Fibre REALLY slow in the evenings

[davidg77]

I'm posting this because I'm required to do so prior to contacting support on social media as per instructions from a moderator elsewhere on this forum.

I am on an unlimited fibre + phone package @£30 per month. I am based in Tenby, Pembrokeshire. For the last four days I've had extremely slow download speeds in the evenings, from around 6pm till midnight. I have a guaranteed minimum rate of 51.5mbps; currently in the evenings I am lucky to get 3-4mbps.

This has been tested each evening at various times using the Ookla speedtest site on a MacBook Pro connected directly to the router via ethernet cable. Each day the initial reading shows 15mbps, rapidly slowing to 3-4mpbs. Subsequent readings just show the slower speed.

I am also connected to the router via WPS / Android app, and have run the 'Broadband Service Test' that reports no issues. Clicking on 'Further Support' generates an error.

I have logged into the router management page on my Macbook and completed a factory reset and restart - this made no difference.

It is clear that there is either congestion on the line or Vodafone are throttling the speed at their end. Please could Vodafone recitify this ASAP.

[Swine]

I've got one account out without an early termination fee. Will be working on the other account tomorrow.

Will update with more info once I've got progress tomorrow or the next day. 

Absolutely horrific experience talking to the staff!! It's a business set up like a dodgy insurance company. Pass you here and pass you there but never answer the issue. Always some other departments fault. But you can eventually get through to English staff who can assist.

We will get there in the end lads 🙂

Have all calls recorded too so might stick them on YouTube. Depends how tomorrow goes on the second account. 

[davidg77]

A few updates from me:

Daytime rates were fine, and as usual I've dipped to around 3mbps this evening.

I've been getting sporadic responses on Twitter. As yet they can't see anything wrong on their side. I'm not that surprised, Vodafone staff seem to have only limited tools available; I expect they'll ultimately need to pass it to Openreach to come check the box in the street. Not sure how long I would be waiting for that to happen.

They also tell me they can only look at a single user account, not data for a larger region (I referred them to similar problems encountered by my Welsh comrades), which seems a bit nutty when we're talking about networks, but there you go.

It's been about 5 days now, so I've had enough and will be switching to BT tomorrow. Will push to avoid cancellation fees because the speed has been below the guaranteed rate for a significant amount of time now. I don't hold out much hope, but worth a shot.

Vodafone is fine when it works. Their main problems seem to be a lack of staff and/or a high volume of technical issues and a lack of tools available to the staff they have. They could do themselves a huge favour by simply communicating with their customers about these issues.

At the moment it's more like 'together we can't' 😕

[ryan_anthony]

Let the slow down begin here in Cardigan, now 20:45 and my speed is dropping, 73mb all day and now at 32 and yet we are promised 50mb? lol....  

[ryan_anthony]

I spoke too soon.... now at 22mb, this will continue to drop to around 2mb by 10pm, yet they tell me its probably my equipment and yet everything works fine at 73mb during the day and tested on 2 modems and spare cables. Everything was fine until last Thursday, VodaJoke. Send an engineer to the cabinet, too many people are on the same card...!  

[Jayach]

---

@ryan_anthony wrote:

Everything was fine until last Thursday, VodaJoke. Send an engineer to the cabinet, too many people are on the same card...!  

---

I don't think the problem is in the cabinet. If it was that would make it an Openreach problem.

I think it is deeper in Vodafone's network, although the effect is the same. There are just too many people in too many places for it to be in any one individual cabinet. 

[ryan_anthony]

The reason I think its the cabinet is because my mate (BT) was the one that sorted it out last time, exact same problem, he told me the problem was in the cabinet, but who knows.... I give up...

[Swine]

The account I got out of contract with exactly the same issues as you was in Llanllwni mate, so don't think it's the cab. Definitely a core part of their network. 😁

[ryan_anthony]

My contract ends in December so I will have to pick another but competent provider, having been with vodafone for many years it is sad to see the company has gone down the pan, reminds me a little of Tiscali after they were taken over by TalkTalk, first few years was fine then boom all down hill. I think the best bet will be to go with BT although they are more expensive, at least they will send engineers to fix a problem

[Pauljbl]

Hi

I am too in ceredigion and having same issue fine in the daytime then about 3mbps from about 7pm till midnight.

Been speaking to 2nd line and sent them some speedtests screenshots now.  Live chat seems to think there is no problem with Vodafone but must be seeing all theses reports now.

Would like to know if anyone found out when this will be fixed

[Jayach]

---

@ryan_anthony wrote:

The reason I think its the cabinet is because my mate (BT) was the one that sorted it out last time, exact same problem, he told me the problem was in the cabinet, but who knows.... I give up...

---

I understand your reason for thinking that, and you may be right in your case. But with so many people having the same problem it can't be that everyone's cabinets have become congested at the same time.

Exactly the same symptoms can sometimes have different causes.