Forum Discussion

markd22's avatar
markd22
Tuning in
26 days ago

WiFi unreliable

WiFi unreliable    

(I have already searched posts about WiFi, but wasn't able to find one which answered my question.)

Yesterday, I got a new laptop, which I am very pleased with. I tested my Internet download speed via WiFi, and got 133 Mbs, which I was a bit surprised about, as I am on a 100 Mbs package.

However, today it says 'No internet', even though WiFi is ticked on in Settings. It works fine when connected via Ethernet cable. Anyway, I wasted an hour or two checking settings on my laptop, to no avail.

A while later, I checked my emails, and there was one from Virgin Media, inviting me to try the Virgin Media Connect app:

--------------
https://www.virginmedia.com/the-edit/tech-and-connectivity/connect-app

Download the Virgin Media Connect app: How you can manage your WiFi in your home

[near the foot of the page, it says:]
*We are currently experiencing some issues with the pause/unpause feature on the Hub 5x. You may experience some issues when using this feature with this particular type of Hub. We’re working hard in the background to fix this ASAP. Apologies for any inconvenience.
--------------

I haven't downloaded the app, or used the pause/unpause feature on whichever kind of Hub I have got. But the email set me thinking. The WiFi icon is not currently showing on my mobile phone. WiFi does sometimes work on my mobile, when it is in the mood - I know because it has downloaded a couple of system updates via WiFi.

WiFi being a bit moody on the mobile hadn't really bothered me before, because I don't really use it for much, other than phone calls and photos. Plus I am not very good at smartphones, and I assumed there was probably some obscure setting somewhere that I had got wrong.

But now I am thinking, it may not be my phone, it may be Virgin Media WiFi that is flakey.  I would like to get it sorted, because half the point of getting a laptop was to be able to use it away from my existing desktop / Ethernet setup.

Any suggestions about how to sort the WiFi?

With thanks, Mark

  • legacy1's avatar
    legacy1
    Alessandro Volta
    26 days ago

    Yep get a better wifi router with 1Gb ports and put hub in modem mode

    Too many posts about this and VM are none the wiser and yet other ISP do it better VM cost cutting the hardware or lack of firmware testing that the only sure thing that works right is modem mode. at which point VM might as well not do wifi and source 3rd party router at a cost if people want them and just give us a modem.     

    • markd22's avatar
      markd22
      Tuning in
      5 days ago

      legacy1, thanks for your reply. Looks like I will have to buy some extra equipment as you suggest, or find a new broadband provider that offers reasonably reliable WiFi. Unfortunately my VM contract has another 6 months to run, so I feel a bit trapped.

      My VM WiFi has been working fine for the last ten days or so, but now it has packed up again.

      On this forum, there is a public message from Sabrina_B, who claims to be part of the Forum Team. They say, in part: 'So that we can assist you we would need to bring you in for a private message,'

      I have never heard of private messages on a technical forum before, why does it need to be private?  Sabrina_B also sent me a couple of apparently private messages via the inbox on this webpage. They are requesting quite a few personal details:  

      [REMOVED]

      I can understand VM wanting my account number, but full post code and house number, email address, value of my last monthly bill, last 4 digits of my bank account number?? If they were genuinely from VM, presumably they would already have access to that information.  And why do they need all that information to help with sorting VM WiFi?

      How do I know that Sabrina_B is not a scammer seeking personal information for identity theft or similar? It is not as if they provide any ID for themselves. So I am not quite sure what to do next.

      • Cardiffman282's avatar
        Cardiffman282
        Trouble shooter
        5 days ago

        Sabrina is the real thing and the the routine security questions are the same ones you would be asked if you were to call VM. The thing to do next I suggest is to engage with Sabrina. 

  • Sabrina_B's avatar
    Sabrina_B
    Forum Team
    23 days ago

    Hi markd22 👋.

