Just upgraded to UPC Horizon 200mbit, awful wifi speed

CyCaboose · 29-01-2014 05:31PM #1

Hi guys,

I just upgraded to the 200mbit package of UPC, the Horizon box, and I am encountering some issues.

1) Lets say I have 2 laptops wirelessly connected, I could be working away on one and then all of a sudden I will lose Internet on it - I wouldn't lose wireless connectivity, it shows as still connected but no internet available. This normally means the UPC modem has lost internet. But if I look at my 2nd laptop it's still connected fine and has internet. After a few mins the other laptop Internet reappears. Very strange issue and it happens multiple times a day, has anyone else encountered it on the Horizon box? (Perhaps it's related to issue 2 below - but it never happened on the old UPC router).

2) Wifi signal. Ok this is the big one, if I plug in a cable directly to the Horizon box my speed is fine, I get 200 mbit on the speedtest which is great. Wifi is another story altogether, I am getting between 50 and 80 mbps max on Wireless-N. On a 200mb power line homeplug I get about the same too

Ok for this I can't blame UPC so much, I am in an apartment and using a Wifi analyzer app on my phone the apartment block is chock FULL of wireless signals across all channels to the point theres so much interference that 2.4 ghz is useless.

I would like suggestions here if possible.

a) I notice Horizon has the capability for 5ghz wifi, but it is disabled by default. Is there a way to enable this, and if so is it simultaneous dual band so older hardware can still use the 2.4ghz frequency? I really need 5 ghz :-/

b) My other option is to buy a new router (would I need a router or an access point?), I am thinking an 802.11ac one that is simultaneous dual band. Does anyone know if the Horizon box can act like a dumb modem and behave nicely with a router plugged into it? 5ghz is completely empty in my apartment block, so I think this is the route I need to go. Any advice here appreciated.

I've attached a screenshot of how 2.4ghz looks

TLDR; 2.4ghz wifi is rubbish on Horizon and in my apartment, I want them to enable 5ghz alternatively I would like suggestions if i should buy an 802.11ac router and if it would play well if plugged into Horizon

ED E · 29-01-2014 06:00PM

No bridging, no simultaneous 2.4 and 5.

Ask them to disable the modem in the horizon box and give you a separate EPC3925

CyCaboose · 29-01-2014 06:52PM

ED E wrote: »

No bridging, no simultaneous 2.4 and 5.

Ask them to disable the modem in the horizon box and give you a separate EPC3925

really? meh

why do they keep releasing things without bridging

Does the EPC3925 support 200 mbps? How likely are UPC to give me another modem, I am sure they're really enthusiastic about Horizon.

Since a new modem won't solve my wifi problems and I need to buy another Wifi router anyway, is bridge mode really required or can I get away with it by turning the router to Access point only?

ED E · 30-01-2014 12:28AM

They dont object, but may try charge you €45.

If you just want to improve wifi then just grab a decent AP and connect that. Done.

bealtine · 30-01-2014 12:30AM

CyCaboose wrote: »

2) Wifi signal. Ok this is the big one, if I plug in a cable directly to the Horizon box my speed is fine, I get 200 mbit on the speedtest which is great. Wifi is another story altogether, I am getting between 50 and 80 mbps max on Wireless-N.

That's about normal for wifi

Cuddlesworth · 30-01-2014 11:40AM

Powerline plugs don't get really get past 90Mbp's either. 500Mbp's is the switching speed.

andy_shero · 30-01-2014 11:44AM

I need some help aswell here with the WIFI problem . I got the new Horizon boxset 200 MbPs and the speeds are worse for my wifi . I understand i wont get the 200 mbps as it would need to be wired to the box for that , but like for my ps4 which is in my room upstairs , i am getting a very bad speed of like 6 - 10 mbps. I cant join alot of games in battlefield because of this , and this has never happend to me with my old cisco router that i had with UPC.

If anybody has suggestions it would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks people!

CyCaboose · 30-01-2014 01:22PM

Ok so I think I need to buy a new wifi router, which I am ok with doing as I'd see it as an investment - otherwise I'd have to wire the apartment up for Ethernet, which I can't do as I am renting and can't go around drilling holes through walls.

I won't be happy til I'm getting at least 120 mb, as otherwise I may as well downgrade my package to the 120 mb version which is becoming standard now.

