Ookla Speed Test - NBN

JackFrost on 25/04/2015 - 20:15
Last edited 25/04/2015 - 20:29

We've recently upgraded to NBN. Where currently with TPG on the Limited 12Mb/sec download plan but with unlimited Bandwidth. As you can imagine we've been testing the speed heaps and comparing it to our reasonably good ADSL service. But one huge difference I've noticed is the speeds tested on the Windows PCs are remarkable slower than taken on any Apple made devices such as the iPhone, iPad or Mac. My question is why would this be? They are all on the same network, connecting to the same WiFi, the same local Telstra server tested on Ookla- and literally mm away from each other during tests, but still yield different results. All devices were tested multiple times averaging very similar testing speeds on each device respectively (while also making sure that I didn't test any at the exact same time- so they didn't influence each other). I've linked an easy to compare image showing my findings. What do you guys think? I'd just thought I would ask the very knowledgeable community here. Any input/thoughts on how to improve would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Jack

Image: http://postimg.org/image/tk13cpmm7/

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Comments

  • dylanando on 25/04/2015 - 20:27
    +3

    i thought nbn was supposed to be much faster, dosent seem to be all that different then adsl2

    • indium on 25/04/2015 - 20:34
      +9

      OP would be on basic plan, no extra charges so they've capped his speed at 12 Mbps. You need to pay more for higher speeds on NBN

      eg. http://www.optus.com.au/shop/broadband/nbn/speed-packs

      • dylanando on 25/04/2015 - 21:13
        +4

        This makes more sense now! Cheers

        • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2015 - 04:34
          +5

          He's also getting 4ms ping which is amazeballs.

        • wired00 on 28/04/2015 - 10:17

          @voolish: I agree, although that speed isn't great (on the plan they're using) that ping time is 10's of factors faster than anyone with the fastest ADSL connection's can achieve.

    • JackFrost on 25/04/2015 - 20:37

      If your paying for the unrestricted TPG NBN then that would definitely be the case. TPG has two Plans. The 12 Mb/s unlimited plan (which is the same cost as the ADSL 2 plan) and the unrestricted 100 Mb/s plan. Which is obviously what your thinking regarding the speeds. We didn't want to pay any more per month so we opted for the lower one.

      • dylanando on 25/04/2015 - 21:13
        +11

        oh man, go the full 100mb/s. Wish i could get nbn. Stuck on 1 down and up :(.

        • ilikeradiohead on 27/04/2015 - 16:04

          Well you'd be chuffed with 12mbps then!

      • zeomega on 26/04/2015 - 21:08
        +7

        http://imgur.com/k7Ed0Jo

        NBN results. Please try to get your adsl to match my speed.

        • bs0 on 27/04/2015 - 14:55
          +3

          so jealous

        • twocsies on 27/04/2015 - 15:32
          +1

          You are on one of the more expensive plans, but he was describing the cheapest nbn plan.

        • ProjectZero on 27/04/2015 - 16:02
          +1

          @twocsies: Theoretically, ADSL2+ can match the 2nd tier of NBN… but it's only available to very select few. i.e. the people living right next to the exchange, as a result NBN is still a better choice for a majority of Australians.

          I'm on ADSL2+ and am barely getting 4.5 Mbps atm… used to be 5Mbps but line degradation and Telstra being the bunch of lazy bums, no one has bothered checking the quality of the copper leading to lower speeds.

          Also, the other advantage of NBN is the upload speed… What I wouldn't give for higher upload speed so I can actually use cloud storages and stream my PC to my mobile when I'm out and about.

        • twocsies on 27/04/2015 - 17:18

          @ProjectZero: I know what you mean. I pay for 100Mbps Telstra ultimate cable, but the 2Mbps upload cap is so shocking. I can Skype video fairly decently but it's definitely the bottleneck at the moment.

        • bjdchwr on 27/04/2015 - 18:44
          -1

          I am just quite curious that I have so many -ve feedback from my last post.

          Please read my statement CAREFULLY.

          "It is true unless you pick a more expensive NBN plan." Is it a fair enough statement? I will be very excited if you could find any Tier 1 Unlimited NBN has the similar speed with approx $60 a month.

          I am just a little disappointing that some of the guys did not read patiently.

