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Recommend Me a Router

Devolos still good, not a flutter since their firmware update.

Router not so good. I had an Internet slow-to-a-crawl-then-stop-completely, so I did what I could to gather some info. My home network was still running: I could access the router admin and the Devolo sub-network from WiFi, and the router reported an Internet connection plus the lights were green - just no data throughput. Chrome on the PC reported "no connection" (but network status said there was), and SpeedSmart on the iPad wouldn't even start up.

So I rebooted the router from the control panel, and bingo - 2.8Mbps.
 
Black Hole said:
Router not so good. I had an Internet slow-to-a-crawl-then-stop-completely, so I did what I could to gather some info. My home network was still running: I could access the router admin and the Devolo sub-network from WiFi, and the router reported an Internet connection plus the lights were green - just no data throughput. Chrome on the PC reported "no connection" (but network status said there was), and SpeedSmart on the iPad wouldn't even start up.

So I rebooted the router from the control panel, and bingo - 2.8Mbps.
Click to expand...
This sort of weird stuff is what pushed me away from domestic level mass-market crap. It was a struggle to start with, but I've learnt a lot more in the process and haven't had any reliability problems at all since. It didn't cost that much either, but the downside is that it's taken up a lot of time.
 
So that's not part of the line parameters that might be considered necessary to have an active Internet connection (as per the status lights)?
 
Black Hole said:
So that's not part of the line parameters that might be considered necessary to have an active Internet connection (as per the status lights)?
Click to expand...
No, syncing starts at reboot, usually you see the router LEDs flash at varying speed. The router has to decide what speed your line can handle. There is no parameter.

Have you tried this:

http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/

Note point 8. I think you can contact BT and they will reset the sync speed and any speed cap they might have imposed to keep your line stable. I can't find any reference online, though, but definitely remember considering this when I was with BT 8Mbps and frequently reviewed routers.
 
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It came up with 2.63Mbps, much in line with normal (I ignored all the crap about not having the computer connected by WiFi - there's no way my WiFi is going to slug the broadband performance!). 3Mbps is all I expect at this distance from the exchange.

However, regardless, I still don't understand why "sync speed" should be perfectly OK one moment, then bomb out in the middle of the night.
 
Nor me. I looked on the plusnet site and the only relevant thing was that a line fault could cause the broadband to lower sync speed. It also says that the router takes 10 days to sync properly.

Getting bt to check your line should not cost anything, the remote check.

I assume you have done the obvious things like removing the bell wire, if it's an old socket. I replaced my socket with the latest model with built in filter and two line outs on the front, one for telephone and another for internet. It was an easy job.
 
Bloody weird this. I've been fiddling about all morning, and recently uploaded a 7MB video file to Dropbox, and accessing email... then all of a sudden email wouldn't update and hummy.tv wouldn't load (my usual yardstick).

Took a look at the control panel Internet status, and it said "good", but when I went to look at the lights the line was green but the Internet was red (well, orange). Refreshed the browser page and Internet status had gone to "error". Then the light was green again. Then red. Then off with the line status flashing.

After a few minutes of this (with no intervention from me), the lights stabilised green and the control panel said "good" again, but hummy.tv still wouldn't load. Ran SpeedSmart and it said 2.96Mbps. Still no hummy.tv. So I tried my other web sites and they were OK - just typical hummy.tv goes down at that moment to confuse matters!

Obviously it's OK again now!
 
At our previous house, where we had standard broadband with a fairly reliable 10M download speed, this sort of thing was fairly common - every week or two probably. Often late at night (my night owl daughter would come and tell me), occasionally other times, but as we weren't on it all day it might have been happening more often. The router lights were 'unhelpful'; it was a Netgear router actually. It usually came back of it's own accord after a few minutes, though once or twice I tried turning the router off and on. It came back after the latter but of course you don't know if it wouldn't have done the same if left alone. Eventually we just accepted it was what it was as it didn't cause us any real grief.
Even down here on FTTC similar things happened while with BT, though since we moved to Zen (which also gained a new router and fixed ip address) I think it's been OK.
 
I have just been fiddling round with buffer bloat. My connection got a C for downstream and F for upstream, but after limiting the bandwidth slightly, I now have B on both.

Edit: I spoke too soon, results all over the shop!:frantic:
 
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My Internet died again, right in the middle of some major post revision. Fortunately post editing is done locally in browser, so losing the connection didn't just delete everything and I made a fallback Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C just in case. After a load of light flashing the router re-established the connection all on its own, and I was able to continue with the post edit even while off-line and upload it once it came back.
 
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