4G broadband - Full 5 bars - atrocious speeds

[JamieRay1]

Don't post the link to the broadband troubleshooting page or "how to improve your connection!" rubbish, I've seen it all and done it all and it doesn't help. I've been in contact with 3 support multiple times and it's always the same. "Just reset your modem to fix the issue :)". Never works. 3 Support got in touch with some technicians to have a look at my connection and my modem to see if there was any issue, which according to them, there isn't. I barely even get 1 Mbps, how are you allowed to sell me a service like this?? This is literally dial-up era internet speeds? What the point of paying for a service I can barely use? I can't watch a video without it buffering literally every second, images take upwards of 20-30 seconds to load, youtube videos default to 144p quality. 144p? Is this a joke? Just can not comprehend how a service can be this bad yet people still buy it. Stuck in a 2 year contract with this absolute rubbish. Literally scam.

[LauraH]

@JamieRay1 Hello, thanks for posting. Let's take a look at this. You mentioned that you've read through our broadband articles and tried the troubleshooting tips in there, that's great, thanks for that. There's also a list of questions in there that we need the answers to in order to take a look at this for you, can you let me know the answers to those and we'll go from there? 

[JamieRay1]

Are your friends and neighbours experiencing this too?

We have 2 modems with 3 broadband in the house, both of the experience this issue.

When did you start noticing this?

2-3 months ago.

How many bars of coverage do you see, and what letter is beside them? ie, 3G, 3G+, H, H+, 4G or 4G+

5 bars coverage with 4G, 2 bars coverage occasionally with 4G+.

Is your broadband connection worse at particular times of day or week?

Very slow during day time. Speeds only start to pick up around midnight/1am. So basically, I can not use my own broadband during the times I want to use it. Ridiculous.

What type of router are you using and how old is your SIM card?

HUAWEI Model: B535-232. Sim card is around 1 - 2 months old. I was sent a new one after I complained and it didn't fix anything.

Can you do random speed tests at different times of the day? We recommend Ookla.

I can send you as many speed tests as you want.

Tell us your general area so we can check the masts there.

Killimordaly.

[JamieRay1]

And now in addition to horrible almost unusable speeds I am also now getting random ping spikes which makes playing online games impossible.

[JamieRay1]

Speedtests done today:

18/01/2021 16:45

Download 1.20 Mbps Upload 5.23 Mbps

18/01/2021 20:08

Download 0.17 Mbps Upload 5.83 Mbps

18/01/2021 22:57

Download 0.28 Mbps Upload 9.79 Mbps

18/01/2021 23:28

Download 0.41 Mbps Upload 10.87 Mbps

19/01/2021 02:14

Download 5.55 Mbps Upload 11.48 Mbps

19/01/2021 03:31

Download 8.95 Mbps Upload 12.22 Mbps

[LauraH]

@JamieRay1 Thanks for those details 👌 Next I'd like to have a look at the investigation by our tech team and to do that I'll need access to your account. Pop me a PM with your broadband number along with your full name, address and date of birth 👍

[JamieRay1]

Tech team already had a look. November 26, Case number 3384210. I had to wait 2 weeks for their response. You must think I am a fool if I'm going to wait another 2 weeks just for them to tell me "Nothing wrong with your connection :)".

[LauraH]

@JamieRay1 I certainly don't Jamie, I wanted to look into the previous investigation rather than begin a new one and as you sent me your details in PM I could do that so thanks for that 👍 I've taken a look and it seems that all bases were covered and the time and nothing out of the ordinary was found. Tell me, was a modem fault ruled out? Was it possible to test your SIM in a different modem?

[JamieRay1]

I've tried the sim in a different modem and in a mobile phone, both with similar results to the issues I already have.

[Three_Deborah]

@JamieRay1 thanks for all the info so far and for trying different ways of troubleshooting. @LauraH has finished up for the day, so I'm getting back to you before close of business 👌 I get that you are frustrated with your speeds, especially while in the middle of a game. Our aim is to keep you connected. I have a few more questions and I'm sorry if you've answered these before; !- how long have you had your router? 2-how long have you been experiencing these difficulties? From all I've seen here, it's possible that this is down to peak time-traffic. Out of curiosity, will you switch 4G off via your router dashboard? Leave it on 3G only for the next 48 hours, and during this time take random speed tests. I know we are entering an era of 5G and the reason I'm asking you to switch to 3G only is that it's still there to use and most people during peak hours use 4G. Will you give it a shot?