          My home ADSL gets nearly 15Mbps Download and 0.9Mbps uploads (I am close to DSLAM (1-1.5KM) so I get this speed. ) and I must say this speed is BETTER than the Tier 1 NBN on TPG plan. THEORETICALLY, ADSL2+ has no speed limitations (up to 24Mbps) so your actual speed really depends on your location, and your telephone line quality.

          My friend has just got NBN installed and chosen TPG lowest price plan, which is the same price range for ADSL. He just gets 12M download and I have recommended him to upgrade to a better plan.

          Guys, I am trying NOT to lecture you guys but what I said is the fact. I am also doing IT in school so I don't think I am IT savvy in this area (I am doing CCNA as well).

          YES! NBN gets less latency and better upload speed and I am keen to switch to NBN. Unfortunately NBN is not available in my area. I might stick with optus cable when I am moving to another street.

        • worldwidehappiness on 27/04/2015 - 19:43

          @bs0: You mean envious.

        • Axelstrife on 27/04/2015 - 20:26
          +1

          @bjdchwr: In fact, NBN is SLOWER than ADSL2+ if your house is located near DSLAM exchange.

          Not everyone is lucky enough to be close to the exchange i was getting 1.5mbps download speed at my old place so 12mbps seems bloody fast.
          and for some people who don't have to get INTERNET for lots of people 12mbps is plenty fast enough for gaming watching full HD streaming and download aswell but atleast with NBN you have the option for opting for faster speeds.

          ill only be on the slowest for a short time i am with iprimus as i have 4 months left on contract from old place that had adsl2+ after 4 months ill go tpg or some other company ive seens lots for $90 for unlimited 100mbps.

        • bjdchwr on 27/04/2015 - 21:17
          -1

          @holden93: Maybe I am stereotyping for ADSL2+ but I am comparing the fact as ADSL2+ does not have speed limits itself.

          The full statement is "In fact, NBN is SLOWER than ADSL2+ if your house is located near DSLAM exchange. It is true unless you pick a more expensive NBN plan."

          The main purpose for my statement is changing to NBN != Fast broadband (at least it is a conditional fast broadband - you need to pay more to get a satisfactory level of service / bandwidth for NBN.)

          You know what, my college's house is iprimus DSL and it's bloody SLOW due to the fact that the phone line is crap. I am stereotyping not for iprimus but Telstra this time.

          It's said that Telstra is not happy with rolling out NBN because they will lose their investment for DSLAM. It's a monopoly game behind.

        • Axelstrife on 27/04/2015 - 21:37

          @bjdchwr: Ive never heard of anyone getting 100mbps outside of a research lab.
          Have you?

        • bjdchwr on 27/04/2015 - 22:13
          +1

          @holden93: I've never argued with the theoretical value and I am just having one concern: Is the Tier 1 NBN throttled to 12Mbps by TPG?

          Not to mention, the TPG service has limited the upload speed to 1Mbps for their Tier 1 NBN services.

          One of the reason we cannot get the 100M speed is that there are a lot of encapsulations which build up the amount of data transfers. We are not getting too technical, are we (I would suggest Whirlpool forum for these nice little talk)?

          I am not saying ADSL is better at all. If you pay more, you would definitely get MUCH BETTER service with NBN and it is not conflict with my original statement.

          I would prefer NBN as it provides less latency and great for VOIP. I would go higher plan for better performance.

        • Axelstrife on 27/04/2015 - 22:24

          @bjdchwr: Is the Tier 1 NBN throttled to 12Mbps by TPG?
          yes.

          why do you sound like they are doing something bad? times are changeing away from you pay a set fee for data only.
          with adsl you have no choice as to what your connection will be outside of haveing a good wireing on your property and good routers.
          even the 100mbps is throttled i thought since fiber is capable is so much faster speeds look at the US with 2gigabit download speeds from comcast or 1gigabit from google fiber.

        • Charity on 28/04/2015 - 15:16
          -2

          honestly, you seem to be getting jipped.

          you are "only" on 92mbs… but you are on fibre. There is no loss like copper.

          You should be getting your full 100mbs. (99 at the worst.)

