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jimbo_hippo's avatar
jimbo_hippo
Tuning in
2 years ago
Solved

Endless loop trying to order wifi pods

Could any fabulous and friendly Virgin Media rep help me get some wifi pods? I've been going round in a loop here for a good chunk of the afternoon 🤷🏼‍♂️

A quick overview: We went with 1Gb package to improve upload speeds over BT and so far the 5X Hub and general setup has been fabulously fast and impressive for the first 4 days, including a great install experience. However, we already knew the single source wifi of the 5X hub wouldn't be enough for our strange house, which has walls that defy the laws of physics (neighbours all have the same issue; it's a construction thing) but since we already had a 3-disc WholeHome mesh setup, it would be easy to switch over and still get reasonable speeds in rooms outside where the hub is and stuff is hardwired. We've had this setup for years so it would be fine.

However, at time of posting, the 5X HUB still doesn't support modem only (we didn't know this at ordering time) so we're kind of stuck. Whilst the performance is impressive in the lounge, elsewhere it's weak, as confirmed in the Connect app, which lists 3 room in the house registered as 'poor' after the scan and with downloads in single digits.

There's no obvious link to ordering the pods in the app, or in the online portal and the options on the 0800 064 3850 had me going round in circles with a recorded message running tests on our hub, which doesn't have an issue, is screamingly fast, and in good health, working exactly as it should.  But the young adult doing an online course in accounting is somewhat disgruntled in an upstairs room with an iPhone hot-spotted, propped up on the window-sill and if we go to the kitchen to put the kettle on, we lose any video calls or wi-fi calling we're engaged in. 

I'm pretty sure we need at least 2 mesh extenders and that they're included in the 1Gb package, but boy is it tough trying to order them! So if any fabulous and good spirited VM rep wants to gallop to our rescue, there's a house full of people who'd love to hear from someone! I've tried just about every avenue but as a man of average intelligence (apparently) the system has taxed me enough to make me post here.

Thanks in advance

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    2 years ago

    As an interim, does the 3-disc WholeHome mesh setup support Access Point mode ?

    Modem mode for the Hub 5x might be getting closer, there have been a few screen shots showing the option on the menu so a software update must exist even if it has not been delivery widely.

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  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    2 years ago

    As an interim, does the 3-disc WholeHome mesh setup support Access Point mode ?

    Modem mode for the Hub 5x might be getting closer, there have been a few screen shots showing the option on the menu so a software update must exist even if it has not been delivery widely.

  • jimbo_hippo's avatar
    jimbo_hippo
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    Client (if I may call you that 😋), yeah I looked into that and it could be an interim solution but ultimately, we had a functioning mesh setup with the previous BT connection (the discs weren't supplied by BT, there were a purchase, just coincidentally branded BT before they became just WholeHome) and we need to arrive at a point where we have at least the same connection and coverage as before or we're going backwards so in the absence of modem mode, we need the solution to come from Virgin really since, despite having the hardware to provide coverage with mesh, we can't use it the same way. Access Point Mode would be a step backwards, even if possible.

    And to be fair to Virgin, when I eventually got hold of someone, they have agreed to supply one of the black mesh extenders and we've had an email confirming the order so there's progress and it's all looking fine so far, as long as it arrives fairly swiftly, we'll be just fine. Also, whilst modem mode would be good, the advantages of wifi 6 for devices in range of the router and the improved tidiness of the setup would be lost. Our main need for fibre was my home business which backs up many Gb to backblaze, and with BT not even having begun upgrades on the local exchange, let alone provided fibre, an upload of 9Mb max (which we paid extra for!) was just not cutting it. In range of the router, and with main machines over ethernet, VM is already proving a satisfactory solution. 

    For anyone seeking info, I managed to break the endless loop created in the online Virgin portal, the non-starter solution in the app and the telephone-bot router-test fiasco, I got much more purchase on the issue by not using the 0800 number and using 0345 4541111 instead, a number I found in a post in here somewhere so we're off to the races. It certainly hasn't been the easiest as yet but I'm trying to not be all knee-jerk negative consumer here. We have progress. All good!