I'm pretty bummed about bridging mode not being an option on this box, that annoys me. Why do UPC always do this, don't they know that their WIFI is always rubbish on these boxes and there are people with greater needs from their own router than whats on offer on UPC's box?

So my only option is to get them to send me another modem, one that supports bridging and then I have to have 3 boxes plugged in, Horizon, Modem, and my Router... ugh!!! so unnecessary! Please tell me someone has found some loophole in the horizon box to turn it into a basic modem

ED E · 30-01-2014 02:16PM

CyCaboose wrote: »

I won't be happy til I'm getting at least 120 mb, as otherwise I may as well downgrade my package to the 120 mb version which is becoming standard now.

Unless your devices are very new and have 802.11AC chips(and good ones) in them then you will not get 120 on wifi. Getting 90 is doing VERY well on .11N on 5Ghz.

CyCaboose · 30-01-2014 03:15PM

ED E wrote: »

Unless your devices are very new and have 802.11AC chips(and good ones) in them then you will not get 120 on wifi. Getting 90 is doing VERY well on .11N on 5Ghz.

So otherwise I have to go wired really? Hmm maybe I should look at going wired, buy some cat6 cable and feed it around the apartment with some duct tape :P

I am open to buying an AC router though, do you think in real world conditions on a new AC router I could get 200 mbps?

ED E · 30-01-2014 04:17PM

CyCaboose wrote: »

I am open to buying an AC router though, do you think in real world conditions on a new AC router I could get 200 mbps?

Its not just the router. You need AC in your devices too. No phones do it atm so thats them out(not that they need it). TVs wont either. Laptops and Desktops mostly have N at the moment.

You'd have to pop the casing of a laptop and fit:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/INTEL-7260-HMWWB-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC/dp/B00D69CJ2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391094088&sr=8-1&keywords=802.11ac+card

Toms did thorough review, I havent had a change to read it all but here's what you need:

SAME ROOM

ACROSS HOUSE

That gear you're looking at is best of the consumer market right now. And its in a house. You're in an apartment which is an interference nightmare. 5Ghz is safer in that sense but its becoming more and more popular.

Also worth noting that while UPCs base is currently 120, it'll probably rise again soon enough. Current system can do 400Mb and the new 3.1 standard can do Gigabit.

All this is to say, if you're planning on staying put for a while tracing some CAT6 might be worth it.

CyCaboose · 30-01-2014 05:21PM

ED E wrote: »

Its not just the router. You need AC in your devices too. No phones do it atm so thats them out(not that they need it). TVs wont either. Laptops and Desktops mostly have N at the moment.

You'd have to pop the casing of a laptop and fit:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/INTEL-7260-HMWWB-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC/dp/B00D69CJ2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391094088&sr=8-1&keywords=802.11ac+card

Toms did thorough review, I havent had a change to read it all but here's what you need:

SAME ROOM
.snip.
ACROSS HOUSE
.snip.

That gear you're looking at is best of the consumer market right now. And its in a house. You're in an apartment which is an interference nightmare. 5Ghz is safer in that sense but its becoming more and more popular.

Also worth noting that while UPCs base is currently 120, it'll probably rise again soon enough. Current system can do 400Mb and the new 3.1 standard can do Gigabit.

All this is to say, if you're planning on staying put for a while tracing some CAT6 might be worth it.

Yeh, I know i'd have to buy new equipment, I'm alright with that for me anyway (can't speak for my flat-mate tho), it's future proofing myself, I am hoping for some AC USB dongles for laptop/pc... I have a HTC One phone which already supports 802.11ac.

For other equipment and flat-mate, I'd be wanting to use one of the simultaneous dual band routers, they seem good, can use wireless-N on 2.4ghz and Wireless-AC on 5ghz at the same time which would be perfect for the apartment - and I am willing to bet Wireless-N on those routers will be tons better than UPC Horizon (I can move the router to a more central location for one). I did a scan on 5ghz on my apartment and there are no signals, so interference won't be a problem right now.

