Sponsored Links

Three HomeFI Broadband

skidr0w

Member
Hi Folks, new to this forum but unable to contact three over e-mail so before i enter into a conversation with them I was wondering if anyone had experience of HomeFi broadband.

I get a good signal, mostly 40MB down and 45MB up and I have connected a few tablets, netflix via Smart TV, A few phones and a console.

Problem I have noticed is that if I use on demand on Sky ( Connected via WIFI) if i download an episode of a program on the Iplayer for example it takes say 25 mins before I can view it - until it is around 25% download complete.

previously on fixed line Now TV/Sky?Talk Talk with a speed of 10MB down this was more or less instant.

The problem is apparent every download from SKY box. At the same time I can do a speed test and still get 30+MB Down. And the kids are in bed, all devices off including laptops and smart devices. HomeFI router is only 10 feet away from Sky box.

Do Three shape the traffic and throttle it for the likes of SKY? How do sky provide traffic to a sky box? what ports do they use - is this different from Netflix for example.

Now I have not connected via ethernet. I know I should but not got round to it but this is not a solution and in my eyes this router should provide stable speeds and downloads and no throttling of traffic types/

Does anyone have any experience of this? And a solution that was put in place by Three?

I also noticed that when doing a speedtest at anytime on my phone the speed seems to slowly creep up. Is 1/2/3/4/5/6 all the way in increments till about 40.(Starts slowly) whereas fixed line broadband shot up to the max speed straight away,

My fixed line was disconnecting all the time and a three mast is about 100yrds from my house so I am now locked into a 24 month contract but it is faster than fixed line but very shaky.

Any one any ideas?

Hope this makes sense.

martin
 
I'm not familiar enough with Sky's kit, but your first port of call should always be to test with a wired instead of WiFi link, if only to rule out a variety of potential problem areas. I do know that Three UK does have a system of traffic management called "Traffic Sense," although they're not really allowed to discriminate against specific internet traffic as that would breach the net neutrality rules (outside of general network balancing).

The trouble with mobile networks is also that they're CGNAT (IP address sharing) based and this can sometimes cause problems, although I couldn't say for sure whether that's the issue here. Likewise you don't say what Sky platform you're using (Sky+HD or Sky Q) as I know that the Sky Q's mesh WiFi setup can be very tetchy with WiFi from mobile broadband routers. In fact it's generally quite tedious.

For example, I think the Sky Q minis can only be networked by wifi to the main Q box - you can connect them by ethernet to a router or use powerline adapters - but they may not work properly with Three's router wifi. The main Q box can use the Three wifi.
 
Your main issue will be the B311 Router's WiFi capabilities - it is 2.4Ghz only and will not perform well.

Ideally as Mark said - test with an Ethernet Connection between the B311 and the SkyQ Silver box. That will determine if it is a WiFi issue or not.

For reference, if SkyQ mesh is used to connected Mini Boxes, this uses a seperate Wifi network from the SkyQ Silver box as the AP, the mini boxes dont connect to the Home Router WiFi, unless specifically setup that way. Having WiFi enabled on the SkyQ and also on the B311 Router, you have have channel conflicts as well.

Three don't treat Sky VoD traffic any differently to any other traffic, but also don't appear to peer directly with Sky just via LINX, so there will always be potential for bottlenecks (TalkTalk peer at 200G, Sky at 400G, and Three at 20G)

On the subject of slowly increasing speedtests - that is down to how Three implement Slow-Start or Cubic TCP controls to avoid congestion. As Three are upgrading a lot of core infrastructure, you should see that improve with time (hopefully)
 
Sponsored Links
Hi Guys,

Increasing speed tests - thanks Jim - that was strange and I will monitor in the future.

The sky box I have is just SKY+HD ( The model after the white one) with WIFI built in.

Yes - I should have checked ethernet connection and I will this week.

The problems I have had with all suppliers in the last few years - some say its down to a load of new houses they have built maybe a few hundred yards away - 50 or so houses and we are all on the same "BT" street box prior to exchange so speeds dropped from 30+MB to 12MB and then even at that an intermittent connection. Broadband Hubs would just disconnect and sometimes it would be an hour or so before they would reconnect.

Hence the move to three HomeFI.

Not impressed so far - Just want a stable connection for the kids. Not interested in speeds 30MB+ just a stable connection.

But for reference the speeds have been recently:

12.3 (d) 22.3(up)
12.1 (d) 25.9 (up)
2.41 (d) 12.6 (up)
2.18(d) 3.09(up)
0.74 (d) 16.1 (up)
24.7 (d) 35.1(up)
47.7 (d) 35.4(up)

All from my phone with contention in the house - not from router.

I also have a TP Link N300 router that I may try and daisy chain the HomeFi Router to if that is possible. 2.4Ghz - had no problems before when i used it with DD-WRT and a VPN. Will give it a reset and see how it goes. ( No VPN's or other hardware in place at present).

Or I may put the sim in my S9 and see what speeds I get compared to the HomeFI router, And then purchase a router that is SIM capable,

Thanks for your replies.
 
And a little update for anyone researching HomeFI broadband.

When using Netflix on a smart Hitachi TV when netflix app is launched error code XX-XX appears with "unable to connect to internet message. Retrying in 29..28.27..." and after a few seconds you try the app again and it kicks into life and works as planned.

Maybe a symptom of "Slow-Start or Cubic TCP controls " as stated above.
 
Is the TV connected via WiFi??

I found our older LG TV takes a long time to connect, gives no message about it NOT being connected - just throws an error; then connects on the next attempt.
Leave it switched on for about a minute before trying, and the connection works each time.
 
Top
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £24.00
132Mbps
Gift: None
Shell Energy UK ISP Logo
Shell Energy £26.99
109Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £27.99
145Mbps
Gift: None
Zen Internet UK ISP Logo
Zen Internet £28.00 - 35.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £15.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
YouFibre UK ISP Logo
YouFibre £19.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
BeFibre UK ISP Logo
BeFibre £21.00
150Mbps
Gift: £25 Love2Shop Card
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All

Helpful ISP Guides and Tips

Sponsored Links
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (5473)
  2. BT (3505)
  3. Politics (2525)
  4. Openreach (2291)
  5. Business (2251)
  6. Building Digital UK (2234)
  7. FTTC (2041)
  8. Mobile Broadband (1961)
  9. Statistics (1780)
  10. 4G (1654)
  11. Virgin Media (1608)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1451)
  13. Fibre Optic (1392)
  14. Wireless Internet (1386)
  15. FTTH (1381)
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules