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

bk · 25-01-2015 3:01am

dub45 wrote: »

It would seem from posts elsewhere that you cannot disable the wifi on the UPC router without previously unsubscribing from the Horizon Wi-Free service?

I haven't experienced that on my own or any other UPC modem I've played with.

DoYouEvenLift · 25-01-2015 8:12am

bk wrote: »

The 240Mb/s package is available to the majority * of UPC costumers, over 700,000 premises.

* There are some small minority still stuck on MMDS or areas that haven't been upgraded yet, but we are talking less then 5% of UPC costumers.

Yes, UPC sells 500Mb/s in a few cities in Poland. Those speeds will certainly be possible in the future, UPC's network is certainly capable of it, though perhaps new modems will be necessary, plus work on UPC's network behind the scenes.

Eircom are rolling out VDSL2 at speeds of "upto" 100Mb/s (note unlike UPC it depends on your distance form the cab and it can be as low as 5Mb/s).

This is currently available to over 1 million premises and they expect to hit 1.6 million premises by 2016.

ESB/Vodafone have announced that they plan to roll out FTTH to 500,000 premises over the next 3 years and potentially more in a second phase after that.

As a result Eircom have announced that they will also rollout FTTH, but really no solid details or signs on that yet. I think Eirom are waiting to see if the ESB really do start their FTTH rollout first.

As I mentioned in the guide, expect 1/3 to 1/2 the rated speed. So between 100Mb/s and 150Mb/s, so 110 Mb/s seems about right for this wifi card. So sorry I'm afraid your options are:

- Live with it for now, maybe downgrade to UPC's 120 package and save €5 per month, if you aren't going to use ethernet. (remember the 120 package doesn't include the free mobile calls).
- Upgrade your PC
- Add a USB wifi dongle to your PC that supports higher speeds.

I don't upload much, if anything at all, though so I can't think of any benefits I'd have from having an equal U/D ratio aside from just having the option of high upload speeds available if I ever did need it. I'd say ISPs just think most customers are this way but are there any benefits from it for people like me? If they just had the option available it'd be good though, I've a friend who runs a large YouTube channel that actually moved just to get the highest upload speeds possible and they'd honestly pay hundreds per month if they needed to just to be able to upload as quick as possible lol.

As time goes on and cloud storage improves as well I think I'll be more interested in high upload speeds...and I guess I wouldn't mind being able to seed for once.

wait4me · 25-01-2015 12:11pm

Right so I upgraded my UPC broadband and received the new modem, Ubee EVW3226. What UPC didn't tell me was the second I signed for the new modem and the courier left so too did the service to my old modem. Panic averted when I hooked up the new modem and all looked good - full set of sparkingly lights on the front of the modem etc. Except... My old set-up was that I plugged a Dell Powerconnect 2224 into the (old) modem and ran all the ethernet links out of this switch to computers around the house, NAS etc. For some reason the new modem doesn't not recognize or see the switch; and I need more than 4 ethernet sockets. So am I snookered? Any advice welcome.

PS According to UPC, computers running OS older than Windows 7 will not get the new speed; that was clear in my house last night using two compters with sdifferent OS's.

bk · 25-01-2015 1:00pm

wait4me, strange the Dell Powerconnect 2224 should certainly work with this modem, no problem. Try powering off the switch and back on again.

Perhaps you are on DS-Lite/IPv6 and this switch doesn't support it.... Maybe

If that is the case, then you can request UPC to switch you back to IPv4, which should hopefully get everything back working again.

Note, that reading the specs, this switch is only a 10/100 model. That means anything attached to it will only get a max of 100Mb/s. You won't be able to take advantage of 240Mb/s over this switch. You might want to think about upgrading this switch.

BTW as to the Windows 7 thing, that is bull. The speed you get has nothing to do with the operating system you are running. However it is true that older PCs may have ethernet ports that only support 10/100 (like your swtich) or older versions of wifi, which would limit speed to max 100Mb/s. I'd say they are just saying the Windows 7 thing as an easy way to say you'll only get the best speeds on a modern PC that supports 10/100/1000

wait4me · 25-01-2015 1:51pm

Thanks - I'll give that a try when I get home.

As we are on the topic - any suggestion as to what switch would be suitable?

bk · 25-01-2015 1:56pm

wait4me wrote: »

Thanks - I'll give that a try when I get home.

