Talk Talk Fibre Broadband "low bandwidth" problem

[Mr Allen]

Above.

At the moment I'm watching a show on Amazon Prim Video on my Xbox at my Parents', and it's working perfectly, no buffering or anything, but when I tried it at home the other day, which is on the same provider, it said I couldn't watch Amazon Prime on my Xbox due to low bandwidth.

I know I download a lot of stuff like patches and stuff on my Xbox at home, but I'm supposed to be on the unlimited package!

Do I need to ring Talk Talk up next week to discuss this?

It's a non UK call centre, and as discussed in a topic in the off topic section this morning, I hate talking to them because they don't understand my strong Sheffield accent.

 

[Judge]

Looks like there's a fair number of things to check before contacting TalkTalk or Amazon UK Prime directly. The first thing to do is to check the actual bandwidth you're receiving in your flat from TalkTalk. For that advertised speed of 36 mps, determine what you are really getting based on the quality of your connection.

Broadband speed checker
TalkTalk

Then compare your actual bandwidth against Amazon Prime's streaming requirements for Non-HD, HD and Ultra-HD video.

comparethemarket.com - What broadband do I need for a streaming services?

You might also consider other basic things relative to running wi-fi, such as the distance between your XBox and your router, and if there's any objects in between to attenuate your bandwidth. As well, consider disconnecting other devices at the time that might be eating up your bandwidth. Yet another possibility is to temporarily reconnect directly to a wired connection with your Ethernet cable. See if your bandwidth goes up doing that alone.

How to stop buffering on Netflix, iPlayer, Amazon and more

If none of those considerations allow you to speed up your connection, yeah...it sounds like you'll need to call TalkTalk customer service. Where a technician can physically determine if there's a bottleneck somewhere, whether a hardware of software problem. Where you want to be as succinct as possible in telling them that you appear to have a bandwidth issue.

There's also the possibility that Amazon Prime itself may have internal issues with TalkTalk. Where you might consider contacting them as well just to rule that out. Consider this only after dealing with TalkTalk first.

And of course, consider at any given time whether or not Amazon UK Prime itself is down. And how that compares to other online streaming you're able to receive. If you're having difficulty with much of anything streaming, you can deduct that it's not likely any one service.

Amazon Prime Instant Video down or not working? Problems, status and outages

 

[Mr Allen]

Looks like there's a fair number of things to check before contacting TalkTalk or Amazon UK Prime directly. The first thing to do is to check the actual bandwidth you're receiving in your flat from TalkTalk. For that advertised speed of 36 mps, determine what you are really getting based on the quality of your connection.

Broadband speed checker
TalkTalk

Then compare your actual bandwidth against Amazon Prime's streaming requirements for Non-HD, HD and Ultra-HD video.

comparethemarket.com - What broadband do I need for a streaming services?

You might also consider other basic things relative to running wi-fi, such as the distance between your XBox and your router, and if there's any objects in between to attenuate your bandwidth. As well, consider disconnecting other devices at the time that might be eating up your bandwidth. Yet another possibility is to temporarily reconnect directly to a wired connection with your Ethernet cable. See if your bandwidth goes up doing that alone.

How to stop buffering on Netflix, iPlayer, Amazon and more

If none of those considerations allow you to speed up your connection, yeah...it sounds like you'll need to call TalkTalk customer service. Where a technician can physically determine if there's a bottleneck somewhere, whether a hardware of software problem. Where you want to be as succinct as possible in telling them that you appear to have a bandwidth issue.

There's also the possibility that Amazon Prime itself may have internal issues with TalkTalk. Where you might consider contacting them as well just to rule that out. Consider this only after dealing with TalkTalk first.

And of course, consider at any given time whether or not Amazon UK Prime itself is down. And how that compares to other online streaming you're able to receive. If you're having difficulty with much of anything streaming, you can deduct that it's not likely any one service.

Amazon Prime Instant Video down or not working? Problems, status and outages

The router and the console are both in the same room, it's a 1 bedroom Flat, the only rooms in the place are 1 bedroom, a Kitchen, Bathroom, and Lounge.

 

[Judge]

The router and the console are both in the same room, it's a 1 bedroom Flat, the only rooms in the place are 1 bedroom, a Kitchen, Bathroom, and Lounge.