      • This Guy on 27/04/2015 - 02:29

        "NBN means lower latency"

        What would you rather do? Catch an aeroplane Sydney to LA in 15 and a half hours; or spend 10 and a half days on a boat?

        That is the kind of difference in latency between ADSL and NBN. Almost everything you do on the web requires several calls to establish a connection.

        Yes movies may still take the same amount of time to download, but that will be improved in time as the other side of the network is upgraded.

        • QW3RTY on 27/04/2015 - 16:03

          Sydney to LAX takes 13.5 hours mate.

          Fix your lag.

        • twocsies on 27/04/2015 - 17:20

          It depends on the size of the boat. If it's a 6000 person cruise liner, it could be a lot of fun.

        • This Guy on 27/04/2015 - 19:17

          @QW3RTY:

          My googlefu failed me.

          @twocsies:

          Sorry mate, TCP/IP is pretty boring.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/04/2015 - 21:27

          @This Guy:

          15.5 is more like Melbourne to LAX

    • Oliver on 26/04/2015 - 20:59
      +1

      than*

    • Charity on 28/04/2015 - 15:27

      bro, The brand of OS has nothing to do with internet bandwidth speeds.

      12mbs or 100mbs or even 1000 mbs is ….v e r y … s l o w for any OS.

      In other words, check elsewhere.

  • Axelstrife on 25/04/2015 - 20:48

    wish i can help you im waiting for the 5th may for the installer to come install the inside the home part of the NBN.
    i'll definitely be trying to find an answer if this same thing affects me as ill be on the 12 mbps top start off with.
    that 4mbps is still 4 times the speed of adsl2+ at my old place lol.

    • megadeth on 26/04/2015 - 08:05

      I'm also waiting for the installer on 5/5… On 100mbps unlimited plan exetel…

      • Axelstrife on 26/04/2015 - 12:26

        Nice I just moved and still have 4 months left on my original 24 month contract so have to continue with iprimus which on the new pricing ism a rip off i was originally on adsl2+ unlimited at old house foir $60 a month including line rental which was cheapest when i signed up.

        I'll be on 12mbps and 1tb data with new plan for $99.95 a month for 4 months then id like to change isp.

    • ozkiwi75 on 26/04/2015 - 15:19

      Just out of interest, how long was the lag between them laying the NBN cables on your street and getting the home installation? We've had the fibre installed on our street a couple of months ago, all the way up to the outside wall of our house. But no info given to us on when we can expect to start approaching ISP providers.

      • Axelstrife on 26/04/2015 - 15:54

        no idea mate it was already installed on the outside when i moved in a month ago

        • megadeth on 27/04/2015 - 17:10
          +1

          In my case I ordered 11/04. They installed the outside bit on 20/04 and same day I got a technician appointment for inside install due for 5/05.

      • [Deactivated] on 29/04/2015 - 14:31
        +1

        They installed the cables and boxes on my street in December last year and we are still waiting

  • diazepam on 25/04/2015 - 21:15
    +2

    how are you connecting to the router via windows?
    which router are you using, and what wireless specifications does it support?
    A lot of factors contribute to this…

    Your iDevices come with N or AC with at least 100mpbs (12.5mB/s) which means they can support the maximum speed of your internet.
    If your windows is using wifi as well, perhaps you have an old wifi adapter, etc.

    • JackFrost on 26/04/2015 - 00:25

      Where using a brand new N 300 Mb/s router. The desktop PC WiFi adapter is 150 Mb/s.. I think? The laptop is very new. I think it's a
      N300. I will try directly connecting it to the modem see if that makes a difference.

      • ozhunter on 26/04/2015 - 01:28
        -6

        There's the reason, you have a crappy wifi adapter. Apple products have good wifi adapters.

        • Axelstrife on 26/04/2015 - 01:49
          -1

          I am using one of those cheapo usb wifi adapters from ebay no name brand crap on my desktop on a 4g vodafone connection this unlimited data weekend and am downloading at full speed.

          but it doesn't explain why on both his laptop and desktop the speeds are pretty much exactly the same while ipad and imac is 10mbps.

          maybe something with the router

      • diazepam on 26/04/2015 - 13:17
        +4

        try using an ethernet cable and report back
        perhaps you have interference on broadcasting channels or something to a similar effect.

