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

Foxtrot Tango · 18-03-2015 10:07pm

Xpro wrote: »

Sounds to me like a bad wifi channel. Try changing the channel to a higher number 10+ or try the 5GHZ and see how that goes.

192.168.0.1
admin
admin

Cheers

Thanks. I changed the channel to 12 (it was set on 'auto' but underneath it said on it was on channel 11) but no real difference anyway.
Then I changed to the 5GHZ channel and this seems to have made quite a big difference with my laptop giving me 30-40 MB whereas previously I was getting 3-10MB. How robust this is I don't know and it looks like I won't be able to find out because our iPhone 4s and my wife's fairly new laptop don't seem to support 5GHZ so I have had to switch back to the 2.4.
But does this indicate a lot of interference on the 2.4 channel?
The original problem is both variability and speed. It was up and down like a yoyo today. One minute I can get 10MB on my laptop, next minute less than 1MBPS.
I'm also getting huge variability in results depending on what device I'm using. I was getting 40 MB with an Ipad right next to my (relatively new) laptop where I was only getting 2-3MB. I know this points to a problem with the laptop (which I'm checking) but the speed on the iPad was also hugely variable with the 40MB dropping dramatically a few minutes later and and losing the signal altogether once or twice.
Frustrated to say the least ! Thanks for any further insights.

5star02707 · 18-03-2015 11:13pm

^ Channel 1, 6 or 11 are the preferred channels given by UPC.

i normally switch between 1 and 11.. as channel 6 gives me low connection.

curiousb · 20-03-2015 12:58pm

I'm looking for some advice here on how to get the most out of my new 240mb/s UPC broadband upgrade...
The situation: The UPC router is located in my office (work from home, garage conversion) and my computers are wired into it and i am getting a consistent speed of 240-245 mb/s. I have enabled the 5ghz wireless and I am getting speeds of 75mb/s upwards. So all this is great.

However I need the wireless more in the rest of the house and not the office so here is what I did quite a while ago: I have a network cable coming out of a LAN port on the UPC router and running across the front of the house and into the lounge where it is plugged into a LAN port on another router (just upgraded to TP-Link C9). DHCP is turned off here and it is controlled from the UPC router. This is what I use for the wireless for the rest of the house. Apple TV and xbox are plugged into this router also. This setup has worked well for me for the last few years but the issue now is the speed of the wireless network in the lounge.

I have enabled both the 2.5ghz and 5ghz bandwidths on the TP-Link C9 router in the lounge but I am getting similar speeds from both, around 25-30mb/s, nowhere near the 75mb/s I can get in my office from the UPC router.

So I am wondering where the bottleneck is... I am guessing it could be the cabling. it is possibly just cat5 running across the front of the house. But would that make such a difference at those relatively slow speeds?

Would anyone have any idea as to what the issue might be?

EDIT: Would replacing the long cable from the office to the lounge with homeplugs improve this, do you think?

Snake Plisken · 20-03-2015 2:04pm

The network cable to the lounge is it CAT 5e or CAT6? Also have the C9's 2.4ghz and 5ghz named differently? Just checking so you know what devices are working off the 5ghz AC connection and if they are dropping down onto the 2.4ghz causing the speed Loss on devices.

bk · 20-03-2015 2:14pm

curiousb, before ripping up and replacing cables you will want to do some more investigation and testing first to find precisely where the issue is. 20 to 30Mb/s sounds very wrong, even a cat5 cable should supply around 80 to 90Mb/s.

What UPC router do you have? There is a bug in one of theUPC modems that sometimes force some of it's ethernet ports to operate at about 30Mb/s.

Also I'd unplug the ethernet cable going to the C9 and plug it into an ethernet port on a PC or laptop and test the speed there, to find what speed the cable is operating at.

curiousb · 20-03-2015 2:45pm

Snake Plisken wrote: »

The network cable to the lounge is it CAT 5e or CAT6? Also have the C9's 2.4ghz and 5ghz named differently? Just checking so you know what devices are working off the 5ghz AC connection and if they are dropping down onto the 2.4ghz causing the speed Loss on devices.

