Why is Virgin Fibre slow

[bonerp]

Hi I'm on a 200gb Virgin deal and downloading UHD content from Sky Q is pretty fast. However general use is noticeably quite slow most of the time....just for things like accessing web pages.

Current Speedtest speeds show 160gb...I've a few devices connected including 2 Nest cameras and Hue, Alexa, and mobile device connections.

Anyone else experience this? My BT Fibre at 65gb previously was quicker and more responsive.

For 200GB I'd really expect instant results. My OH even just said why is your broadband slow....

thanks

[megaphone]

What ping are you getting? Have you tested when connected directly via ethernet or via wifi? It is more likely a WiFi issue rather than the actually BB.

Edited by megaphone on Friday 12th March 09:20

[Bikerjon]

It's because there's more to fast broadband than the headline bandwidth quoted by internet providers. From installations I've visited Virgin broadband is decent, but the ping/latency values never seem to be as good as BT FTTP or even FTTC. Wi-Fi/router performance can also compound the problem.

[camel_landy]

Bikerjon said:

It's because there's more to fast broadband than the headline bandwidth quoted by internet providers. From installations I've visited Virgin broadband is decent, but the ping/latency values never seem to be as good as BT FTTP or even FTTC. Wi-Fi/router performance can also compound the problem.

^^^ This...

M

[megaphone]

I flip flop between Virgin and other ISPs, depending on who's doing the best deal. Currently on Virgin 100mb. .

Although I can only get 38Mb/s on the FTTC connection I do find it more snappy, I've been on BT, Sky/Now, EE, all of them performed the same, all 'appeared' to be snappier that the Virgin connection. (ethernet direct to the router)

That said it really is a tiny difference. A lot of the internet lag is down to the web servers that are used at the other end. eg PH can be sloooow sometimes.

[Narcisus]

I’ve just swapped my pos Superhub 3 ( Superhub yeah right ) for a decent Asus Router. Performance is night and day.

[xeny]

Narcisus said:

I’ve just swapped my pos Superhub 3 ( Superhub yeah right ) for a decent Asus Router. Performance is night and day.

I've not had problems with the routing aspect of the superhub. The wifi performance though is very disappointing.

[cobra kid]

I've got the Superhub 3.

On the 100mb package, I about 96mb wirelessly in the same room on the laptop. I used to have the 200mb but it was unnecessary.

[Narcisus]

xeny said:

Narcisus said:

I’ve just swapped my pos Superhub 3 ( Superhub yeah right ) for a decent Asus Router. Performance is night and day.

I've not had problems with the routing aspect of the superhub. The wifi performance though is very disappointing.

Yes the ASUS has much improved the WiFi

[rainmakerraw]

I was just idly browsing and spotted this. While the advice above is accurate, it's only half the picture.

Virgin is 'less snappy' than BT type products (ADSL, FTTC etc) because of the way DOCSIS - that is to say, cable's underlying technology - works. It's inherently higher in latency and jitter. What you're describing sounds much more like poor DNS response times though. Which DNS are you using? If you don't know, then the answer is likely Virgin's own, which is woeful. Switch to Quad9 or Cloudflare (9.9.9.9 and 1.1.1.1 respectively) and you should find browsing much snappier.

You can follow this step by step guide for Windows 10. Other OS guides are available on the site. I'd suggest entering 9.9.9.9 and 1.1.1.1 rather than the two Quad9 addresses. That way you're covered by two fast services, should one have downtime or fail to find a result you need for any reason.

Also, if you're browsing over WiFi and on low end hardware, things will never feel as sharp as on a powerful PC with a lean operating system. Always connect via ethernet cable where possible. Make sure you don't have any viruses/malware, and beware that many antivirus softwares can slow down your PC. The free built in Windows Defender is amply adequate and won't slow you don't perceptibly compared to the third party ones.

Ensure your browser is up to date (Firefox recommended), and whatever browser you're using, install uBlock Origin. It's a blocker that stops ads, trackers, telemetry, clickjacking and other nasties from even being requested. Not only will you no longer see ads, but pages will load much faster too. A modern website makes dozens or hundreds of connections to dozens of domains, all of which take time. Less requests (ads, tracking etc) means a faster, snappier load time.

Edited by rainmakerraw on Wednesday 17th March 20:45