topic Re: Slow ethernet connection in Broadband

Slow ethernet connection

GordyMcJ — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 11:35:23 GMT

Hello,

My problem appears to be with my sky hub. I have Sky ultrafast plus broadband 500mb with a reported speed of 522 reaching the hub via ONT Openreach box.

However, anything connected to the Ethernet ports 1 to 3 is only on average receiving 200 Mbps .

I have disconnected all connecting devices from the hub, and only plugged in my PC and my laptop alternatively to test, and both receive ~200Mbs each time, using varying speed test options. I have tried alternative ports, alternative known good cables ( CAT5e, CAT6, and also CAT8 ) but still the same.

When I had the FFTP service installed, I had the full 500Mbs on each device, but now I get less than half of that, with no other items on the network.

I also only receive half the reported speed on my TV and XBOX when I run network tests independently.

WiFi gets around 400Mbps which points to the Ethernet ports.

Sky is reporting that everything looks OK and speeds are good when I run diagnostics via the app, however everything after the hub is getting slowed.

Does anyone have any advice?

Re: Slow ethernet connection

Chrisee — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 11:50:59 GMT

@GordyMcJ very curious if the connection is a direct ethernet cable but expkicable if uding a powerline adapter or similar in the vonnection. Certa inly worth asking Sky to swap the hub but while speeds sround 90Mb/s are explicable (ports running in Fast Ethernet/100Mb/s mode rather than Gigabit 1000Mb/s mode) 200Mb/s is a strange fault.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

GordyMcJ — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 12:02:11 GMT

Hi @Chrisee,

Thanks for the reply, appreciated.

Connections while testing are direct ethernet connections from laptop/PC to router, which give the same results. No PowerLine or the like within the system.

I generalised with the ~200Mbs, it varies from ~150 to ~230Mbs, but never goes higher. Excpet for the first few days after install.

I also checked my aggregated link speed, and this is set to Gigabit, which was more of a sanity check, as if it wasn't I wouldn't be getting the ~200Mbs.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

JimM1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 12:45:46 GMT

@GordyMcJ FF500 and Ethernet connected always max's out speed connectio no issue, so you may have to look at those Ethernet connected devices!

At 1.40pm on 12/6/2025.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

GordyMcJ — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 12:54:04 GMT

Hi @JimM1

Thanks for the info.

Out of interest, what hub do you have?

I am pretty certain the Laptop/PC are sound, and aren't the issue. Noting that I did get the full speed on these ( plus xbox and TV ) in the days after install. Now all devices report the slower speed, even when they are the only devices on the network at any one time.

Would be a helluva unlucky situation if all the devices had changes and/or issues develop all at the same time.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

JimM1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:05:10 GMT

@GordyMcJ SR203, but that test was run against the Asus XT8 connected on the ONT, got a older SR203 one posted that up a couple off day's ago, do you need me to find the link for you! That was from back in April so had for a couple weeks and for sure on the SR203!

Poor Wifi signal and quality with Sky router (SR20... | Sky Community

Re: Slow ethernet connection

Chrisee — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:41:38 GMT

@GordyMcJ Openreach's full fibre system uses a system called GPON where up to 30 customers on a distribution share a total bandwidth of 2.48Gb/s. While we do see reports of contention your figures seem quite low but possible if you are testing at peak times and share your distribution pointvwith multiple heavy users. Running tests at quiet times like mornings before 10am would likely prove or disprove that

I am struggling to understand how a fault on a hub would restrict throughput as you describe but it seems tge only other explanation and one easily proved/disproved by a hub swap which Sky are normally quite happy to sort.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

JimM1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:50:28 GMT

@Chrisee May just have old and useless equipment on the device side, 4GB ram, no disk space, using hard disk instead of SSD, can be anything, the biggest one is laptop and running of battery, killer if not set for CPU operation mode maximise the runtime stuff everything else....

Re: Slow ethernet connection

GordyMcJ — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:04:47 GMT

Hi @Chrisee

I am fairly sure I've run the tests at various times, peak v non-peak, with the same results. Confusing part is that the service checker via the sky app shows consistent +450Mbps speeds throughout all times, day or night, however my checks always show the lower speeds when connected to the hub. This is what makes me think it must be a hub issue.

Interesting point that other users not directly associated with me or my account can directly influence a product that I pay for, and thus impact a service being delivered to me. I don't believe this to be the case, and I am confident that outside usage isn't an issue, given the speeds I get before the hub.

I'll raise it directly wiht Sky and see if a hub swap resolves it. If not, then the search continues.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

GordyMcJ — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:07:10 GMT

Hi @JimM1

Thanks for the previous info, and the screenshot of your past speeds. Interestingly, I run the same test via CLoudflare and returned 160Mbs 😞

Regarding the recent post, about old useless equipment etc...., what equipment were you relating this to?