        • Marty131 on 26/04/2015 - 20:33
          +1

          This should be your very first test…

          You could also try doing a local WIFI file transfer to / from your windows device and monitor the speed, to see if you can get higher than 4MB/s.

        • Marty131 on 27/04/2015 - 20:48
          +1

          @Marty131:

          Update: That should read 4Mb/s…. If your WiFi device / Windows system cannot sustain 4Mb/s, that is terrible!

    • Charity on 28/04/2015 - 15:40
      +1

      Why do hipsters have severe difficulties spelling standard words, yet have no problems including symbols and stylising like "iDevice", "Apple®", "North Face™ yoga pants"?

      • diazepam on 28/04/2015 - 20:38

        if you would like to point out where I have "severe difficulties spelling standard words" I would gladly rectify it.
        Cheers mate.

        P.S. You're the one that can't even use a space in "Son ofa Zombie"

        • Charity on 28/04/2015 - 21:48

          you're welcome.

          Why 1 space? I used 2 spaces. Ofa is my middle name.

        • ozhunter on 28/04/2015 - 22:02
          +1

          @Son ofa Zombie:

          Then the "O' should have been capitalized. :D

        • Charity on 28/04/2015 - 22:03

          @ozhunter:

          *☺

  • trex on 25/04/2015 - 21:33
    +1

    That is strange as usually the situation is reversed. What router are you using? Switch to wired connection instead and re-test the download speed to see if it improves. It sounds it might be a router configuration issue.

  • teardrops21 on 25/04/2015 - 22:51

    I didn't think apple made routers :P

    • scrimshaw on 26/04/2015 - 02:38
      +5

      Apple do make routers — the Apple Airport series.

      • Charity on 28/04/2015 - 21:53

        *Foxconn make routers - the Apple Airport series.

  • swiggity swag on 26/04/2015 - 00:32
    +1

    How can you be limited to 12 Mb/s when at the same time you say your bandwidth is unlimited? Which one is it?
    Also have the discrepancies in speed only been since the NBN? That could help determine the cause.

    • JackFrost on 26/04/2015 - 00:50

      Bandwidth being unlimited downloads. The capped speed is the lower spec plan where they limit your max download speed to 12mb/s- nothing to do with the amount of downloads. The speed discrepancy is only noticeable now as the ADSL 2 was slower and didn't make much difference. There has also been a router change but the tech specs are the same.

      • Miami Mall Alien on 26/04/2015 - 14:40
        +11

        That's not what bandwidth means. Bandwidth refers to how much data can be sent/received in a fixed amount of time; measured in Kbp/s (Kilobits per second) or Mbp/s (Megabits per second).

        Your quota relates to how much data you can consume.

  • G5 on 26/04/2015 - 00:54
    +2

    I have noticed this too. I think it's an issue with Flash running much slower on Windows for some reason. Ookla uses Flash to run its speedtests.

    • airzone on 26/04/2015 - 01:13
      +5

      Update your flash or use a different browser. I was getting 95 / 39mb/s on my pc.. But a dodgy flash installation will gimp it. Bear in mind that it's only a benchmarking tool - if you were to download a large file from microsoft then it will probably be fine.

      http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4316269826 :p

  • scrimshaw on 26/04/2015 - 02:40
    +5

    Here's a legacy speed test.

    15 megabyte image file
    http://www.ozspeedtest.com/legacy-bandwidth-test/tpg-speed-t…

    • kdtrey35 on 26/04/2015 - 16:28

      lol mine comes up as "your download speed 208 KB/s"

  • urzu on 26/04/2015 - 09:32

    I had a gaming PC once that came with special drivers for the LAN. 2 PCs in the house were getting very different speeds. I realized that for some reason, the gaming PC was limiting the download speed in the software (probably so as to keep to speed constant?). Check that if you have any LAN software installed, that it doesn't have an option for throttling.

    • supaderp on 27/04/2015 - 13:18

      Is this as rock xfastlan? I had the same issue in the past.

      • urzu on 27/04/2015 - 13:59

        It was a Gigabyte Guerilla in my case.

