UPC Wireless Support

bazlad · 30-08-2014 2:19pm #1

Im just off a call with UPC trying to diagnoise my poor wireless speed of 2Mbps on the integrated Modem/Wireless route provided by UPC. (i have the 120Mbps service). I usually get about 70Mbps on the wireless.

Before the Agent even looked at the issue he was at pains to point out that the Wireless route provided is a FREE add on service and that UPC only contractually provide the fixed line service.
I found it unusual that he would say this at all, but particularly before he even looked at the device. When i asked where it said in the terms and conditions that Wireless is a Free add on he was unable to say where it was.

Now none of my devices have a CAT5 cable for years, or use the fixed line, like probably most people nowadays, so the wireless is absolutely critical to the provision of broadband, which is why id imagine that UPC provide an integrated unit for several years now. Do people even use the wired cables anymore?

it seems that UPC do not want to take technical issues relating to Wireless on the device they provide, and try to do this by saying its a FREE add-on, suggesting its therefore not being paid for, so dont expect any support.

I was wondering if any other people have had this experience.

Wabbit Ears · 30-08-2014 6:32pm

Its impossible to fully support wireless, There are really to many factors to consider so, rightly, UPC support their advertised speeds on a wired gigabit connection.

You see, people say things like, and I quote " I usually get about 70Mbps on the wireless" when 70 on a wireless N connection would really be an immaculate connection, realistically 40-50 would be 'usual'. This is why the UPC aged threw in that cravat, he's heard that line a million times.

So basically what the guy is saying is simply they don't support a minimum wireless connection speed, its a service provided 'as is'.

And yes, Cable, including powerline adapters, is used by most folk, why on earth would anyone have a 120 meg connection and not have anything connected by cable????

edanto · 30-08-2014 6:53pm

bazlad - has anything changed recently?

Do you get the same slow wireless download speeds on your phone as you do on the laptop? If no, ignore below.

Assuming yes; Could there be congestion on the channels? That's often a problem in apartments or in the city. One handy Android app is WiEye (similar available for other platforms of course), and you can see if a nearby network is drowning out the signal from your UPC box (perhaps a neighbour has just gotten UPC and it's on the same channel).

Give a bit more detail about what you've done to troubleshoot already.

FYI: this is probably in the wrong forum, mods might move it for you.

Wabbit Ears · 30-08-2014 6:59pm

inSSIDer is another very good wifi congestion checker.

bazlad · 31-08-2014 9:23am

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

Its impossible to fully support wireless, There are really to many factors to consider so, rightly, UPC support their advertised speeds on a wired gigabit connection.

You see, people say things like, and I quote " I usually get about 70Mbps on the wireless" when 70 on a wireless N connection would really be an immaculate connection, realistically 40-50 would be 'usual'. This is why the UPC aged threw in that cravat, he's heard that line a million times.

So basically what the guy is saying is simply they don't support a minimum wireless connection speed, its a service provided 'as is'.

And yes, Cable, including powerline adapters, is used by most folk, why on earth would anyone have a 120 meg connection and not have anything connected by cable????

eh, do you work for UPC??
i dont really care what "people are saying". I got 70Mbps regulary on my wireless up to recently. Id be happy with a regular 50Mbps but 2 Mbps is obviously not a service.
And those figures are directly from the UPC speed test site, not made up as you seem to suggest.

Whether you or UPC seem to like it, most home devices dont come with a CAT5 port anymore, so a reasonable Wireless connecton is what most people need in the home.

bazlad · 31-08-2014 9:26am

edanto wrote: »

bazlad - has anything changed recently?

Do you get the same slow wireless download speeds on your phone as you do on the laptop? If no, ignore below.

Assuming yes; Could there be congestion on the channels? That's often a problem in apartments or in the city. One handy Android app is WiEye (similar available for other platforms of course), and you can see if a nearby network is drowning out the signal from your UPC box (perhaps a neighbour has just gotten UPC and it's on the same channel).

Give a bit more detail about what you've done to troubleshoot already.

FYI: this is probably in the wrong forum, mods might move it for you.

Yes, in the house is 2 windows 7 laptops, 2 macbook pro, 3 iphones, and an ipad and android tablet. they all expereince slow speeds against the UPC speedtest site. (currently 2-5 Mbps).

swampy353 · 31-08-2014 9:32am

bazlad wrote: »

Yes, in the house is 2 windows 7 laptops, 2 macbook pro, 3 iphones, and an ipad and android tablet. they all expereince slow speeds against the UPC speedtest site. (currently 2-5 Mbps).

