topic Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus in Broadband & Landline

Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

GusWar — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 20:43:58 GMT

So I moved to a new building a few months ago and opted for EE Essential Full Fibre WiFi with a SmartHub Plus. After a nightmare getting it installed (they had the wrong serial number for my modem on file which apparently broke everything) it actually worked great until a few weeks ago.

seemingly at random, I started getting massive lag spikes and latency issues, most noticeably on my PS5. Playing any online game, the ping would jump massively, freezing for a full second and lagging out, before jumping back down. It’s not game-specific and also affects party voice chat.

I have tried *everything* to fix it. Power cycled the PlayStation, the router, the modem.ive tweaked the PS5’s settings, I’ve moved the wifi channels on the admin settings, I’ve even moved my hub out into the hallway - but that’s about as much as I can move it due to my modem placement.

EE can’t see any issue on their end, but my ping tests show jumps from 15 up to 300, 500 or even 950. This makes games unplayable.

as I say, it just suddenly started and I have spent weeks at my wit’s end trying to fix it. One forum seemed to suggest that there may be a defect in these hubs, which wouldn’t surprise me.

aside from chucking the router in the bin, any suggestions?

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

XRaySpeX — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 20:54:42 GMT

What is your ping bbc.co.uk?

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

Matt_124 — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 21:03:24 GMT

I wouldn't chuck it in the bin, the equipment is loaned to you for the duration of your contract. When you cancel or change package and get another router, EE looks for it to be returned or they will apply a non-return charge.

If you feel the device is faulty you can contact EE and ask for the unit to replaced, however this will only be done after some troubleshooting has been gone through to determine the issue.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

GusWar — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:08:46 GMT

For anyone else struggling with this issue, I can narrow my temporary solution down to one of two things:

first, I switched my 2.4GHz WiFi channel over in the admin settings.

Second (at the same time), I made my PS5 forget the wifi details, power cycled and rebooted in safe mode before reconnecting.

i think the first is what actually fixed it, even though i had already done that twice with the 2.4GHz channels (once switching from Ch1 to Ch11, then once switching from Ch1 to Ch11 then back to Ch1. Neither method worked). So I guess try both?

Though it’s back to normal now I don’t know how long it’ll last. and I don’t know what caused it in the first place.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

Leanne_T — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:18:57 GMT

Thanks for sharing @GusWar

If this happens again, please come back and let us know.

Leanne.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

Colesey — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 23:17:08 GMT

I had these exact issues.

Upgrading to the Smart Hub Pro solved all my latency woes.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

GusWar — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 20:27:39 GMT

Update: not 3 days later it’s started again. Original method no longer works and the lag spikes are worse. I’m not falling for paying more to EE wifi that doesn’t work.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

Colesey — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 09:12:17 GMT

@GusWar if you are unable to get out of your contract and have no EE TV/DV then the only solution would be to purchase your own mesh system which would definitely fix the issues. Not ideal I know but looks like it might be one of your only options. Unless you file a complaint and try and get them to supply you with a Hub Pro.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

GusWar — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 22:19:07 GMT

Still looking for a solution to this. recorded my ping to highlight how awful it is but can’t attach video here.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

Leanne_T — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 08:10:05 GMT

Hi @GusWar

Thanks for coming back to us.

To get the latency issues looked into, please get back in touch with our tech guides. They can run some tests and let you know what is needed to get this sorted for you.

Thanks 🙂

Leanne.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

BlockyMan — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 14:52:21 GMT

I've just posted about this on another thread I started because I was getting the same thing on my gaming PCs. After months of investigation I've concluded EE's router is junk as it's sending out spurious network messages (confirmed by Wireshark) and seems to struggle with NAT traffic.

EE Smart Hub Plus ARP and SSDP Message Flooding - The EE Community

I've just bought a new router (a TP-LINK AXE75) and all our problems are gone. Last night both my son and I were gaming while he was also streaming and the wife was watching Netflix and it all remained nice and smooth. Web browsing is also vastly more snappy. Seems the Smart Hub Plus just doesn't have the internals to handle more complicated networking scenarios.

Re: Massive latency issues on SmartHub Plus

Sweboi — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 01:28:45 GMT

Do you have the WiFi Enhancer Service by any chance?

Not to be confused with WiFi extenders.

If you do the ask EE to remove it and factory reset your router. I had issues that were pretty much identical to yours. When WiFi Enhancer is enabled a service from Netduma will run on the router and traffic is looped back through this service. The service starts to misbehave and you get huge lag.

Once the service is removed you need to factory reset. This is crucial.

Not sure if this is fixed in the 2.x firmware though as I moved to the WiFi 7 router which solved all my issues. Including working WiFi enhancer.