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Engineer Still Unable To Fix Despite New Hardware..

Xabi17

Regular Member
2 Feb 24 Update:

Engineer came who to be frank didn't impress me, spent most of the time talking about how good he was at his job, said the power on the optical line was 24.7 and so within the range of being fine, finally noticed the uneven up/down speeds after trying to tell me in the first 5 minutes it was the issue of my Asus router and not their equipment, and decided to replace the modem and the router apparently. Got parallel speeds and so he left. Sadly the rest of the afternoon while using their Linksys was worse and worse - websites just not loading. Speedtests showing 4Mbps then 0.5Mbps. Tried rebooting modem and router, which took a few minutes to reconnect, still negligible difference.

Spent another frustrating 30 minutes on the phone having to convince them that getting 0.5Mbps upload speed while 1 foot from the router was not to do with the Wifi connection...and someone else is coming on Tuesday to potentially see if there's anything wrong with the connections outside. Just the same crap from the customer support who are just going through scripts and not actually listening to me.

Does anyone have any suggestions...please...I'm at my wits end. At this rate I'm tempted to just cancel them and see if Hyperoptic at £77 a month instead of £25 a month will make me less frustrated (provided they can use the same hole in my front wall!).
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Hi all, new poster here. I am a bit more amateur than most people having read your threads so apologies for any incorrect language..

I had Community Fibre installed in December and it started off reasonably well, other than the installation needing to be in the middle floor rather than on the ground floor of the terrace house as I had hoped (due to their detector suggesting pipes might be in the way of the only realistic location it could go). Subsequently I've encountered a few issues so far, and would be interested to hear if others had similar issues or whether I'm just unlucky.
  • Drop-out of Microsoft Teams video and intermittent delay in sending/receiving messages
  • Intermittent delays in accessing normal webpages, loading images (e.g. Instagram) - can be a few seconds at a time if not more
  • Regular drop-outs of video streaming like YouTube and similar
  • WiFi speed tests demonstrating appalling results at times (single figure Mbps, 1000ms ping, 400ms jitter) even when I was sat directly next to the router, so doesn't appear to be a WiFi coverage issue. Even when connected via Ethernet, I was only getting about 90Mbps from a 1Gbps service.
  • The packet loss, latency and jitter are all well, well below par and materially below what they used to be on a standard FTTC service that I used to have
I have updated the channels on the router using the Linksys channel assessment tool, which hasn't made much of a difference. It is a small house (other than having three floors) and I never had any WiFi issues with my old ASUS AC2900 on Zen Internet, which was only FTTC and located downstairs (it reached the top floor perfectly fine). So I don't think it is all a WiFi coverage issue, but will try to change router (see below).

Sometimes a reboot of the router will fix the issue temporarily but it always comes back within the same day. This evening I rebooted and am still struggling with less than 10% of what is required and single figure speeds on WiFi with nearly full WiFi strength. I've disabled IPv6 tonight so will see how things go over the new few days but in the meantime, I wanted to try going back to my old router to see if it would fix anything and received the following error:

"Your ISP's DHCP does not function correctly"

Has anyone experienced this before and knows how to fix it please?

(Naturally customer support are being dreadful, taking a week to respond to emails, was on hold for 30 mins yesterday and gave up, but will likely try again tomorrow).

EDIT: Oh, and I've read a few times online Linksys routers aren't the best. I'm willing to invest a couple of hundred quid in a proper router with 1 or 2 (I should only need 1 to be honest) mesh nodes, which unfortunately I think will have to be wireless backhaul rather than wired at this stage (unless powerlines would work, which I have read/assume aren't much better than wireless). Please can I ask if anyone has any recommendations of other brands I should be able to plug into the provided modem and will do a better job for this sort of price (can stretch if needed)? Or are Linksys fine?
 
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I’ve not had any issues with video calls (Meet/Teams/Zoom) or latency so there could be an issue with the WiFi signal strength, especially if devices are falling back to 2.4Ghz and excessive interference. Did your old Asus router have split 2.4Ghz / 5Ghz SSID’s?

Best performance and testing should be conducted over a wired network so if possible use a long ethernet cable for a day or so and see if there are any improvements.

A good approach to rule out router issues is by trying your old Asus router which should work in IPv4 DHCP mode. It supports MAC cloning so try using the Linksys WAN MAC address to overcome the DHCP issue. However check the firmware for updates and upgrade.

