Wi-Fi Pod Speed Tests

[Aptic]

Up until recently I was getting between 300-600 mbps on my POD and Hub over wifi. (I don't have wired connections) However, I am at best getting around 150-200 mbps on my POD now (no change with the Hub, and there was no change to my set up).  I rebooted everything to see if it would make a difference, but it remains the same.    This has been going on for about a week, and measured at different times throughout the day.

When I run the Bell wifi checkup, it is showing a download speed of 1.8 gbps on the hub, and 1.5 gbps on the POD - with a strong signal to all my devices.  That said, I see no difference in the performance of any of my devices. I also note that the Bell wifi app is showing my devices are getting 2-3x the speed that I see when I run Speedtest or Fast. 

I am curious as to why the POD speed connectivitiy has dropped in half, and why Bell keeps sending me promotions to upgrade my speed, when I can't even come close to getting the speed I pay for now. 

[Symple_Syrup]

Yes, all of these companies need to do a much better job of rolling out firmware updates.
1) If I had been able to "back level" the modem I could have proved this issue very simply.
2) If they had fully tested the firmware in their test environment they would have seen this problem before rollout.
3) I have to keep my own record of firmware rollout. I document it so I can tell when they "force" an upgrade. I log into my modem when i notice a offline notice from my NAS. (its my Canary in the coal mine - it is wired to the Gigahub and notifies me when the port on the Gigahub drops.
4) I would like to see release notes that tell us what was changed. Even the Bell Technicians/help desk do not have this knowledge.
5) I had a ticket open for this issue. Every step of the way I had to describe and reinvent without anyone else been educated as to what my issue is. Do the tickets really record anything useful? (Frustrating the customers.)

 I could go on but I want Bell to read this thread and understand that they have a good product but they are getting complaisant. We pay for a premium product and deserve premium support.
I would be open to becoming an beta tester for them and I'm sure there are others here that would not mind... 
Lets hope the fix is rolled out with some of this in mind.

[dks]

Thank you for your comments. Bell has never, ever provided release notes for their products. The closest you can get is the manufacturer's web site, which in this case is Plume. This is the way most corporations actually do business, except perhaps Microsoft. All users of their Windows operating system are actually beta testers, whether we like it or not. 

[ekstasis]

thank you @Symple_Syrup for your updates and persistence.

fully in agreement with you that Bell should take this as an opportunity to be more transparent with their updates. although i have doubts they'd ever do this, i still believe they should do this. i'm not interested in appeals of "that's just how business is done." i don't care! lol

also, it's clear to me that their "tickets" are more or less pointless. i never even received any kind of confirmation about the "ticket" support told me they opened on this issue. 

[Aptic]

It's now been 2 months since I identified this issue, and still no fix. 

[cuj0flow]

I just ended up ordering some long Cat 6.. hoping to sneak in the installation and that my wife doesn't notice it running along baseboard.  "Hun, do I need 1.5 gbps Internet access for my NAS and PC?  No.  And do most sites not even support download speeds that fast, and limit the DL speed for larger files to sub-gigabit per second? Yes.  And there's only two of us here and neither of us game or stream online?  Sure.  But I must tweak.  Hun, I must tweak until the max available is the max received....  This is the way of the serial tweaker."

But yeah, this is taking too long and I'm sure much more prevalent an issue, it's just that most would never notice or care that much.

[Aptic]

@cuj0flow  You make a good point about most would never notice.  Many people pay extra for 1.5 or 3 gbps internet thinking that its faster, but are unaware that none of their devices are capable of connecting at that speed. 

[Pods_R_Lousy]

I never post on these, but the pod situation as described has been monumentally time wasting and infuriating. I have had the same experience (I was on a Hub4000 and a 1.5gig package) and had 2 1st gen pods that routinely produce 400 to 600 down for over a year.

Then I started to experience slow downs (100mbs or less) and periodic drops. A tech came by and gave me a replacement Hub4000 and new pods. Improvement, but my speed at the pods couldn't get past 200 (Hub was registering 1.8gbs). He suggested that if it didn't sort itself out, that I upgrade to the 3gigabit package and the gigaHub with Wifi6e 2nd gen pods.

I did. A tech came by and did the install (I was supposed to do a self install, so surprised to see him). He ran into a lot of problems and was here for 2.5 hours (should have been 30 min or less is what he said) as the backend wasn't setup to switch to the 3 gigabit service. After the 2.5 hours, Hub shows 3.1 or 3.2 so far so good...while I have no drops, I have the throttled 200mbs performance at the pods (all are green and excellent signal). I am frustrated (at least no drops). I have also repositioned the pods and can make things worse, but no better :(. I also wish that the Hub4000 or the GigaHub would allow one to select own channels (not sure if it would help, but a lot better than just plugging and unplugging hardware) instead of allowing it to optimize, but alas it is a dummied down interface.

Fast forward time, I received a new gigahub in the mail for the self service option. I thought if I replace the one that the tech installed, I might have a better result. I have done that (less than 30 mins), but unfortunately, it is the exact same problem, limited to 200 mbs at the pods. I should also add that testing with the same device (over and over again, I can't help myself) over the years, I got great numbers near the Hub4000 but haven't been able to reach the same level with the gigahub and I am now paying for 3 gigabits instead of 1.5. Ridiculous from all perspectives. 

I am hopeful that the Plume support upgrade will fix the problem. The timing of my problems is the same as the OPs (happened in Jan/Feb 2025).

I have 40 devices and the two techs that were here remarked on it, but like the OP, I have had that many devices forever. I should also add just like the OP, I know that the devices can't handle the max speeds and nothing I do requires those speeds, but it is the principle of it and I am paying for the higher speed so I would like to see the 400 to 600 at the pods and a gigabit when I am near the hub like I did last year with the slower 1.5gb service.

Fingers crossed for the Plume fix, but I am not holding my breath.

[dks]

To a point you are correct. But some have 10 Gb capable computers and switches and can get faster downloads. Connect at that speed? Yes. 

[ekstasis]

i will attempt to escalate this again with support to see if we can get an update. if any others currently experiencing the issue have the time to do so as well, it would be much appreciated.

[Symple_Syrup]

Yes, frustrating for sure. I just got off the phone with Bell tech support . I had asked for a follow up on Tuesday but had to contact them before receiving a call back. Update is that they are still working with plume/modem guys to get the fix. I asked for an update next Tuesday whether they have a fix or not but to stay in the loop.

[ekstasis]

thanks for the update, i really appreciate your persistence on this issue @Symple_Syrup !

[Moto2023]

Bell's WiFi App reports "Excellent" WiFi signal (6E) to my smartphone. Upon using the App's "Device Speed Test", the green speedometer rotates to max for both download & upload. However, the "reported" speeds show up as: DL=1Mbps; UL=960Mbps. Perhaps DL should read 1Gbps.

Can Bell check the App and correct.

[dks]

Thanks for your question. You are describing a known error in the program. I have reported it myself and it is not as regular as it was. Rebooting your phone may help it go away. Also updating the program and your operating system may help. 

[Moto2023]

I reboot every morning. Android OS has been updated as of January. Neither has corrected the issue. I merely want to notify Bell WiFi App developers of the issue, so hopefully, the next App update addresses the issue. Good that you have also noticed the problem and submitted.

[Aptic]

@BellPatricia   Could we please get an update on this issue. It's been more than 2 months since I identified this issue and I need the pods as Bell's wifi signal is too weak to cover my house.  My devices have slowed and we are not getting the service we should be.  It's time for Bell to step up their service and keep their existing customers happy.