Vodafone Speed Test: EU Region (Cable vs. Fiber)

This diagnostic utility validates the throughput of your Vodafone connection across Europe. To interpret your results correctly, you must first identify your infrastructure. In Germany (Vodafone West/Unitymedia), the network is primarily Coaxial Cable (DOCSIS 3.1). In Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland, the network is primarily Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) via GPON technology.

While Vodafone markets "Gigabit" speeds across all regions, the technology dictates the stability. Cable users frequently suffer from DS-Lite (Strict NAT) issues in gaming, while Fiber users enjoy lower latency but may face peering congestion during peak football matches.

Understanding Your Speed Metrics

When analyzing your connection integrity, focus on these three performance vectors:

Download Throughput: On CableMax 1000 (Germany), you should see ~940-1000 Mbps. However, this is a shared medium; during peak hours (8 PM - 11 PM), speeds may dip by 15-20% in dense apartment blocks. On FTTH 1 Gbps (Southern EU), speeds are consistent 24/7 at ~940 Mbps.

Upload Throughput: This is the easiest way to identify your line type.
• Cable (Germany/Italy): Highly Asymmetrical. A 1000 Mbps download plan often has only 50 Mbps upload.
• Fiber (Spain/Portugal): Typically Symmetrical (600 Mbps Down / 600 Mbps Up).
If you are a content creator in Germany, the 50 Mbps upload cap is a hard physical limit of the DOCSIS network.

Latency (Ping) & DS-Lite:
• IPv4 Issue: If you cannot host games or have "Strict NAT" on Xbox/PlayStation, you are likely on a DS-Lite connection (IPv6 only, with tunneled IPv4). You must call Vodafone and request "Dual Stack" (Public IPv4) to fix this.

What Results Should You Expect?

The "Vodafone Station" Hardware Factor

Your test result depends on which "Station" you have. Benchmarks include:

Vodafone Station Wi-Fi 6 (RHG3006): Capable of ~940 Mbps wired. Excellent Wi-Fi performance.

Vodafone Power Station (Italy/UK): Wi-Fi 5 only. Max wireless speed ~500 Mbps.

Station Revolution (Legacy): Often overheats. If your speed drops after 2 hours of use, the router is thermal throttling.

If you pay for 1 Gbps but your wired test caps at exactly 94 Mbps, check your LAN cable. You are likely using an old Cat5 cable (which limits speed to 100 Mbps) instead of the required Cat5e or Cat6.

Why Is Your Vodafone Connection Slow?

Before calling customer care, verify these common Pan-EU faults:

Coaxial Noise (Germany): If you are on Cable, a loose connector at the wall socket introduces "Ingress Noise." Ensure the white cable is screwed in tight. Even a slightly loose cable can cause packet loss for the entire building.

Peering Congestion: Vodafone sometimes has restrictive peering agreements. If Speedtest.net is fast but YouTube/Twitch buffers, it is a routing issue, not a line speed issue. Using a VPN often "fixes" this by forcing a different route.

Super Wi-Fi Pods: If you use the Vodafone Extenders, they must be placed halfway to the dead zone. Placing them in the dead zone itself will result in near-zero speeds.

Vodafone Technical Configuration Data

How to Get an Accurate Test

Wireless testing is unreliable for Gigabit lines due to interference in EU apartment blocks.

To confirm the actual speed delivered to your home, connect a Cat6 Ethernet cable directly from LAN Port 1 of the Vodafone Station to a laptop. Turn off Wi-Fi on the laptop. If this wired test shows full speed, your line is healthy.

When to Call Support

Escalate the issue to Vodafone if you observe these specific failures:

Blinking Red Internet LED: The modem cannot synchronize with the CMTS (Cable) or OLT (Fiber). Physical line fault.

Packet Loss > 2%: If you run a ping test to 8.8.8.8 and see dropped packets, the neighborhood amplifier (Cable) is likely failing.

Slow Single Stream: If downloading one file is slow, but downloading 5 files simultaneously fills the bandwidth, it is a peering limit.

You can run line diagnostics (TOBi bot) and check for regional outages via the My Vodafone App specific to your country.