BT FTTP and WiFi discs

mickevh

Meeeh. Maybe ring their customer service and ask them (good luck!)

rustybin

I'm within the 14 cooling off period so I'm hoping I can just cancel and return all the equipment.

I presume the 14 days is from the service being connected and not from order date?

mickevh

I wouldn't know - I haven't changed ISP in about 20 years!

JonJ

I just got FTTP, and ditched the BT hub and discs as it was all driving me nuts and seemed slow. I just got average speeds around the house. Some people have had no issues with this setup, I know. BT also couldn’t disable the BT WFi sharing thing they have on my hub despite numerous attempts so that was the last straw with the BT kit.

So, I opted for a DrayTek router connected to the BT fibre modem and TP Link Deco M5 mesh system (3 pack). Not sure the Decos would let me split the channels but all my kit (including Hue) connects works at very good speed.

All been working for 2 weeks with no issues.

For me, I was impressed with the Deco mesh as it’s setup with a phone App and just seems to work.

psychopomp1

I suggest you hook up any PC directly to the LAN port on the Openreach ONT and then run a speedtest on your PC - you may need to setup a PPPoE connection on the PC. If you're getting > 250 Mbps on your PC then there's absolutely nothing wrong with your FTTP connection, your issues are purely down to your hardware/setup in your home.

If you're in a new build home, then I would make sure the router is NOT under the stairs or in a cupboard next to the ONT. The router needs to be out in the open, if its not.
As others have said, it might be worth binning the BT router altogether and buying a new router. If you're in a new build then a third party single router/AP will almost certainly give you full 100% wifi coverage (provided its out in the open), removing the need for wifi discs. Sometimes the simple solution is the best

neilball

I assume your BT discs are connecting wirelessly rather than via wired ethernet connections? In that case I’d switch them off and test just to your router so they do not muddy your results. I’m not familiar with the BT setup, but usually when extending wifi wirelessly you will halve the available wifi “speed”, so this may account for some of your performance drop off.

You also mistake how these “managed” wifi products work - you don’t choose which wifi access point you connect to, they appear as one entity and the management software decides how your devices roam across the ap’s.

You might be able to get into advanced feature settings in the system and make changes to split 2.4 & 5Ghz bands, alter band-steering settings, roaming settings (or even fix a client to a particular AP). I tend to use Ubiquiti Unifi and this has these kinds of features, but also needs a certain level of experience to set up as it is not aimed at the home DIY market. BT gave a different approach and may hide or disable access to these features to keep the system simple to set up for non technical users. I also only use a wired ethernet backbone to connect all my wifi access points to avoid any performance issues.

As others have said, first confirm your FTTP system is giving you your full performance, then you can be sure your issue is with wifi deployment/expectations. You can then start to test wifi from the hub within the same room - note that 5GHz wide-channel performance will drop off quickly if you move away from the room with your wifi router as the building fabric starts to affect your “signal”. If you have any near neighbours then interference from them on 2.4Ghz may mean you will always get poor performance on 2.4Ghz anyway, so where your clients can use 5Ghz you may be best served using this (which either means splitting the radios into separate SSIDs so you can choose, or finding the band steering settings so you can ensure 5Ghz-capable clients get pushed to this band rather than using 2.4Ghz).

rustybin

Thanks for all the advice. I'll have a play tonight.

The new hub blocks splitting the WiFi channels sadly.

Will any router work with bt? I know Sky blocked 3rd party routers.

psychopomp1

Yes pretty much any router which supports PPPoE will work (BT don't block third party routers). Also if buying a new router, no need to buy a modem/router as you don't need the modem component for FTTP. I recommend something like the TP Link C3150v2 or Netgear R7800. The latter tops the router charts for wifi range/speeds on smallnetbuilder, its currently priced at £130 from Amazon on a limited time deal (usual retail price is £160-£170).
Good luck!

JonJ

1 for the R7800, had one before and it has really good WiFi range.

rustybin

Thanks - Netgear R7800 ordered. Hopefully that'll sort everything. I'm getting 240-320 on my PC next to my router - dropping to 180 on my Xbox. So the capacity is there, just looks like the BT Hub is crap.