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jenfamily1's avatar
jenfamily1
Dialled in
7 months ago

Less reliable connectivity from router

Connectivity from our hub to my Son's Google TV ( sited in a shed a few yards from our back door and approx 10 yds away from the hub but signal through the house's external wall ) has always been a bit unreliable but what seemed 'peak times' but other than running ethernet cable from the hub to the tv, other 'booster; ideas within the outside space hadn't worked either. Since our landline went digital, for months everything worked fine ( even my son's TV worked better but only dropped out at peak times) but recently on two consecutive days, the phone 'dropped' out and I called Virgin who then sent out a technician. He replaced a piece of exposed external cable leading up to a small junction box on the front of the house because he said it had corroded plus he changed a piece of white co-axial cable on the inside of our house connecting to the router/ hub. My telephone line has worked fine since ( just over a week now ) but my son has had more problems getting his TV to connect, especially between 7.30pm - 10pm.I raised this with the technician who came to the house but he says it's because the hub is too far from the Shed / TV!!! If this is so, how come it connects at all? He denies it has anything to do with a 'surge' of users at peak times!!!!! Someone once told me that the hub uses two frequencies but chooses automatically which one to use ( longer range but less power or shorter more powerful range ) Could this have anything to do with it? He also pointed out that because we have three V6 boxes (Two at the rear of the house - one upstairs & one downstairs )  plus the hub itself, the cable is split about 4 /5 times ( reducing its capability) and we may need a second supply at no extra charge in the future to increase capacity. I nor anyone in my family are technically minded so in simple terms would you have an idea what the problem might be? Thank you

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  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    7 months ago

    Set up a BQM which will track your VM connection

    https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality

    If you wish, post up the signal levels from your VM hub as per info here

    https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Networking-and-WiFi/Red-light-on-hub-3-unstable-connection/m-p/5530996#M586556

    some regulars on the forum can interpret these to advise if your signals levels at the hub are in spec.

    Trying to connect an outbuilding via wireless through walls is unlikely to be reliable and the issue may be compounded if you also have a problem with the broadband connection.

    An ethernet connection wired to the shed would give you a more reliable connection. Something a local contractor should be able to do for you using an external grade cable depending on how important the shed connection is and options/time/effort/money available for running in a cable.

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

    You dont need a second supply - in fact In dont think VM would even do that for you - I have 3 V6's and multiple devices and have no connection issues at all.  That is primarily because for 20 odd years the Hubs are always in modem mode with my own wireless equipment doing all the heavy lifting (see my sig.).

    So... best solution is... you shlold run some exterior grade Cat6a ethernet cable from the Hub out to the shed and add a WAP like mine - it really wasnt that hard to do and was very cheap to do.  Ask if you need some how to tips.  A pair of good powerline adapters (see the TP-Link range) should have solved it too?  You say it didnt,.. were they  PA's or just cheap and cheerful "wifi boosters/extenders" these are usually "poor" in that situation - or is that because the Shed is served by an electricity power supply coming from a separate fuse box/CU ?   If so they wont work.

    There are other solutions for the shed - such as... an externally mounted wireless access point, or a good quality mesh system with one unit placed in sight of the shed (window sill?) - but its still no contest vs a direct ethernet cable and WAP combo.

    • jenfamily1's avatar
      jenfamily1
      Dialled in
      7 months ago

      Hi John

      Apologies for the late reply. Once again I thank you for your invaluable advice. I wanted to say that as you suspected when I said we'd tried TP link type power adapters which didn't work, they probably were cheap ones but the power supply to the shed is independent to the house so as you rightly said it wouldn't work. We get by believe it or not with a Cat 5E 20 metre ethernet which was given to us by a friend. I was keen to buy a better 20 metre Cat 6E outdoor use one but my son isn't showing any interest so I'll leave as is for the moment.it was the virgin technician who actually suggested the 2nd power cable in the future but as you say it probably isn't necessary. I do wonder why some days there are no connectivity issues from the router to his TV at all then other days / times all sorts of connectivity issues occur? Could it be the weather? Does it have anything to do with those two different range signals the router automatically chooses? I'd be grateful for your opinion on the last two points. It doesn't as I'm told have anything to do with kids at peak times playing on their consoles and draining power!

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

    Nothing, but nothing, is better than an Ethernet cable. Well perhaps fibre. VM hub should support your number of devices, I run in modem mode with over 80 devices. 

  • Ashleigh_C's avatar
    Ashleigh_C
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    7 months ago

    Hi there jenfamily1 

    Thank you for your post and welcome back to the forums, it's great to have you here. 

    I am so sorry to hear that you are facing some issues with your connection, are you able to provide a live link to a BQM as goslow as recommended?

    I have checked on our side and cannot see any issues that may be causing a poor connection so a BQM will give us a better idea of what is happening.  

    • jenfamily1's avatar
      jenfamily1
      Dialled in
      7 months ago

      There probably aren't any 'real' issues as you've checked on 'your side' but it's a mystery why some days connectivity isn't a problem with Son's TV & other days it is! Does the weather affect the signal? Does the two different signals chosen by the router have anything to do with it?

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

        Can you clarify... are the issues on your lad's TV only when it it connected via wifi ?  If so its not surprising it varies at times of day.  My wifi signal drops out whenever I switch our Panasonic microwave oven on !

        If you have a 5e cable going in there from the Hub, then just stick the TV on the ethernet cable - connection ought to be perfect then.

        If he has other devices in there - just get a gigabyte switch ( e.g. below) plugged into the 5e cable and plug as many devices in as he has on new short cables - can even add a WAP onto the switch to get perfect wifi

        https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-LS1005G-Wallmount-Ethernet-Splitter/dp/B07VWB347G/

         

    • jenfamily1's avatar
      jenfamily1
      Dialled in
      7 months ago

      Hi Ashleigh

      Sorry but I have no technical knowledge like most of these others on the forum and cannot provide a live link to a BMQ ( whatever that is ) I know you said everything is ok at 'your end' and although my router, telephone & 3 V6 boxes are working it seems more than a coincidence ( that my son informs me that since the Virgin Technician came to replace a piece of 'exposed & corroded' cable to the front of the house & a piece of white co-axial cable at the rear of the router) every single evening, the wifi signal to his TV drops out all evening. The wifi signal rarely dropped out before his visit! He came primarily, because I had to phone Virgin twice 2 days consecutively as my phone line wasn't working and the router flashed continuously red / green & the v6 boxes wouldn't connect. This is all so inconvenient as we only occasionally were required to connect an ethernet cable between the TV in his shed & the router but now it is dropping out every evening and is becoming a trip hazard! If there was any way we could get a second opinion in order to check the connections made by the previous technician this would appease us. WHY since his visit are these issues occurring?