Starhub 1Gbps Fibre Review

Spongy

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Wanted to downgrade my 1Gbps HomeHub bundle to just 500Mbps Fibre only @$29.90/mth but thankfully I am eligible for 1Gbps Fibre only promo with free 5 months of subscription so the cost worked out to be only $31.50/ month.

I thought for just $1 extra, it’s a no brainer to continue with 1Gbps without paying $30 downgrade fee.
I’m also on homehub currently and thinking of cutting off StarHub TV as my contract is due soon. May I know what is this effective $31.50/month promotion as I couldn’t find it in their website?
 

Dan10

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uncle_josh

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I don’t think it’s a laptop problem. It shows 93 mbps on my laptop but also on my iphone and iPad when I use speed test.
Run the following command in Windows Command Prompt to check if your network adapter is Gigabit capable.

Code:
wmic NIC where NetEnabled=true get Name, Speed

Also check that the Lan cable is Cat5e type, usually it is labelled on the cable.
 

xiaofan

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I’m also on homehub currently and thinking of cutting off StarHub TV as my contract is due soon. May I know what is this effective $31.50/month promotion as I couldn’t find it in their website?

You have to talk to Starhub to negotiate the recontract deals. You will not be able to find such good deals from the website.
 

watzup_ken

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Not sure what you mean by wireless or wired backhaul. How do i check?

At the slow node, the WIFI symbol actually shows full strength ... but still only recording 28mbps.

Dun have floor plan now but typical 3 bedroom 1000 sf apartment with living room leading to a passageway with 3 bedrooms. The slowest node is in the further bedroom. The 1st node (which is right next to the modem) is in the living room. The weird thing even like 2 cm next to my 1st node, I'm recording only 93 Mbps...while showing full signal strength.
Full signal does not equate to high transfer speed. It just tells you that your device's connection with the router/ mesh is good. This also applies to your satellite unit. The speed of the satellite unit will plunge if it is too far from the main mesh unit, even if it is 100% strength because the signal strength between the mesh network is weak.

My recommendation is to connect say a laptop or PC directly to the ONT, i.e. instead of plugging the LAN wire to the mesh, plug it to your laptop. If it is running much higher than what you are getting on your mesh system, then I believe the issue is with the mesh. As someone pointed out, 93 Mbps sounds like you are limited to a 100 Mbps connection.
 

watzup_ken

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Hardly = very few people use...

But still many on 2.4ghz only.

The very cheap android phone models still running on 2.4ghz only. I have a few device.

No need to look down on people using cheap or old version device.
Nothing wrong with using 2.4 Ghz band. The range is better than 5Ghz, and I do switch to 2.4 Ghz from time to time. In fact, my phone will auto connect to the 2.4 Ghz band when the 5 Ghz network is not stable. For surfing net and streaming movies, 2.4 Ghz band is more than enough.
 

Dan10

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Full signal does not equate to high transfer speed. It just tells you that your device's connection with the router/ mesh is good. This also applies to your satellite unit. The speed of the satellite unit will plunge if it is too far from the main mesh unit, even if it is 100% strength because the signal strength between the mesh network is weak.

My recommendation is to connect say a laptop or PC directly to the ONT, i.e. instead of plugging the LAN wire to the mesh, plug it to your laptop. If it is running much higher than what you are getting on your mesh system, then I believe the issue is with the mesh. As someone pointed out, 93 Mbps sounds like you are limited to a 100 Mbps connection.
I've tried plugging my laptop directly into the ONT and it still records about 93 mbps. Also shows the same on my ipad and iphone so it cannot be a laptop issue.

But here's whats odd. I've been testing the speed every few hours. Once in a while (well, so far 2 times in the last 24 hours), I suddenly recorded 200+ mbps but most of the times, its back to around 90 mbps.
 

firesong

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I've tried plugging my laptop directly into the ONT and it still records about 93 mbps. Also shows the same on my ipad and iphone so it cannot be a laptop issue.

But here's whats odd. I've been testing the speed every few hours. Once in a while (well, so far 2 times in the last 24 hours), I suddenly recorded 200+ mbps but most of the times, its back to around 90 mbps.
Something similar happened to me, and I realised it was a damaged fibre cable - my mom was cleaning the area and pulled on the ONT to get to the area behind, kinking the optical cable. Replacing it solved that problem and I went back to full speeds.

Check the cables to be sure. First, replace the ethernet cable to rule out ethernet cable damage. If that fails, it would be good to contact StarHub to check, since it is most likely on their end, or an issue with the cable, ONT or even the fibre point. Take a video of your testing, showing that you've already connected directly and are still getting poor speeds - it'll expedite the process and cut through all the troubleshooting nonsense.

Good luck!
 

loganrunning

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I've tried plugging my laptop directly into the ONT and it still records about 93 mbps. Also shows the same on my ipad and iphone so it cannot be a laptop issue.

But here's whats odd. I've been testing the speed every few hours. Once in a while (well, so far 2 times in the last 24 hours), I suddenly recorded 200+ mbps but most of the times, its back to around 90 mbps.

was there any physical movement of the cable/ONT/router just before the speed improved?

reason is, if the contact is intermittent (could be cable connector, or socket on ONT or router), you could get a partial connection but limited to 100Mbps. If there is movement, it could momentarily make full contact and you get increased speeds.

try wiggling the cable just beyond the connection while running the test. if the speed changes, you can investigate further.

edit: is your M5 new? if the ONT/M5 socket is faulty, the problem will still be there even with a new cable. wiggling the cable/connector is a simple diagnostic action.

This may not be the cause, but good to check and rule it out.
 