I think it is just cat5, as I did this a few years ago. the 2.4ghz and 5ghz are named differently and I tested both individually on the same device.

bk wrote: »

curiousb, before ripping up and replacing cables you will want to do some more investigation and testing first to find precisely where the issue is. 20 to 30Mb/s sounds very wrong, even a cat5 cable should supply around 80 to 90Mb/s.

What UPC router do you have? There is a bug in one of theUPC modems that sometimes force some of it's ethernet ports to operate at about 30Mb/s.

Also I'd unplug the ethernet cable going to the C9 and plug it into an ethernet port on a PC or laptop and test the speed there, to find what speed the cable is operating at.

My UPC router is the Ubee EVW3266. Wired speed out of it is 240mb/s or thereabouts, so all good. Wireless on 5ghz from it is 75mb/s so also good.

The C9 in the lounge is giving between 25-30mb/s wireless and I have just tested it wired also and it is only giving 28mb/s wired. So it has to be somewhere either in the wiring to the C9 or maybe a setting in the C9 itself?

bk · 20-03-2015 3:19pm

curiousb wrote: »

My UPC router is the Ubee EVW3266. Wired speed out of it is 240mb/s or thereabouts, so all good. Wireless on 5ghz from it is 75mb/s so also good.

The C9 in the lounge is giving between 25-30mb/s wireless and I have just tested it wired also and it is only giving 28mb/s wired. So it has to be somewhere either in the wiring to the C9 or maybe a setting in the C9 itself?

The Ubee, yes, that is one that has the bug I mentioned.

Basically if you attach any 100Mb/s device to this UPC modem, it will operate at just about 30Mb/s, it's fall back mode.

So yes, it maybe (likely is) that the cable is cat5 only (as opposed to cat5e or cat6) and causing it to do this. Before replacing the cable, I'd first test it as I suggest, also the cable type should be marked on the cable and you should also check how the cabled is wired (that all pairs are connected).

If you find the cable is causing the problem, then replacing it should fix the issue. I don't believe there is any issue with the C9 or anything you can fix there, the issue is with the UPC modem and maybe the ethernet cable you are using.

Phil C · 20-03-2015 5:42pm

hi Bk ,

im working off you original post , on step 11.

I am connect to UPC routers web interface and am unsure what to do from here.

here it has the headings Status , Baisc ,Advanced ,Parental Control , Wireless and System.

under WIRELESS on this page it has 2.4 and 5 ghz basic settings , am I to disable both of these ?

Also I have both tp link wifi and horizon wifi running together and through wifi on my htc one I m currently getting 35 down and 23 up from the tp link but 42 down and 25 up from the horizon box ? ( this is from a 240mbs box ).

this must mean I did something wrong !!!
Im obviously not as tech savy as I link to think I am .

Thanks in advance

Phil

curiousb · 20-03-2015 6:02pm

bk wrote: »

The Ubee, yes, that is one that has the bug I mentioned.

Basically if you attach any 100Mb/s device to this UPC modem, it will operate at just about 30Mb/s, it's fall back mode.

So yes, it maybe (likely is) that the cable is cat5 only (as opposed to cat5e or cat6) and causing it to do this. Before replacing the cable, I'd first test it as I suggest, also the cable type should be marked on the cable and you should also check how the cabled is wired (that all pairs are connected).

If you find the cable is causing the problem, then replacing it should fix the issue. I don't believe there is any issue with the C9 or anything you can fix there, the issue is with the UPC modem and maybe the ethernet cable you are using.

Appreciate the replies bk, thanks for your time. I have some progress to report!

I plugged my laptop directly into the C9 in the lounge and tested the speed and only got 30Mb/s, wireless get me about 25-30Mb/s.

I then unplugged the C9, moved it into my office and connected it with a cat5e cable to the UPC router and tested again. I got 75Mb/s wireless and 245Mb/s wired so the problem definitely seems to be in the cabling.

Easiest solution is to use the homeplugs and see if that works. I think I can borrow a pair to test before purchasing. It would be easier than redoing the wiring.