I have no idea what your apartment looks like, where your router is in relation to hardware, and what objects may or may not be in between them to attenuate your signal. And that's just one of many considerations. Read all the links I posted first. It's a process involving multiple steps- without one instant solution.

I live in a one bedroom flat as well, and it's a touchy issue as to the proximity of my equipment. Moving the router, its antennas or moving my computer can directly impact the bars I get through my system's network adapter. It happens...

So go check all the other things mentioned without the needless commentaries. Deduce them all one-by-one. Things you can at least attempt on your own before having to contact a call center. One thing for sure you need to understand, is that more often than not troubleshooting any kind of high technology is not likely to yield an instant, simple answer. It usually requires methodically going through several steps of deduction. Even then there are no guarantees of success.

 

[Autistamatic]

Interference to your wi-fi signal can come from so many sources, including nearby flats. We live in a semi-detached house and moving the router away from the party wall improved our signal/speed no end. I also keep a 10m ethernet cable so I can hook either of the PCs in the living room up with a direct wired connection if I need extra speed. They're only a couple of quid on ebay.

e.g. the link below - £2.69 inc postage for a 10m black ethernet cable.

RJ45 Ethernet Cat5e Network Cable LAN Patch Lead 0.25m,1m,2m,3m,5m,10m up to 20m | eBay

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

Being on an unlimited package doesn't effect bandwidth. The package determines how much you can down/upload in total, the bandwidth determines how much you can at one time. Judge had a load of great suggestions, another thing to think about is whether your devices were using the internet for anything else at the time, some things run in the background taking up bandwidth without you realising.

 

[Judge]

Interference to your wi-fi signal can come from so many sources, including nearby flats. We live in a semi-detached house and moving the router away from the party wall improved our signal/speed no end. I also keep a 10m ethernet cable so I can hook either of the PCs in the living room up with a direct wired connection if I need extra speed. They're only a couple of quid on ebay.

e.g. the link below - £2.69 inc postage for a 10m black ethernet cable.

RJ45 Ethernet Cat5e Network Cable LAN Patch Lead 0.25m,1m,2m,3m,5m,10m up to 20m | eBay

Yep. Amazing how bloody sensitive routers can be relative to network adapters when used on a wireless basis. How a slight movement of either can skew an optimal signal. Not to mention dense or metal objects which may be lying in the path of the signal. Yet another real concern for me personally in my flat.

And yes, temporarily reconnecting with an Ethernet cable is a simple thing to do that just might instantly tell you whether or not the problem is contained to considerations of running wireless or not. Even if there isn't a severe problem with bandwidth, odds are you'll get a better signal with a direct Ethernet connection.

There's just so much that can play with the bandwidth you pay for, versus the bandwidth you receive.

 

[Mr Allen]

I'll ring Talk Talk up next week, everything else about the Fibre connection works perfectly, except the Amazon Prime service on my Xbox, so I might ring Amazon as well and see if it's a problem with their service.

 

[Judge]

I'll ring Talk Talk up next week, everything else about the Fibre connection works perfectly, except the Amazon Prime service on my Xbox, so I might ring Amazon as well and see if it's a problem with their service.

Yeah, as far as Amazon Prime goes, there's not telling how accurate- or current this link may be in citing any performance losses with Amazon versus your ISP.

It's nice that someone provides this service, but who knows how really good it is?

Amazon Prime Instant Video down or not working? Problems, status and outages

Though the biggest things you can do is to simply determine what your present connectivity is in mbps. Then consider using an Ethernet connector. Rule out the basics first before dealing with customer service hell.

 

[Autistamatic]

Does Prime allow you to DL content to watch later, or only stream?

 

[Judge]

Does Prime allow you to DL content to watch later, or only stream?

Amazon.co.uk Help: Prime Video Devices & Features

 

[Mr Allen]

Does Prime allow you to DL content to watch later, or only stream?

Both AFAIK.

You can use a multitude of devices from most of the consoles to PCs. Amazon Fire Stick, "smart" phones etc.

 

[Autistamatic]

Well if you can DL it in advance it'll save you from interruptions Rich. That's why I asked
Sorry I haven't looked at the link @Judge posted yet.

 

[Mr Allen]

Well if you can DL it in advance it'll save you from interruptions Rich. That's why I asked
Sorry I haven't looked at the link @Judge posted yet.

Not everybody has a fast enough connection to stream, that's why the DL option is there.