GigaCube has suddenly become extremely slow

[Kluseau]

Updated in post below.

[Kluseau]

This is an update of a post I made earlier in the month now the nature of the problem has become clearer.

We've had a GigaCube since January. Although 4G signal reception here has not been great, the GigaCube has coped well, displaying a red 4G light (indicating a weak signal) and usually delivering speeds of over 30Mbps as measured on a Speedtest app on an iPhone connected to the Gigacube via WiFi. There is no 5G in this area.

Over the past month,  4G light has taken to changing from red to green (what I assume the user manual calls yellow, meaning a normal 4G connection) or to blue for increasing periods, meaning a strong 4G connection. This ties in with the 4G signal as shown on an iPhone increasing from one bar to two bars. It seems something has happened to our local network to strengthen the signal.

When this happens the download speed delivered by the GigaCube drops significantly, to around 10Mbps when the 4G light is green/yellow; and to low single figures when the 4G light is blue. Upload speeds remain high: but paradoxically, the better the 4G signal, the slower the download speed delivered by the Gigacube.

I had previously thought this might be an issue in our local network. But a properly observed test using the Gigacube elsewhere in the country last week has produced exactly the same results: very slow download speeds with a green/yellow 4G light; and glacially slow download speeds with a blue 4G light.  But fast upload speeds throughout.

The diminished download speeds makes the GigaCube unusable for practical purposes most of the time. I have tried resetting the unit using the button on the back; and taking out and replacing the sim card; and changing the settings between 4G and the default 4G/5G auto. Nothing helps.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how we might get our Gigacube working the way it was presumably designed to work, offering faster download speeds with a stronger 4G signal rather than much slower download speeds?

[Mark]

That's strange @Kluseau, if your Gigacube is showing a stronger service, you should get at least the same download/upload speeds. The main things to cause a drop in these are outside interference disrupting your WiFi signal, an increase in connected devices, or possibly a fault with the Gigacube. As you've tried this in a different location, we can rule out interference. To help us identify where the problem lies, please let us know the below.

- Pop your SIM into another phone or device and let us know if the speeds experienced increase.

- Try disconnecting all un-necessarily connected devices.

- Run a speed test on a device using a wired connection to the Gigacube and let us know if this decreases when the signal strength increases.

[Kluseau]

Thank you for your reply, Mark.

I agree with you that it is bizarre that the Gigacube was delivering much faster download speeds with a weak 4G signal than it is now delivering on normal or strong 4G signals.

I have followed your suggestions:

- Moving the Gigacube SIM to an iPhone produces similar measured speeds using 4G as when using the Gigacube via 4G and WiFi.

- Because of the Gigacube's woeful download speeds since the 4G signal strength improved from red to yellow/green or blue, it has only been connected to for testing purposes, so the issue is not caused by other connected devices.

- Using a Windows 10 laptop connected to the Gigacube by LAN wire produced about the same (very slow) measured download speeds as when connecting the same laptop to the Gigacube by WiFi.

We seem to be back at the starting point: that a Gigacube that delivered satisfactory download speeds of over 30Mbps on a weak (red) 4G signal from when we got it in January until the last month, is paradoxically delivering unusably slow download speeds since the local Vodafone network was improved to deliver a normal (yellow/green) or strong (blue) 4G signal, though upload speeds have remained strong during this period.

Until last week the Gigacube was still showing a red 4G light (and delivering acceptably fast download speeds) some of the time; but over the past few days it has only been showing the yellow/green or blue 4G light and the download speeds have been permanently slow. Presumably this only leaves the other possibility you mentioned, a fault with the Gigacube which has somehow been masked until recently by the weak local 4G signal, which it has coped with well.

[Effie]

Thank you for taking the time to run those checks and get back to us @Kluseau It is certainly looking more likely that there is a potential issue with the device itself. So we can investigate this further, please drop the Social Media team a message here or give the Gigacube team a call on 191 free from a Vodafone Pay monthly mobile, or 03333 040 191 from any other UK phone (standard charges apply)