Re: Slow ethernet connection

JimM1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:09:34 GMT

@GordyMcJ What devices do you have currently plugged into the four Ethenet ports, 4 is the WAN to the ONT so 3 FREE to use.

You want one real test, all wi-fi off, only one device connected to the Ethernet, and you can also go check all three ports one at a time...

Re: Slow ethernet connection

GordyMcJ — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:16:00 GMT

Hi @JimM1

Yeah already done that, where only device connected was either a laptop or PC at one time, direct via cable in all ports, same result.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

JimM1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:17:04 GMT

@GordyMcJ Your PC or Laptop, just because it has a GigaByte Ethernet port, you cannot make a single assumption that the device is up to the task at hand, put a 10 year old PC on that has been bogged down hard disk near full no memory running on high cpu, crappy AV software trapping everything, same with a laptop, not got it plugged in the mains or setup correctly then you just may not get the near 500Mb/s, your wireless is up there, so speed is achievable via that method, so Fibre looks good, wi-fi is also looking good, and now you are down to Ethernet, if there was a hub issue then the Forum would be hot to trot about it.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

JimM1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:29:14 GMT

@GordyMcJ This is direct from OR/BTW so make off it what you want, but it is on a rare case, you have someone on your line running a business out off there home then it's an all bets off.

1. FTTP is a contended service, up to 32 users can be sharing the 2.5Gb backhaul, so you can never expect the full speed all the time, you may get 900mb when there are fewer people using it. I expect that you are sharing the backhaul with many users. If everyone was using it fully, you may only get 78mbs. Its called statistical multiplexing, which relies on the fact that all users are not utilising their connection fully, all of the time.

BT quote up to 900mb, so you are likely to get much less than that during peak times.

Speed tests pass very little data, so normally give a much higher speed.

2. The max OR connect to a splitter is 30 ( 32 is the splitter maximum but policy is 30 ) not every CBT port provided is likely to have a customer using it , so unless on a ‘new site’ that has no alternatives to OR FTTP the actual number on a splitter is likely to be way less , OR currently have about a 30% take up, so maybe 10 users per splitter , plus the majority don’t take 900Mb but slower profiles , and the chances of those ‘on line ‘ at any one time all and doing something intensive, rather than browsing / Netflix that may be consuming less than 30-100Mb , is slim , that’s why there is a 700Mb minimum speed guarantee on 900Mb …..the 2.4Gb will be plenty ,you would have to be incredibly unlucky to have any consistent congestion.

If you suspect PON congestion, try at a time when there won’t be much activity, late evening or early morning .

Although you have tried somethings to ‘ isolate’ the problem , the most obvious thing to do ( that you haven’t apparently tried ) is use the BT router , without doing that , you haven’t really proved anything , your third party router may great , but even great routers can be mis configured or faulty

Re: Slow ethernet connection

GordyMcJ — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:30:10 GMT

@JimM1 - I get that, trouble is, I HAD a 12 year old PC hooked up to it when the FFTP was installed, and that got the full 500Mbps, then encountered the issue. Laptop however is a new Dell Latitude 13th Gen i7, and that has been used for the testing too. I've upgraded the PC ( specs below), and that still shows the slow speeds also, so i don't think it's the hardware.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3d

32GB DDR5 RAM

2x4TB SSD

Windows 11 Pro

EVGA RTX3070 XC3

Re: Slow ethernet connection

JimM1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:51:49 GMT

@GordyMcJ Sure would not expect so with that spec!

Re: Slow ethernet connection

egparrot1 — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 13:39:41 GMT

Anniyingly, I seem to be having the same problem. Wifi is all fine and dandy, but my computer which is connected directly via ethernet seems to be a lot slower. I tried switching to port 4 as suggested in this thread, which sped things up for a few days but is now noticeably slower again. Very frustrating and quite bizarre. Are sky throttling our connections, perhaps?

Re: Slow ethernet connection

JimM1 — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 13:49:16 GMT

@egparrot1 Will have a look through the post again, although the hub is marked 1 to 4, 4 is used for the ONT Fibre wan connection, it also has the word WAN written in RED above the port. No ONT then they are all Lan ports!

If not connecting on FF then all ports should in theory be equal in speed!

Re: Slow ethernet connection

egparrot1 — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 13:52:15 GMT

My hub is an SR203 and there is nothing to distinguish the difference ports on the rear, it may just have been a coincidence or something that changed the speed. I am not on full fibre, I have fibre to the cabinet only.

Re: Slow ethernet connection

egparrot1 — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 13:54:27 GMT

Oh hang on a minute, I just realized today's speed problem may be down to a background cloud backup that I didn't realise was running. I'll see how it is when this is concluded. It was definitely very slow last week and I don't think there was any background traffic.