Broadband router HHG2500: specs? Why insanely slow transfer speed from PC to PC?

[cdl]

I have a desktop PC running Windows 7 and a laptop running Windows 10 connected to the same Vodafone Huaweii HHG2500 router. I shared some folders (right click -> proeprties -> sharing) on the desktop PC hard drive so I could access them from my laptop. They are, in fact, accessible, but transfer speed is insanely low: about 450 KB/sec, which is a fraction of the speed I can achieve downloading from most internet websites. Note that this connection is from PC to PC, ie the internet and external servers are not involved. Both PCs are connected to the 5GHz network (I set the 2.4Ghz network to broadcast a separate SSID), both are less than 2 metres from the router, in the same room, with no obstacles in between, no other devices are connected, and nothing else is using broadband. Why is the connection so insanely slow?

[cdl]

I connected both PCs to an old 300Mbps router I had lying around, and the transfer speeds were about 3.5 MB/sec (about 3 minutes to transfer that folder). I am inclined to think the problem is the Vodafone router: either there is something wrong in its settings (but what?) or it is quite simply incredibly, incredibly, incredibly poor!! At least this test shows it's not something wrong with the PCs that is slowing down the transfer

[Nabs]

@cdl 450KB/s... that's painful!  You'd be quicker copying you folder onto an external disk and reading it back in again!
On a clean 5GHz network i'd be expecting to get at least 10 times that speed!

I use an Asus RT66U with 5GHz wifi and I always get my full 55Mbps external speed with internal connections often reaching nearer 100Mbps.

Is the speed as slow if you were to hard wire the PC's? I'm wondering if it's the routeing itself or just the WiFi that's the issue.

[cdl]

Wiring them is not an option. Wiring the laptop is too inconvenient and would require me to buy an adaptor. Wiring the desktop PC is not an option, either, because, if I do, then wireless devices will no longer see the Plex media server running on the desktop PC. I guess this must have to do with wireless isolation in the horrible Vodafone router - an issue which has been discussed at length on the forum and for which there seems to be no solution. This terrible router is the gift that keeps on giving!!

I have wasted an hour on the phone with Vodafone technical support; the person who spoke to me was clearly incompetent and did not understand a single word I was saying. He asked which company I was using to transfer the files across PCs, and could not get his head around the fact that I was just using the wireless router, not something like dropbox. He asked me multiple times to perform a speed test and clearly did not understand me when I said that internet speed was not the issue, just transferring files across PC via wifi, something which does not require an internet connection. 

I told him I tested an old 802.11n router which was six times faster. The person had no clue what 802.11n vs ac meant, and did not understand that files could be transferred connecting two PCs to a router which is not connected to the internet.

I get that I am not Vodafone's average customer; I get that the first line of support does not need to know these details. What I do not get is that it took me an hour of me speaking technical terms the person clearly did not understand to convince him that I needed to speak to someone else. It's crazy and unacceptable!!! :robotmad:

[Nabs]

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry!
That's a ridiculous thing for a supposed technical support agent to say!

Vodafone do have a team monitoring the forum so I'm sure your experience will be added to the every growing list of horrendous experiences broadband customers are enduring and will get fed back up the chain.

[cdl]

Yep...

Oh, and I didn't even get into wireless isolation. I briefly mentioned that that's another problem, then asked the person:

"Do you even know what it means?"

"I'll look into it".

"This is a yes or no question. Do you know what wireless isolation means, yes or no?"

"No but I will look into it"

"Wouldn't it be a much better use of everyone's time if you let me speak now to someone who does know what that means? It's clear you cannot help me if you don't know what it means"

But it took me another 30 minutes to convince him that I need to speak to someone more knowledgeable. 

I am now awaiting the call of a 'manager', whatever that means. They must either give me the passwords required for me to use my own modem and router, or allow me to cancel without an early termination fee.

I am not debating Vodafone's restrictions per se: if preventing customers from using their own hardware is how they want to do business, it is their call and I will go elsewhere. My gripe is with the lack of transparency: this restriction is not mentioned anywhere on the website nor on the contract! Had I known about it, I would have never signed up for Vodafone broadband. I will be filing an Ofcom complaint and be seeking the help of Which? if they decide to play hardball. 

[Becca_P]

@cdl 

Sorry to hear about the experience you've had. 

Let us know if you've received your manager callback. 

If not, please speak to our Broadband Live Chat team so they can chase this up for you.