Dan10

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Something similar happened to me, and I realised it was a damaged fibre cable - my mom was cleaning the area and pulled on the ONT to get to the area behind, kinking the optical cable. Replacing it solved that problem and I went back to full speeds.

Check the cables to be sure. First, replace the ethernet cable to rule out ethernet cable damage. If that fails, it would be good to contact StarHub to check, since it is most likely on their end, or an issue with the cable, ONT or even the fibre point. Take a video of your testing, showing that you've already connected directly and are still getting poor speeds - it'll expedite the process and cut through all the troubleshooting nonsense.

Good luck!
Does starhub replace the ONT or the fibre cable? Or i have to buy a replacement?
 

loganrunning

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Does starhub replace the ONT or the fibre cable? Or i have to buy a replacement?

if ONT is faulty, they will replace.

fibre cable, I dunno.... i guess not, since you keep it after contract

(i think the reasoning is like: if you have to return it, it's theirs, so they will replace if faulty. if you keep it, then it's yours)
 

xiaofan

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if ONT is faulty, they will replace.

fibre cable, I dunno.... i guess not, since you keep it after contract

(i think the reasoning is like: if you have to return it, it's theirs, so they will replace if faulty. if you keep it, then it's yours)

Actually you do not need to return the ONT when you decided to leave M1 or Starhub or Singtel. All three will replace the ONT. Last time Singtel required the users to return ONR (not ONT) but not any more.

Starhub charges the Service Call Transportation Charge of S$12.84 . In that case, the technician will come to your place and replace the old ONT and activate the new ONT. They will collect the old ONT back.

I just got my Starhub ONT replaced recently and I think the transportation charge is reasonable. I did not change the Fibre cable but I think Starhub will replace it as well if that is faulty.

Singtel will require you to go and self collect the ONT or ONR in SERV+. They do not require a site visit. I exchanged my ONT back in Sept 2018.

As for M1, I believe they will also require a site visit but I believe it is free. Need confirmation from M1 users.
 

Apex

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I don’t think it’s a laptop problem. It shows 93 mbps on my laptop but also on my iphone and iPad when I use speed test.
Ok in this case

01. ONT port faulty
02. the cable connect between ONT and router is @ 100mbps.

Some router (like asus) can see the WAN speed connection. If you using Asus can check the WAN port speed.

gtDqbHi.png
 

*adiBOY

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I’m also on homehub currently and thinking of cutting off StarHub TV as my contract is due soon. May I know what is this effective $31.50/month promotion as I couldn’t find it in their website?
Some promos only available in their system depending on the tier of the customer.

I was lucky when I wanted to downgrade and the promo was offered to me. You might want to go down to specific store while returning your TV Box and enquire about the promo.
 

qwerty_hippo

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Easiest is to downgrade to 500Mbps plan. Then you do not need to worry about re-contract offer any more. Starhub is also good that they keep the price after contract expires. So I did not need to recontract and keep the S$29.9 per month for my Starhub 500Mbps plan. You may need to pay one time downgrade fee of S$32.10 (they call it modification fee).

Ref:
https://community.starhub.com/conve...r-star, the,hope this clarifies your concern.
But if you want to recontract for 1Gbps plan, then you may need to negotiate with the customer service to see how many free month you can get. Probably two to three months are not difficult to get. Higher number of free month may be difficult if you do not have Starhub Fibre TV or Starhub TV+ services. The other thing is to negotiate for the freebies like Disney+ or free Nokia Beacon 1 (which is lousy but you can sell them at around S$40 per piece). You can search this thread.
i am currently on Homehub bundle 1gbps.
Am looking to recontract but realise StarHub always discriminate their recontract customer such as not including free Smart wifi or pro ver.

anyone managed to “nego” with the CSO to throw in the router?
 

smeagoly

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i am currently on Homehub bundle 1gbps.
Am looking to recontract but realise StarHub always discriminate their recontract customer such as not including free Smart wifi or pro ver.
anyone managed to “nego” with the CSO to throw in the router?

I am a current SH subscriber on 500mbps plan too (my own home as well as my mum's home), using the Google WiFi mesh (3 units), am staying in a 4yo 5-room BTO.

My own home's plan is up next month and I just called to enquire the recontract promos.

I'm keen to upgrade to the 1gbps plan, mainly because I realise we have quite alot of devices and the network feels quite laggy at night. Am offered the 2 plans by the CSO:

Plan A: 1gbps, $39.90, 3months free, 2 units of smart wifi (Nokia)

Plan B: 1gbps,$39.90, 1mth free, 1 unit of smart wifi Pro (linksys)

The CSO told me that for the smart wifi Pro it's recommended that I get 2 units, and that requires a top up of $12/mth. Otherwise I can go to carousell and get a unit for about $250.

Anyone with review of the Nokia smart wifi?
 

smeagoly

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l8bkXMr.jpg


Just recontracted the 1gbps plan with SH, got 1 unit of the new smart wifi Pro (which is the linksys AX4200), and paid $192 for a second unit.

The speed is super fast and even on WiFi it was possible to hit about 400mbps. Very pleased with it and would recommend it for people looking to upgrade to WiFi 6 routers at a cheaper cost
 

xiaofan

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Just recontracted the 1gbps plan with SH, got 1 unit of the new smart wifi Pro (which is the linksys AX4200), and paid $192 for a second unit.

The speed is super fast and even on WiFi it was possible to hit about 400mbps. Very pleased with it and would recommend it for people looking to upgrade to WiFi 6 routers at a cheaper cost

Nice one from Starhub.

A free Linksys MX4200 unit is a much better offer than M1's free Asus RT-AX55 or TP-Link Archer AX72. And S$192 for the extra unit to form good mesh is also a very reasonable price.
 
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