Product test

The UPC Wi-Fi speed test: is the Connect Box any good?

15.5.2020

How strong is your signal without a separate router? I’m putting the UPC Connect Box to the test.

It's good and bad news: my previous Wi-Fi speed test series is over. Why? I've moved house. This means I have a new playground to test speed, ping and signal strength in my network.

We’re back to square one – on my test series is back on! Great timing to really start from zero and test the speed without installing any additional hardware. The UPC Connect Box is first in a – hopefully – long series of new Wi-Fi speed tests. How good is the signal my cable modem offers?

The specifications of the UPC Connect Box:

Ports: 4 × RJ45 LAN (Gigabit), 2 × phone connection, COAX connection
5 GHz network standards: IEEE 802.11.ac/n
2.4 GHz network standards: IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Transmission rate: up to 1300 Mbps
Encryptions: WPA2
Modes of operation: router, bridge
Dimensions: 22 × 7.5 × 16 cm
Operation: WPS button, reset button
Features: Firewall, DHCP server, MAC filter, UPnP, guest network and more

New apartment floor plan and router location

My new apartment is a maisonette with about 140 m². It has 5.5 rooms and is located on the first and second attic floor of a timber-framed house. There are three cable connections. If you look at the floor plan below, the connections are on the left wall of the living room, on the wall to the bathroom in room 1 and on the left wall in room 3.

The most central cable connection is the one above the entrance in room 3, which is why I install the Connect Box there. Is that the perfect place for a Wi-Fi router? We’ll see. But if, like most people, I don’t want cables running through my home, this is the best place to put it.

4 x RJ45 LAN (Gigabit), 2 x phone connection, COAX connection

Getting set up

Setting up the Connect Box is simple. That’s if you don't have to grapple with the support team for eleven (!) days after you move in to have the connection freed from an electronic seal. Yes, that’s what I had to do.

One your modem picks up a signal, you’ll find all necessary information for the initial setup on a sticker on the bottom of the modem: access data and the correct IP. Type this IP into a browser and you’ll land on the web interface of your device.

Speed, ping and signal strength per room

Equipped with a notebook, I set out to measure my new WLAN speed. I use the «LAN Speed Test» app. I upload a 1 GB file to my NAS (article in German), which is located in the living room, three times in total. Then I determined the latency of the DOS console by pinging my NAS. For the signal strength, which is specified in decibel milliwatts (dBm), I used the «NetSpot» software. The heat maps further down were also provided by NetSpot.

Results

The Connect Box performs as follows:

Location	5 GHz frequency band Speed / Ping / Signal strength	2.4 GHz frequency band Speed / Ping / Signal strength
Entrance hall	121,36 Mbps / 4 ms / -73 dBm	64,87 Mbps / 6 ms / -66 dBm
Living room	31,71 Mbps / 12 ms / -76 dBm	52,30 Mbps / 7 ms / -69 dBm
Dining room	0 Mbps / no Ping / -82 dBm	31,81 Mbps / 8 ms / -74 dBm
Kitchen	0 Mbps / no Ping / -81 dBm	28,43 Mbps / 8 ms / -76 dBm
Balcony	0 Mbps / no Ping / -83 dBm	16,71 Mbps / 11 ms / -80 dBm
Room 1	23,49 Mbps / 14 ms / -78 dBm	46,17 Mbps / 7 ms / -69 dBm
Bathroom	85,84 Mbps / 5 ms / -75 dBm	63,25 Mbps / 6 ms / -65 dBm
Corridor	456,66 Mbps / 5 ms / -55 dBm	87,12 Mbps / 5 ms / -57 dBm
Room 2	384,16 Mbps / 5 ms / -63 dBm	72,68 Mbps / 7 ms / -60 dBm
Room 3	492,58 Mbps / 3 ms / -46 dBm	93,54 Mbps / 4 ms / -41 dBm
Room 4	432,33 Mbps / 4 ms / -55 dBm	91,09 Mbps / 6 ms / -55 dBm
Shower/WC	382,73 Mbps / 4 ms / -57 dBm	89,96 Mbps / 6 ms / -55 dBm
Ø	*200,91 Mbps / 6 ms / -69 dBm*	61,49 Mbps / 7 ms / -64 dBm

* Average value of rooms that have a signal. Dining room, kitchen and balcony are excluded.

The device's 5 GHz frequency band easily covers the second attic floor with 380 to 490 Mbps. In theory, this allows streaming 15 to 19 UHD Netflix signals simultaneously. But the 5 GHz Wi-Fi fails in the first attic floor. Four to five streams can be watched in the entrance hall, but in the living room, the signal fails. The latency increases and the Mbps fall. One single UHD stream is possible in the living room and just about one in room 1. I have no 5 GHz reception at all in the dining area, the kitchen and on the balcony.

The 2.4 GHz frequency band performs better. The Connect Box cover my 140 m² with fast to ultra-slow Internet – but only just about, especially on the balcony.

5 GHz heat map

The heat map shows how the 5 GHz frequency band falls short on the first floor. From a signal strength of about -80 dBm, there’s no Internet connection. Remember, the lower the measured dBm value, the worse the signal strength and the bluer the colour.

5 GHz signal level on the first attic floor.

5 GHz signal level on the second attic floor.

2.4 GHz heat map

The 2.4 GHz frequency band has a higher range, but lower speeds. Even in this frequency band, the Connect Box struggles to reach every corner of the apartment – especially the balcony.

2.4 GHz signal level on the first attic floor.

2.4 GHz signal level on the second attic floor.

My verdict: UPC offers humble performance

The first test device in this apartment, the Connect Box just about manages to supply my entire home with an Internet connection – but only thanks to the 2.4 GHz frequency band. I'm only able to enjoy fast 5 GHz Wi-Fi on the same floor where the Connect Box is. On average, the WLAN provides 200.91 Mbps at 5 GHz and 61.49 Mbps at 2.4 GHz in my 140 m² home on two floors.

How does this performance compare to other Wi-Fi solutions? Future speed tests will show. The Connect Box works well if you're looking to set up a WLAN connection on one floor. That's if this floor isn't massive, of course.

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