Microsoft Teams Quality Issue

[QuantumPhys]

Hello all,

I've got an odd issue which I'm hoping someone can offer a steer on.

I have the EE 1.6 Gb Full Fibre Busiest Home package with a Smart Hub Plus.

All seemed to be working fine until my original Smart Hub Plus failed in Jan 2025. This was attributed to a bad firmware update, and a new hub was sent out. I connected this up and again everything appeared to be ok, until colleagues at work started complaining that my video during MS Teams calls was regularly freezing. On my end, I didn't see any issues - I could see and hear everyone else fine so it came as a surprise. Setting up a test meeting that just included me, I recorded myself and when playing back immediately found that the video and audio both freeze and stutter. This is readily reproducible, although sometimes the performance is extremely bad with the video completely frozen. Strangely, this only affects the MS Teams desktop app, with connections via the web browser still being good quality.

So far, everything else seems ok - stable and fast connection (getting around 1.6 Gbps routinely).

Here's what I've tried so far:

• Updated Teams and all drivers on laptop.
• Direct cable connection to router with WiFi turned off and all other devices disconnected. No difference.
• Laptop on WiFi on corporate network - absolutely fine, no surprise.
• Laptop on WiFi in various coffee shops and on friend's home broadband - all much slower connections than mine and Teams is absolutely fine. Often extremely good.
• Used phone as 4G hotspot - absolutely fine - extremely good video and audio.
• Replaced the Smart Hub Plus with an old Asus router I used with a previous ISP - connected to ONT. Connects via PPPoE fine with reasonable speed (around 750 Mbps although using 2.5G port as WAN port, so a little surprised it's not faster).  Connection appears very stable and no obvious issues shown by ThinkBroadband BQM. However, Teams behaves exactly the same as with the EE router - terrible video and audio.
• Configured Hotspot VPN on Asus router - set location to South England. Connection speed is around 100 Mbps. However, Teams now works absolutely fine. Very good audio and video. Turned off VPN - fast connection restored and Teams video and audio revert to being terrible.

This suggests to me it might be some network infrastructure issue, rather than a problem with the Smart Hub Plus or with the laptop / Teams. Could the route the traffic is following make a difference? If so, how would I go about pinpointing this? The Microsoft 365 connectivity tests don't flag up anything obvious.

After much testing to convince myself there was an issue with the connection I called EE and an engineer visited. He indicated there had been some problems with the Smart Hub Plus on fast connections, tried to run a series of tests but these didn't complete. Reason unclear. However, he was confident that the new Smart Hub Pro would resolve the issues although he wasn't allowed to issue one himself.

Engineer left, job appeared to be closed, then I got a message from OpenReach asking me to arrange a call so that equipment could be delivered. I did, got put through to EE, with the guide saying that I really should have had the Smart Hub Pro already and that he'd get one sent out, although the process for doing this was very difficult. That was almost a couple of weeks ago. Being concerned this wasn't being progressed I got back in touch - over multiple calls now, once I get past the agent telling me I've got a very fast connection and they can't see an issue or find open jobs, when they review previous notes there's a record somewhere to an order being placed, but no-one can find out what. It appears I'm now down as a new customer and something needs to be progressed by the "New IT" team, even though I've been with EE for over a year.

So, perhaps a Smart Hub Pro will be sent out, which will be good because it sounds like I'm entitled to one on my package.

However, I'm not convinced the hub itself is the issue, given that the Asus router performs similarly, except when a VPN is active.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what might be happening?

Thanks!

 

[JimM11]

@Miff3 It's all to do with the EE Smarthub+/Pro FW on the unit's, now they just did the + (Plus) as an updated FW a few day's ago, on 5/12/2025 they never ever say what is being fixed, and trust me on the Plus out 2 years not a lot has been fixed, some have but there was that many to start with and no doubt EE have lost the plot to what/where/when so it's a get it see what is done and what works or is just the same, but that takes numerous day's to do, and i am no longer an EE customer so cannot check myself or i would!

Anyhow the BT Smarthub2 has not had that much done to it, last was to get the stupid EE app working with the unit so they did not break that much hopefully!  

[Stephen789]

I now have the SmartHub 2 with 3 discs. I had to call EE again on Tuesday morning to remind them to post it - they had actually texted me to say they had posted it but no confirmation over email and then it didn't turn up.

I then had to call again on Tuesday evening, and they did post that time.

MS Teams now "works". The video keeps playing but is extremely pixelated.

Speeds are now 80mbps to 140mbps. I'm paying for 1gbps

The discs only have 1 internet port, the last extenders had 2 ports, which I did use.

All hub app features are gone as it's BT.

One of the difficult complexities for me is that my office is on the 3rd floor. That's why the WiFi 7 and powerful extenders worked so well for me (bar MS Teams).

Virgin coupled with Google Mesh was excellent. I was drawn in by WiFi 7 and an "all-in-one" solution.

I'm going to call them again as it's unusable for what I need.

I'm seriously disappointed. It's a real shame as they promised so much. The WiFi 7 was great when it worked.

[deezle]

Forgive me for repeating myself but to double check given I know how hugely frustrating this is. Have you checked if Intel connectivity Performance suite is installed, and turned off Prioritisation?

Alternatively using Teams via the browser rather than app eems a lot less upheaval than changing your whole network and that will certainly work.

[Stephen789]

All good.  I turned of prioritisation some time ago, and then uninstalled it.

It's so slow now.  EE made some changes during the call.  It's a tiny bit better and they said it should improve over the next 24 hours as the changes settle down.

[Stephen789]

I'm paying for Full Fibre Gigabit with a guaranteed speed of 700Mbps

[JimM11]

@Stephen789 Changes to what, the BT smarthub2 and complete wifi setup?

[Stephen789]

They described it as settings within the Hub.

[JimM11]

@Stephen789 Serious look at it this way, you have taken the Ferrari out off the garage, now you put the Lada in it's place, and that 2nd one is never going to do what your 1st choice was.

Yes you still have the FF900 gigabit connection and the BT Smarthub2 and it's mesh in a good day will do 500Mb/s wireless tops! Your 100/70 should be no issue for a teams speed connection!

[Stephen789]

Agree that Teams is okay. Video is pixelated though.

Uploading and downloading large files is painful.

TV is a bit pixelated too. Watching Sports on HD channels makes me feel like I need an appointment with an Optician.

Honestly, it's like living in Minecraft now.

[HomeNetworkGuy]

I escalated via the retentions team to their complaints dept. They kindly released me from my contract, I'm moving to Vodafone at the end of the month. 

In my case EE are not interested in diagnosing and fixing the problem. In their words, it's a domestic service and I'm expecting to much (video conferencing to  work).