Snake Plisken · 21-03-2015 2:36am

I don't think the Home plugs will get you to the wired 240Mb you got with the Cat 5e, a lot depends on how old the electrical wiring in the house is. If you do have to go down replacing the Cat 5 may I suggest going for Cat 6 you can get outdoor grade Cat6 so it won't deteriorate with years of bad weather.

curiousb · 21-03-2015 11:40am

Snake Plisken wrote: »

I don't think the Home plugs will get you to the wired 240Mb you got with the Cat 5e, a lot depends on how old the electrical wiring in the house is. If you do have to go down replacing the Cat 5 may I suggest going for Cat 6 you can get outdoor grade Cat6 so it won't deteriorate with years of bad weather.

CAt6 is a good suggestion thanks. I might be able to get a loan of a pair if home plugs so should be able to test first anyway. House is about 30 years old, so wiring not too bad, but you never know...

bk · 21-03-2015 12:38pm

curiousb wrote: »

CAt6 is a good suggestion thanks. I might be able to get a loan of a pair if home plugs so should be able to test first anyway. House is about 30 years old, so wiring not too bad, but you never know...

Depending on the spec of the home plugs, they may not give you any different results.

Most older homeplugs only have 100Mb/s ethernet ports, so they would suffer from the same bug in the UPC modem and only give you about 30Mb/s.

No harm in trying if you can borrow a pair for free, but I wouldn't buy new ones.

Again I'd recommend plugging the cable you believe is causing the problem directly into your laptop and testing that, to confirm this cable is in fact the issue.

If it is, then you have two options:

1) Replace the cable with Cat6 (Cat5e is ok too, but if you are going to replace it anyway, no harm in future proofing). If you can do this easily and cheaply, then this is by far the best thing to do.

2) If the above is hard or expensive, then you can buy a Gigabit switch (cost about €20) and connect it as so:

UPC Modem -> Cat5e cable -> Gigabit Switch -> Cat 5 cable -> C9

This will fix the bug and leave you get the full 90 to 100Mb/s out of the cat5 cable. Obviously that is less then the 240Mb/s you would get if you replace the cable with cat5e/6 instead.

bk · 21-03-2015 12:42pm

Phil C wrote: »

under WIRELESS on this page it has 2.4 and 5 ghz basic settings , am I to disable both of these ?

Also I have both tp link wifi and horizon wifi running together and through wifi on my htc one I m currently getting 35 down and 23 up from the tp link but 42 down and 25 up from the horizon box ? ( this is from a 240mbs box ).

Yes disable both.

Once they are disabled run the speed test again.

Ideally you want to run these sort of speed tests on a pc rather then a smartphone.

When you did the speed test Horizon were you connected to 2.4GHz or 5GHz?

Likewise on the TP Link, were you connected to 2.4GHz or 5GHz?

With the wifi disabled on the horizon, connect to both 2.4GHZ and 5GHz on the TP-Link and speed test them both.

Also what is the model of your HTC phone, it might not support higher wifi speeds.

curiousb · 21-03-2015 5:50pm

bk wrote: »

Again I'd recommend plugging the cable you believe is causing the problem directly into your laptop and testing that, to confirm this cable is in fact the issue.

Finally I have done this... I misunderstood you earlier. Laptop plugged in directly to the network cable in the lounge gives me 28Mb/s, so the cable is definitely the problem.

I'll borrow home plugs but I think replacing the cable with cat6 is the best option.

Thanks for all the help.

Phil C · 21-03-2015 8:37pm

bk wrote: »

Yes disable both.

Once they are disabled run the speed test again.

Ideally you want to run these sort of speed tests on a pc rather then a smartphone.

When you did the speed test Horizon were you connected to 2.4GHz or 5GHz?

Likewise on the TP Link, were you connected to 2.4GHz or 5GHz?

With the wifi disabled on the horizon, connect to both 2.4GHZ and 5GHz on the TP-Link and speed test them both.

Also what is the model of your HTC phone, it might not support higher wifi speeds.

Thanks for your reply ,

It said I cant disable radio while I use wifi roaming opt in ......whatever that is .

my phone is a htc one m8 and last week before I got rid of eircom I was getting 53 mbps from their 100mbps router . So I know the phone goes over 50 , I just aint getting it for some reason.

I have downloaded wifi connection manager app , and this has spectrum graph to show wifi , my tp link and upc are there BUT that's on 2.4 . when I swap the band to 5 on this app, they disappear.

