Speed issues- Gigafast Pro 900

[Adamnicholls]

Hi all,

I recently had a cityfibre install and subbed to the Gigafast 900 pro package.

like many others on here, I have not once reached anywhere near the advertised speed (sometimes not even the guaranteed speed) over either Ethernet or WiFi.

Contacted WiFi experts who sent me a new router, but still hasn’t solved the issue. Best speeds over WiFi are around 300mbps, Ethernet even less at around 150mbps (although I suspect there is an issue with internal networking with the Ethernet result.

my main question is: did anyone find that their speeds significantly improved after purchasing a third party router? Is the VF router really not up to the job? And what routers would you personally recommend?

thanks!

[Ripshod]

There is definitely a rise recently in cases of slow broadband being fixed by using a third party router - not just with vodafone.

My honest opinion? If you're not too bothered about losing the voip landline then go for it. While the vox3 router is physically quite capable it's seriously crippled by the firmware. So not just a speed increase but an increase on the control you have too.

As you have a 900 Mbit service if you have any devices that are wifi6 capable (or you're looking to upgrade soon) then you'll want to start looking at wifi6 (801.11ax) to feel the real benefit.

I personally like netgear, but Asus have some great kit too (RT-AX88U or RT-AX86U). If you have a large property you'll maybe want to look at mesh systems. 

[Adamnicholls]

This is very helpful, thank you.

quick question with regards to the mobile broadband backup, are there any routers that will support this feature too?

[Ripshod · Accepted solution]

I know the rt-ax88u does support usb 4g dongles but I'm not sure about the 86.

Most modern mainstream routers such as these will support a usb dongle, do some shopping around. 

[CrimsonLiar]

Mobile dongle support is pretty much standard on Broadcom based Asus routers.  It's been there on the RT-AC68U, the RT-AC86U and the GT-AX6000 I now use.

[Ripshod]

I have to agree. I've just investigated my ancient dsl-ac68u and even that has the facility for a 3g/4g dongle. So you have a huge choice of asus router's to choose from, though I wonder if the 68s have the oomph to handle 900 Mbit.