Baffling connection problem to LG smart TV

[Ronthechippy]

Here goes......

Internet connection with FTTP. 100Mbps
LG smart TV worked ok with old 80Mbps BT contract (no TV buffering).

Now that Vodafone BB is working well, the connection speed measured on the TV is up to 20Mbps and normally around 8Mbps (TV buffers).

I get the same results when:
Connected by ethernet cable to the Vodafone router.
Connected by ethernet cable from Tp link TL-WR940N access point.
Connected by wireless from the above access point (Wireless speed next to the TV with my phone measures 95Mbps)

To me it looks like there's setting in the Vodafone router that needs fixing to get the TV to shake hands properly with the router.

Any ideas?

Cheers

Ron

[MRKEVIN]

Who are you with now ?

[MackyMoo]

I have the same issue. LGTV in same room as wifi router. Worked perfectly with BT broadband. Switched to fiber Vodafone and TV started buffering and often disconnecting from wifi. Switching tv on and off solves it temporarily. Speed checks at same time on different device show no issue 100's of MBs.  Bought another new LGTV.  Same issue. Now affecting both TVs.

I will be moving Broadband suppliers. 

I will try the DNS 8.8.8.8

[MickPollard]

Hi,

I tried changing the DNS to 8.8.8.8 and it has solved the issue. It's been a week with no buffering now !

Thanks Ron.

[DavidWilman]

That’s great thank you!

[Ronthechippy]

Hi,

We've been with Sky for a week now. All works well. The test will be when the nation watches streams the Wales/England world cup match!!

I'm still not sure why the DNS server workaround works, I got the same result when using an old Chromecast...no buffering. As I understand it a Chromecast uses the Google DNS server and this can't be changed and will override any DNS server setting in the router. 

This is all something Vodafone and/or Openreach need to fix....quickly.  It wastes so much time and brain space of so many folk out there who cough up expecting something a lot better. 

Cheers

Ron

[MRKEVIN]

I have another year of contract to go sadly.

[broadband_user]

Let's work the problem.

0. Run a dedicated network cable from the router to your telly. WiFi is convenient but not reliable. You've already done this. You cable might also be broken. Ethernet cables have two data channels (duplex). If you damage some of the lines, your cable might still work, but only at half the speed. On a 100Mbps connection, that's still 50 Mbps though. More than enough. 

1. When your TV buffers constantly, turn it (and all network devices if possible) off and run a speed test from a different computer. I use https://fast.com/. With only one computer on in the house I get about 50-60Mbps, which is what I pay for. You should run this test a few times throughout the day to get some sort of baseline. If you see a few Mbps when your TV has problems then it's a broadband contention issue (over sold by VF in your area). If plenty of speed then it's another problem.

2. Yes, slow DNS queries can slow a fast network down. If written properly then an application should only look up a DNS entry once and use the IP address from that point forward, but many apps are not well written and will hammer a DNS server. Switching to a google DNS server on your TV  (8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4) will help solve this as these servers are fast.

3. If you have kids in the house running games or downloads then this will sap your bandwidth. How much? Depends on what they're doing. After the above 2 points, switch other devices in the house off and see if this helps.

4. The TV servers at the BBC might be slow if they're being hammered. Assuming your watching a BBC show here. Nothing to do with Vodafone. It's all down to how much the Beeb has paid for server hosting and how many people want to watch a particular program at once. Try switching to a non BBC service like Netflix and see if the problem persists. If not then it's a BBC issue.

5. I had intermittent network problems with IPv6 on my devices, which use IPv4. Try turning IPv6 off at the router. There is a config page in expert mode. Nearly all devices will run the older IPv4 standard. You only need one or the other, not both for any given device.

6. Run speed tests on your TV throughout the day to get a baseline. If it varies a lot, and all the test above show little speed variation, then it's either your TV, or the servers you're connecting to - in which case use a different streaming service.

Hope this helps.

[CrimsonLiar]

2: Don't always assume that google 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 are the fastest DNS.  For those of us on xDSL and connecting to Manchester, Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 , 1.0.0.1 are faster, and 1.1.1.2 and 1.0.0.2 are even faster thanks to being hosted in the same building!  *They're actually faster than VFs own DNS, which are pretty fast.  Testing with DNS Bench could be useful.  **Ad Guard DNS stops BBC iPlayer from working at all on my Samsung TV!

4: The servers pushing BBC streaming content are not the same as those running the BBC website.  Again, depending on where your gateway connection is, there's that possibility that it could be in the same building once again!

[Ronthechippy]

Well, there should be technical opinions on this but the main issue is that when customers suffer poor service they are sent round the houses and in the first instance are blamed themselves for the problems. Too much time wasted....etc

With me: 

It all worked well with BT

It didn't work with Vodafone 

It works with Sky (so far)

Vodafone contract was 100Mbps with a minimum of 50 in exchange for a monthly fee. Fine, but they have to keep their side of the bargain (for all customers). They didn't in my case and they recognised this (when pointed out to them) and the contract was duly terminated.

BQM records and Speedtest screengrabs provide the evidence and are date stamped.

But really Vodafone should ensure that they can provide the service to prospective customers BEFORE taking them on. Let's hope they do ......Such a waste of everyone's time otherwise.

Cheers

Ron

[MRKEVIN]

Exactly . As usual it doesnt do what it says on the tin. And i shouldnt have to try to fix it .