Guide - Getting the most out of your high speed Virgin Media (UPC) 240mb/s service

PTH2009

My Wi-Fi Comes from my horizon box and it can be quite slow on my PC and my dads laptop. My PC is using a dongle because it dont have Wi-Fi it gets faster when I move it to different USB ports. I have 240mbs

k123456

Deleted User wrote: »

Any thoughts on Asus RTN66U V TPlink Archer c8

Have no major budget restrictions but don't want to waste money either.

Have 240 UPC, using their modem instead of horizon.

Have this stuck in the back of my PC http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/asus-usbn53-dual-band-usb-wireless-adapter-n600/315672/402.0.5

Can upgrade this as well if needs be. Appreciate any advice.

Im open to correction but C8 wins, that Asus is not IEEE 802.11ac

http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/cat-9_Archer-C8.html#specifications

http://www.dabs4work.ie/products/asus-rt-n66u-black-diamond-dual-band-wireless-n900-gigabit-router-7Z7H.html?q=rtn66u&src=16

max speed asus Speed450 Mbps

max on Archer Signal Rate 5GHz: Up to 1300Mbps

Ive the C8, and my wifi speeds increased by approx x 10


Your usb NIC is not AC, so while you will huge improvements, may not be as high as an AC nic

There prob isnt a need to change your NIC


http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/802-11ac-vs-802-11n-what-s-the-difference

dpjmie

Im presuming you can follow the above guide with the the TP-Link Archer c9 as well as the c8? Please correct if I am wrong

Also i found on http://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/tp-link-ac1900-dual-band-wireless-cable-router-with-4-gigabit-ports/1459582180.prd?_requestid=128552LittlewoodsIreland for 165 Euro. Is this a standard price or is it over the odds?

TIA
Dpjmie

Snake Plisken

Deleted User wrote: »

Any thoughts on Asus RTN66U V TPlink Archer c8

Have no major budget restrictions but don't want to waste money either.

Have 240 UPC, using their modem instead of horizon.

Have this stuck in the back of my PC http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/asus-usbn53-dual-band-usb-wireless-adapter-n600/315672/402.0.5

Can upgrade this as well if needs be. Appreciate any advice.

Hi I would recommend the Asus RT-AC68U, it's an AC1900, I did have a Archer C7 but just didn't like the interface.
With the Asus you can stick on a 3rd party software like Merlin. There is decent range on it is super fast.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-RT-AC68U-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-SharePort/dp/B00G323PG0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442006908&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+ac68u

I bought mine from Amazon.es at the time it was €136 it's gone up to €148 now but its still cheaper then UK with exchange rates. only small downside powersupply has an EU 2 pin plug, easily remedied with a €3 adaptor!.
Hope this helps.

A.Gorilla

Hi all. I was looking to get a good wifi modem to improve my crappy UPC signal. had my eye on this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linksys-Gigabit-Ethernet-Adjustable-Antennas/dp/B00HAHBUZK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442320088&sr=8-1&keywords=linksys+ac1900
Is it any use?

Fakman87

Lads is the archer a much better choice than homeplugs?

ED E

Fakman87 wrote: »

Lads is the archer a much better choice than homeplugs?

It completely depends on your needs and your environment. They do different things.

bk

JoseAmnesia wrote: »

Can someone help with my UPC speed - I just moved into a new house and got the 200mb/s package. I tested the speed after it was setup and it was grand. But since yesterday my download has been only scraping 2mb/s (!) but the upload is remaining what it was initially.

That sounds like a damaged cable somewhere, certainly something you should be contacting UPC about, they should be able to sort it for you with an engineer visit.

dpjmie wrote: »

Im presuming you can follow the above guide with the the TP-Link Archer c9 as well as the c8? Please correct if I am wrong

This guide would also apply to the C9 and pretty much any decent 802.11ac router.

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Hi I would recommend the Asus RT-AC68U, it's an AC1900, I did have a Archer C7 but just didn't like the interface.
With the Asus you can stick on a 3rd party software like Merlin. There is decent range on it is super fast.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-RT-AC68U-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-SharePort/dp/B00G323PG0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442006908&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+ac68u

The C8 and C9 both have new, completely redesigned, much more modern and easier to use interface.

Also the TP-Link routers are generally widely supported by multiple third party firmwares such as DD-WRT.

Not saying one is better then the other, I'm sure both are great, just correcting any misconceptions.

Fakman87 wrote: »

Lads is the archer a much better choice than homeplugs?

While ED E is correct, it depends, I would say that for the majority of people the Archer is a better solution to at least try first.