As we are on the topic - any suggestion as to what switch would be suitable?

How many ports do you need, 24 seems an awful lot for a home user in one device! *

Lots of options here on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=gigabit+switch

Scroll down to see a few with 16 and 24 ports.

* Now that I think of it, I've actually got 24 ports myself! But those are spread over 3, 8 port switches and is more to do with my home network setup.

wait4me · 25-01-2015 2:13pm

bk wrote: »

wait4me, strange the Dell Powerconnect 2224 ............Try powering off the switch and back on again.

doh

. Yep a simple switch off and on worked. feck I could have saved me head on the rafters in the attic. Thanks for your help and guidance - now to tackle the machines that are at a slow speed

bk · 25-01-2015 2:49pm

wait4me wrote: »

doh . Yep a simple switch off and on worked. feck I could have saved me head on the rafters in the attic. Thanks for your help and guidance - now to tackle the machines that are at a slow speed

Oh, BTW I should have mentioned, before you go buying a new switch, you should first check the ethernet ports on the PC's too.

If those PC's are all 10/100, then no point in buying a new switch unless you upgrade these PC's too (either new PC or new ethernet card is possible).

dublinercheese · 25-01-2015 3:07pm

I also have the UPC 240Mbps service and I get full speed over WiFi with my router in access point mode. You definitely want an AC device (make sure all your clients have AC adapters as well. I highly recommend the ASUS devices. Very good hardware and software.

They can also run DD-WRT if that's your flavor which has a lot more tweakable options. Make sure that when you're buying a device, it has gigabit lan ports so you get full speeds to your new access point/router.

I bought the ASUS RT-AC66U a couple years ago and it's been solid. The RT-AC68U is the newer version of this. More models:
asus.com/ie/Networking/Wireless_Routers_Products/

wait4me · 25-01-2015 3:37pm

bk wrote: »

Oh, BTW I should have mentioned, before you go buying a new switch, you should first check the ethernet ports on the PC's too.

If those PC's are all 10/100, then no point in buying a new switch unless you upgrade these PC's too (either new PC or new ethernet card is possible).

Thanks - that's the next issue I will have to deal with!

droidman123 · 28-01-2015 12:40pm

I went on this deal last week, I am still only getting 50mb download speed.when I rang them the guy said I would only expect to get 200mb+ when wired up with an Ethernet cable,otherwise 50 mb on wifi is normal.is that correct? the deal I am on is the 240 mb download

dublinercheese · 28-01-2015 12:45pm

droidman123 wrote: »

I went on this deal last week, I am still only getting 50mb download speed.when I rang them the guy said I would only expect to get 200mb+ when wired up with an Ethernet cable,otherwise 50 mb on wifi is normal.is that correct? the deal I am on is the 240 mb download

Your wifi speed depends on your device (both router/ap and clients (the radio in your computers).

I get ~236 down and ~23 up consistently with my 802.11ac equipment. If your computer is connected via ethernet to your device and you're still getting 50mb, then something is wrong. Either the ports are not gigabit, the cable is bad, NIC card is bad or the connection itself is bad. You might also verify that UPC indeed upgraded your service.

We can give you more ideas if you tell us exactly what devices you're using.

Benzino · 28-01-2015 2:24pm

I was thinking in investing in a new router to better wifi speeds (mostly for my chromecast), so just wanna say thanks for such a great post, this will help me out immensely!

droidman123 · 28-01-2015 3:16pm

dublinercheese wrote: »

Your wifi speed depends on your device (both router/ap and clients (the radio in your computers).

I get ~236 down and ~23 up consistently with my 802.11ac equipment. If your computer is connected via ethernet to your device and you're still getting 50mb, then something is wrong. Either the ports are not gigabit, the cable is bad, NIC card is bad or the connection itself is bad. You might also verify that UPC indeed upgraded your service.

We can give you more ideas if you tell us exactly what devices you're using.

My router isED3 TC7200 EMTA, i,m clueless about these router setups.i dont want to connect a cable to it because for me that defeats the purpose of "wireless" connectivity,so on wifi i,m getting 45-50mb download speed and 20-24mb upload speed.i know connecting to an ethernet port would give me faster speed, but even so,50 mb seems a bit low in relation to the 240mb advertised speeds.i was thinking of getting one of the routers on amazon that bk mentioned,butni have my phone connected to my current router and i dont wanna mess things up.

