2 week review of EE 1.6gbs

[Bluenose_Dave]

Having been on the new 1.6gb/s service now for 2 weeks, and here are my views,

i have the EE new smart router plus and 3 extenders, first off i know the EE smart hub plus only has 1gb LAN ports, speeds have been ok and stable WIFI rangers from about 650-820  what is not bad, i m running with them hardwired with a lan to them, i know WiFi 6 max speeds are 1200 but rarely get them in the real world 

this package feels like it been rushed out, my reason for saying this are,  openreach engineers laptops have 1gb Ethernet ports so they are unable to check speeds from ONT or any other Speedtest at your home if you are on the 1.6gbs package

the EE router having only 1gb LAN, also it comes with a cat 5e cable, this cat of cable does up to 1gb, so if you are on 1.6gb/s you will need to get a new Ethernet lead to connected the smart hub plus to the ONT

all the WiFi features like work and game mode and WiFi controls dont work, it say page not found, i have heard that the WiFi enhanced feature has been turn off so the team can look at it and fix it as it affecting a lot of users and should be back after a month, i am unable to check speed via the router page this time it asking for me to make an EE account

speeds and connection has been stable and good, but i did have a lot of issues getting the service

i know of people who have bought a 3rd party router so they can get full access to the raw 1.6gbs speeds, and they are having no issues on speeds as router has 2.5gb LAN on them unlike the EE smart hub plus

i have bought a usbc to 2.5gb Ethernet adapter so i can test the raw speeds at the ONT, plus if openreach do need to test speeds at my home they will be able too

so in short i hope you can see why i think this package has been rushed out from the fact openreach dont have the kit to test speeds at the customer home, to all the issues with the new smart hub plus

[ianR88]

Having to spend more money on your own Equipment to recieve a service you are paying for is unacceptable, nevermind "not ideal" mate, you shouldn't of taken that laying down. They have sold you something that can not be achieved.

[XRaySpeX]

@ianR88 : You are paying for a BB service that comes with the ISP's "get-you-going" router. Control and effectiveness of WiFi within your home is your responsibility & your home's effects. You are free to buy your own more effective router.

[TuckerUK]

@XRaySpeX  stop deflecting from the fact the EE smart hub plus is not up to standard for the busiest home package. Regardless if you buy your own router or not. Speeds over WiFi can be impacted by many factors. All ISP don’t guarantee speeds over WiFi. So that being said Being hardwired is the only thing that guarantees you the speeds you’re paying for. The fact the EE router has only 1Gig ports is why ppl are annoyed at EE for selling a product that many can’t full achieve. That’s down to EE and no one else at the end of the day. 

[garetc]

I’m inclined to disagree with you on this @XRaySpeX.

EE specifically marketed the new router as able to deal with the speed and it can’t. On a technicality it can, but with real world usage it completely fails. Even using some of the in-built features is a challenge as it’s buggy as hell. 

There’s no disclaimer to say when you sign up you’ll get 1.8Gbps to the ONT but if you want to experience that in your home you’ll need to look at buying your own (expensive) router.

EE Customer Services were woefully under prepared as were OR. It was OR who told me they’re not yet set up to be able to support the new speeds and many of their engineers haven’t had the training. Their on-van equipment doesn’t have ports fast enough to be able to test it which is ridiculous. I had to do what one of the other posters did and get a 2.5Gbps dongle and set up a direct to ONT connection for OR to test. 

At the very least they should have waited until the end of September when their WiFi 7 router should be ready for consumer use rather than rush it out. Also to only have a small team in Ireland dealing with these connections, who happen to me Monday to Friday only is poor.

I’m dubious that the new router will be the silver bullet we’re hoping for. WiFi 7 has its own problems as the standard is so new. I’ve tried various WiFi 7 devices including Deco BE85, Linksys MBE7003, Orbi 973S. I’ve settled on the Orbi because it’s more consistent across a 3 story house although not the fastest. Many peole can’t/won’t want to spend £1000+ on a WiFi system.

Those prices will come down but that’s going to take time. 

[XRaySpeX]

@TuckerUK : Yes, I agree that you do have a good point about Ethernet, particularly on the 1.6 Gig plan.

[TuckerUK]

@garetc I went with TP Link deco BE 65 2 pack option. I’m my honest opinion, it’s absolutely fantastic in our 3 bedroom house. 2.5Gig back haul with WiFi speeds all over the house rock solid now. Not tried the other options you mentioned. But wanted something that was on par with what EE offered with parental controls etc. 

[Bluenose_Dave]

EE has huge issues with WiFi enhancer the game work mode thing , what is the cause of the broadband tab not working on the EE iOS, and that was from EE next gen team in Ireland, as the service is not fit they have offered exit contract with no exit fees,also any one don’t update the EE on iOS that is out today as I now can’t load the EE app up

once EE sort out the cause of the issues they will  decide on compo for the WiFi enhancer issues,what also caused slow speeds, nothing given for them periods when min speed was not given as it all part of the WiFi enhancer issues, and going by todays app update they no closer to fixing the issues was.  

i also seen EE has dropped the price for this package by £10 a kick in the teeth for us who took the 1.6 package with all the issues plus it is still an open beta what no one was told about

and I believe the next gen team in Ireland has recently been increased as now the whole flooring Belfast are next gen trained

but over all it not been very good from EE side of things and not looking like things will improve any time soon

[garetc]

Are you using wired backhaul? I found with that version and the BE85 if it was on wireless then it created a load of interference. We kept getting full wifi dropouts and intermittently our TVs (Samsung) and Amazon Firesticks would disconnect and refuse to reconnect, at one point we were tethering through our phones. 🤣

The BE85 was getting me around 1.3Gbps on the satellite with wireless backhaul but when I was downloading large files for work the connection would get really spotty.  With the Orbi I max out at about 1.1Gbps on the satellite using  its dedicated 5Ghz backhaul.

The most important bit for me is not getting any signal issues which currently seems to be fine on the Orbi.

With the EE SH3 the most I was getting, even in the same room was 400Mbps 🙄

[garetc]

I didn't try the gaming mode but I did use the option to prioritise Teams and Zoom calls and I have people complaining I was dropping out so quickly switched it off.

It's great more people are trained on Next Gen but that should have been the case from the start, I remember it completely dying on a Friday evening and being told to call back on Monday morning after 9. 😂

After the April price increase it's a very expensive broadband package, it's a bit of a sour pill to swallow, it being cheaper now than it was to start with and it being a trial (although we were unaware).

I'm happy with my choices now my teething problems are sorted but these issues should have been addressed before the product was launched to the masses.

[TuckerUK]

@Bluenose_Dave   That was one of the main reasons I left EE. I was on the 900Mbps package and had continuous issues for 6 months with WiFi enhancer and the iOS EE app. The physical connection into the house was completely fine. New EE was in my eye just a massive beta test and was and still isn’t ready for the public. Hopefully with their new WiFi 7 router coming out later this year. Things will be different for many affected customers. Time will tell though, I’m glad I got out when I did. I’m lucky I have an alt net called Zzoomm here in Cheshire. I’m paying for 2Gig at £54.95 a month on an 12 month contract and I’ve had no issues whatsoever since joining in March. 

I truly hope and wish you all the best that EE finally sort out this issue for affected customers. As like I said I wasn’t prepared to wait months for a potential fix. My hunch was right with the continued issues and feel justified leaving for another ISP. It’s a shame really as I have been with BT a number of years “20” sadly EE has ruined my experience in the short 6 months I was with EE.