While one poster mentioned achieving 133Mb/s with homeplugs above, I get 200Mb/s using 5GHz 802.11n from a C7.

And that is considering that the Archer is usually cheaper then homeplugs and supports multiple simultaneous wireless devices.

I would say, get the Archer first, try it out and if it doesn't work out then return it for a refund. Homeplugs are more suited to people with massive homes where wifi can't reach, but even then you would be better off wiring ethernet cable across the house and potentially multiple wifi routers.

TheDoc

ED E wrote: »

Ordered a cheapo 20i for a short term use role, will post a review later on for people on a budget.

And feedback on the above?

ED E

TheDoc wrote: »

And feedback on the above?

Seems great for the price. Tried to benchmark AC performance but the 10/100 ports bottleneck it, so at least we're getting 100Mb+.

Id recommended it for an access point to increase coverage in an AC setup.

newbie2

Excellent guide from the op. Have my upc Cisco set to bridge mode and my c8 giving me close to 200mbps using 5ghz. All looking good so far. However....

im still seeing, and can connect to, my old upc wifi. I was under the impression (rightly or wrongly ) thst using bridge mode deactivated my wifi? When i try to log into the Cisco router, using 192.168.0.1.,to deactivate the wifi, my browser times out.

anyone have any ideas?

Damien360

newbie2 wrote: »

Excellent guide from the op. Have my upc Cisco set to bridge mode and my c8 giving me close to 200mbps using 5ghz. All looking good so far. However....

im still seeing, and can connect to, my old upc wifi. I was under the impression (rightly or wrongly ) thst using bridge mode deactivated my wifi? When i try to log into the Cisco router, using 192.168.0.1.,to deactivate the wifi, my browser times out.

anyone have any ideas?

The Cisco router has an option to disable wireless as standard. You just missed it.

Snake Plisken

newbie2 wrote: »

Excellent guide from the op. Have my upc Cisco set to bridge mode and my c8 giving me close to 200mbps using 5ghz. All looking good so far. However....

im still seeing, and can connect to, my old upc wifi. I was under the impression (rightly or wrongly ) thst using bridge mode deactivated my wifi? When i try to log into the Cisco router, using 192.168.0.1.,to deactivate the wifi, my browser times out.

anyone have any ideas?

Try 192.168.100.1 that should get you into the Cisco and there should be the wifi tab on there make sure it's disabled

newbie2

Damien360 wrote: »

The Cisco router has an option to disable wireless as standard. You just missed it.

Yep, missed it but it's done now

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Try 192.168.100.1 that should get you into the Cisco and there should be the wifi tab on there make sure it's disabled

Perfect got it.

A problem has reared it's head.
Yesterday morning everything was working great, but since yeaterday afternoon, my DL speed has been really bad - I mean 1.3mbps bad - while my upload speeds have remianed about 20/25mbps. This is happening on both ethernet and wifi.

I've restarted both the C8 and the Cisco - but the problem persists.

I think there's a problem with either router as the upload speed remains constant. And the fact that it was working fine up until yesterday afternoon. Is there a setting I'm overlooking in the Archer?
I can't think it's my laptop as the probelm occurs on wifi as well as ethernet (tested on phone/tablet laptop wifi)
The only difference is I started up the kids 'Leap TV' which is wired and I think that is when the problem started.
I'm in work ATM, so can't do any ping tests etc, and digging around with cables etc will have to wait until the babies go to bed.

In the meantime I've attached an idea of what my setup is...

Cheers for any help

Johnboy1951

The only difference is I started up the kids 'Leap TV' which is wired

Disconnect it from the network and test again!

newbie2

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Disconnect it from the network and test again!

Yep, that'll be the first thing I do when I get in. I'm presuming the network will only go as fast as the slowest thing attcached?

Johnboy1951

newbie2 wrote: »

Yep, that'll be the first thing I do when I get in. I'm presuming the network will only go as fast as the slowest thing attcached?

No effect if it is wired ..... only applies to wireless AFAIK.

Snake Plisken

newbie2 wrote: »

Yep, missed it but it's done now

Perfect got it.

A problem has reared it's head.
Yesterday morning everything was working great, but since yeaterday afternoon, my DL speed has been really bad - I mean 1.3mbps bad - while my upload speeds have remianed about 20/25mbps. This is happening on both ethernet and wifi.

I've restarted both the C8 and the Cisco - but the problem persists.

I think there's a problem with either router as the upload speed remains constant. And the fact that it was working fine up until yesterday afternoon. Is there a setting I'm overlooking in the Archer?
I can't think it's my laptop as the probelm occurs on wifi as well as ethernet (tested on phone/tablet laptop wifi)
The only difference is I started up the kids 'Leap TV' which is wired and I think that is when the problem started.
I'm in work ATM, so can't do any ping tests etc, and digging around with cables etc will have to wait until the babies go to bed.