MarkY91 · 28-01-2015 5:05pm

i get about 70mb wired but can rarely go wired. i get 30-35 wireless in my room. is this the most i can expect from a 10/00 laptop? using the ubee router they now give out.

what wifi speed improvement could i expect with a 10/100/1000 laptop?

ThisRegard · 28-01-2015 5:25pm

It's your wireless card that determines that, you're mentioning your ethernet card details.

bk · 28-01-2015 5:40pm

ThisRrgard is correct, 10/100 is your wired Ethernet interface. Your wireless interface would be different.

However your laptop being only 10/100 would indicate it is an older model and thus your wifi specification is probably also older and thus I wouldn't expect much faster from it either.

MarkY91 · 28-01-2015 5:40pm

ThisRegard wrote: »

It's your wireless card that determines that, you're mentioning your ethernet card details.

oh yeah thats right. my wireless card is Qualcomm Atheros AR9285. seems to be a crap oul piece of hardware according to google

ruarua · 28-01-2015 7:54pm

Hello, a quick question if possible,

I posted a little while ago over in "Bargain Alerts, UPC 240mb broadband and telephone package €45/month" but think it might be better in this forum. Apologies for the double post.

I was looking to move to the 45 euro phone and broadband package. But was told that upc phone was not available in my neck of the woods. Nor the 240mb/s. That 30 was in fact the the fastest. I'm in the seskin view area (D 24).

Could anyone let me know if this is indeed the case. Or am I being bamboozled? (Pm or otherwise)

Thanks a lot.

degsie · 28-01-2015 8:47pm

ruarua wrote: »

Hello, a quick question if possible,

I posted a little while ago over in "Bargain Alerts, UPC 240mb broadband and telephone package €45/month" but think it might be better in this forum. Apologies for the double post.

I was looking to move to the 45 euro phone and broadband package. But was told that upc phone was not available in my neck of the woods. Nor the 240mb/s. That 30 was in fact the the fastest. I'm in the seskin view area (D 24).

Could anyone let me know if this is indeed the case. Or am I being bamboozled? (Pm or otherwise)

Thanks a lot.

Check with the UPC reps on the 'talk to...' forum. They can check if you are being served by legacy equipment.

ruarua · 28-01-2015 9:34pm

thanks degsie,

It was a upc rep (on the phone) that told me of the 30 mb limit and upc phone not available where I live.

The reason I posed the question here was that it just didn't seem feasible that it would be so. I was hoping that someone who lived in the local area would be able to tell me that they had more than 30 and/or a upc phone line.

I suppose I just really wanted to avail of the high speed deal. Clutching at straws and all that.

bk · 29-01-2015 11:38am

ruarua it is possible. There are a small number of areas where UPC haven't upgraded the cable yet and therefore are stuck on speeds of a max 30Mb/s

Still worth dropping a PM to the UPC reps here on boards. The reps here on boards are better informed then the phone staff and they might be able to find out when you area is due to be upgraded.

derra · 29-01-2015 6:35pm

I upgraded my existing service with UPC and opted for the 120 Mb/s to get rid of Eircom NGB.

All hooked up and it's working but not the speed i was expecting even with a 10/100 network card in a old Dimension 5150.
I also tried a HP laptop and a Dell laptop, both with 10/100 network adapters.

All tested on my existing Cat5e cables through the house and also tried both them laptops beside the router using the supplied Ethernet cable.

Wireless was turned off during the tests.

Just done this speed test..
Download Speed: 38193 kbps (4774.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 12241 kbps (1530.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 6 ms
Jitter: 1 ms
29/01/2015 17:19:49

I rang them up and he remoted into the router but still getting similar results before and after he done that. I asked to make sure i'm on the correct profile as in this thread and he said i was.

I told him i'll get another device or two and see if speed changes and if not he said he would send out a technician to try sort it out.

Can anyone think of something/setting i could check before ringing them back later?

eamondunphy · 29-01-2015 11:54pm

dublinercheese wrote: »

I also have the UPC 240Mbps service and I get full speed over WiFi with my router in access point mode. You definitely want an AC device (make sure all your clients have AC adapters as well. I highly recommend the ASUS devices. Very good hardware and software.

