When the slowdown happens try using ethernet. If it is ok then it's a wireless issue and you can go from there.

As people say, I'll try ethernet next time (it involves sitting on the floor in the hallway).

Any suggestions for good routers? And will Plusnet provide one if I ask? If they don't, and I have to buy one, will Plusnet provide the instructions to get it connected to my account with them? Also, the router is connected by cable to a modem (also provided by Plusnet). Do I need to replace the modem too?

Thanks to everyone for the ideas so far.

In reply to a post by greenwich:

As people say, I'll try ethernet next time (it involves sitting on the floor in the hallway).

Any suggestions for good routers? And will Plusnet provide one if I ask? If they don't, and I have to buy one, will Plusnet provide the instructions to get it connected to my account with them? Also, the router is connected by cable to a modem (also provided by Plusnet). Do I need to replace the modem too?

Thanks to everyone for the ideas so far.

I have an Asus AC68U, the signal is great although I have a second router at the back of the house to provide a strong signal there as well. TP-Link seem to have some good offerings at good prices but I haven't used one of their routers before.

I don't think Plusnet will provide you with another router. As for getting it working you go to to the WAN settings and use your plusnet username then @plusdsl.net and your password.

i.e: [email protected].

The modem will not need replacing.

Edited by deleted (Sun 10-May-15 12:28:32)

In reply to a post by beardedwonder:

The modem will not need replacing.

But the router will need a WAN port. Many people don't realise that what is frequently called a router here is a modem/router.

Of course, there are VDSL2modem/routers, but these need to comply with the Openreach SIN 498. Particularly now wrt G.INP, and probably soon wrt vectoring.

In reply to a post by greenwich:

As people say, I'll try ethernet next time (it involves sitting on the floor in the hallway).

A long temporarily strung Ethernet cable might make for better comfort.

In reply to a post by greenwich:

Any suggestions for good routers? And will Plusnet provide one if I ask? If they don't, and I have to buy one, will Plusnet provide the instructions to get it connected to my account with them? Also, the router is connected by cable to a modem (also provided by Plusnet). Do I need to replace the modem too?

Plusnet do provide some connection instructions at http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/hardware/broad... and say that you are on your own if you use something they did not supply.

Rather than replacing the router, why not turn off its WiFi and get an access point? I use a TP Link WA901, with replacement long aerials, and am quite happy with it. I cannot get fibre here, so cannot comment on fibre routers or router/modems.

In reply to a post by greenwich:

I've got the 76Mb FTTC service. Sometimes the web browsing is fine (although the wireless hardly ever gives speeds above 28Mbps). But a lot of the time there is a problem. I type a URL into the browser, nothing happens for 30 seconds, then a message appears saying that the web page cannot be displayed, and then a second later it is displayed. Sometimes nothing at all happens. This morning, everything was fine for a couple of hours, and now every page takes ages to load.

I get these problems with my Windows 8.1 laptop but not with my iPad. So I thought the problem is not with Plusnet but with Windows. But my son also has a Windows 8.1 laptop which works fine with the Wifi in his house but he gets the same problems as me when he comes home. So that makes it look like it might be a wifi problem in my house.

I contacted Plusnet months ago. They told me to try different wifi channels and I have been working through the channels one by one, without any improvement.

In desperation I am willing to move to another ISP, just in case it solves the problem. But before I do, I hope someone here has seen this problem before and can offer some advice.

Sounds like a DNS issue, try changing the DNS on your laptop to use Google servers 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.

Someone else suggested that above but then took back the suggestion. I suppose I have nothing to lose by trying it. But if the DNS servers are going slow, that ought to affect lots of people?

I've got no experience of access points, so would be a bit nervous. I could buy a router and get it working I reckon. Switching to another ISP would mean getting another cheap router from them, so I'm thinking I may be better off with a more expensive router and staying with Plusnet.

I found the following two sets of instructions for changing the DNS settings:

http://petesentme.com/plusnet/changing-dns-servers-o...

http://chrismcleod.me/2014/03/05/changing-the-dns-on...

Do these look safe and reliable to people? I'm a bit nervous about screwing up the router by typing the wrong command. Plusnet's website doesn't seem to explain how to do this.

Incidentally, the second link above does say that the web surfing got much faster after the DNS change. So I hope that may happen for me too.

I would just change them on your windows laptop to start off with. I don't run Windows 8.1 so am not 100% sure how to change them now but there should be plenty of info. online.