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Broadband speed after 7pm - shocking

maccapacka75
3: Seeker
3: Seeker

For the past week or so, after 7pm, my home broadband drops to below 5mpbs (download) .I have raised this with online support twice and their scripted response is non-existent in terms of a resolution. It's that bad I have to end the 'chat' session before I lose my temper.

My home setup is fine, I average 45-50mbps (download) all day, every day; I also work from home, as does my wife, we're both on video calls while both kids are on Zoom and doing school work. No issues, no buffering perfect.

Clocks chime 7pm and it grinds to a stop.

Wifi and hard-wired  ethernet from the router same result; Okta speed test, Wifi man, all the same, and from multiple devices; iPad, windows laptop, Samsung phone.  All ping tests after 7pm, show latency. 

It is 100% a capacity, over-subscription problem, although the 'engineer' from VF tells me my 'line is clear'; Yes, it's clear but there is no bandwidth.

Sooner my contract runs out the better.

 

 

 

37 REPLIES 37

bittenbytailfly
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

I've had the exact same issue since February (annoyingly 14 days after I renewed my contract).

 

I work in IT, and so have done a bit of troubleshooting. The helpdesk guys will run you through the usual questions - close other tabs, change your DNS etc. - which will do absolutely nothing to increase speeds. For the purpose of my tests I disabled WiFi and went hardwired directly to the router - and yes, I tried multiple network cables (both between the wall and the router and router and device) and devices to run the speed test.

 

Throughout the day download speeds are pretty consistently in the high 60s, and uploads around 16-17 which is about what is promised, but like you, the moment 7pm arrives it drops significantly - often to less than 5Mbps. Sync speed remains at 70Mbps fulfilling the minimum service "guarantee". Normal service resumes around 11.30pm.

 

I managed to argue my way through several phone calls to get username and password info so I can use my own kit to rule out the router, but again experienced the exact same issue. The helpdesk guys offered me the 15% discount but this really doesn't solve my issue of not being able to use the service I'm paying for.

 

The conclusion is either oversubscription or throttling (Vodafone claim not to do this). I think like you I should have paid closer attention to this board before renewing my contract. I was of the impression that OpenReach providers were a bit like gas/electric providers, in that you're ultimately just paying for customer service. Now I've done a bit more research I've realised this is not the case, and many use their own infrastructure behind the scenes which will affect speeds.

 

Having unsuccessfully argued with service reps that minimum speeds are not being met, I am looking into paying to get out of this contract. With a year to go, this amounts to just over £100, which is coincidentally the amount of cashback Quidco are paying to switch to EE, or just over what they are offering for PlusNet.

 

Will the speeds be any better? Hard to say for certain (distance from the exchange can heavily impact speeds after all), but they can't be any worse!

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @maccapacka75 I completely understand your frustration here! It's not unusual to experience drops in speed in the early evening and at peak times as more people access the network. I'd recommend minimising the number of devices connected at these times and checking out this helpful video to optimise your Wi-fi performance

 

@Jack - I've experienced the same with no devices connected and on a wired connection. This is a congestion issue and making customers jump through hoops is a waste of everyone's time.

Thank you for responding but sorry, there is a fundamental flaw, a capacity issue each and every evening. Performance is perfect all day until around 7pm and then slow down commences.

I have more connected devices during the day than the evening.  VF need to speak to Openreach and perform a capacity management exercise. 

I will be paying to leave my contract early. 

@maccapacka75 Do you have the Vodafone Broadband App downloaded? This will give you your sync speed, if your sync speed is falling below your Minimum Guaranteed Speed, our Broadband Team can take a look at what's happening. 

Yes, and the app says consistently, day in, day out, it’s 58mbps. The ‘refresh’ option doesn’t work. It’s stays at 58mbps.  I am not getting 58mbps during the evening nowhere near.

Just look at all of the people on the forum complaining about the same problem, occurring at the same time.

It seems that we are all wasting our time on this forum. VF are doing nothing to rectify it would seem.

 

 

My understanding is sync speed is the speed to the first point of contact (i.e Vodafone servers) - so it's the maximum "theoretical" speed. In other words, it's a fairly pointless measurement to benchmark yourself against.

 

A bit like a call centre measuring the time it takes for a phone to start ringing, as opposed to the time it takes them to pick up.

Beth
Community Manager
Community Manager

@maccapacka75 Your sync speed is the connection speed between the green box out on the street and your router, this is the speed you were quoted and agreed to when you took out the services with us. You can find the Minimum Speed Guarantee (MSG) you were quoted at point of sale within your contract (usually in emails). If your sync speed is consistently lower than the MSG, please contact our social media team and they can investigate for you. 

We're unable to guarantee a Wi-Fi connection speed as there are many things that can affect that, for example, if the router is facing a mirror or fish tank, the materials the walls in your home are made of, the thickness of the walls, the amount of devices you're trying to connect to the router at the same time etc.

We understand that now more than ever internet speeds may not be as fast as expected. With lots of us staying in the house at one time more people will be connected to the router at one time but there are some things we can do to speed things up. 

  1. Disconnect any phones tablets or other Wi-Fi connected devices that don’t need to be on the network
  2. Watch our handy video below to see what settings you can optimize such as splitting SSID and enabling boost through our app
  3. Try a cable connection where possible
  4. Ensure you are connected to a master socket this will normally have an Open Reach logo, feel free to send us a picture if you are unsure

If you have tried the above steps then, please get back in touch if you still find you are getting lower than expected internet speeds through a wired connection.

We're unable to guarantee a Wi-Fi connection speed as there are many things that can affect that, for example, if the router is facing a mirror or fish tank, the materials the walls in your home are made of, the thickness of the walls, the amount of devices you're trying to connect to the router at the same time etc

 

Yes, .you cannot influence the variables in my home (and I don't own a fish tank!). So please explain this.....?!?!?!? (a question VF refuse to answer it would seem)

 

All day, everyday my connection is around 50mbps - I work from home, as does my wife and have two kids constantly streaming.....I then hit 7/8pm, and it's grinds to a halt, down to less than 10mpbs. .

I don't make any configuration changes after 7pm, I don't disconnect or replace routers or start moving household mirrors around.  The kids go to bed so less people in my house are connected. Wired or Wifi, same experience after 7/8pm. IT IS A CAPACITY ISSUE.