EE G.Fast Broaband Instability Issues

[vostag344]

Wanted to check if anyone has experienced the following issue.

I am on a G.Fast broadband connection where I am usually able to achieve download speeds of 150 Mbps and upload speeds of 30 Mbps. My main PC is connected directly to the EE Smart Router with an ethernet cable.

For the past couple of months now, I have been experiecing an issue wherein my download speeds can go as low as 70 Mbps. In order to resolve this issue, I have found that going into the "Advanced Settings --> Broadband --> Internet" part of the router settings and disconnecting/reconnecting the broadband username/password helps to bring speeds back up to 140 - 150 Mbps. I had to resort to this because power cycling did not help bring speeds back up to normal.

EE customer service have sent me out a replacement Smart Router, which I started using 2 days ago, but the issue still persists. Want to ask if this could potentially indiciate a line issue that Open Reach would have to resolve or is it just a quirk of having a G.Fast connection.

To note, when I first had G.Fast installed in May 2023, the engineer noted my maximum attainable rate was around 163 Mbps download and 40 Mbps upload.

I also should note that I do not have a landline number  so I am unable to perform a quiet line test.

In order to test my broadband speeds, I have been using BT Whole and Think Broaband speedtest.

I have included my EE Smart Router log details below:

Product code:Smart Router
Serial number:
Firmware version:v0.05.03.03271-EE
Firmware updated:unknown
Board version:R01
GUI version:1.2 06_07_2022
DSL uptime:2 days,04 Hours51 Mins02 Secs
Data rate:29.175 Mbps / 147.951 Mbps
Maximum data rate:43.277 Mbps / 144.035 Mbps
Noise margin:9.2 / 6.8
Line attenuation:0.0 / 38.3
Signal attenuation:0.0 / 38.3
VLAN id:101
Upstream error control:Off
Downstream error control:Off
Data sent / received:
Broadband username:
2.4 GHz wireless network name:
2.4 GHz wireless channel:Smart (Channel6)
5 GHz wireless network name:
5 GHz wireless channel:Smart (Channel36)
Wireless security:WPA2 (Recommended)
Wireless mode:Mode 1
Firewall:On
MAC address:
Software variant:-
Boot loader: 0.1.7-EE (Fri Sep 20 18:43:31 2019)

If someone could provide adivce on what next steps I should take, that would be helpful.

[Mustrum]

@vostag344    you say your speeds slow, but not how or where you see the slower speeds.

On your router stats you have 

Data rate:29.175 Mbps / 147.951 Mbps
Maximum data rate:43.277 Mbps / 144.035 Mbps

Do you check these speeds before you do the disconnect? If so do they change?

Trying to work out why a disconnect works for you but a reboot does not. Depending on your answers we should be able to point you in a direction to check some more.

[XRaySpeX]

 Router stats look fine.

Try a wired speedtest, using an Ethernet cable supplied with the router, here http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html . Click on the "Results Page" button at the bottom of the graph you first see and then copy to here just the "Link to this result:" link that you see below the next main graph.

[vostag344]

@Mustrum  When I experience a slowdown in download speeds, my sync rates appear normal in both the "broadband status" page and the "technical log" page of the router manager (i.e. >140 Mbps and >30 Mbps for download and upload).

@XRaySpeXWhen I do experience a slowdown in speeds, I use both BT Whole Speedtest and Think Broadband. I have just checked Think Broadband and my speeds are showing up as normal.

The issue in slow down appears to occur intermittently. Sometimes can go a week without an issue, other times a few days before impacted by a slowdown and having to disconnect the broadband username. 

[XRaySpeX]

Then suspect the BTw speedtest. It has been unreliable from time to time.

[Mustrum]

@vostag344   then that suggests it is congestion on your network causing the slow down,

Is it just the speed test or do programmes seem slow?

Is there anything else on the network sending traffic when you notice the slow down? Backups to the net/cloud, someone streaming for example?

Or even on your PC? You can use Task Manager to see if another program is slowing things down and/or using the network and/or CPU.

[vostag344]

@Mustrum  I usually encounter the broadband slowdown issue when fetching files from an FTP server or when downloading through Steam/GOG Galaxy. I'm the only one that lives in the property so no local network congestion. For whatever reason, disconnecting and reconnecting internet on router settings is the only means of fixing the issue.

[Mustrum]

@vostag344    but you don't say if you have anything else connected, or what other processes or tasks are running on task manager on your PC when you get the slow down. Those type of programs can hide all sorts of other stuff going on in the background.

If not that, then if you had another suitable G Fast Router that would be my next step.

[vostag344]

@MustrumI have a desktop PC connected via ethernet cable. Also have a laptop and a mobile phone connected via Wi-Fi. When the speeds do go down, they also go down on the laptop and phone. I have run a speed test and also downloaded a test file on laptop with direct ethernet connection to confirm if speeds have gone down for other devices. Only way to correct issue is to go into router settings and manually connect/reconnect internet.