Ideal solution would be cat6 + wifi-n + wifi-ac

A good temporary solution would be if UPC enabled the 5ghz on the Horizon box (altho I think some wireless-n cards don't support 5ghz

) This is all a nightmare really for apartments.

james139 · 08-02-2014 12:33PM

I bought an ac usb adaptor from asus an one of there ac routers for my 5 year old desktop and the results are amazing on wifi I can get 200meg on wifi with it

james139 · 08-02-2014 12:38PM

First picture is screen shot from galaxy s 4 here's my pc

james139 · 08-02-2014 01:01PM

james139 wrote: »

I bought an ac usb adaptor from asus an one of there ac routers for my 5 year old desktop and the results are amazing on wifi I can get 200meg on wifi with it

The above screen shot of my galaxy s 4 heres the pc

james139 · 08-02-2014 02:34PM

james139 wrote: »

I bought an ac usb adaptor from asus an one of there ac routers for my 5 year old desktop and the results are amazing on wifi I can get 200meg on wifi with it

The above screen shot of my galaxy s 4 heres the pc

andy_shero · 09-02-2014 03:05PM

I am just after purchasing a CAT6 Ethernet cable. I've connected it to my laptop and in the UPC speed test , I am only getting 94mbps as my download speed. This seems very odd? And i am paying for the 200mbps.

What could be going on here?

Regards

Venom · 09-02-2014 04:56PM

andy_shero wrote: »

I am just after purchasing a CAT6 Ethernet cable. I've connected it to my laptop and in the UPC speed test , I am only getting 94mbps as my download speed. This seems very odd? And i am paying for the 200mbps.

What could be going on here?

Regards

I was having the same problem. On the 200mb package but only getting 70-80mb on the speedtest on the UPC site. Customer support checked out my modem and found nothing wrong. Another rep then rang me and reset the modem from his end and suggested I try a different Ethernet cable. Swapping from Cat5 to Cat5e fixed my problem.

ED E · 09-02-2014 05:24PM

andy_shero wrote: »

I am just after purchasing a CAT6 Ethernet cable. I've connected it to my laptop and in the UPC speed test , I am only getting 94mbps as my download speed. This seems very odd? And i am paying for the 200mbps.

What could be going on here?

Regards

Tenner says your NIC(Network Card) is 100Mbps only. Need a gigabit card to take full use of the 200Mbps. That or its sh1t cabling and is dropping back to 100M mode.

tharmor · 11-02-2014 07:15PM

I just upgraded from 50 MBPS to 200 MBPS.......does it mean i need new router from them as well ??

I dont have horizon box and i am getting 84 MBPS on laptop......

ED E · 11-02-2014 07:17PM

tharmor wrote: »

I just upgraded from 50 MBPS to 200 MBPS.......does it mean i need new router from them as well ??

I dont have horizon box and i am getting 84 MBPS on laptop......

Wireless? Wont go any faster than that really unless you upgrade your laptop and buy a €100 router OR use an ethernet cable.

tharmor · 11-02-2014 07:25PM

ED E wrote: »

Wireless? Wont go any faster than that really unless you upgrade your laptop and buy a €100 router OR use an ethernet cable.

Yes wireless........But should not they provide the router ?? If they are offering 200 MBPS ?

I have Dell latitude E6420 laptop which is kind of latest in the lot......

ED E · 11-02-2014 07:36PM

tharmor wrote: »

Yes wireless........But should not they provide the router ?? If they are offering 200 MBPS ?

I have Dell latitude E6420 laptop which is kind of latest in the lot......

Even if they did provide AC wireless your laptop doesn't support it. Few do right now. AC or AC2013 are the only standards that can really push 200Mbps over wifi. The fact is UPC have a problem that DSL never had, they're faster than wifi in most use cases.

Plug in with a cable and you'll see the full speed.

tharmor · 11-02-2014 07:56PM

ED E wrote: »

Even if they did provide AC wireless your laptop doesn't support it. Few do right now. AC or AC2013 are the only standards that can really push 200Mbps over wifi. The fact is UPC have a problem that DSL never had, they're faster than wifi in most use cases.

Plug in with a cable and you'll see the full speed.

Yep worked with cable !!

tharmor · 12-02-2014 08:09PM

Anyone having issues of connection dropping after upgrade to 200 mbps ? I get no internet access issues when online. Have to reconnect to wifi to get back up and running !

tunney · 10-03-2014 09:29PM

Anyone know the upper limit of the UPC horizon boxes over wifi?