  • ahly92 on 26/04/2015 - 10:05
    -1

    try this one instead…much better
    speedtest.syd.optusnet.com.au

    here is a link to my speed (through wifi and 15 meter from router)(not nbn)
    http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/85764/30033/untitled.pn…

  • wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww on 26/04/2015 - 12:07
    -4

    so you're getting 10mb on a 12mb plan? what's wrong?

    • JackFrost on 26/04/2015 - 12:57
      +2

      Did you read the post? Clearly not.

    • twocsies on 27/04/2015 - 15:36

      He is only getting 4mbps on his PC. Likely some problem in his local network because other devices like his Mac are getting 10mbps.

  • Ramrunner on 26/04/2015 - 12:49

    If you're connecting using wireless…live with it or you can try better adapters. I've worked with wireless now since 802.11b days, and although you can tweak and sometimes work out what's causing interference, wireless is pretty much always a shifting bandwidth thing.

    The only way to truly truly test is to have everything wired directly to the router when testing. Take the wireless out of it completely.

    I have yet to see wireless provide more bandwidth at a steady rate at a decent distance than wired directly into a decent Gigabit router/switch.

    I still always recommend wiring the house if at all possible. If not go straight for the fastest 802.11ac.

  • bjdchwr on 26/04/2015 - 14:17
    +2

    You could run an isolation test on your Windows PC with ethernet cable plugged in.

    Different platforms may have different algorithm for speed test.

    I must say WiFi performance sometimes is quite fluctuated and varies on different NIC.

  • Miami Mall Alien on 26/04/2015 - 14:54
    +8

    In no particular order:

    • Update your router's firmware.
    • Update the drivers for the Windows-based NICs (WLAN Adapters).
    • Check the router's config settings and ensure it is broadcasting in the fastest supported protocols for the Windows-based clients (802.11n or possibly 802.11ac for the new laptop; it maybe reverting to 802.11b/g for whatever reason).
    • Check the Driver Settings/Advanced tab for the WLAN Adapters in Device Manager and ensure no power-saving/energy efficiency/speed-throttling options are enabled. Laptops likely have these enabled by default.
    • Ensure no processes on the Windows-based PCs are consuming bandwidth in the background.
    • Eliminate the possibility of WiFi signal strength/interference impacting client speeds by using an Ethernet cable from the router to the Windows PCs, moving the Windows laptop to an area with 100% signal strength or changing WiFi channels on the router until speeds improve.
    • Disable WiFi encryption and test speeds again.
    • Try a different router (you haven't mentioned the model).
    • Run TCP/IP Optimizer on the Windows-based PCs to increase the amount of allowed maximum simultaneous connections (Run as Administrator > Set Connection Speed slider to 10,000Kbps > Tick Modify all Network Adapters > Switch to Optimal settings at the bottom and Apply Changes and Restart).
    • JackFrost on 26/04/2015 - 19:17

      Awesome! Will give it a go, and update the thread.

    • twocsies on 27/04/2015 - 15:42

      The first order of business would be to restart the devices. It could just be some stale settings.

      Then check those slow devices using an Ethernet cable, perhaps comparing the tests with a fast device also using an Ethernet cable. I'd also suggest adding in one or two alternate tests of speed.

      Only after that would I think about checking settings or drivers or updating firmware.

      • Miami Mall Alien on 27/04/2015 - 16:03
        +1

        The first order of business would be to restart the devices.

        I think that naturally would have happened by now, throughout the course of the OP's dilemma here. The Help Desk script favourite: "Having you tried turning it on & off?" is pretty much a household joke these days.

        Only after that would I think about checking settings or drivers or updating firmware.

        Drivers and firmware should always be up-to-date anyway. If not for the likely performance or stability benefits (or new functionality), then to rule them out as potential causes. Especially modems, given they will go through a flurry of firmware changes in the months after release as the inevitable kinks are sorted out (WiFi issues in particular; go see how many modem/router threads on WP have been solved with firmware updates, people don't repeat this stuff for nothing).

        • twocsies on 27/04/2015 - 17:02
          +1

          You need a system for the order of checks. If you go through it randomly, you will waste a lot of time.

          I'd just suggest keep everything the same, then trace starting from the router, which is known to work fine on some devices, towards the devices which are slow. It's less likely that it's a router or network problem as some devices are working. Replace or test each link along the way. First the physical layer of wireless vs wired is a good place to start. Drivers can be a second step, and then ethernet settings. Move on to check things like applications that could be competing for bandwidth.

