Forum Discussion

MyHeadHurts's avatar
MyHeadHurts
Just joined
2 days ago

Hub3: The route(r) of all my problems

My old, perfectly working (but overheating, allegedly) Hub3 was recently replaced with another one of the same. (received August 2nd).
Since then however, I have been unable to connect any of my Google Home smart devices. Two clock displays and an outdoor cam.

Of the 14 days which have elapsed, I have literally been dealing with Google Support by email on at least 10 of those days. But we're getting nowhere fast. So much so, they are now at the point of offering me a credit for the online Google Store for the inconvenience. But I digress...

All of my Google smart devices were working absolutely fine and have been for years. Until now. 
So, my question is: Are there any changes need to be made to the default settings of my Hub3 router? 

I do not recall making any specific changes in the past. But I find it extremely odd and frustrating that all was well until I received this new replacement Hub3. Seems to me to be where the problem(s) lie.

I tried contacting VM Support initially by chat before coming on here, but I was immediately given a phone number for the Gadget Support Team which I believe is a pay service and I have no intention of doing that. I simply want to know if there's anything obvious I need to change in the Hub3 config.

Please help!? You are my last hope before I am forced to ditch all Goggle Home smart devices and replace them with alternatives. (and hope that I do not face similar issues with those).

Thanks in advance.

Broadband
Camera
Connection
display
google
Help
home
install
installation
smart

9 Replies

  • -tony-'s avatar
    -tony-
    Alessandro Volta
    2 days ago

    the hub will have come with both wifi bands set to the same ssid and password most stuff will work out which is the best signal and connect to which band it wants but some get confused and see the 5 band first and simply get confused - just split them - rename either so you have 2 seperate bands then point the smart devices to the 2.4 band - they should then work - once you have done that you may be able to go back to to joint bands but if you do obviously neme the 5gig to whatever you named the 2.4 to - if that works fine if not stay with seperate bands 

    as to some of the other advice - ignore it 

  • sunnyhoney's avatar
    sunnyhoney
    Just browsing
    2 days ago

    They could be running on different ip subnets. Quite a common problem when introducing new routers/network hardware/systems. Check what your camera/smart device subnet is so common ones are 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. If they are trying to operate on different subnets they won't work at all.

  • sunnyhoney's avatar
    sunnyhoney
    Just browsing
    2 days ago

    I always demand they send me the latest routers when renewing contracts. I know if you want seamless crossover its not ideal but given you get locked into 24 month contracts providing the latest hardware isn't a big ask. Plus if you later find you need a newer feature or similar getting a new one sent out is like getting blood from a stone in regards to VM.

  • legacy1's avatar
    legacy1
    Alessandro Volta
    2 days ago

    VM go to SO much trouble with random password to log in the dam hub WHY not make the user setup the SSID and password then a default. 

    It is a bad idea to use default wifi and reuse them on another hub because that means as slim is it might be someone knows your wifi and so does VM! 

    • sunnyhoney's avatar
      sunnyhoney
      Just browsing
      2 days ago

      Because ISP routers are designed to be plug and play, they come with preconfigured logins and Wi-Fi details. This was (and still is, with brands like ASUS) a common approach. The main reason for this is security: weak default passwords are often leaked online, and with today’s GPUs and rentable processing power, it’s trivial to brute-force them once someone captures a handshake.

      That said, nothing stops you from changing the Virgin Media admin and Wi-Fi passwords if you don’t want to memorize something like dJznC8Uicp2cRaat 😉.

      You can probably also set up guest logins. I’m not 100% sure if Virgin Media routers support this, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t—most aftermarket routers definitely do.

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person
    2 days ago

    Also perhaps the old Hub was setup with a split SSID?  It may help the IoT kit connect better.

  • jpeg1's avatar
    jpeg1
    Alessandro Volta
    2 days ago

    There's absolutely no reason why you should need to replace those devices.

    The classic way to replace a Hub is to note the SSID and password of the old Hub and set the new Hub to be the same. All the WiFi devices should then just work. But you were probably not advised in advance to do this. 

    You will then need to reset all your WiFi devices to use the SSID and password to the new Hub.  If this doesn't work it's always possible that the replacement Hub 3 is also faulty, as VM has not been issuing new ones for a long time and it will be a recycled one returned from someone else and may not have been thoroughly tested.

    But please don't buy new devices if the old ones were doing what you needed before the Hub change.

     

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    2 days ago

    Get hold of the installation manuals and repeat the process as you did when the kit was new.