Forum Discussion

edwar368's avatar
edwar368
Tuning in
8 months ago
Solved

Advice on Modem mode and alternative routers

Hi all,

I have been with VM for just over 8 months.  The first three months were great, but after that have had problems.  There seems to be a common cause, loss of power to the property.  I have three issues (that I hope will be sorted by the same "fix")

  1.  regular (several times a day) short breaks in connectivity of aprox 20 seconds or so, long enough usually for the PC to tell me "there is no internet connection".  This happens on both Wifi AND Ethernet connections.  As I work from home, it can be very frustrating if in the middle of a Teams meeting or running a remote application
  2. Wifi is spotty for all users.  Sometimes the connections are great, sometimes non existent.  If I run the VMConnect speed checker on my mobile, occasionally it works and the speeds vary from very poor (0.8 mb up and down being the worst, to great 600-800), but I would say 75% of the time the speed check fails with "Oops something went wrong)
  3. Experience with VPN's which I have to use almost on a daily basis is patchy and often will take ages to connect, multiple "Page not found" error's and it "might" eventually connect, but not really usable as every new page does the same thing.

I have reset the router multiple times over the last 4 months, but still have the same issues.

Question 1.  I have read about the VPN issues on multiple sites and Modem Only mode would seem to be the answer.  Would this potentially resolve all 3 of my issues listed above?

Question 2.  Any advice on routers?  I have been looking at serval, but am wondering if "going big" on the expensive ones are worth it.

The Amazon ones are a three pack, so they sound a good idea, but do I really need them, would the £124.99 one fix my three problems?

Sorry for my first post being a long one, but any advice would be most welcome.

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    8 months ago

    Personally I would go for a good branded SoHo non wifi router, and use additional PoE Wifi access points. I use a  Draytek router and TP-Link AP's.  I'm sure you will get plenty of other recommendations  🙂

    I would also avoid anything sold by Amazon or Goggle.  IMHO they are both in the business of monetising and not necessarily the best networking kit. 

    However none of this will matter if your incoming circuit it bad.  Setup a BQM to monitor and record this circuit and post a link to the shared live graph   www.thinkbroadband.com/ping

    Also post your network log and power levels from the Hub.  Once done we can comment.

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person
    8 months ago

    Personally I would go for a good branded SoHo non wifi router, and use additional PoE Wifi access points. I use a  Draytek router and TP-Link AP's.  I'm sure you will get plenty of other recommendations  🙂

    I would also avoid anything sold by Amazon or Goggle.  IMHO they are both in the business of monetising and not necessarily the best networking kit. 

    However none of this will matter if your incoming circuit it bad.  Setup a BQM to monitor and record this circuit and post a link to the shared live graph   www.thinkbroadband.com/ping

    Also post your network log and power levels from the Hub.  Once done we can comment.

    • edwar368's avatar
      edwar368
      Tuning in
      8 months ago

      Thanks, from what I know about SoHo routers they are not particularly built to handle a lot of connections, and I do have a LOT of connections as I have my wife and two 19 year olds to support 😂 however, your PoE suggestion is not one I had considered, which is a bit weird as I have one PoE connector that I have had for years and forgotten about.  So will look at a router plus PoE connections as well.  Thank you

      • Adduxi's avatar
        Adduxi
        Very Insightful Person
        8 months ago

        I can assure you the Draytek range of routers are more than capable for home use, but like everything else, it comes with a cost.  The same for the PoE access points, the more features, the more money.  It's all about finding what works for your needs.  I have found over the years that a single Wifi router does not broadcast a wide enough signal to suit my home environment.  Hence my decision about the non wifi router, and setting up 3 AP's to cover both home and garden.

    • edwar368's avatar
      edwar368
      Tuning in
      8 months ago

      Hi, Thanks, weirdly that one is on my list already 😁, I  only posted the most expensive and the cheapest ones on my list, in my original post

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    8 months ago

    Things to try ...

    1) Disable Child Safe / Virus Safe / Smart Security { Hub 5 only } to ensure VPN can connect.

    2) Disable Smart Wi-Fi aka Wireless Channel Optimization

    3) Select fixed Wi-Fi channels 1/6/11 for 2.4GHz and 36/44 for 5 GHz

    4) Perform a Shutdown >>> Reboot on Windows PC/Laptops that report  "no internet connection"

    5) Select Windows always on Power Plan (Control Panel), and disable Wi-Fi adapter power saving (Device Manger)

  • Tudor's avatar
    Tudor
    Very Insightful Person
    8 months ago

    I go along with Adduxi’s recommendations. I you have just a router, not one with WiFi and it can be hidden out of the way, mine is under the stairs. Wired WiFi Access Points are better than mesh and I use ceiling mounted PoE ones, they just look like a fire alarm. This means there are no trailing wires on show anywhere. People who come to my home don’t think I even have an internet connection and WiFi.