13-01-2023 07:33 PM
Hi all,
My parents just had 900mbps installed today with EE. I am more clued up on tech than they are so if it wasn't for my knowledge this wouldn't have come to light.
But, with the EE smart router, there are clearly many issues with wi-fi speeds. On ethernet we are getting 930mbps download and 50mbps upload. On wi-fi using a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to test (as well as multiple other capable devices), the wi-fi speed maximum is between 350 and 450mbps. Now evidently these are fast speeds anyway but if you are paying for a service you expect to receive it.
Having read other posts it is clear there is an issue with the EE smart router on wi-fi for the 900mbps connection. Whilst I don't care much for upload speeds it is still throttled on ethernet to 50mbps.
The guaranteed download speed for the EE 900mbps package is about 450mbps - here's why I think they've done this - in comparison to BT directly where the guaranteed speed is way higher for the same package. EE must know that their smart router is NOT capable of reaching speeds of 900mbps on wi-fi and most people will use devices on wi-fi so my hypothesis is that they've guaranteed it to match the wi-fi speed you'll get with their router, approximately 450mbps, but I assume if you purchase a third party router this will fix itself.
I don't see why they cannot develop/provide a new router for the FTTP packages that can achieve decent speeds and include things like wi-fi 6, it would attract a lot more customers and improve satisfaction because if it's not developed within the next few months to a year then they will probably lose a lot more customers to other companies at renewal.
As I say, most people are going to use wi-fi devices and I doubt anyone is going to get 900mbps on wi-fi unless they provide a more suitable router, you'll certainly get the speed on ethernet no problem but prepare to be disappointed if you've purchased this package thinking you'll get 900mbps on your phone/tablet/laptop using the smart router.
13-01-2023 08:06 PM
EE use the same, but with slightly different options , router as BT, and Plusnet. The restrictions on all of them is that they are Wi-Fi 5, so none capable of 900Mbps. That said, no ISP's quote Wi-Fi speeds.
Anyone wanting better Wi-Fi speeds would use their own Wi-Fi 6 or better routers.
That said why would your parents need 900Mbps?
13-01-2023 08:30 PM
Fair enough, I mean it's not too expensive for 900mbps and it's nice to be able to download things extra-speedily and it's useful for the family...for example it used to take 2-3 hours on the previous connection to download a steam game for example and now it will take 3 minutes (over ethernet). Just useful to have the speed, I know it might be slight overkill but realistically for the sake of a few quid extra per month compared to the other plans it's not too bad.
Either way, might consider a Huawei AX3 quad core router to make use of it.
13-01-2023 08:43 PM
Why would you skimp on the router?
13-01-2023 09:21 PM - edited 13-01-2023 09:25 PM
Let me give you an example. I pay for 500mbps with virgin media and don’t get that on wifi
This is using a third party ubiquiti wifi system
you can see the Tx/Rx rate of 866mb/s, yet my device doesn’t get the full 500mb/s I pay for
the reality is that you’ll never get full speed on WiFi
WiFi speed is very inconsistent sometimes as seen in my images, it depends what server you test against
To properly test the local network speed, you can run an iperf test
13-01-2023 09:50 PM
@Kirigaya_Kazuto it also depends on a lot of other things, but what you are seeing is the result of a slowish Wi-Fi device and that WiFi uses half duplex, ethernet full duplex.
14-01-2023 12:33 AM - edited 14-01-2023 12:35 AM
@scg123 : EE & all other ISPs are not selling you or quoting WiFi speeds, but actual BB connection speeds. Therefore there is no point in matching the Guaranteed Download Speed to any WiFi speed. BT always tends to quote higher Guaranteed Download Speeds than EE on all BB packages. EE are more cautious or are covering their a's 😉 .
14-01-2023 09:22 AM
Hi @scg123
Buy an WiFi 6 access point and connect it via ethernet.....speeds will be much better and likely range as well .(deactivate WiFi on your router). I've done that and have done for years.
Don't forget these routers are FREE and don't expect the greatest device. As @XRaySpeX says you pay for the exchange to your house speed, watch the adverts they are all very clever in how they market these products.
Thanks