Yeah, that Mikrotik is way over budget.

For a wired-only option I think https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QTXNWZ1 might be overkill as well but am not certain. Though it could have its uses whilst I am still getting Sky's 400Mbps AND Hey's 900Mbps at the same time

Edited by AdamBrunt (Wed 04-Jan-23 17:53:26)

What speedtest are you using? Try speedtest.net - it should default to the Hey! test server, if it doesn't change to it.

This should give you your speed to Hey!, hence the fibre speed, and what the router is capable of. You should get 800Mbps+ up and down. any less, and I'd say the router is the issue. You can rule this out with a direct connection from a decent spec PC to the ONT.

Unfortunately Hey! only has one peer (AS61231) so the choice of routes out onto the internet is strictly limited, so real-life speeds may be affected. I haven't noticed this though.

Glad you got it installed at last!

In reply to a post by AndyPandy:

What speedtest are you using? Try speedtest.net - it should default to the Hey! test server, if it doesn't change to it.

This should give you your speed to Hey!, hence the fibre speed, and what the router is capable of. You should get 800Mbps+ up and down. any less, and I'd say the router is the issue. You can rule this out with a direct connection from a decent spec PC to the ONT.

Unfortunately Hey! only has one peer (AS61231) so the choice of routes out onto the internet is strictly limited, so real-life speeds may be affected. I haven't noticed this though.

So all the tests were done at speedtest.net - but in my case it defaulted to F&W Networks (which the installer said was who he worked for). I assume you are talking about the left icon under the speedometer [ which can't be changed ]; I don't see any Hey! option for the right icon (which only shows 10 options in total) ?

Edited by AdamBrunt (Wed 04-Jan-23 18:31:56)

Yeah, I'n not surprised by the speeds to be honest. The WiFi is mainly the weakest link here.

Even though your Tenda Mesh is Triband both 5GHz bands are only 2 streams - so max PHY connection speed of 867Mbps - thoughput will probably only ever be ~650Mbps on a speedtest when right next to each other. As soon as you move them 5-10m apart I would expect the speed to drop. You may also find if you have them in a "row" so main talks to "2" then "2" talks to "3" then the throughput will drop/halve. You my not be able to see this in the settings as I'm not familiar with them.

The devices only geting 85Mbps - hmm, are they on 2.4GHz which is slower - or really old? I'm guessing 2.4GHz.

Agree the C7 is a bit old and may not be able to route any faster on the WAN, especially if PPPoE is required for Hey Broadband.

Is the C7 doing anything other than connecting the ONT to Tenda MW12? It looks like the Tenda can do routing, either DHCP, PPPoE - have you tried that to see if you can get the wired WAN speed a bit quicker?

This won't help the slave nodes though - as they are still connecting over the same WiFi backhaul.

Unfortunately the only real options are to spend a few hundred quid on faster AX kit or wire the nodes. Even then as you may struggle to achieve 900Mbps on a slave node at longer distances.

In reply to a post by adrenalize_:

Yeah, I'n not surprised by the speeds to be honest. The WiFi is mainly the weakest link here.

Even though your Tenda Mesh is Triband both 5GHz bands are only 2 streams - so max PHY connection speed of 867Mbps - thoughput will probably only ever be ~650Mbps on a speedtest when right next to each other. As soon as you move them 5-10m apart I would expect the speed to drop. You may also find if you have them in a "row" so main talks to "2" then "2" talks to "3" then the throughput will drop/halve. You my not be able to see this in the settings as I'm not familiar with them

According to the Tenda app it looks like all the nodes are talking to the all the other nodes at the same time; there is no obvious "node 3 has to go through node 2 to get to the master node"

In reply to a post by adrenalize_:

The devices only geting 85Mbps - hmm, are they on 2.4GHz which is slower - or really old? I'm guessing 2.4GHz

Very weird - just retested with my phone which is definitely capable of 5GHz and now speedtest.net says 550Mbps when sitting right on top of the master node and 225Mbps when sitting on top of the furthest node; which is a heck of a lot better . I think the Tenda nodes are not very quick/smart in handing over control to over nodes so that probably doesn't help the tests.

In reply to a post by adrenalize_:

Agree the C7 is a bit old and may not be able to route any faster on the WAN, especially if PPPoE is required for Hey Broadband.

Is the C7 doing anything other than connecting the ONT to Tenda MW12? It looks like the Tenda can do routing, either DHCP, PPPoE - have you tried that to see if you can get the wired WAN speed a bit quicker?

AFAIK PPoE is required by Hey!Broadband

So, currently, the C7 is just (a) connecting the ONT to the MW12 (b) the DHCP controller (managing a very small reserved IP list) and (c) acting as a switch for a couple of, nearby, hard wired devices. Long term, it will also be in charge of the DNS settings for all the devices on the LAN. I am aware that the Tenda can do PPoE and DHCP (not sure about reserved IPs) but I don't think it can do custom DNS settings. It also only has 1 WAN port and 2 LAN ports on it which may be a concern at a later date.

In reply to a post by adrenalize_:

Unfortunately the only real options are to spend a few hundred quid on faster AX kit or wire the nodes. Even then as you may struggle to achieve 900Mbps on a slave node at longer distances.

Yeah, think I might get some Deco DX20s from Amazon - and just return if they don't improve things much.

If I was going to wire the nodes I would also run wire all the way to the wired devices (which are currently just wired to the furthest node) but ... it is certainly the last resort at the moment

TP-Link AX20 router and Deco X20 3 pack both on their way from Amazon for testing purposes.

If testing is good not sure how I am going to get it past the missus though LOL

In reply to a post by AdamBrunt:

Sadly the setup and build materials of the house make fully wired connections out of the question

From the sound of it the NOVAs are WiFi-5 and the next step up would be WiFi-6 ?

Unless it's a rented property then Cat6a is always an option, The question is only how much disruption and expense you are willing to put up with to achieve it.

Personally in the real world gigabit ethernet is a waste of time if your only connections are going to be a wireless backhauled WiFi mesh system.

Were you just using the website?

Try downloading their Windows app from their site: https://www.speedtest.net/apps/windows

Here is what it looks like default for me, Hey connection, Hey server (High Wycombe): https://imgur.com/tfqKkYZ

This was my result run just now: https://imgur.com/doti7ZS

(This is before my wife starts working mind!)

In reply to a post by AdamBrunt:

Yeah, that Mikrotik is way over budget.

For a wired-only option I think https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QTXNWZ1 might be overkill as well but am not certain. Though it could have its uses whilst I am still getting Sky's 400Mbps AND Hey's 900Mbps at the same time

I can confirm that this model can handle your speeds no issues and is a very robust unit.
I use one in one of my offices for a CityFibre 1 Gig connection.

Thanks Dan

Ah, OK.

Yes, I have always just used the website - never even knew they had an app