Videotron Giga Speeds

tsh · ‎10-03-2019

Can those with the Videotron GIGA plan confirm what the FASTEST SPEED is that they've achieved (whether on a single device, or across multiple devices)? I've had techs come to 'fix' the speeds several times now -- the last time, I was told that it was likely a firmware issue with the Videotron modem, and that while the line can go the full 1gbps (930mbps in reality), the modem can't seem to deliver more than ~500mbps max. They told me they would contact me when there was a fix, but it's been several weeks now and I haven't heard anything, so not sure what to believe at this point.

Anonyme · ‎11-03-2019

it looks like that +/- 940mbits is the maximum download speed...

here's a speedtest done on videotron posted elsewhere :

https://www.speedtest.net/result/d/82575551

To get the full speed, you need a somewhat powerfull router. Not sure if videotron's router is considered "powerfull".

Also, you need to be either hardwared or wifi connected speed of at least 1300mbits (only 3 or 4 antennas device on AC can offer that kind of speed if you are right next to the router).

On my 400/50 plan, I only able to get the full speed on my apple tv and mac mini (wifi AC) and sometime on my iPhone XS max and iPad 6th gen.

My "old" MacBook pro and my wife's asus laptop are maxing out at +/- 250mbps download speed on wifi.

It's the wireless card that is limited in this case.

Speedtest.net servers are often not keeping up with the full gigabit speed...

Bell Canada, Bell Mobility, Telus, fibrenoire and connect it networks are often the servers that give me the best results.

that said, gigabit internet for a single device is not that useful...

it's useful when you have multiple devices that are using the connection at the same time.

tsh · ‎11-03-2019

Thanks! I was looking for proof that someone had actually achieved the ~940mbps that at least one tech had claimed to have seen (while the other techs who visited told me that this speed was impossible to see, and was achievable only across multiple devices, not across any single one -- which I found hard to believe, since Videotron likely then wouldn't market this connection the way they do). That said, even across multiple devices, I can't seem to hit more than 550-600mbps max (and even that much is a stretch).

I do not use the Videotron router (but have tried it -- and it fails to achieve the giga speeds as well). I have a Ubiquity/Unifi set up at home (so definitely considered 'powerful' -- USG for the traffic, mesh for Wifi), and own many devices on my home network that are more than capable of achieving the full 1Gbps (between recent Macbooks, recent iPhone X/XS, Apple TV, etc) However, my tests have primilary been done hard wired directly (through a CAT6e cable) to a PC with a full, dedicated 1Gbps Ethernet port, and even still, I can't consistently get even 500mbps, much less ~1Gbps. I am therefore looking for someone on here who can tell me exactly what they had to do in order to get the full 1Gbps (or 940-950mbps, whatever the case may be), so that I can try to replicate before I call up Videotron and have them send yet another (this would be the 4th) technician to come and investigate my speed issues.

As far as the usefulness of the 1Gbps connection, I actually do large nightly backups to the Cloud and back across multiple devices, and don't like waking up to the backup not being complete - that's why I paid to upgrade from my 200mbps to giga connection in the first place 🙂 Not happy that I'm getting less than half the advertised speeds, but pay for the full connection.

Anonyme · ‎11-03-2019

you may have more luck on the French side of the community...

@SamusAran may be able to help also (he's on gigabit since december apparently).

also here on dslreports :

https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r31872513-Internet-Anyone-on-Giga

Anonyme · ‎11-03-2019

that said, the 400/50 plan has the same upload speed as the gigabit... thus that would be as fast for your backup needs.

the recent iPhone X/XS or Apple TV (4th gen) cannot do gigabit speed on wifi... they are limited to a 866mbits speed connection if you are right next to the router (they only have two antennas)... which will give you at best 500-600 download speed in the real world.

most laptop will only do 866mbits or even 433mbits (my wife's Asus Laptop can only connect at 433mbits).

recent macbooks should be able to do 1300mbits connection (I'm getting this speed on my mac mini)... but not sure what kind of download speed this would mean in the real world.

SamusAran · ‎12-03-2019

I had the giga package for a few month. but since I was not using the full speed most of the time, I decided to save some money and went back to the 200 mbps service.

I was able to run some speed tests over 900 mbps as you can see in the dsl reports link @Anonyme sent but most of the time, the speed test on a single computer is CPU limited. Check your task manager while you're runing a speed test in your browser and you'll see what I mean 🙂

A real world speed test would be best: a good router, 2 computers downloading from fast servers at the same time.

As @Anonyme said, 400 mbps services and over are made to be shared between multiple devices. As long as you have a good router, it should not be a problem. BTW, I have the ZyXel router from Videotron. It is able to handle giga speeds.

tsh · ‎12-03-2019

I really didn't want this thread to become a "whether you actually need gigabit or not" -- whether they're 'made to be' shared between multiple devices or not, I got the service myself to see the full gigabit (940mbps) on a single device. I see now, through various threads, that others have been able to achieve this speed on a single device, so now I'm on the hunt for a fix on how to get the same on my connection.

I'm an IT guy :)My issues are not related to CPU usage, or lack of I/O capable of writing to disk at the 1gbps (or, again, 940mbps) speed -- my issues are of the modem not being able to provide the full 940mbps across a single OR multiple devices -- confirmed by the multiple Videotron techs who have visited my place and used their own devices (as well as mine) to confirm speeds

Appreciate the replies -- hoping someone has a suggestion on what can be done to fix my speed limitation issue

mike2mm · ‎16-03-2019

same issue here getting max 600mb speed , i tried every trick and combination possible from cat6a cable to directly connecting my pc to the cable modem , or using my mikrotik router , i have a 3011 wierd model ,to using fibre optic cable throug sfp directly to the pc or even through sfp fromthe router to the server grade switch again with fibre optic connections leading to a more than 6 terminal working on this connection with fibre optic and the max speed was always 600mb to 650 mb max , any suggestion????

tsh · ‎17-03-2019

Where are you located? Going to take a wild stab and guess Southshore of Montreal? I've heard of 3 people in the Southshore with the exact same issue so far

Also, what modem do you have?

SamusAran · ‎30-03-2019

What are you using to test your Internet speed ? If you're using a browser, make sure you're using the official Videotron speed test site https://testvitesse.videotron.ca/index-en.html

Also, the browser you use can make a difference and any Antivirus / firewall program will also affect the result. I did a few tests on my computer and I found out Firefox is usually less affected by my antivirus program than Chrome or Edge.

tsh · ‎10-04-2019

> What are you using to test your Internet speed ? If you're using a browser, make sure you're using the official Videotron speed test site https://testvitesse.videotron.ca/index-en.html

Videotron themselves tell you not to use their own site, because it can't provide enough bandwidth to reach giga speeds. I used various servers on speedtest.net, and then tested indepedently by downloading files from gigabit servers to a single device, and then to multiple devices (aggregating the total speed)

> Also, the browser you use can make a difference and any Antivirus / firewall program will also affect the result. I did a few tests on my computer and I found out Firefox is usually less affected by my antivirus program than Chrome or Edge.

The issue is not browser or PC (CPU)-related - confirmed by Videotron techs

My particular issue is 100% that the modem cannot reach gigabit speeds at the moment, at least not in my house it can't. That's why I was looking for proof of someone with the same service having actually reached gigabit speeds

bellcod · ‎22-10-2019

Use a direct cable plugged directly into the videotron router. And then you'll achieve full speed (940).

Of course the other end of the cable must be plugged into your computer.