ED E · 10-03-2014 11:03PM

tunney wrote: »

Anyone know the upper limit of the UPC horizon boxes over wifi?

Depends to a large extent on external factors but by the sounds of it they're worse than the earlier cisco gear so probably 60-70mb on a good day.

paulboland · 12-03-2014 06:30AM

Average Wireless N Speeds will be 40Mbps to 50Mbps
Optimal Wi-fi Speeds are 70Mbps to 80Mbps

Most wireless Usb Dongles are only Wireless N 150 and Built in Wireless in Laptops

To get Good Wireless you need a Wireless USB Dongle or Built in Wireless that is Wireless N 300 or Wireless N 600
Your Wireless Router needs to also have this
Also distance from your router
Signal range and interference will determine and affect your speeds results
Channels 1/6/11 is best also to use with Channel 11 best in most cases

Wireless G Average speed is 20Mbps
Wireless N 150 2.4Ghz average speeds will be 40Mbps to 50Mbps
Wireless N 300 2.4Ghz 20/40 Bonding speeds will be from 40Mbps to 75Mbps

Wireless N 5Ghz 70-80Mbps with some newer routers

Wireless 802.11AC 70-100 Mbps and above 100Mbps with more expensive routers and you must have matching Wireless Adapter

Note
Lot of poor Wireless Speeds are due to fact you only have Wireless N 150 Adapter
and some devices in use are only Wireless G as when a Wireless G device is in use all Wireless N adapters on 2.4Ghz including will become Wireless G speed of around 20 Mbps
Playstation 3 Wireless is only Wireless G
Playstation 3 best performance is a wired connection
To avoid this you need a Dual Band Wireless Router 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz with matching Wireless Adapter
Or only have in use Wireless N devices
Not all Wireless Devices are Wireless N some are only Wireless G

Wireless N 2.4Ghz is Wireless b/g/n
Wireless 5Ghz is Wireless N only

Wired Speed you must have a Gigabyte Ethernet card 10/100/1000 in your PC or Laptop to get above 80 Mbps
100Mb 120Mb 200Mb need a Gigabyte Ethernet card 10/100/1000

If your PC or Laptop only has 10/100 Fast Ethernet the max speed you get wired is 80 Mb with some only giving 40Mb to 70Mb

Wired Connection you also need to be using a Cat5e or Cat6e Cable with Gigabyte Ethernet connection

You will only get 200 Mbps with a wired connection and be using Cat5e or Cat6 Cable with Gigabyte Ethernet connection

whomitconcerns · 12-03-2014 07:02AM

My b wireless ac router is connected at 255mbps... which is nice. Only have 60 meg bb though. Next step!!

paulboland · 12-03-2014 07:18AM

whomitconcerns wrote: »

My b wireless ac router is connected at 255mbps... which is nice. Only have 60 meg bb though. Next step!!

802.11ac is 1300 in Theory

Your Connection Speed you see on your Adapter will be 144/300/600/900/1300 that's the max in theory not real world speeds
Depending on your Router and Wireless Adapter
Is the connection speed not the download speed you will get

Some very good Wireless Routers 802.11ac
You can get near 170Mb with a broadband package of 200Mb if you have optimal conditions no interference but you must have a Wireless Adapter 1300 that is for 802.11ac

If your Connection is Showing only 256 your not using Wireless AC 1300 Adapter

There is no point having Wireless Router 802.11ac if your Wireless Adapter USB or Built in is N150 or N300

N300 Wireless Adapter speeds
Wireless N 300 2.4Ghz 20/40 Bonding speeds will be from 40Mbps to 75Mbps
Wireless N 5Ghz if your Adapter has this can get 70/80Mb to near 100Mb

What Type of Wireless Adapter do you have or are you using a Laptop Built in Wireless

Wireless Adapter the general rule is you will only get up to max 80% of a 50/100/120/200 Broadband Package
If you have the router and correct adapter for this

Example N150/N300
Broadband package 200Mb
You will only get max speed test download result of 80Mb

If you have UPC 200Mb
You will need a router that is AC 1300 and wireless adapter AC 1300
You can then get up to 80%
Which would be 160/170Mb download Speed

If you only have a wireless adapter that's N 150 or N 300
Your max speed will be 80Mb if all conditions are optimal

Also no point having a wireless ac adapter 1300 if your router is only wireless N 300 capable

Balinov · 02-05-2014 12:49PM

Hi Folks,

not entirely sure I'm in the right topic, but this looks to be probably the closest one I could find. If not, can you point me to the right direction/topic please?