Where as wifi analyser has the single on 5 varying from -55 to -40 dBm for horizon and
-40 to -32 for the tp link.

I have checked the horizon box and the tp link router settings and the 5 ghz ARE enabled .

Any ideas?

I have connected my laptop( which can only handle 100mbps) with cat6 to,
the tp link and am getting 70 down 25 up .
horizon box and am getting 74 down 25 up !!!

I must be the only person on this thread to be loosing speed in comparison to the horizon box .

Again many thanks for your time in replying , really appreciate it.

bk · 22-03-2015 11:56am

Phil C wrote: »

It said I cant disable radio while I use wifi roaming opt in ......whatever that is .

Strange one all right, Your phone is certainly capable of much faster.

Have you specifically connected to the 5GHz on the TP-Link and tested that?

Also check the cable connecting the UPC modem to the TP-Link, make sure it is a cat5e or cat6 cable. If it is a cat5 cable it would limit the TP-Link to less then 100Mb/s.

Really it would be better if you could borrow a laptop with an ethernet port to help properly diagnose this problem.

As to the wifi roaming thing, this is the first time I've seen this! UPC has a service Horizon WiFree, where you can use the wifi point on other peoples UPC connections, in return for them being able to use yours. It sounds like this is turned on and is blocking you from disabling the wifi on the UPC modem.

If you don't think you will use this service, then you can disable it on your MyUPC account on their website. It may take a few days for the change to take effect.

Phil C · 22-03-2015 11:10pm

Really it would be better if you could borrow a laptop with an ethernet port to help properly diagnose this problem.

this laptop has an Ethernet port , dell inspiron n5110

Right , changed the cable from the box to router and bobs your uncle ....
(stupidly I was using a upc cable which says on it that it is cat5e but obviously isn't )
got the tp 5g singal showing on my phone and at 2pm today got 98 on my phone and just 5 mins ago checked it again and got 135 ...which is great
have also taken your advice and got on myupc and cancelled the wifree in the next 72 hours and then I should be able to disable the horizon box signal ?
(this is scary as I keep thinking the whole thing will knock off)

need to then use the parental access controls on the tp link ,kids have too many android and tablets in this house for my liking and I need to control the hours more .

sadly the laptop is NOT showing the tp link 5g signal which means even hardwired it will only max at 100 ? I haven't got a cat 5e or 6 cable test it but I presume this will be the case ? I have tested it wireless and just got 50 mbps .

if I ordered this ,
USB 2.0 to 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet RJ45 Gigabit Lan Adapter (on ebay for 19euro including post) ,to go with the 5e or 6 cable , would I got the 240 mbps ?

or is an upgrade the order or the day if affordable ?

thanks for all your help so far

wilden · 23-03-2015 12:47am

Havent seen any UPC guys in my area unless on a call out. Cable in estate has not been upgraded since the old Chorus crowd put it in.
Upgraded to 240mbps from 200 pack in February 2015, and download has nosedived ever since. Get real BK UPC service has deteriorated in my area. Local node needs to be upgraded to cope with demand on new upgrade.

Nearest fibre connection is abt 1.5km from my door, even though pipes were laid to deliver fibre, those ductings are empty.

bk · 23-03-2015 10:51am

wilden wrote: »

Upgraded to 240mbps from 200 pack in February 2015, and download has nosedived ever since. Get real BK UPC service has deteriorated in my area. Local node needs to be upgraded to cope with demand on new upgrade.

Wilden, I and a few other people here on this form have Samknows boxes, which constantly monitor the performance of our UPC connections, doing hourly speed tests, etc. and I can assure you that our results are excellent.

Now that isn't to say that your particular area isn't overloaded and congested, it may well be, but that doesn't mean most UPC customers are.

The reality is that when most people on this forum report slow speeds on UPC, it turns out the issue is that they aren't testing it correctly and it is caused mostly by a poor wifi setup. By following these steps most people can fix this issue.

This thread has literally dozens of examples of people who went from poor performance to excellent performance by following these steps.

Now in your case, if you have done speed tests directly to the UPC modem over gigabit ethernet and seeing poor performance, then yes it may well be congestion.

