Virgin new router

[Odd-no-more]

I have agreed to having a new router virgin's 4th one. I had a look on some forums and there seem to be few problems. The router number 3 has not been great, the previous one was better, so I'm hoping the new one will be Ok
Not looking forward to installing it we have a lot of wifi plugs and I expect each will have to be reset individually.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Issue needs to be why you are having problems. What is going wrong? Is it actually something that swapping the router can solve?

If the entire internet is dropping out / you don't get the expected speed (wired), it's less likely to be the router and more the connectivity cable from the cabinet somewhere in your road, through to the hub itself. That's going to be something for an engineer to diagnose. I know it took forever for Virgin Media (in those days NTL) to get to grips with. Everytime someone new was added in the street, or left, the connection signal strength changes so they had to fit different attenuation. But when it worked the bandwidth was rock steady.

If it is connection between the hub and your computers and other devices, this can be all sorts of issues. Test speeds and stability on wired (ethernet) connection. Make sure the lead isn't damaged. Make sure you have current drivers (software) on your computer or other devices and look at things like antivirus that sometimes can slow things up in the name of protecting you.

But Wireless is about the hardest to do. So many opportunities for things to get in the way. I enjoyed listening to streaming radio via Alexa. Would be fine for days, and then next day wouldn't run for 5 minutes, day after fine again. But wired streaming to the PC was fine. So was that Virgin and or something else? Look at the channels you have in use, may be move from the auto default as a neighbour may be on it. Is the router positioned somewhere away from walls, metal objects that could block signal. Should you use the 2.4 of 5Ghz bandwidths? Perhaps you just need a booster to relay the wireless.

 

[Odd-no-more]

Everything works most of the time I have 2 computers wired no problem, but Aexa stops and the phone switches to 4g sometimes and occasionally some wifi plugs don't switch at the timer settings, but will then work fine for weeks. So I'm hoping it is the wifi that drops out and the router will fix it

 

[TheBig1]

I can tell you what that problem is, had exactly the same headache. You need to separate the 2.4ghz and 5 ghz networks. By default they are combined. It is in the advanced settings of the router. The alexa stuff works well on 2.4ghz but not at all on 5ghz. Just rename the 5ghz channel, I added 5ghz to the end and set a new password for that part. Leave the other channel as is and no reprogramming needed

If you do fit the new router/hub rename the 2.4ghz channel to match the old router along with password and all the programmed bits will work without issue

 

[Kannon Fodda]

I can tell you what that problem is, had exactly the same headache. You need to separate the 2.4ghz and 5 ghz networks. By default they are combined.

Yep this can be a real pain. The router's programmers thought devices that attached to Wireless would be intelligent enough to find the right frequency and stick to it. Rubbish.
I made the "mistake" of wanting to push stuff towards 5G, so turned off the 2.4ghz. That didn't end well with the Kindle, and it all got really screwed when I turned the 2.4ghz back on. So definitely isolate the two wireless frequencies and give them entirely different SSID names and passwords so you know what you are connecting stuff too. Don't be too clever with special characters in passwords like "%&!", stick to upper and lowercase letters and numbers. Some devices won't handle the special characters and then you'll need to change everything that is attached.

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[RowleyBirkinQC]

In my opinion, the only thing to do with a Virgin router is to put it into modem mode and attach a decent third party wireless router.

 

[ivorantony]

The easiest way I sorted out my MK router was change it’s configuration to a Modem and hard wire to a ASUS router,
No more drop outs and working very well for the last four years,
Rowley beat me too it,

 

[kevenh]

Putting the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks on to separate networks just caused my setup different issues but cured none and so lasted less than a day before going back to one SSID. I've not had to revisit that decision made ~7yr ago.

Obviously with Wi-Fi there'll be different locations,, different wall thicknesses, different devices, etc. to make it a real "ymmv" example.

One of the first steps would be to check for channel congestion. Have your neighbours added Wi-Fi routers that are on or close to channels your 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks are on?

 

[Sunlovers]

Virgin's Hub 3.0 has turned out to be their worst device issued to unsuspecting customers ever .... I still rue the day I let them take our SuperHub 2AC away It (Hub 3.0) was always built to a price, not to a decent specification. Good luck with their latest incarnation!

 

[Odd-no-more]

Thanks I will post when it's up and running, as long as it arrives, they are using Yodel, so it is a 50/50 chance. Looking online the hub 4 seems better than the hub 3 so worth a try.

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[Sunlovers]

Definitely cannot be any worse than the Hub 3.0, don't think that's possible (aside from it not being able to be switched on!). My biggest gripe was the lack of passthrough functionality they designed out of it. Wanting to use a robust VPN for connecting securely to my office network was just impossible, such was the shortcoming of the device. Our house is covered by two additional wireless access points, one upstairs/one downstairs, and this extends to circa 20 metres into the garden too, so wi-fi is actually OK, and drop-outs are rare, but trying to get anything close to useful out of Virgin's support centre is nigh on enough to make you want to spit!

 

[tonyidle]

I've never used an ISP-supplied router. They're rarely if ever the best available. Now using a mesh system - probably the best thing I've ever done for wireless connectivity and speed.

