Zen [Full Fibre Max][2300Mbps] Connection Issues?

So I switched over on the 18th September from EE Broadband as My Contract was up for renewal. I had the Install date as the 18th September and Freedom Fibre had already beforehand put a new fibre ready to be connected to a New ONT Box being installed on the 18th September.

Install date comes and Freedom Fibre connected the new fibre optic line to a New ONT Box they installed, I configured my own Modem to connect to the ONT Router using the username and password and was connected with success, but when doing direct speed tests, both hardwired with CAT6 to the router and directly connecting to the ONT Box via PC both speeds were nowhere near the minimum speed advertised.

I have checked my Zen Portal and the progress bar doesn't even show me being connected? It says In progress and has been like this for days? not even progress bar to "awaiting an activation date" or "awaiting activation" in the customer portal. I have called and first was told to give it a day or so but wondering if that's just a load of rubbish, expecting me to believe it.

So now I'm on a service getting 900 down and about 700 up which isn't bad and not bad latency but seems a kick in the teeth right now.

I'm based in Manchester and getting the internet using the Freedom Fibre lines using Zen Internet as my ISP. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Also is it unusual for me to be in Manchester and not be connected to a Manchester Gateway with Zen? Ookla always connects me to London saying this is the closest server...

Have they not configured it right? or have freedom fibre and zen not enabled something?

Before people ask yes I've done multiple tests via different routers such as with their eero and no difference. My network setup is I'm running two Asus Zenwifi ET12's on a wired backhaul with Cat6 Cable. I've run test though Ookla and both directly within the router itself.

Any suggestions would be great!

Most obvious question, are you definitely connected to the right LAN port? I notice you've got LAN1/LAN2 which I believe are Gigabit and then a blue WAN and LAN which are upto 2.5Gb.
The free Eero Pro 6E that Zen sends out only has a 1Gb LAN port, so it's not ideal.

As for the Zen portal I noticed it didn't work correctly because of some cookies or adblock setting. Try turning off your adblocker if you're using it and see if it updates then.

Edited by LeJimster (Sat 20-Sep-25 22:03:17)

May be an obvious question, but is your device actually able to communicate at 2.5Gb?
I had upgraded our PCs with 2.5Gb LAN cards and replaced the Fritz! router with a TP-Link BE550 (5x 2.5Gb), well before the upgrade. On the day, the CityFibre guys found the light level at the ONT was way too low and were surprised it worked at all, especially at the steady 920/920 I've had for 2 years. They replaced the fibre from the ONT to the cabinet about 50 yards away, and ever since then I've had a steady 2230/2320. The useless 'free' eero 6E will remain unopened.

Another obvious question: are you using Ethernet to your router? Even WiFi 7 won't reliably do much better than 900.

Edited by cjn (Sat 20-Sep-25 23:25:25)

Are you referring to the ONT Box or my router? My Router is connected to the 2.5g ETH 1 Port on the ONT Box in the house, this is connected to the Asus Zenwifi ET12's 2.5GB Wan Port.

The ONT Box does have a 10g ETH 1 Port too but when I connect to that there's nothing no signal. I run a wired backhaul on the other 2.5 Lan port on the router to my PC upstairs which is also on a 2.5G ethernet port.

In reply to a post by cjn:

May be an obvious question, but is your device actually able to communicate at 2.5Gb?
I had upgraded our PCs with 2.5Gb LAN cards and replaced the Fritz! router with a TP-Link BE550 (5x 2.5Gb), well before the upgrade. On the day, the CityFibre guys found the light level at the ONT was way too low and were surprised it worked at all, especially at the steady 920/920 I've had for 2 years. They replaced the fibre from the ONT to the cabinet about 50 yards away, and ever since then I've had a steady 2230/2320. The useless 'free' eero 6E will remain unopened.

Another obvious question: are you using Ethernet to your router? Even WiFi 7 won't reliably do much better than 900.

Yeah my equipment can handle the connection and have no intention of using the Eero with my setup either. I'm thinking it has something to do with the line or that they haven't enabled it properly.

That sounds right. And if you login to the main router can you find anywhere that tells you what speed your WAN is negoitated at. If it's 2.5Gb and your LAN backhaul is negotiating at 2.5Gb, then you will need to contact Zen as it looks correctly setup on your end. Also just make sure there isn't any artificial cap or QoS being applied.

Edited by LeJimster (Sun 21-Sep-25 01:51:05)