Forum Discussion

roberto7's avatar
roberto7
Tuning in
7 months ago

wifi freezes

morning all,

since I got virgin 2 months ago when streaming a film on netflix or Disney+ the screen freezes and jumps this only lasts between 1 and 3 seconds but can sometimes be up to four times per film. I've checked my network no faults and done my speed checks and all say very good, does anyone have any ideas thanks

  • Sephiroth's avatar
    Sephiroth
    Alessandro Volta

    If you’re streaming over WiFi, a neighbour could be using the same frequency and your WiFi will glitch while channels change.  Sort of thing.

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person

    Use a wired connection to the TV, even for a temp test, and see if the glitching stops.  This should prove the Wifi needs attention as suggested by Sephiroth 

  • Hi roberto7,

    Thank you for your post. We're sorry to hear about the issue you've been having. 

    To confirm, have you been able to try the recommendation advised by others on here?

    ^Martin

    • roberto7's avatar
      roberto7
      Tuning in

      I haven't I'm using a firestick so can't try a wired connection, I think I will try temporarily moving my hub into the room to see if it helps even though the hub is just outside the room at the moment. my direct neighbours are on bt not sure about further neighbours but surely this would affect a lot more customers?

      • Daniel_Et's avatar
        Daniel_Et
        Forum Team

        Hi roberto7, thank you for your response.

        Are you any further forward with this on the back of temporarily moving your Hub and following the latest advice provided?

        Please pop back to us at your earliest convenience.

        Regards,
        Daniel

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta

    Smart Wi-Fi and Auto Channel selection was the cause of random Wi-Fi dropouts with our VM Hub.
    Disabling both fixed the problem now we can use a Firestick for hours without any glitches. 

    • Sephiroth's avatar
      Sephiroth
      Alessandro Volta

      @Client62 is right.  The neighbours could well be using the same WiFi channel as you, whether or not they use BT, Sky or whatever.  If their signal is strong enough, your Hub may well switch you to another channel and, of course, there is the glitch.

      And it needn't be a neighbour; it could be any other user in your house on the same frequency.

      Moving the Hub closer to the Firestick might do the trick because its detection of a neighbour's frequency could be lessened.  

      Keep us posted.

    • roberto7's avatar
      roberto7
      Tuning in

      hello,how do you disable the smart wifi and auto channel, thanks

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta

    I solved any WiFi issues by connecting my Fire TV Stick 4K Max with a Cable Matters USB 2.0 Micro-B Ethernet Adapter.

    • Adduxi's avatar
      Adduxi
      Very Insightful Person

      +1 as above.  When I had a Firestick it was connected with ethernet.  Anything I can cable, gets cabled !

  • Sephiroth's avatar
    Sephiroth
    Alessandro Volta

    You do the disables in the WiFi settings page of the Hub's user interface (192.168.0.1), where you log in using the credentials provided at the base of the Hub or whatever you may have changed those credentials to.  You go to the WiFi settings and it should be obvious from there.

    • roberto7's avatar
      roberto7
      Tuning in

      Thanks but ive disabled both auto channel and smart WiFi, but the problem is still there

      • g0akc's avatar
        g0akc
        Problem sorter

        roberto7 wrote:

        Thanks but ive disabled both auto channel and smart WiFi, but the problem is still there


        There's a bit more to it than that.

        Having disabled the auto channel selection and smart you need to check that your hub is set to use different channels to whatever your neighbours are using.  You can check what channels they are using by using a Wi-Fi analyser app (free) other than the Virgin one.  A shortcut is just to try changing the channel - preferably keeping to 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4 GHz - also checking 5GHz too.

        Unfortunately WiFi is somewhat more complicated than Virgin and the other providers have tried to make it!

        Ultimately you may be better off getting your own third party Wireless kit or router and using the Virgin Hub in modem mode no matter how much you feel you shouldn't have to do so. Higher end third party kit generally copes better than the 'down to a price' offerings from VM and other ISPs which might well work okay in many situations, but not yours.

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta

    What device are you using the play Netflix & Disney+  and how old is it ?

    • roberto7's avatar
      roberto7
      Tuning in

      hi, I'm using a firestick, it's not a new one prob 2-3 yrs old, but it works fine if I use data from my phone

      • Ashleigh_C's avatar
        Ashleigh_C
        Forum Team

        Thank you roberto7 do you notice any issues with the service outside of the firestick or only when using this?