Or it could also be that the coax cable connected to your modem has become lose or that the coax cable entering your home from the street has become damaged (water damage being a regular thing).

All of these can cause your speeds to drop.

As I mentioned in the guide, if you continue to get slow speeds after following this guide, then you should contact UPC support and they should hopefully be able to fix it for you.

If it is a damaged or lose cable, then they should be able to fix it quickly for you with an engineer call. If it is a case of congestion, then it might take a few months, as ordering and running new fiber can obviously take time.

bk · 23-03-2015 11:11am

Phil C wrote: »

have also taken your advice and got on myupc and cancelled the wifree in the next 72 hours and then I should be able to disable the horizon box signal ?
(this is scary as I keep thinking the whole thing will knock off)

You don't have to, but it is better to also disable the Horizon wifi as it will reduce the interference with the TP Link wifi.

Nothing to be scared of, turning off wifree, should just allow you to disable the wifi on the Horizon box. As long as you have an ethernet cable and a laptop that you can connect via ethernet, then you can always connect to the horizon box with this and switch it back on.

Really no danger here.

Note you may need to switch off the horizon box and switch it back on for this wifree change to take effect. Wait 3 or 4 days before doing this.

Phil C wrote: »

sadly the laptop is NOT showing the tp link 5g signal which means even hardwired it will only max at 100 ? I haven't got a cat 5e or 6 cable test it but I presume this will be the case ? I have tested it wireless and just got 50 mbps .

Yes, looking at the spec of your laptop, ethernet only supports 10/100, so it would max out at 100Mb/s

Also the wifi on that laptop only supports 2.4GHz, so no 5GHz and also it only supports 300Mb/s. Note that 300MB/s is theoretical max spped, in the real world I'd only expect max 1/3 of that, so yes about 100MB/s, give or take.

Phil C wrote: »

if I ordered this ,
USB 2.0 to 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet RJ45 Gigabit Lan Adapter (on ebay for 19euro including post) ,to go with the 5e or 6 cable , would I got the 240 mbps ?

or is an upgrade the order or the day if affordable ?

thanks for all your help so far

That adaptor probably won't make much difference, it might get you up to 120Mb/s or so, but not the full 240Mb/s

The bottleneck here is is USB2, if your laptop supported USB3, then yes it would work, but USB2 is a lot slower.

So yes, I'm afraid upgrading your laptop is really the only option to getting the full speed.

However I wouldn't necessarily recommend that. The question you need to ask yourself, is do you really need all that extra speed? What would you use it for?

Is it worth you spending hundreds on a new laptop, just so you can benefit from the higher speed?

For some people it is (extreme gamers, professional video editors, etc.), but for most people, even 120Mb/s is fine.

Phil C · 23-03-2015 10:54pm

bk wrote: »

Is it worth you spending hundreds on a new laptop, just so you can benefit from the higher speed?

For some people it is (extreme gamers, professional video editors, etc.), but for most people, even 120Mb/s is fine.

think you might be right . actually only took the 240 deal as over the year contract it was an extra 45 euro with the deal they gave me . when this 12 months are up I might go back to the 120 deal .

thanks for all your help ,you would get this for a fee never mind for free .

Phil C · 23-03-2015 10:56pm

bk wrote: »

Is it worth you spending hundreds on a new laptop, just so you can benefit from the higher speed?

For some people it is (extreme gamers, professional video editors, etc.), but for most people, even 120Mb/s is fine.

think you might be right . actually only took the 240 deal as over the year contract it was an extra 45 euro with the deal they gave me . when this 12 months are up I might go back to the 120 deal .

thanks for all your help ,you wouldn't get this for a fee never mind for free .

[Deleted User] · 23-03-2015 11:03pm

Has anyone mentioned UPC's contention ratio, I have searched for it in the first couple of pages and no mention of it..

Surely people must be aware that this has a bearing on their broadband experience.

wilden · 24-03-2015 12:20am

bk wrote: »

Wilden, I and a few other people here on this form have Samknows boxes, which constantly monitor the performance of our UPC connections, doing hourly speed tests, etc. and I can assure you that our results are excellent.

Now that isn't to say that your particular area isn't overloaded and congested, it may well be, but that doesn't mean most UPC customers are.