Need an expert thought on the following question I can't get my head around. Just 3 days ago I've upgraded to the Horizon Box and 200mbit broadband. I've 3 device connecting to it wired (via CAT5E cables) and 5 thru wifi.

Device listing, might be important:
LG SMart TV (wired) 42LM640T-S (think it does have a 10/100 ethernet)
Zyxel NSA325 v1, gigabit ethernet
PS3 Slim 500GB (via 10/100 ethernet, never wireless)
HP Pavilion DV6 notebook (Broadcomm 4313 802.11b/g/n wifi adapter+ IMHO GB lan, but that's not the concern)
Dell Latitude E6330, Centrino Advanced-N 6205 wifi adapter + GB lan
HTC One (M7) AC wifi within the Snapdragon 600 (B/G/N + AC)
Samsung SGS III, B/G/N wifi
Nexus 7 (2012, B/G/N wifi within the Tegra3 SoC
+
Horizon HD Box (Aka. Samsung SMT-G7400/XEN) - rec'd on Wednesday

LAN connection works fine, used the Latitude as a test instance, managed to get 95/15mbit up/dl speed and 9ms ping at speedtest.net and 203.6/15.5Mbit up/dl + 6ms ping using speedtest.upc.ie.

TV works fine, actually I'm delighted with the TV/HDTV part, XMBX frontend is amazing compared to the previous Cisco HDR box (which I've consumed 5 in the past one year).

My issue is with the wifi I'm afraid.

I live in a two bed apt in a "small" apt. bloc of 16 apartments (8 of 1bed & 8 2bed). Using wifi analiyer sw on the Nexus or the One I see there aren't many wifi networks around, around 6-8 to my memories, only 3 looks to be a Horizon (by looking at the SSID), rest is a "regular" UPC broadband (shorter UPC SSID's) and one Asus Router (might be Eircomm, not sure, don't care).

My problem is all the wifi enabled devices can only connect at 54Mbit/sec(G), does not matter if one device is connected alone or more than one, or even all 5 (tested it yesterday). Everytime I'm on a slow(ish) G connection (and getting around 20-25mbit via Speedtest.net). Android version shoulnd't matter, but the One runs on KitKat, N7/SGSIII on JB (4.3). Checked and both the Dell and the HP notebook has the latest driver installed for the wifi module. Both laptop is up to date from Windows Update point of view (W7HP/WH7Enterprise)

Using the admin interface via 192.168.1.1 I've tried B/G/N Mixed, G/N mixed and N only mode, but all the devices are connecting at 54Mibt/s. Tried different channels (1,6 & Auto so far, lack of free time), same result. Weird, but if I'm picking N only none of the 5 device can connect wireless.

Not sure if matters, but when GLS delivered the Horizon Box my wife was at home, she plugged in the kit, went thru the initial setup/activation procedure and she rang me straight saying there's no wifi on Her Pavilion DV6. When I've got home I've tried it straight with the Dell and I do remember getting about 80-87mbit wireless, though haven't checked the connection property to be 100% I'm on G or N.. I had to enable DHCP on the laptops to make both work with even the G network.

The shipping box does have a sticker on the back with two SSID/PW combination, one for 2.4Ghz and one separate SSID/PW for the 5Ghz. Currently using the one listed for the 2.4Ghz.

Any wild guess why I'm getting G connection only? I'm not a network expert but I know that always the slowest device matters within a wireless network when multiple devices are connecting by the same time. Clear, it's not the case here as all devices are capable of the WIFI N standard.

Just thinking outside of the box (while writing this post, but could this issue be related I'm trying to connect using the SSID/PW provided for the 2.4Ghz on the sticker? Haven't tried the 5Ghz SSID/Pass. I don't remember seeing the other/5Ghz SSID, but have to admit I wasn't really looking for that..

Any advice would be more than welcomed.

Thanks
Balinov

Just upgraded to UPC Horizon 200mbit, awful wifi speed

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