          Note that this is not the only order, but for inexperienced network testing, this is probably the best sequence I can recommend. Check each link and layer in a sequence.

          As for turning everything off and on, you can easily avoid this with a few simple ipconfig release and renew commands, but turning off and on will usually do the exact same thing, and avoid the command prompt.

  • zeomega on 26/04/2015 - 21:11
    +2

    http://imgur.com/k7Ed0Jo

    92mbits = Win 7
    66mbits = 4 yr old macbook

  • This Guy on 27/04/2015 - 03:00
    -1

    Are you using a USB wifi stick on the PC? They are often slow. Everyone's advice of using a cable is great if practical. If you need WIFI consider buying a well reviewed USB3 or PCIe wifi dongle if your PC has an empty USB3 or PCIe slot.

    The laptop may just have a cheap wifi card. If your laptop has an access port on the bottom you might be able to swap it out for a good Intel wifi adaptor (~$30 - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&p…).

    For any of us to actually help you we need to know the brand and model of your PC, laptop and router so we can look up specs to find the bottlenecks.

  • shannonn54 on 27/04/2015 - 10:46

    try this test site
    TestMyNet

  • Less Point on 27/04/2015 - 14:45
    +4

    You're better off asking this on Whirlpool, where you will get responses from people who know what they are talking about.
    You wouldn't ask whirlpool for the best deal on Eneloops…

    (Bring on the negs, that's the OzB way)

    • Miami Mall Alien on 27/04/2015 - 15:27
      +3

      For what it's worth, there is a fairly fluid exchange or revolving door between OzB and WP and many of us do also post on WP (myself included) and OzB deals are continually linked on WP as well.
      There are many a thread on WP asking for help that are filled with nothing but smart-ass responses, fanboy flame-wars and elitist geek condescension. There's certainly no guarantee you'll find answers.

      As for the OP's problem, there's really nothing that has been suggested here that won't be repeated once more on WP, until the OP has actually gone and eliminated some issues as causes and given us more background info (e.g. the goddamned router model).

      In terms of technical competence, OzB can be just as informative as WP, it really depends on the will of the more knowledgeable posters.

      • JackFrost on 27/04/2015 - 18:13

        Hey Amar89. Thanks for your knowledgeable responses! I'm still in the process of trying all of the suggested fixes/tests you mentioned- I've been busy with work the past few days. My router model is an N300 WiFi Gigabit - NF7. the router TPG supplies you with when upgrading to the NBN. I don't have any other router suitable routers to run other tests as the old one is only ADSL 2+ compatible. Will update you soon on the ideas you have suggested.
        Cheers

        Edit: I also have updated my Desktop PC wireless card to the latest driver. It hasn't had an effect on the speed. The model is ASUS 802.11n Wireless if that helps.

  • ProjectZero on 27/04/2015 - 17:22

    Just out of curiosity, does any one here have fttn? If so, what are your up and down speed? I'm most likely going to get fttn in my area seeing as the MTM has been confirmed and would like to see what I may be getting in the future.

  • tomokaicho on 27/04/2015 - 19:06

    NBN tiers are a way to extract more money from consumers. There is no difference in cost to NBN Co in provisioning 12mb or 100mb. Instead an artificial distinction was created by the previous management and inertia is keeping it around under the new management.

    TPG FTTB gives the full 100mb without any tier distinctions and no download limits. That I what I have at home. I feel sorry for people with the NBN.

    • DRAGONPHONEIX on 27/04/2015 - 20:17

      that would cost a leg and arm no ?

    • JackFrost on 27/04/2015 - 22:54

      Yeah what does FTTB cost per Month? I know the unrestricted plan for TPG FTTP is $99 P/M

      • tomokaicho on 30/04/2015 - 19:30

        $60/month,cheaper than most NBN plans. It recently went up to $70/month for new users, reflecting the cost of compliance with government regulations (to protect the NBN from competition).

  • treeman on 27/04/2015 - 19:31
    +1

    I had a similar problem once.

    Here's what worked for me:

    Go to your routers homepage. Should be something like your ip address.
    Go to 802.11 Mode and then play around with the modes. Hopefully one works. If not just go back to what you had before.