In the meantime I've attached an idea of what my setup is...

Cheers for any help

I would maybe plug your laptop directly into the Cisco, it will issue an external IP address and run a magnet speedtest, see what kind of speeds you get, it could be an external local node issue if speeds are low, I would also check at off pick times maybe 1am to see if there is a congestion issue in your area.

newbie2

Disconnected the Leap Tv and am still getting crap download speeds:



It's weird because the upload is fine. There must be a setting in the C8 because the Cisco is in bridge mode.

newbie2

Ok,
Connected straight to the Cisco router and turned bridge mode off:


What does this suggest to you all? Issue with the Cisco - UPC?

newbie2

Finally sorted it.

It looks like the cable going into my Cisco router was loose. (I have a connection from it to a coax cable - under the floor to the other side of the room.



Thats from my laptop which obv is a load of sh1te. i'm getting 240mbps off the 5 ghz wifi on my phone.

Snake Plisken

So the coax was lose yeah that would cause interference ok, glad you got it sorted.

newbie2

Cheers,

Yeah it's weird that just becasuse the coax was a little loose, I was still getting full upload, but limited download. Anyway - all fixed now.

Fingleberries

Hi All,

Just to provide a brief update of the experience using the SolWise AV2 1200 PIGGY HomePlugs.

The overall experience and setup is quite good, easy to plug in and get running. Initial tests are well and under ideal conditions you can easily get between 130Mbps and 170Mbps on a SpeedTest.

The router and test machine are on the same floor, about 1 room apart - from the hall to the sitting room in a house built in the early 2000's.

But, and this is probably the cheap wiring used during construction of the house, performance can vary wildly depending on what other devices are plugged in or running in the house - if the dishwasher is on, the performance can drop off to 20Mbps or so.

harryohh

Thank you for the guide.

Once minor issue I have is that when using 2.4ghz band the speed maxes out at around 55-59mbps regardless of distance from the router. I have set this to n mode only as all my devices support n. I have tested it on several devices that I know support higher speeds as I have tested them with 5ghz and have gotten higher speeds.

When I use the 5ghz band it maxes out at about 180mbps when next to the router and drops off as expected once I move away.

Any idea why my 2.4ghz band is maxing out at this speed?

mass_debater

harryohh wrote: »

Thank you for the guide.

Once minor issue I have is that when using 2.4ghz band the speed maxes out at around 55-59mbps regardless of distance from the router. I have set this to n mode only as all my devices support n. I have tested it on several devices that I know support higher speeds as I have tested them with 5ghz and have gotten higher speeds.

When I use the 5ghz band it maxes out at about 180mbps when next to the router and drops off as expected once I move away.

Any idea why my 2.4ghz band is maxing out at this speed?

You're probably hitting the limit in 2.4ghz band with the equipment you got that possibly only support 20mhz channels. 802.11n on 2.4ghz with 20mhz channel maxes at about 60-75mbit. 802.11n on either 2.4ghz or 5ghz with 40 mhz channel maxes at about 120-150mbit. 802.11ac in the 5ghz band uses wider 40mhz+ channels (up to 160mhz).
See this:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/31694-why-80211ac-will-kill-the-5-ghz-wi-fi-band

harryohh

mass_debater wrote: »

You're probably hitting the limit in 2.4ghz band with the equipment you got that possibly only support 20mhz channels. 802.11n on 2.4ghz with 20mhz channel maxes at about 60-75mbit. 802.11n on either 2.4ghz or 5ghz with 40 mhz channel maxes at about 120-150mbit. 802.11ac in the 5ghz band uses wider 40mhz+ channels (up to 160mhz).
See this:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/31694-why-80211ac-will-kill-the-5-ghz-wi-fi-band

After switching to 40mhz only I am now getting around around 110mbps max. I'm fairly content with this as it is a significant enough boost over the TC7200 to justify the purchase.

Thank you for the suggestion.

mass_debater

harryohh wrote: »

After switching to 40mhz only I am now getting around around 110mbps max. I'm fairly content with this as it is a significant enough boost over the TC7200 to justify the purchase.

Thank you for the suggestion.

If you're fairly sure all your devices support 40mhz channels, you could be excluding some like older phones

k123456

http://uk.tp-link.com/Q4promotion/

It's looking like Virgin have disabled bridge mode. My modem won't bridge anymore and goes back to router mode after a reboot.