On 3rd Smart Hub Plus (SH32B) in 2 months with Very Poor Wifi

[tiya1990]

Hi , Moved to EE from BT after 2 decades and recontracted for 2 years . On FTTP 900Mbps ( guaranteed 700Mbps wired ) - Wired I can get this speed. 

Wireless , even in the same room with  Wifi 6 enabled devices - 2m away in direct line of sight with no intervening wall / furniture - I get speeds of 50-100 if I am lucky , often less than 50. On the same floor , 5m away , with no intervening wall , speeds < 50. Any other floor - does not even pick up any signal from the router. 

30 year old house - normal walls - these speeds are on Ookla - even when there is no gaming . 

Phoned Technical Support - sent out 2nd router - then Openreach Engineer - all agreed that FTTP working fine but the issue is the Wifi Signal . The engineer actually got speeds of 29 Mbps standing next to the router !!

Made official complaint and have now sent out 3rd router . 

I have tried to connect extender like TP link Deco X50 and this significantly increases the speed by at least 100Mbps. 

Do I have to acccept that this is all I am going to get in terms of WiFi - and that I will have to use Access Points / extenders / mesh  throughout the house ? Is there any other clever solution ? 

Many Thanks for any ideas anyone might have .

[JimM11]

@tiya1990 You may just wish to use a wifi analyser and have a look at what is going on! Also explain the position of the router, ie sitting floor level behind a thick wooden block or at 5' height level, out in the open, excellent position..

Keep throwing routers at it is NOT going to solve your problem, just the get out of jail easy response...

[tiya1990]

@JimM11  - Apologies , novice here. 

The SH Plus is on a bookshelf around 5 ft off the floor - Ground Floor - Study . Not next to a window. There is a wall 30cm from the router. 

I have downloaded the WiFi Analyzer and the Screenshots are attached - given that there is so much congestion on the 2.4GHZ channel , should I change it to 5GHZ and 6 GHZ on the Hub ?  I will need Wifi on the 2 floors above though so not sure if 5GHZ will travel that far ?

[JimM11]

@tiya1990 The pictures take time to be cleared will view as soon as, in the meantime, the analyzer will show you the signal strength at your required locations, ie name then say like 67db just wait a little while it settles. Lower the number the better and stronger the signal is, measure couple feet away from the router, get it's strength then go about 20' away get the reading, around 65 you will be working reasonable, straight above 1 floor up do same get reading. Write them down if you are not sure, or just screen capture with the mobile device.

You may wish to say what device you are using to test mobile signal strength, if you have an old phone, then do not expect massive speed's, but if you are able to see all 3 bands, then your device is fairly new and capable to at least wifi 6e...

[JimM11]

@tiya1990 You need to turn off the deco X50 units to let the EE router be seen and the channel's that it is currently using. In the meantime i will take a quick look at tp-link's x50 document. It looks like you have created a wireless wifi monster, so please explain 1. where is the primary Deco x50 router located?

Edit: do you have a 1,2 or 3 pack deco system?

[tiya1990]

@JimM11  - Many Thanks - 'wifi monster' !! Interesting term  :)) Apologies for the delay in replying - I was trying to gather the required info. 

Attached is the floor plan of the ground floor  - The red box next to  the window is the ONT and the red arrows where the fibre comes into the property. The router is  the circle on a 5ft book shelf. Where I have put Green X1 and X2 are where I have checked the channels at 2.4GHZ and 5GHZ ie 2m/6.5ft and 5m/17 ft away  respectively and the third set is from the floor exactly above  X2.  

Deco X50 is completely switched off so not sure why it appears . It is a 4 Deco Set . Look forward to any advice you might have. FLOOR PLAN2M AWAY 2.4GHZ2M AWAY 5 GHZ5M AWAY 2.4GHZ5M AWAY 5GHZ

[tiya1990]

Sorry , 3rd lot of screenshots from Wifi Analyser for floor exactly above X2. FLOOR ABOVE X2 - 2.4GHZFLOOR ABOVE X2 - 5GHZ

[JimM11]

@tiya1990 Similar will check out your pics when cleared for viewing. With the EE router, did you just leave it on its default SSID and Password, The scanner app will pick out frequency's around your premises so it can be a little confusing, and take it that you are using DV for a landline. Can you take a look at the link below then have a look see on your EE Router, only one picture to clear now your floor plan, are you a mobile only person did see that you had Ethernet tested, was it with a PC/Laptop etc?

Re: Massive ping/latency spikes on new WiFi 7 router - Page 2 - The EE Community

[tiya1990]

I did leave the EE Router on its default SSID and only changed the Password. 

Having said that , EE has sent a new router which they are keen for me to use ( Same SmartHub Plus - not an upgrade ) and I am happy to set it up as per advice received here , if that helps the situation. 

I gave up my Landline when fibre was installed in Sept 24. 

All devices are connected wifelessly. I did check speeds with ethernet to the router on a Wifi 6 enabled Laptop and could get >900Mbps

I will check the link you have posted. Thank You . 

[JimM11]

@tiya1990 Since you have NO landline, then you could ditch the EE altogether and have the Deco X50 do everything if you think that it will cover the entire premises, there is such you can have far too much mesh, and from the quick analyser pic's you have sent, then there is clashes, and i do not understand why seeing deco ssid's displayed unless you are next to a neighbour who has the exact same kit.

But no matter, EE Smarthub+ router will easily do the Ethernet speeds and depending on your wifi device should be up there with no issues also. This is my samsung phone, 20' away from the EE router below.

EE and Asus RoutersPhone wirelessAsus, Powerline, EE and Next door on the low Ch11 40 wide