or at least get a decent router and only shape the upstream (consumer routers aren't powerful enough to run SQM/Cake on the downstream). Do a search on the forum for FTTP and ISPs, there's literally days worth of reading to help you out.
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No problem, thanks!
 
Honestly, just switching to FTTP will likely be a significant improvement in terms of latency, that’s the nature of the beast and I would suggest that is probably the better option if you are out of contract or nearing the end of it. That’s not to say you can’t improve things on VM, but that would require you to spend money (and a little time learning) on something better router wise.

ISP routers generally are mediocre at best, but mediocre on a low latency FTTP connection is better than below or even above average on a DOCSIS based connection. If you do move over, I would try what you get first and see how it does, then decide how much you’re willing to spend and what you want to get out of it.
 
Thanks guys.

Just one last question: I have no way of getting an Ethernet cable from where the router (due to having a rental property and a disability) would be to upstairs. Would a powerline adapter setup be best or would there be a more suitable solution?
 
RT123 said:
Thanks guys.

Just one last question: I have no way of getting an Ethernet cable from where the router (due to having a rental property and a disability) would be to upstairs. Would a powerline adapter setup be best or would there be a more suitable solution?
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Speak to your landlord. Tell them the walls block WiFi and as your disability can prevent you freely moving up/downstairs you hope they have no objection to a professional cable run. It wouldn't cost much at all (CheckATrade or similar) and would be essentially invisible. Solid core copper exterior grade and two faceplates, and the job's a good 'un. It's also possible, but more hassle, to route internally. That'd be my recommendation, because nothing replaces a wire, unfortunately. Avoid powerline like the plague.
 
Rainmaker said:
Speak to your landlord. Tell them the walls block WiFi and as your disability can prevent you freely moving up/downstairs you hope they have no objection to a professional cable run. It wouldn't cost much at all (CheckATrade or similar) and would be essentially invisible. Solid core copper exterior grade and two faceplates, and the job's a good 'un. It's also possible, but more hassle, to route internally. That'd be my recommendation, because nothing replaces a wire, unfortunately. Avoid powerline like the plague.
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;)
 
Ive been with Virgin for a looong time as there was no alternative until recently. My idle latency is usually around 20ms and games playing is not really a good experience. As soon as our Virgin contract is up, I will be moving.
 
mejinks said:
Ive been with Virgin for a looong time as there was no alternative until recently. My idle latency is usually around 20ms and games playing is not really a good experience. As soon as our Virgin contract is up, I will be moving.
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It's the same situation here - we've been with them for 7 years as there was no better alternative.
 
Back again

VM techs have been out 3 times in the last few weeks - a cable (reroute - I’m guessing - the tech today was the same useless tech I had last Thursday) is now being done on Tuesday. The Hub3 was replaced with another Hub3 on Tuesday this week.

Will this improve the stability of my connection or should I still be looking to get an OR connection in ASAP?

Thanks.
 
RT123 said:
Back again

VM techs have been out 3 times in the last few weeks - a cable (reroute - I’m guessing - the tech today was the same useless tech I had last Thursday) is now being done on Tuesday. The Hub3 was replaced with another Hub3 on Tuesday this week.

Will this improve the stability of my connection or should I still be looking to get an OR connection in ASAP?

Thanks.
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Depends on the reason for the re-pull, either way you should know on Tuesday.
 
Power line isn't ethernet by the way. It's usually worse than WiFi too use power line.

When someone says ethernet, they mean context your router to pc using a cable surely to it (or switch)
 
If ethernet isn't an option, mesh works as a good alternative.

Power lines have more variables which can affect stability. Depending on the building if for example upstairs and downstairs are on different circuits, it would sync at a very low rate and may even have worse latency than WiFi.

Noticed your location says London, as well as Openreach based networks, you can also look up Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, and G.Network, these three altnets work around the area and usually is cheaper, with bonus of having symmetric download/upload speeds.
 
Orcvader said:
If ethernet isn't an option, mesh works as a good alternative.

Power lines have more variables which can affect stability. Depending on the building if for example upstairs and downstairs are on different circuits, it would sync at a very low rate and may even have worse latency than WiFi.

Noticed your location says London, as well as Openreach based networks, you can also look up Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, and G.Network, these three altnets work around the area and usually is cheaper, with bonus of having symmetric download/upload speeds.
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Unfortunately CF were supposed to have been installing in my area, but seem to have managed to avoid my road. They're now saying it's not in their plans.
:(
 
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Turns out there was no reason for the repull (levels etc were fine), so the engineer replaced the Hub with a Hub5 this afternoon.

I'm not surprised - given the Engineer on Saturday wasn't very good.

The good news is the exec team responded today (A bit before the appointment) and were willing to waive any ETF's if the issue persists. I'm going to monitor over the next few days just to make sure - but currently the issue is still occuring. Only had a BQM on for a few hours, but it's still showing spikes as well: https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broa...view/e7ec40c88af2a60a0ba085f7bbdf4571faf60dde

As I've mentioned in my previous posts, I'm a bit confused in regards to routers and would appreciate some guidance on what's needed.
 
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