If you don’t get anywhere with the above try connecting a computer/laptop to the ONT directly and see if you get internet access.

The Asus router doesn’t have Wifi-6 so you wont get optimum throughput however it will let you determine whether the issues are due to the Linksys router.

Hope this helps and let us know how you get on. If you get the same issues with wired ethernet then need CF support to fix.

P.S. CF support won’t help with 3rd party routers but should at least clear the MAC addresses if you can’t get DHCP working.
 
I would suggest exactly what you tried so far. Disable IPv6 and if the problem persists try with your Asus router. There is some lack of clarify about whether you need to clone the CF provided router MAC address to connect it to the Adtran ONT. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. To be on the safe side I would say you should do it. First find out the Mac Address of the Lynksys router WAN port. If the Linksys Console doesn't show it you can connect the Lynksys router WAN port to any Asus LAN port. Then login to the Asus console and check the MAC address in the DHCP section of the routers console. Then dump the Linksys and configure the MAC address on the Internet Connection => Special Requirements from ISP => MAC Address. WAN Connection Type should be Automatic IP. Finally connect the Asus WAN port to the Adtran ONT (give the Adtran a reboot) and it should work.
 
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Thank you so much both @stackdell and @GreenLantern22! Mimicing the MAC Address of the original router in the ASUS has worked to allow me to use the ASUS as a router. I just did that a couple of hours ago, so will see how it goes over the weekend and the next few days.

Some other Qs: Stackdell: "I’ve not had any issues with video calls (Meet/Teams/Zoom) or latency so there could be an issue with the WiFi signal strength, especially if devices are falling back to 2.4Ghz and excessive interference. Did your old Asus router have split 2.4Ghz / 5Ghz SSID’s?" That's a good point, as the Linksys defaulted to having both combined. I would have thought I was close enough for the 5Ghz to reach originally but you may well be correct. I have split the 5G out for ASUS (leaving non-speed critical devices like smart home things) on the 2.4Ghz channel. Am back to being split now so will see how it goes.

"Best performance and testing should be conducted over a wired network so if possible use a long ethernet cable for a day or so and see if there are any improvements." Thanks, if I'm still frustrated after a few days I'll try this with my work laptop next week and see how it goes.

In the meantime, now I know I can use a third party router (and already have an ASUS, which apparently can connect with other ASUS devices using AIMesh) do you think this is overkill to use as either the host router or a node to attach to the existing ASUS router? Seems to have consistently good reviews...maybe could then get a second device in due course to ensure both are using WiFi6...

 
The ASUS is a decent router. My preference though is to split the WiFi and router capabilities to get the most performance and avoid bottlenecks. Asus AI mesh is ok but there are better WiFi mesh systems out there. At least now you are in full control of your router so you should be able to confirm where were the performance problems coming from. I presume you have a CGNAT plan right?
 
Glad you have had success with connecting your own Asus router.

I would hold off spending any money until you have confirmed the CF service is delivering approx 940Mbps upload/download over a wired connection and stable for your video calls.

Once satisfied all is working well, then as recommended by @GreenLantern22 split out Routing and Mesh Wi-Fi across different hardware. I've adopted this approach for a while and allows ISP changes without impacting my LAN/Wi-Fi configuration.
 
Thanks both. @GreenLantern22 I've read up on what CGNAT is but not sure what you mean by what my plan is unfortunately! I'll wire to my work laptop next week and see how things go. At least for tonight, I've been able to stream 4K OK, but a bigger test will be when I try to stream from my Plex server at my parent's house in remux - as of yet I've only got it to work when I wired from the Shield to ASUS as an access point which was wired to the router - going through the house - not a long term solution!

With regards to splitting router and WiFi, I assume this would be keeping the ASUS as the router, turning off wifi, wiring it to a mesh parent that then connects to a second mesh node?

As mentioned in my original post sadly I am not sure I know what I'm doing enough/think it's too much of a job to lay a cable through all the walls to get to where I'd want wired access points, so would be relying on wireless backhaul. Is there a consensus on best hardware for this please?
 