 

[Phil 748]

Hi , I turned off the WIFI on our VM router and installed 4 port Gbt switch's where we have multiple devices and a BT home WiFi meshed system, even reachs to the summer house at the bottom of the garden

 

[Odd-no-more]

The hub 3 did work a couple of wifi plugs at the bottom of the garden, it was ok in the summer but when the bad weather arrived it became very unreliable, I had to move them indoors and lay a cable to work the garden lamps and the water feature. If the hub 4 is not good enough, I will buy a router and just use the hub as a modem

 

[Odd-no-more]

Update Just had an email from Virgin, the hub is now not arriving today, it has been re-scheduled and is now arriving on a day when I will be out, if I wish to change the date follow this link................. Link did not work!...................... After some searching on their website I found the page and was told that as the hub was in transit, the date could no longer be changed..................... So after waiting on the phone for about 200 years (slight exaggeration) I spoke to a helpful man in India, who was able to change the date so it is now coming on Tuesday (allegedly, as they use Yodel)

I will post an update if it turns up and I get it to work.

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[Steve N Tracy]

When I was with Virgin, the only way I could get the router to work properly was to put it in modem mode, and use a diffirent router to handle the network traffic, the other issue was loosing the Internet because the box out in the road keeps overheating, Virgin leave the box doors unlatched, to help with the cooling.

 

[Odd-no-more]

After my last cancelled delivery from Yodel I am down for a delivery today, I am not expecting it to arrive. My driver has 173 drops this afternoon, no wonder Yodel are so bad.

 

[Odd-no-more]

Well it did get here a few minutes ago. I will set it up tomorrow and see if it works

 

[Odd-no-more]

OK I have now installed and set up the router, I renamed it with the old network name and password and everything connected OK, apart form 2 of the 3 echo/ Alexas which needed to be added manually, the main thing is all the wifi plugs connected strait away I have about 9 scattered about the place and didn't want to have to connect all of them again. I left the settings on auto for now, if I have any problems I will split the channels later. The irony is that the hub 3 which has given me a lot of trouble in the past, has been working fine fro a few weeks now.

 

[buttons]

Everything works most of the time I have 2 computers wired no problem, but Aexa stops and the phone switches to 4g sometimes and occasionally some wifi plugs don't switch at the timer settings, but will then work fine for weeks. So I'm hoping it is the wifi that drops out and the router will fix it

I must be the lucky one, I have 4 virgin set top boxes plus the router, have had for some years without problems. I have updated them as new versions are made available, but never had any real problems. It will probably all go tits up now that I have said that.

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[Odd-no-more]

After installing the new router, all was well until bedtime, when I found 2 of the echoes has lost connection, by this morning both were back on. I'm hoping this was just a clitch, if they do it again, I will split the channels and see if that helps.

 

[Odd-no-more]

This morning everything working fine, until I was having breakfast and I got Alexa to play the radio, it kept dropping out and also disconnecting altogether. So much for the hub 4 sorting the problems out, it is now much worse.
I have now split the 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz and renamed the 5 ghz back to the name that it had originally, I have also turned off the automatic channel selection and set fixed channels for both channel 11 fro the 2.4 ghz and channel 28 for the 5 ghz. Will give it a bit of time and see how it does. Nothing is connected to the 5ghz and I am tempted to turn it off, but my daughter vists with an Ipad and I think they only use the 5 ghz so I will have to leave it on for now.

 

[Odd-no-more]

I have now done a hard reset, and gone back and split the frequencys again, so far it is ok. If anyone has virgin and is offered a hub 4 be careful when you install it.

 

[kevenh]

This morning everything working fine, until I was having breakfast and I got Alexa to play the radio, it kept dropping out and also disconnecting altogether. So much for the hub 4 sorting the problems out, it is now much worse.
I have now split the 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz and renamed the 5 ghz back to the name that it had originally, I have also turned off the automatic channel selection and set fixed channels for both channel 11 fro the 2.4 ghz and channel 28 for the 5 ghz. Will give it a bit of time and see how it does. Nothing is connected to the 5ghz and I am tempted to turn it off, but my daughter vists with an Ipad and I think they only use the 5 ghz so I will have to leave it on for now.

Apple devices are dual band

 

[Odd-no-more]

This is becoming a pain now Instill have 1 echo dot that has dropped out and will not log on. The new hub was supposed to solve the problem but it has created far more. I will contact virgin this morning and see if they do as they say and send an engineer, they guy I spoke to yesterday said that will be the next step. I suspect I may have a faulty hub

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[Odd-no-more]

Strange, I have now connected the echo dot that dropped out to the 5ghz network which has a different name, I told Alexa to play the radio through the everywhere group, which is all 3 echcos and it did, even though 2 are on one network and one is on the other, I don't know how it is doing that. The radio still keeps stoppint so I still have the problem. I will call Virgin later, but I have also ordered a wifi router from Amazon when it arrives I will put the bl**dy hub 4 into modem mode and try to forget it.

 

[kevenh]

I don't know how it is doing that.

Won't your network be IP based and all devices on it served by one DHCP server (typically the router - your Hub 4 in your example)?
So despite splitting the Wifi bands, they're just different areas of the same subnet the DHCP server is dishing out IPs on.

 

[Odd-no-more]

After days of P!$$ing about with the new Hub 4 I called the helpline again, and did not get the offer of an engineer, instead I was told that they had a problem in the area, and the hub was in fact fine. When I asked in that case why did devices keep disconcerting from the hub, if the fault was an internet fault , it went quiet. So I insisted we put the old hub back, I was lucky Kathy was going to send it back yesterday but forgot it

So I now have the old hub 3 back and it is working fine, I expect it will have the odd dropout as it has had for ever but it works OK. I have ordered a wireless router from Amazon arriving on Monday, with a bit of luck that will solve the problem.

If anyone is offered a free upgrade from Virgin check it carefully before you send the old hub 3 back.

 

[Odd-no-more]

Right hopefully the last post on this tread. I have now put the virgin router into modem mode and fitted the cheap wireless router from Amazon which arrived a day early. It is all working well at the moment so I'm hoping that is now an end to it.