    Let me know if you have more questions.

    • JackFrost on 27/04/2015 - 19:40
      +1

      I've done exactly what you and Amar89 have said. I just updated the routers firmware and now I can't get on the Internet at all! After the router updated it has seemingly rebooted the router to factory settings. Now when I want to connect to it I can't. The default password is on the bottom of the device "a1b2c3d4e5" but it DOESNT work! Any help as now we literally have no internet :/

      • DRAGONPHONEIX on 27/04/2015 - 19:51
        +1

        You need to go to the account setting page on the router and valid if the details are correct .
        Check the logs to see whats wrong

        • JackFrost on 27/04/2015 - 20:06

          I can't access that page. It won't let me connect, wired or wireless?

        • DRAGONPHONEIX on 27/04/2015 - 20:14

          @JackFrost: what router do you have

        • JackFrost on 27/04/2015 - 20:47

          @DRAGONPHONEIX: All good I fixed it. After installing the new router software it seemed to of changed the default password (to who bloody knows what!) and also changed the default admin IP address. I basically found it by googling different IP address for other Netcomm devices and one worked. Then I was able to get in an change everything back to normal! (Obviously it was connected via Ethernet) What's scary is TPG didn't even no what the password/admin IP would be if it wasn't what was written on the router!

        • DRAGONPHONEIX on 27/04/2015 - 21:40

          @JackFrost: exactly what I was going to do :) they would never as net comm create it , it would be the manual . Well done either way

  • JackFrost on 27/04/2015 - 23:02
    +4

    Hooray!!

    The issue has been solved! Thanks everyone for all of your valid input into the problem. Especially the professional techies! ( Amar89 & DRAGONPHONEIX I'm looking at you guys!) but also others commenting with there own experiences as I have always found with technology that sometimes weird shit just happens, and trying the seemingly obvious/odd works!

    I thought I would quickly summarise what I did in order to help anyone else down the road- (and possibly make it simpler!)

    • I initial followed some of the early comments telling me to update my Flash as Ookla speed test used this. I did that with no vice and It didn't seem to make a difference.

    • I then tested the speeds using the various speed testing sites that everyone posted with similar results. it definitely wasn't flash.

    • After Amar89 commented and gave a great list of possible steps to follow I went through and did every single one. I'll address the ones that helped.

    • My windows ASUS WiFi adapters where already up to date so that wasn't the issue

    • I checked all devices and looked at what type of WLAN they were using. All used at least wireless N.
    • I also checked if there was anything running in the background but I already knew there wasn't as I'm a bit of a Nazi with background programs!
    • I eliminated signal strength being an issue by connecting all possible devices over Ethernet and they were still downloading slow.
    • I then proceeded to run the TCP/IP optimizer, that did make a small difference, but not heaps.
    • I then went in and configured the Desktop WLAN card and found that the settings weren't at there optimum, This increased speeds by about 1/Mbps.
    • Finally I then went in to the router and found that it was only broadcasting under the G profile!! this was the biggest speed change of them all. I adjusted it to use mixed profiles and then updated the routers firmware (Which did bring some hassles to go with!)

    And now after all of this fussing about ALL computers/devices now run at nearly the max speed (Our NBN allows). Even the Mac and iDevices are actually running just a tad faster which is a bonus!

    Here is the main comparison image of the before an after in a nice little package for all too see! Now that the Windows computers are running at there full potential it is quite noticeable how much faster things load.

    Comparison Image

    Again, thank you for everyone's input I hope this thread helps others in the future!

    Cheers, Jack

    • Miami Mall Alien on 28/04/2015 - 00:31
      +1

      Finally I then went in to the router and found that it was only broadcasting under the G profile!! this was the biggest speed change of them all. I adjusted it to use mixed profiles and then updated the routers firmware (Which did bring some hassles to go with!)

      Awesome! And you didn't need to go over to WP.

      Also, I realise I should have mentioned that a firmware update would likely necessitate a factory reset (especially if, in your case you've never updated before and jumped ahead 5 or 6 revisions; the "major" releases are the earliest ones, later firmware releases are "minor" and don't usually require factory resets), but usually they do give you some warning or will at least show the "Factory Reset" option being selected in some way or even have a little disclaimer from the manufacturer on the firmware download page.