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That's indeed better but a couple of problems. If you are in London 8ms is way too high as a ping time, see below for mine tends to be 0-2ms. And your upload should be around the same as upload, ~940mb which is the max possible once you consider the ethernet and TCP/IP overhead.

https://www.speedtest.net/result/d/617835095.png

Certainly looking better today anyway. This is wired, wireless getting 600/700 Mbps over the 5Ghz channel. Decent.
600down/700up over wifi is extremely good, assuming it's wifi 6. You are unlikely to be able to improve much on that unless you get a wifi 7 setup. And in any case most of your wifi devices won't be able to use that much speed so it's best to focus on stability and latency after achieving few hundred megabits in speed.
I really need to think about how to get a wired backhaul going...
Yes the key for stable and rock solid wifi mesh is to move to wired backhaul. You will reduce in half the amount of traffic that will go via wireless making what's left using wifi much more reliable.
 
That's indeed better but a couple of problems. If you are in London 8ms is way too high as a ping time, see below for mine tends to be 0-2ms. And your upload should be around the same as upload, ~940mb which is the max possible once you consider the ethernet and TCP/IP overhead.

https://www.speedtest.net/result/d/617835095.png


600down/700up over wifi is extremely good, assuming it's wifi 6. You are unlikely to be able to improve much on that unless you get a wifi 7 setup. And in any case most of your wifi devices won't be able to use that much speed so it's best to focus on stability and latency after achieving few hundred megabits in speed.

Yes the key for stable and rock solid wifi mesh is to move to wired backhaul. You will reduce in half the amount of traffic that will go via wireless making what's left using wifi much more reliable.
Thanks. I can give them a call and see if they think there's anything wrong their end and refer to your benchmarks above, but it's definitely better than before.

The WiFi was good but it was right next to the router, it has dropped to 400 in the kitchen and then annoyingly about 60-70 in the most important place (where the Shield is) because it's through a bloody fridge freezer! Ha! Which makes me think the wireless mesh could be really helpful, it's about 400Mbps (using my phone to test) where I would expect to put the node. It then has a direct line of sight to the Shield (effectively doing a < shape around the fridge):

________Router
Mesh<Fridge
________Shield

Is it a stupid question to ask how difficult it is to feed ethernet through walls? I can see how to get into the wall but not sure how I'd then get the wire to go where I want it to go (half way across the house). Tie it to something rigid and poke it through? Ha!
 
Sorry I haven't read the whole top post yet or any replies - but I just wanted to say quickly that I had the exact same issue with an Asus router.

This is what fixed it - I used the Asus router's clone MAC address function and changed it to the MAC address of the CF-provided Linksys router, and it instantly worked. A few days later I actually called CF and told them about the issue and they reset the MAC table (or something like that) and then I was able to connect with my router's original MAC. So either solution works.
 
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The WiFi was good but it was right next to the router, it has dropped to 400 in the kitchen and then annoyingly about 60-70 in the most important place (where the Shield is) because it's through a bloody fridge freezer! Ha! Which makes me think the wireless mesh could be really helpful, it's about 400Mbps (using my phone to test) where I would expect to put the node.
No matter how good or powerful your wireless access points are there is no way around the physics or how RF works. You shouldn't really try to fight against the physics as you will never win. As Sun Tzu said: "Only fight the wars you can win".
Is it a stupid question to ask how difficult it is to feed ethernet through walls? I can see how to get into the wall but not sure how I'd then get the wire to go where I want it to go (half way across the house). Tie it to something rigid and poke it through? Ha!
I can't recommend this option strongly enough. Wired internet backhaul as it is called is the holy grail for wifi mesh systems. Many people aren't willing to get their hands dirty and invest in half baked solutions which cost hundreds of pounds and don't solve the problem. My investment on Ubiquiti Unifi 8 years ago (which a wired internet backhaul wifi mesh system) is probably among the top 3 best technology upgrades I have done in my life. It is literally night and day. Not having the wife or daughter complaining about wifi anymore such a relief. So my advice is to do it 110%. It's relatevely easy to do, it's safe since there is electricity involved and if you DIY it's also relatevely cheap, depending on how much decoration you need to do. Do plan ahead and make sure you use the most optimal path for your cables. Sometimes a longer route (ie via outside the house) might be easier than the direct route inside. Make sure you also target all possible devices, like your Shield or smart TV, so you can remove unnecesary wireless traffic freeing more bandwidth for true mobile devices, ie those that can't be wired like smart phones and tables. Also consider this solution too which may allow you to relocate your ONT and hence your router and allow you to distribute your internal network better.
 
No matter how good or powerful your wireless access points are there is no way around the physics or how RF works. You shouldn't really try to fight against the physics as you will never win. As Sun Tzu said: "Only fight the wars you can win".
Hah, surely being able to circumvent the direct route through the fridge/freezer would improve things though? By putting the mesh node in a place where you don't have to ping WiFi through the fridge freezer. It's currently the blue, but if I put the mesh the wifi could take the red route?