    Thanks for reaching out to us and welcome to the Community Forums, sorry to hear of the issues that you are facing with your service. So that we can assist you we would need to bring you in for a 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

  • markd22's avatar
    markd22
    Tuning in
    5 days ago

    Cardiffman282, thanks for your reply. You say 'Sabrina is the real thing' - well maybe they are, but how do I know? Perhaps you are also part of the scammer team. Call me paranoid, but I figure you can't be too careful on the Internet nowadays. 

    Is there a VM webpage somewhere, explaining why they need so many ID questions? When I occasionally phone my bank, they don't seem to ask nearly so many questions.

    But most of all, I don't understand why discussions about my iffy WiFi need to be private, that seems to rather undermine the whole point of having a publicly accessible forum in the first place. That is chiefly what makes me suspicious. Is there some danger that I might reveal some details of my broadband setup, which would enable the Russians or whoever to hack into VM and hold them to ransom? Perhaps there is, I don't know.

    {I already tried to post this message a couple of hours ago, but it doesn't seem to have gone through, so I am trying again. Apologies if this appears twice.)
     

    • goslow's avatar
      goslow
      Alessandro Volta
      5 days ago

      Try turning off the 'Smart Wifi' setting on the VM hub. This often seems to cause more problems than it is worth. 'Forget' the VM wireless network on your laptop and try to reconnect again.

      • markd22's avatar
        markd22
        Tuning in
        5 days ago

        goslow, thanks for your reply. You suggest 'Try turning off the 'Smart Wifi' setting on the VM hub.'

        How do I turn off the 'Smart Wifi' setting on the VM hub? It is some years since I connected to my VM hub, so I don't remember exactly, but as far as I recall, I just plugged everything in, and it worked (via Ethernet anyway).

        Looking at my VM hub now, I can't see any physical switch, and I have no idea how to adjust anything about the hub. I am not even very clear about the difference between a hub and a router, or if hub and router are simply two functions of a single device.

    • Cardiffman282's avatar
      Cardiffman282
      Trouble shooter
      5 days ago

      I think we have reached the point where it's appropriate to suggest giving online forum support a pass and calling VM directly. 

      • markd22's avatar
        markd22
        Tuning in
        5 days ago

        Cardiffman282, you say: 'I think we have reached the point where it's appropriate to suggest giving online forum support a pass and calling VM directly.'

        I have only interacted with this online forum once before, some years ago, when VM told me they were introducing a new improved router thingy, and my existing one would no longer work after a certain date. So I found this forum, and asked a question (can't remember what now), and my question was answered. I wasn't asked to go to private messaging.

        What is the rationale behind being asked to go to private messaging? I can't recall ever being asked to go to private messaging on any other technical support forum I have ever been involved with. Being asked to go to private messaging still seems a bit odd to me.

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    3 days ago


    Focus on the new laptop.

    This very lengthy thread does not name any other devices that are not working on Wi-Fi.



    • markd22's avatar
      markd22
      Tuning in
      3 days ago

      Client62, you say: "Focus on the new laptop.

      This very lengthy thread does not name any other devices that are not working on Wi-Fi."

      I did mention earlier that I had a mobile phone which sometimes works on WiFi  - I know because it has downloaded updates via WiFi in the past. It also displays a small WiFi icon at the top, when the WiFi is working, or a small square icon when it isn't, as at present.

      Also I have an old slow laptop (which cost me £170 at Tescos), which I didn't previously mention. I just got it as a backup in case my main desktop (which doesn't have WiFi) should packup. It is too painfully slow to use as a laptop, but it has installed periodic Microsoft updates via WiFi in the past. WiFi isn't currently working on that either. I don't have any other devices to test WiFi on.

      This thread is very lengthy because I am a bit wary of VM personnel at present. I have had a couple of phone calls on the landline recently (plus loads of messages on the mobile) from a lady with a virtually incomprehensible foreign accent, who said she was from Virgin Media. I think she probably was, and was probably trying to sell me an upgraded package. But it was awfully close to a "This is Microsoft Technical Department" type of scam call. So nowadays I am inclined to try and double-check who the VM person might be, and I was rather spooked by the request to go to private messaging on this forum, without providing any explanation why.