The reality is that when most people on this forum report slow speeds on UPC, it turns out the issue is that they aren't testing it correctly and it is caused mostly by a poor wifi setup. By following these steps most people can fix this issue.

This thread has literally dozens of examples of people who went from poor performance to excellent performance by following these steps.

Now in your case, if you have done speed tests directly to the UPC modem over gigabit ethernet and seeing poor performance, then yes it may well be congestion.

Or it could also be that the coax cable connected to your modem has become lose or that the coax cable entering your home from the street has become damaged (water damage being a regular thing).

All of these can cause your speeds to drop.

As I mentioned in the guide, if you continue to get slow speeds after following this guide, then you should contact UPC support and they should hopefully be able to fix it for you.

If it is a damaged or lose cable, then they should be able to fix it quickly for you with an engineer call. If it is a case of congestion, then it might take a few months, as ordering and running new fiber can obviously take time.

Thanks BK for response, not going to hog your thread as there is already another thread related to problem I mentioned.

UPC have confirmed that their system cannot handle the PEAK time demand Since the new upgrade was released in february 2015, they have been sending out engineers on call outs which effected no change and confirmed that user's equipment was not the cause of any problem.

While I acknowledge that the release of new upgrades will have teething difficulties, it is behoven to UPC to make sure that their equipment can provide the service that the consumer has signed up for. This deterioration in servicehas occurred since the first week in february 2015 and still continues. It is only in the past week that they have divulged the nature of the problem, and this was mainly due to pressure applied via various forums such as Boards ie.

As an aside, your article does provide concise and relevant information which should prove useful to those seeking info regards the topics you cover, congrats on that. cheerio

curiousb · 24-03-2015 10:06am

wilden wrote: »

UPC have confirmed that their system cannot handle the PEAK time demand Since the new upgrade was released in february 2015, they have been sending out engineers on call outs which effected no change and confirmed that user's equipment was not the cause of any problem.

Interesting to note that this is not across the board. I upgraded and am getting a consistent 240-245Mb/s at any time I have tested, which has been between the hours of 9am and midnight. So absolutely no problems here with speed. However UPC have done a major upgrade to the cabling in my estate over the past few months as it was a known blackspot for them for many years. Maybe that's why I have no problem.

Calibos · 24-03-2015 11:13am

I live near the seafront in Bray. The area on the seaward side of the mainstreet would have a greater proportion of an older demographic compared to housing estates in the rest of Bray. That combined with Bray going from zero to hero with regard to UPC infrastructure about 4 years ago goes a long way to explaining my contention free 245mbit on the particular node I'm on.

Bray was one of the first areas cabled in the late 70's or early 80's which was great back then but with the advent of cable internet was a major disadvantage as the old 70's/80's cabling couldn't handle internet compared to areas of Dublin that got cable TV much later and thus got better cable infrastructure that could handle the Internet.

Bray got upgraded by KN for UPC in 2011 IIRC so we're back to having some of the newest infrastructure in the country again.

ED E · 24-03-2015 12:25pm

Contention really shouldnt be in an issue in any of the upgraded (non MMDS etc) areas. Each CMTS services a reasonably small area and should have plenty of bandwidth all downstream subscribers.

Increasing throughput on the shared co-ax would cause problems though where there is sub standard cabling. That could cause a high error rate and screw performance.

We were upgraded almost three years ago now, the only speed issues encountered have been due to junk CPE. Transit across germany is a bit dud for gaming at times, but thats another story.

gbur79 · 27-03-2015 9:10am

PING 8.247.4.164
---8.247.4.164 ping statistics---
4 packet transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss

Always same story during evenings hours... Great quality UPC!

iggy · 28-03-2015 12:47pm

I have a Cisco 3925. I'm on the 240mb package.
When I run a test on speedtest. net I only get a result of 150mb.
When I run test on the UPC site I get result of 240mb.
Which results are right?

mass_debater · 28-03-2015 12:55pm

iggy wrote: »

I have a Cisco 3925. I'm on the 240mb package.
When I run a test on speedtest. net I only get a result of 150mb.
When I run test on the UPC site I get result of 240mb.
Which results are right?

Maybe that's all the speedtest server can cope with

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

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