Can’t get WiFi in every room

[Claire2578]

I’m having problems getting my devices in our bedrooms to stay connected to my router. 
I also can’t get a signal in my kitchen either!
Ordered a booster after doing the signal test in every room weeks ago but still haven’t received it.

Ive tried speaking to a member of staff via Message Centre but can’t get the issue resolved. 
Does anyone know another way I can get Virgin to answer me?
Fed up paying for a service I can’t use.

[gary_dexter]

The virgin “boosters” (powerline EXTENDERS, not boosters” rely on a decent working electrical ring main.

Unless you’re in a new build I wouldn’t get your hopes up on getting blinding speeds with them. 

[-tony-]

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@Claire2578 wrote:

Thanks everyone.

It took over a week but the right team finally helped me.

Fingers crossed there will be no more issues 

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if they are free then worth a try - if they are costing you £3 or £4 a month then there are far better options

[Law4elc]

Hi Claire,

I’ve just read this whole thread with interest as I’m in exactly the same situation. I hope you don’t mind me piggy backing on the thread. 

Working from home since last March has been a nightmare on the connection fronts and I was persuaded to leave Plusnet by a Virgin rep on the basis that I would leave all my wifi problems behind. Having paid a £60 early termination fee and joined Virgin it quickly became clear that even in my small terraced house, working anywhere other than at the side of the hub is not possible! 

I am using internet power lines to route the signal through my electric supply (on the recommendation of the Virgin engineer) and am trying through Ethernet connection to get a consistent speed to be able to work on in the office upstairs. It averages between 5mb-25mb download speed and when the connection drops my company’s VPN disappears and I lose what I’m working on.

Virgin’s answer is to pay £3 per month extra for their signal booster, as offered to Claire, which I feel is rather unfair and from reading comments on here, it doesn’t have a great success rate! I have formally complained only to receive the same response.

The Virgin engineer already split my connection up into “2g” upstairs and “5g” downstairs which means that any device I am using has to be switched every time I move around my house. Seems to be slightly better but still not great! 

Any pointers much appreciated. Is it worth spending more on another device like net gear or tp link? I already have a £12 tp link signal booster upstairs but would a more expensive one do more? Cheers.

[g0akc]

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@Law4elc wrote:

The Virgin engineer already split my connection up into “2g” upstairs and “5g” downstairs which means that any device I am using has to be switched every time I move around my house. Seems to be slightly better but still not great! 

Any pointers much appreciated. Is it worth spending more on another device like net gear or tp link? I already have a £12 tp link signal booster upstairs but would a more expensive one do more? Cheers.

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There are various products on the market that will outperform the VM hub, even with boosters.  I currently like the D Link range including the  DIR-1960 but there are various others including from the brands you mention.  Band steering can be useful in avoiding the situation that you describe of switching between 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Can I swear on a stack of bibles that it will fix your issues - no.  You may 'need' a mesh system to give better coverage or whatever.

[SSQQS]

Thanks for your really clear explanation of wifi and the obligation of the ISP.  My wifi is awful and has been for years (with Virgin for over 20 years, not sure why!) - I have no wifi in my main living room, practically none in the loft conversion (bedroom) and an intermittent service elsewhere.   I have taken your advice and just purchased the TP Link Mesh system you recommended.  I may have to enlist the help of a friend to set it up as things have got so complicated these days!  Fingers crossed this works.  Would you be able to provide simple instructions on how to test the speed of a wired connection please.  I have an ethernet cable that I plug a PC or laptop into, that sits right next to the Hub on the middle floor of our house, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.  I don't know how to log in to test speeds.  Many thanks

[legacy1]

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@SSQQS wrote:

 My wifi is awful and has been for years (with Virgin for over 20 years, not sure why!)

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There likely was no Wifi by VM it would have been a modem and router. 

[g0akc]

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@SSQQS wrote:

Would you be able to provide simple instructions on how to test the speed of a wired connection please.  I have an ethernet cable that I plug a PC or laptop into, that sits right next to the Hub on the middle floor of our house, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.  I don't know how to log in to test speeds.  Many thanks

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Plug your laptop into the hub with the Ethernet cable.  Check that you can 'surf' the internet.

Go to https://speedtest.samknows.com/

Click the 'Start' button

Note the results including Download speed.   Upload speed will be lower, typically 10% of download speed.

(if you get less than your contracted/expected speed check laptop settings, the age of the laptop, its interfaces and so on - older laptops/PCs/devices may have slower interface cards.  Low quality Ethernet cables can also give slower speeds - they may not even have all the wires present).