Bad WiFi even after putting into modem mode with router

[KevyL]

Hi everyone,

I have constant WiFi dropouts ever since I joined virgin almost 2 years ago. When it came round to contract renewal last year I had actually almost changed only they came back and promised to double my speed to 200mb and sent an engineer out.

The engineer tweaked settings and put a WiFi booster upstairs but it didn't help.

I have tried putting superhub 3 into modem mode and used a tp link archer c60 v2 but the WiFi is exactly the same as if I was still using the superhub 3. The coverage stops as soon as I go into the kitchen. With my previous provider (BT) I had coverage almost at the end of my street.

I have also tried using the tp link archer router as a wireless access point but still it has not improved my WiFi signal or drop outs at all..

Thankfully my contract is due to end in October so I finally have the option to switch. The only problem is I do like the TV package virgin media have with bt sport and would have kept it if I could get acceptable WiFi.

Has anyone any idea what I could do to try and fix my WiFi one more time before I go back to bt? Everything works perfectly when wired. 

[KevyL]

Hi John,

The nvidia shield is just a streaming box, like a firestick.

I literally only connected my phone this time and haven't had anything else connected (including the shield) all day today, but still the fault occurs. 

The connection is perfect in the living room, anywhere else and it is shockingly bad.

Did you see anything wrong in the log reports I posted? 

[jbrennand]

I am confused now.

You are getting good and stable connectivity on the 5GHz network - right? And is that good outside of the living room as well?

And does the same apply to the 2.4 frequency?

If both bands are fine in the living room but both are shockingly bad outside of that room (on both frequencies) irrespective of whether the Hub or Archer is putting out the signal from in that room (is that the case?) - then your living room is either a "Faraday cage" or there is some massive interference coming in from outside somewhere. I dont think the VM connection is the issue (but I may be wrong) 🙂

What is your property constructed from... 12 inch thick stone walls, iron rich Victorian Red brick, thinner but lined with metal foil insulation, etc?

[KevyL]

The 5ghz range doesn't extend outside of the living room. As soon as I walk maybe three meters from the router it switches to 2.4 which states its getting about 20mb speed but can't be because it won't even load videos and takes ages to move from Web page to Web page on my phone.

The house is about 25 years old in a housing estate, so fairly standard brick walls.

I had a problem previously with turtle beach wireless headphones which I switched off and it fixed my WiFi problems with my previous provider (bt) so am aware of interference that can cause problems. There should be nothing in my house transmitting at the 2.4 ghz frequency.

The 5 ghz works perfectly in the living room, but when connected to the 2.4 ghz in the living room the speeds drop to about 40mb and unreliable connection 

[goslow]

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@KevyL wrote:

The 5ghz range doesn't extend outside of the living room. As soon as I walk maybe three meters from the router it switches to 2.4 which states its getting about 20mb speed but can't be because it won't even load videos and takes ages to move from Web page to Web page on my phone.

<snip>

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Have you tried changing the 'advanced' wireless settings of the Archer A7 for 2.4GHz to match those of the phone you are using? Then test using just the phone connected.

The A7 manual does not show too much detail but mentions options for wireless mode, channel width and transmission power. The wireless mode should show options for b/g/n etc. Assuming your phone must have 'n' capabilities, try setting the router to 'n' only on 2.4GHz. Try the channel width at the lowest setting of 20MHz and see if that improves stability on 2.4GHz. The manual says the default power should be high anyway.

Sometimes experimenting with these settings to find a particular combination that works best can be helpful in improving stability/reliability over speed.

[KevyL]

Hi guys, thanks for all your help. I've decided not to waste anymore time, money or effort on it. 

Have only two months to run on this contract and can finally go back to BT and reliable WiFi. Wouldnt recommend VM to my worst enemy.

I do appreciate your efforts to help. Thanks 

[Serena_C]

Hi @KevyL

I'm really sorry to hear you're thinking of leaving us due to the WiFi problems you are experiencing, that is not ideal at all. Have you tried changing the advanced wireless settings of the Archer as @goslow suggested?

Apologies for the frustration this issue is causing for you, I realise it id not ideal at all to only have working WiFi in one room of your house. May I ask what lights are showing on your Booster - is it pulsing at all?

Please do let me know.

Kind regards,

Serena

[jbrennand]

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@KevyL wrote:

Have only two months to run on this contract and can finally go back to BT and reliable WiFi. Wouldnt recommend VM to my worst enemy.

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OK.... note that BT now charge customers an extra £10/month for "guaranteed" - Whole Home Wifi.  And if that doesn't sort it they will return up to £100 and leave you to it.  Note that you can buy a 3 pack of their discs for ~£100

I would be interested to hear later this year how the wifi is performing on the BT connection with the Archer or with their WHW discs. If you can be bothered to post back of course 😎

[KevyL]

To be honest I was on BT WiFi before and it was perfect. The only reason I left them was because they started to charge extra for the Ufc events which is the main reason I had them.

I'd had high hopes for virgin media because of their speed promise but its no good having the speed when the router won't reach reliably more than a room away. I'd imagine I'll not even need the tp link router when I go back to them with their hub given that their older hub allowed me to connect to it from outside the house even.

[jbrennand]

The TP-Link Archer 7 is almost certainly a quantum leap better that the BT Hub for wifi. After all, it is a purpose built wifi router from a respected networking company - built for quality and not to a low price point - like all ISP Hubs are.    As yours is not performing on VM, then  its either - borked - or its not set up correctly - or you have somehow acquired a massive wifi interference source in the time since you left BT.

Remember, VM has >5m customers most have the Hub3 and get perfect Wifi - my pal around the corner swears its the best router on the planet 🙂    And only a small percentage of customers have issues with it.

When you were with them, did you have their discs and if so have you still got them - I believe some models can work on the VM Hub

[KevyL]

I didn't have any discs or extenders with BT as I didn't need them. Virgin media sent out an engineer and gave me one of their powerline extenders but it didn't help.

When I've been looking over countless threads on this form about the virgin hub 3 and most recommend replacing it with a functioning router so that's what I did, and then believing that the initial tp link router wasn't good enough I bought another.

The 5 ghz range won't extend beyond the living room and two rooms away I get 0.9mb speed on the 2.4 ghz range both on the superhub 3 and on both tp link routers i bought. I can't understand it as with the superhub 3 in modem mode I thought the other routers might have improved it.