Forum Discussion

bobbyderek77's avatar
bobbyderek77
Joining in
2 months ago

Hub 3 constantly dropping WiFi connection

I have had issues with Hub 3 dropping the WiFi connection for more than 2 years. The signal drops multiple times each hour, with all available signals disappearing from the list, before the reappear anywhere from 5 seconds to 30 seconds later and my signal reconnects. I've tried to report the issue more times than I care to remember, but am always stymied by unhelpful individuals in a Far East call centre. I've continually requested that they access the router log and see for themselves the constant losses of signal, they are equally insistent on not doing so and being unhelpful. For me, the solution is simple, I need a newer, replacement router that doesn't suffer from these issues. My gripe is that Virgin are receiving my subscription payment each month for a service that isn't being fully provided. It's hugely frustrating and I'm at the end of my tether.

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  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    2 months ago

    A Hub 3 question that has been asked and answered too many times !

    • bobbyderek77's avatar
      bobbyderek77
      Joining in
      2 months ago

      Thanks for taking the time to write something pointless, unhelpful and condescending, Alessandro. To be honest, it wasn't really a question, especially given I knew the answers that would be proposed. I'm looking to use this community as a channel to get someone at VirginO2 to pay attention and finally deal with me directly on my issue. Got nowhere for more than 2 years calling their far-flung "customer service" centres overseas. Pointless continuing to do the thing that clearly wasn't working

      • Sabrina_B's avatar
        Sabrina_B
        Forum Team
        2 months ago

        Hi bobbyderek77 👋.

        Thanks for reaching out to us and welcome to the Community Forums, sorry to hear that you are having issues with your Wi-Fi. Can we ask, the drops that you have been facing, did you get this via diagnostic testing or witnessing this with your device or various devices at the same time every day?


        Do you have any error codes or messages when these drops occur? Please let us know so that we can look into this further with you via private message. Please look out for the envelope on the top right of your web browser or if you are using a mobile device, it will be located under your profile icon.

         

        Thanks.

         

        Sabrina

  • jbrennand's avatar
    jbrennand
    Very Insightful Person
    2 months ago

    See this old post of mine....

    _______________________

    If you haven't done this already - try it first - it helps sort some Hub3/4/5 wifi issues for some devices.
    Go into the Hub’s settings. Type in  http://192.168.0.1  into your web browser’s url box and login with settings password on the Hub's base sticker (or your own if you changed it). Then in Advanced>wireless signal >smart wifi - tick the disable “channel optimisation” box or the“Smart Wifi” box and save settings.  May be different pathways and wording on the 3 Hub types This (message 2) is for a Hub3… https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Networking-and-WiFi/Hub-3-Wi-Fi-constantly-dropping/td-p/5391375

    Then, go to advanced>wireless signal>security, rename the 2.4 & 5 GHz network ssid's.  Just type over to change 'em to whatever you like and something that will differentiate them (e.g - Billybob_2 & Billybob_5) Try to avoid spaces and periods in the SSID names as they can cause issues with certain devices. Use the same password for simplicity,  Then, apply settings and restart the Hub.  Your 2 wifi networks will now be clearly separated - and you can then select the network you want each device to connect to… individually from the "available networks" list on each of your devices. 

    Note all your wifi devices will need re-connecting to the new SSID's and passwords.
    All things being equal, 5 GHz is always better/faster and subject to less congestion/interference (and is better for iDevice speeds than the 2.4 one - although the 2.4 one has the better "range" and will be needed when the 5 GHz drops out of range and some older/cheaper/dumber or “specialised” devices can only use this one. 

    You should also use a wifi analyser App (or Airport Utility on iOS) to check which 2.4 channels are being heavily used around you and move yours to one of numbers 1,6,11 that is least so, but it wont help if there is other interference.
    See if these changes help - you will lose any “seamless roaming” benefits but it may not matter and you can always change the settings back by doing a " pinhole factory reset " if you prefer the way it was - or it doesn’t help.

    The final solution. that many of us on here adopted many years ago, is to stick the Hub3 into modem only mode and get your own higher quality wireless router - decent ones start at ~£50.

    • bobbyderek77's avatar
      bobbyderek77
      Joining in
      2 months ago

      Hi. Thanks for your suggestions. As an ongoing issue for more than two years, I long ago took each and ever step suggested above. The router also provides a markedly weakened signal to the rear of the house, being positioned close to the front, so the signal to my personal devices is via the amplified signals from the extender (Netgear Nighthawk EX8000). Port forwarding, registering all connectable devices in the router and mking appropriate exceptions in device firewalls all done long ago also. There are three WiFi signals at home, the combined 2.4 GHz and 5GHz signals from the router, and separate extended 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals delivered via the extender., respectively named (signal number)2GEXT and (signal number)5GEXT. My laptops have been configured to connect to the faster, stronger 5GHz amplified/extended connection and, when the signal from the router drops, this is the only connection in the list of available networks. When I'm quick enough to check other devices, such as my phone, before the signal reappears and reconnects, the lack of other available signals also applies. WiFi configuration, including channel settings, neighbouring channel impact, and signal strength, have been checked at regular intervals using inSSIDer software for Windows. Throughput, when it's working correctly, is as it should be for a 100GBps plan and checked fairly regularly using Speedtest.net. All of which is to say, I feel like I've done more or less everything I reasonably can to identify and/or mitigate the issue. I simply can't fix it to the point I have a stable, reliable cervice at home. The widespread nature and frequency of this issue for customers with the Hub 3 suggests it's an equuipment problem, more often than not. For my part, I can't imagine what more I can do.