They can also run DD-WRT if that's your flavor which has a lot more tweakable options. Make sure that when you're buying a device, it has gigabit lan ports so you get full speeds to your new access point/router.

I bought the ASUS RT-AC66U a couple years ago and it's been solid. The RT-AC68U is the newer version of this. More models:
asus.com/ie/Networking/Wireless_Routers_Products/

Are you getting full speed WiFi with the asus ac66u?

Im looking to pick up an ac router next week and don't know if I'm overspending getting the ac68u, it gets great reviews but am afraid if spending so much and then still being stuck with WiFi speeds around the 40mb range.... Only signed up to 240mb today

I have a buffalo airstation that I'd like to use in my parents house as an access point, any tips on how to set it up please?

dub45 · 31-01-2015 2:45am

MarkY91 wrote: »

i get about 70mb wired but can rarely go wired. i get 30-35 wireless in my room. is this the most i can expect from a 10/00 laptop? using the ubee router they now give out.

what wifi speed improvement could i expect with a 10/100/1000 laptop?

Have you thought about trying a usb wifi dongle? Maybe even try and borrow one and that might give you some idea of what is possible with more up date wifi equipment.

Also some older laptops will have pcmcia slots which might allow upgrading your ethernet performance.

MarkY91 · 31-01-2015 8:57am

dub45 wrote: »

Have you thought about trying a usb wifi dongle? Maybe even try and borrow one and that might give you some idea of what is possible with more up date wifi equipment.

Also some older laptops will have pcmcia slots which might allow upgrading your ethernet performance.

I've thought about it. I might buy one

I've a wireless G device on my wifi and that's supposed to slow a network down. I disable the device and see no increase though

aaronm13 · 31-01-2015 4:13pm

Fantastic guide. I've recently upgraded to the 240 package. Upc messed up something in the switch over and they replaced the Thomson router with the Technicolor piece of crap. Overall performance has really suffered so would using one of the TP Link routers linked really improve performance. Is there much of a difference performance wise between the C7,C8 and C9 other than a good few euro.

bk · 01-02-2015 1:30pm

aaronm13 wrote: »

Overall performance has really suffered so would using one of the TP Link routers linked really improve performance.

Yes, I went from getting about 50 to 60Mb/s from my Technicolor to getting 200Mb/s with the C7 in the same room.

Of course that also depends on the capabilities of your laptop, smartphone, etc. to get the most out of it.

aaronm13 wrote: »

Is there much of a difference performance wise between the C7,C8 and C9 other than a good few euro.

The reviews indicate there is almost no difference at all between the 3. They all perform almost exactly the same!

If you do get the C7 make sure it is the C7v2 that arrives, the v1 is a bit buggy, the v2 is rock solid. That is really the only advantage of the C8, you know which one you will be getting straight off.

aaronm13 · 01-02-2015 3:38pm

bk wrote: »

Yes, I went from getting about 50 to 60Mb/s from my Technicolor to getting 200Mb/s with the C7 in the same room.

Of course that also depends on the capabilities of your laptop, smartphone, etc. to get the most out of it.

The reviews indicate there is almost no difference at all between the 3. They all perform almost exactly the same!

If you do get the C7 make sure it is the C7v2 that arrives, the v1 is a bit buggy, the v2 is rock solid. That is really the only advantage of the C8, you know which one you will be getting straight off.

The performance issues are weird. I get the full 240mb when running a speed test but my actual download speeds have gone to crap. My wife's ipad constantly loses its connection even though it shows full signal. A premium sports service that I use ran perfectly before in full HD but now SD buffers like crazy. Has to be the crap technicolor as all these issues happened as soon as I got it. Would the new router sort out these problems out as it would minimize the processes the technicolor has to do.

bk · 01-02-2015 4:09pm

aaronm13 wrote: »

The performance issues are weird. I get the full 240mb when running a speed test but my actual download speeds have gone to crap. My wife's ipad constantly loses its connection even though it shows full signal. A premium sports service that I use ran perfectly before in full HD but now SD buffers like crazy. Has to be the crap technicolor as all these issues happened as soon as I got it. Would the new router sort out these problems out as it would minimize the processes the technicolor has to do.

While I can't guarantee it, I certainly believe it would reduce issues, specially if you put the technicolor in bridge mode (link in the guide above), so that your own router is instead handling all the DHCP, routing, etc. details.

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

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