Shambolic start to my service .

[rickj64]

Where to start . Install of BB today .I purchased the MSE deal of 100mbs @ 23:95 a month ,100 credit with zero set up fees . Engineer installed router 5 metres away from my original one which has 3 ethernet cables ,left me with no sky multiroom and basically said re cable it yourself . 2nd , Bills bear no resemblance to my offer ... Iam being charged 25 a month with 35 fee to activate despite my screenshot showing zero. 3rd 1 room has poor WiFi ( used the scan app) .4Th impossible to speak to a UK based CS rep.Spent hours on text messages ,chat etc and complete waste of time . Clearly the terrible virgin reviews are true .. what a idiot IAM ! .Thank God I have 14 days cooling off . How can a company get so much wrong !! 

[-tony-]

do 2 things with the hub3 - split the wifi bands and turn off smart wifi - see if that helps

[Kath_F]

Hi rickj64, 

Thanks for coming back and updating the thread for us. I'm sorry that the Sky boosters don't seem to be compatible with our equipment. 

Splitting the bands, as suggested by -tony- is a good shout but you will need to connect to the WiFi on the best band for the device you are connecting. It can be a bit tricky having to try out a few things so a few tips: 

• Any devices closer to the Hub would be better placed on the 5Ghz band. 
• Any devices further away from the Hub would be better places on the 2.4Ghz band.
• Any devices that can be wired into the Hub, should be.

To split the networks, just follow these steps:

• Access your Hub by navigating to 192.168.0.1
• Login with the default login info (on base of Hub) unless you've already updated it.
• Go to Advanced Settings > Wireless > Security
• Under Wireless Frequency 2.4GHz change the Wifi Network Name (SSID) and the Wifi password (network key).
• Repeat for the Wireless Frequency 5GHz and click on Apply changes.*

*Make sure that both frequencies are named differently and are still identifiable

With regards to your son's data, it may be best to turn the Mobile data off unless he is out and about or needing to use it. This should help him to monitor how much data he has left and reduces the risk of any extra charges. 

In terms of ordering WiFi pods, we can get one ordered for you to see if this helps improve your connection. There is a £5 per month charge for this but if you would like it added, let us know and we can get that sorted for you. 

Keep us posted on how things go. 

Thanks,

[-tony-]

as @Kath_F reply above - if splitting the bands and turning off smart wifi - which she did not comment on helps then the pod if you decided it could help is no good to you as it needs smart wifi to be on and the wifi bands to be the same or thats the recommendation from VM

i tested the pods when they were a trial item and did try them with the bands split and they still seemed to work but it was not an extensive test 

[Kath_F]

Sorry @-tony-, 

I missed the Smart WiFi suggestion. It's still early and my morning coffee hasn't yet kicked in 🙂 

Yes @rickj64, 

If you try the Smart WiFi option being switched off then the WiFi Pods won't work so try the option of it off first. If you don't find it helps and want to try the pod, just switch the Smart WiFi option back on and then let me know and we can order one for you. 

Thanks,

[Andrew-G]

Before committing to renting a pod, give some thought to whether that's good value for you.  For some customers, the fact that the pods are VM supplied and supported, and (almost) plug and play, makes them a sound choice, so don't rule them out.  Since you joined via a MSE offer, I'm guessing value for money is very important, in which case consider that in around 20 months you'll spend £100 renting a single extender pod that you won't own, so you need to consider if the pluses of the pod rental are sufficient.

If you were to buy (as an example) a TP-Link Deco S4 you'd be spending a hundred quid up front for a three access point system of superior performance that you'd own, and has a good few years life expectancy.  I'm using the earlier Deco M4, and it has been a superb bit of kit, worth every penny.  If you've got multiple ethernet connected devices, budget another ten-fifteen pounds for one of these as the Deco units only have one spare "out" ethernet on the primary unit, and two on each secondary.  That won't be needed if you're a wifi-only household, or you've only got a single device currently wired into the hub.

If you go down the mesh route, then it is usually best to put the hub in modem mode, as the hub's built in router is a pretty basic device.  There's sometimes some minor piffling around to get it all up and running, once it's installed it minds its own business and runs faultlessly.

[rickj64]

Appreciate the help . Tbh it was purely a price thing which made me switch providers as I presumed " wrongly" the superior speeds would also mean superior WiFi coverage . We have spent the 1st week seeing how the family phones tablets etc react to the coverage aspect and it looks like the opinion is that it's worse than the coverage from my  sky router . We have little or no WiFi now in our extension or patio area which wasn't the case with sky .  Paying another £5 a month pretty much wipes out the savings as sky provided the booster free as they could see the poor signal .

I've still got 7 days left in the 14 days cooling off so will decide whether to cancel the service or invest in better equipment .I know all the WiFi guarantees or lack of so need to decide on the above pretty quickly.

Thanks again for all advice . 

[rickj64]

Agree with your thoughts Andrew. Yes renting another product is probably not worth it . I would probably swing to buying a superior router tbh .I have 3 cable in use and feel this would probably be a neater solution as it just needs that extra 20% boost .

Will have a think which way to go or just cut my losses and call it a day . It's a nightmare with 2x 25 year olds constantly moaning they can't get WiFi in the back room or patio area and taking great pleasure my " new Virgin" system has made matters worse ! 

Thanks again.