      Glad to see you're back in action and I hope it's been a good learning experience for you.

      P.S. You may just be able to squeeze more performance out of your line with a better router (not important now since you're capped at 12Mbp/s, but in the future, do keep that in mind; also better WiFi range/performance too). ISP-bundled modem/routers are without exception, terrible, and from reading up, that Netcomm NF7 does seem to have an underpowered chipset and a piss-poor WiFi radio. If it works for you and you don't get any further issues, then stick with it, but an upgrade in the future wouldn't be a bad idea.

      I was wondering though, have you ever tried hooking up anything directly to the NBN box and doing a speed test?

      Especially the professional techies! ( Amar89 & DRAGONPHONEIX I'm looking at you guys!)

      Heh. Even though I do work in IT, I still wouldn't call myself a "professional". More like a paid enthusiast.

      • JackFrost on 28/04/2015 - 01:24

        Yep I think the OzBargin community was perfect for It!
        Yeah the router didn't say anything about a factory reboot but I figured something might happen. I just wasn't prepared for it to change the default admin settings making it a pain to get access too!
        Yep I would definitely consider a faster router for the future!
        No I haven't tried connecting anything directly to the box, but I thought that It wouldn't work anyway? I thought NBN still needs to be run through a router to work?
        Professional or not, still a great help and asset to this community!

        Cheers

        • Miami Mall Alien on 28/04/2015 - 16:09
          -1

          One other thing you might want to look at for the Windows laptop, if you go into "Power Options" section of the Control Panel (sort by Icons first), you can create a new "Power Plan" (which is useful for a whole host of reasons; namely turning off every single power-saving feature when on AC mode to maximise performance) and in the Advanced Settings window, you'll find a Wireless Adapter Settings - Power Saving Mode option too, where you can specify how aggressively you want the WiFi Radio to consume battery. When on AC power obviously, that should be set to Maximum Performance.

          The BIOS of your laptop, depending on how tightly it's been locked down by the OEM, may also contain some power-saving state settings and WiFi settings that could be worth looking at, but they do vary a lot from brand to brand and have differing names, so I can't really cover them here and you may not feel comfortable tinkering with your BIOS or updating it for instance (which can improve WLAN NIC compatibility and performance in some cases).

          I just wasn't prepared for it to change the default admin settings making it a pain to get access too!

          Usually they spare you trouble of pulling your hair out by having the default logins on the bottom of the modem or in the manual. But as I said, ISP-bundled modems spare every expense (never seen a manual for most of them), so the simple task of updating the firmware becomes a complete pain in the ass.

          No I haven't tried connecting anything directly to the box, but I thought that It wouldn't work anyway? I thought NBN still needs to be run through a router to work?

          Don't quote me here but, your NBN NTD will have one UNI-D port on the back/side for direct Ethernet connection to a router. You could hook up an Ethernet cable from here to a PC directly (which could theoretically give better speed), but obviously it's better to go via a router since more than one device will be able to connect and secondly, for security reasons, as the NTD doesn't have a firewall/NAT on it. Technically it's not a "modem", as Fibre doesn't need modulation/demodulation, but for all intents and purposes, NBN "modems" function identically to ASDL modems.

    • McFly on 28/04/2015 - 13:55
      +1

      I eliminated signal strength being an issue by connecting all possible devices over Ethernet and they were still downloading slow.
      Finally I then went in to the router and found that it was only broadcasting under the G profile!!

      Something don't add up…

      • JackFrost on 28/04/2015 - 14:09

        I think it was a combination of the router firmware and the broadcast settings. Obviously if it was just the WiFi broadcast settings then yes it would be odd. However the Ethernet connected computers still had slow speeds before both of these steps had been completed.

      • Miami Mall Alien on 28/04/2015 - 16:19

        The factory reset might have cleared out some funky router settings.

        Speaking of which, JackFrost, while you're in the midst of optimising and familiarising yourself with your router gear, have you bothered looking at your NBN NTD's config page and checking the settings there as well?

        • JackFrost on 28/04/2015 - 22:52

          where would I find NDT settings? I had a quick glance and didn't see that term?

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