Try disconnecting all Bar one device from Wifi and then run a speed test, 9 devices is a lot of run from a network. If you find your speed is a lot quicker with only one device, add another one and do a speed check. This will highlight if one of the devices is hogging the bandwidth

bazlad · 31-08-2014 9:52am

swampy353 wrote: »

Try disconnecting all Bar one device from Wifi and then run a speed test, 9 devices is a lot of run from a network. If you find your speed is a lot quicker with only one device, add another one and do a speed check. This will highlight if one of the devices is hogging the bandwidth

all done before i called UPC.
Anyhow most of them are mine, so rarely ever on more than 1 at any time.

swampy353 · 31-08-2014 10:11am

bazlad wrote: »

all done before i called UPC.
Anyhow most of them are mine, so rarely ever on more than 1 at any time.

No worries, when a device connects to Wifi, even if not using data at all, still dilutes the Wifi signal

bazlad · 31-08-2014 10:12am

swampy353 wrote: »

No worries, when a device connects to Wifi, even if not using data at all, still dilutes the Wifi signal

sure, but it wouldnt hog 50Mbps unless it was virus riddled:)

Wabbit Ears · 31-08-2014 11:19am

To answer your earlier question, no, i dont work for UPC

.Also, when doing speedtests, turn off any upload intensive apps like Utorrent etc as there dramatically affect your speedtest results.

You could go whole hog and run wireshark on your network to see if there is any bandwidth hogging traffic.

All that said, setting an old UPC or other cheap/free modem up as an access point by disabling DHCP and connecting it via Cat5 or a powerline adapter will probably help your wifi no end. Make sure to set the encryption, ssid and password to match the main box.

edanto · 31-08-2014 3:07pm

Channel congestion results?

Five Lamps · 31-08-2014 10:09pm

bazlad wrote: »

eh, do you work for UPC??
i dont really care what "people are saying". I got 70Mbps regulary on my wireless up to recently. Id be happy with a regular 50Mbps but 2 Mbps is obviously not a service.
And those figures are directly from the UPC speed test site, not made up as you seem to suggest.

Whether you or UPC seem to like it, most home devices dont come with a CAT5 port anymore, so a reasonable Wireless connecton is what most people need in the home.

More than likely something has changed in your environment and UPC can't be responsible for that.

As for LAN connection - most home devices (bar mobile/tablet) do have one and I wouldn't buy one without it. Anything that I have connected running media is cabled. Only thing on wifi are phones and tablets.

Alun · 03-09-2014 7:15pm

Five Lamps wrote: »

More than likely something has changed in your environment and UPC can't be responsible for that.

Agreed. More and more people are getting connected these days, and the 2.4GHz WiFi spectrum is just getting too overcrowded in some places, especially in apartment complexes. Large commercial enterprises with extensive WiFi networks spend a lot of time and effort on channel planning to minimize such problems, but a dozen random internet routers around you, all set to 'auto' channel selection, and chaos can (and often does) ensue.

who_me · 04-09-2014 11:28pm

If speed is important and Ethernet isn't an option, your best option is just to go out and buy an AC Wifi router - or even a good dual-band, MIMO N router. I have a decent N router and have seen download speeds as high as 150Mbps over Wifi. Even with no technical issues, I doubt the UPC Wifi router will achieve that.

bazlad · 08-09-2014 11:12am

Five Lamps wrote: »

More than likely something has changed in your environment and UPC can't be responsible for that.

As for LAN connection - most home devices (bar mobile/tablet) do have one and I wouldn't buy one without it. Anything that I have connected running media is cabled. Only thing on wifi are phones and tablets.

most Macbooks dont come with built in LAN connections for years.
A lot of slimline laptops also dont come with it.
When I got sky they call centre seemed to not even know that there was a LAN port of their devices, their scripts were all based on connecting via Wireless.

A simple diagnosis by the engineer would determine some of the environment issues.

anyhow my point is that UPC are marketing the product to include wireless, but when there is an issue, they claim that Wireless is a free add on, and seems to says its nothing to do with them.

bazlad · 08-09-2014 11:16am

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

To answer your earlier question, no, i dont work for UPC .Also, when doing speedtests, turn off any upload intensive apps like Utorrent etc as there dramatically affect your speedtest results.

You could go whole hog and run wireshark on your network to see if there is any bandwidth hogging traffic.

All that said, setting an old UPC or other cheap/free modem up as an access point by disabling DHCP and connecting it via Cat5 or a powerline adapter will probably help your wifi no end. Make sure to set the encryption, ssid and password to match the main box.

thanks.
i dont use utorrent, or any such programs for file sharing.
My PC environment is pretty well locked down.

Strangely im getting very good upload speeds (constantly 10Mbps) even when the download speeds drop to 2/3 Mbps.

Im now of the opinion that its related to the modem (its the thompson UPC branded one) ive seen a few threads on here about it.

edanto · 08-09-2014 12:42pm

Channel congestion results?

08-09-2014 9:49pm

Have you tried resetting the modem (press and hold the reset button at the back of the modem for about 30 secs)

I had a problem where my devices would suddenly keep disconnecting from the wi-fi every couple of mins and after the reset the wi-fi was working properly again. Just be aware that you will lose any settings you have configured on the modem and will need to reconfigure these again afterwards.

UPC Wireless Support

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