Router.webp
 
Also consider this solution too which may allow you to relocate your ONT and hence your router and allow you to distribute your internal network better.
Thanks, that is interesting. Will have a think. We're not likely to stay in this house much longer than 3-4 more years so unsure whether it's going to be worth the effort of digging through the walls at this stage...
 
Thanks, that is interesting. Will have a think. We're not likely to stay in this house much longer than 3-4 more years so unsure whether it's going to be worth the effort of digging through the walls at this stage...
Through the walls is not the option. I chased network cables in many different ways in my house. Some I ran through the air cupboard cavity. Some under the floor. Some behind the skirting. I ran cables up the loft. I found some old attempt to add some network cables but it was done by some ignorant in a point to point way (like telephone distribution) rather than star so I used some of those cables to reach some places by joining them. I also ran them behind plasterboard by identifying the studs with a stud finder and only cutting a small whole/channel for the cable to get though the stud which then it's was very easy to fill and paint. I would say that by far the skirting ones were the easiest to do. If the boards are recent and come off easily (mine were all new due to a prior renovation done by previous owners so they were glued rather than nailed and came off easily. There was plenty of space to run even 5-6 Cat 6 cables between the floor boards and the plastering which never tends to reach the floor baords anyway. And where there wasn't it's easy to chase a channel for the cables on the plastering as the skirting board will cover them so not much to worry about in terms of how it looks. If you are willing to allow the cable to be visible you could get away with running it on top of the skirting board / architrave as well. This flat ethernet cable is less conspicuous and in some cases you might be able to hide below the skirting board.

Finally you could also consider using fibre for some of the runs by connecting two fibre switches. While splicing fibre is no easy feat and needs specialised equipment you can buy ready made fibre patch cords of any length for very reasonable cost these days (see sample here) which at 2mm makes it hiding a much easier task. And while fibre seems daunting it really isn't and provided you get familiar with the different connectors and types of cables you can DYI easily. And with SFP+ (10gbe) switches starting at £59.99 and SFP (1Gbe) at £33.99 this doesn't need to break the bank. Switches will also be very easy to remove and take with you if you move unlike cabling which might be harder once hidden.
 
Thanks...that's a bit to think about. To be honest I am erring towards a wireless hauled mesh in the first instance. I can always send it back to Amazon if I'm not impressed, they are very good with returns.

In the meantime please can I ask what you think about this test from thinkbroadband? It doesn't look ideal to me...and possibly shows some of the dropouts/packet loss and inconsistent speeds that I've anecdotally been experiencing...
 

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In the meantime please can I ask what you think about this test from thinkbroadband? It doesn't look ideal to me...and possibly shows some of the dropouts/packet loss and inconsistent speeds that I've anecdotally been experiencing...
It's far from ideal, it's bad. You should have no red areas really unless there was something down at the CF side. Below in mine, you can see no drop packets. This would indicate maybe a problem with your ONT or line so I think you email CF support and provide them with the TBB monitor. Also check the ASUS logs to see if it shows the internet WAN going down.

6329ab90b4ca0a0c73cfb4ee73153c4244082cc3.png
 
In the meantime please can I ask what you think about this test from thinkbroadband? It doesn't look ideal to me...and possibly shows some of the dropouts/packet loss and inconsistent speeds that I've anecdotally been experiencing...
Is this an IPv4 or IPv6 chart? I have no loss on IPv4, but IPv6 I do.

1705529675272.jpeg

1705529794805.webp
 
It's far from ideal, it's bad. You should have no red areas really unless there was something down at the CF side. Below in mine, you can see no drop packets. This would indicate maybe a problem with your ONT or line so I think you email CF support and provide them with the TBB monitor. Also check the ASUS logs to see if it shows the internet WAN going down.
Damn. Thanks. I'll try calling them as well as they're not replying to emails. Do you think it could be the optical line into the house might not have been crimped properly? I might ask for a replacement ONT like you say as well. It would be a right pain if they had to come out again to do something with the wall mount...

Asus router says uptime is 5 days so I'm not sure it thinks it's dropping fully? The closest I can see is Deauthenticated [or disassociated] because sending station is leaving (or has left) IBSS or ESS...sorry, not sure how to diagnose properly.
 
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