Virgin Media Community

[Stuart_R]

How do I buy a Virgin Media Wifi Booster ?

I have run the Virgin Connect app and it says each room is okay, even though the signal meter on my phone doing the scanning only shows one bar, so it does not give me the option to buy.

I tried the chat bot and it said to call the 0345 number which says it is busy and to use the chat bot.  The chat bot then sent me a link but that came back "We can't find that page   Maybe the link you clicked is broken or you typed in the wrong address. Perhaps the page doesn't exist any more. Or maybe it's just a glitch in the matrix."

O have had Virgin Media for a week and I have phoned around 16 times over the past week to say my wifi is not usable but cannot get though for anyone to answer.

I have logged two complaints on the website for someone to contact me but no one has.

We have three people working from home plus one studying for A Levels so without a reliable wifi connection things are proving very difficult.

How do I buy a Virgin Media Wifi Booster ?

[jbrennand]

VM now supply “wifi pods” (not “boosters”).

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/01/virgin-media-uk-launch-plume-powered-intelligent-wifi-...

These are free to customers on the 1GB or Ultimate Oomph packages, and so are worth trying. Otherwise you will be charged £5/month - and at that level of investment you would soon pay off the cost of buying a "better" solution that will be yours to own and use forever.

But before doing that are you sure the problem is the wifi and not a connection issue? As a rough check, what happens on a device connected on an ethernet cable when the wifi ones have an issue?

Also I assume that you have a Hub3 - have you gone into the settings and switched off channel optimisation and split the 2 wifi bands by giving them their own SSID's - this sometimes helps.

[Stuart_R]

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Okay I didn't realise it was £5 per month, that does put a different light on it.

I am not by any stretch of the imagination an expert in wifi so please ignore the fact that my questions may appear stupid but what is the difference between a 'booster' and a 'wifi pod' ?  I think I just need the signal to reach a wider area.

After about an hour on hold I got through to a very helpful person from Virgin on the phone and she set my settings on the 2.4 GHz to have a Channel Width of 20/40MHz and on the 5GHz a Channel Width of 20/40/80 MHz.  We ran the speed test and this did increase the wifi speed when next to the router from ~150 to 200 Mbps download, however when I went into the office which is not near the router this drops to around 40-50 Mbps.

I am trying a Google Router and Extender, the Google router is plugged in to Virgin Router and the Extender is near the office and I get ~70 Mbps but we now have two wifi networks so I have to take a guess which is best and manually switch from Google wifi to Virgin wifi.  If I opted for "switch off channel optimisation and split the 2 wifi bands by giving them their own SSID's" wouldn't I still have to pick which SSID I think would be the better signal, log in to it to try it and swtich back again if not better.  This is hard during a zoom or MS Teams call.

Thanks

[gary_dexter]

Change the 2.4Ghz band back to 20Mhz not 20/40Mhz - you’ll get no end of issues otherwise.

If you’re using a Google router you need to put the hub into Modem Mode otherwise you’ll get issues with double NAT, DHCP conflicts, disconnects, speed issues etc.

[jbrennand · Accepted solution]

Before telling you to be done with the Hub and Google wifi kit and get a decent Mesh system 🙂

... do you know if you have any connection issues that aren't wifi related? Simplest way to tell is to check is to see what happens on a computer/laptop connected directly to the Hub with a Cat5e/6 ethernet cable at the same time as the issues occur over wifi. Can you check that?

[Stuart_R]

Thanks John but it's surprisingly not easy to check the wired connection, in this age of relying on WiFi I need to get hold of a cable !!!  My signal is okay close to the router, is that a good indication ?  The issue manifests itself more at the other end of the house and upstairs.

I'd like to know what a WiFi Pod is and if that'll extend coverage ?  or is this related to your comment of "get a decent Mesh system" ?

Yes it is a Hub 3.0

In reply to Gary's comments:

Change the 2.4Ghz band back to 20Mhz not 20/40Mhz - you’ll get no end of issues otherwise.:  I'm a bit loathed to do that without understanding what the implications are.  This was the setting until Virgin asked me to change it !!

If you’re using a Google router you need to put the hub into Modem Mode otherwise you’ll get issues with double NAT, DHCP conflicts, disconnects, speed issues etc.:  I do not understand a word of this, SORRY 😞  I assume because I have not done this it is why I have two wifi networks now (VMXXXX and Google WiFI)

Thanks

[gary_dexter · Accepted solution]

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@Stuart_R wrote:

Thanks John but it's surprisingly not easy to check the wired connection, in this age of relying on WiFi I need to get hold of a cable !!!  My signal is okay close to the router, is that a good indication ?  The issue manifests itself more at the other end of the house and upstairs.

I'd like to know what a WiFi Pod is and if that'll extend coverage ?  or is this related to your comment of "get a decent Mesh system" ?

Yes it is a Hub 3.0

In reply to Gary's comments:

Change the 2.4Ghz band back to 20Mhz not 20/40Mhz - you’ll get no end of issues otherwise.:  I'm a bit loathed to do that without understanding what the implications are.  This was the setting until Virgin asked me to change it !!

If you’re using a Google router you need to put the hub into Modem Mode otherwise you’ll get issues with double NAT, DHCP conflicts, disconnects, speed issues etc.:  I do not understand a word of this, SORRY 😞  I assume because I have not done this it is why I have two wifi networks now (VMXXXX and Google WiFI)

Thanks

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Because having the 2.4Ghz band set to use 40mhz bandwidth means you’re taking up more of the 2.4ghz band and overlapping with other peoples channels. You’ll get issues with stability and more disconnections where it’s overlapping and if it drops back to to 20Mhz off it’s own accord.

VM’s telephone support know nothing.

https://support.metageek.com/hc/en-us/articles/204490510-40-MHz-Channels

Regards Modem Mode - yes that’s why you have 2 SSID’s broadcasting and will more than likely explain the slow speeds etc. you’re currently having.

[jbrennand]

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@Stuart_R wrote:

Thanks John but it's surprisingly not easy to check the wired connection, in this age of relying on WiFi I need to get hold of a cable !!!  My signal is okay close to the router, is that a good indication ?  The issue manifests itself more at the other end of the house and upstairs.

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Errr,,, Cat 5e/6/7 cables are a few quid (depending on length) at the usual, online places with next day delivery.  If your lappy/computer doesn't have an ethernet port - it will have another port (USB) for which adapters to RJ45 ethernet cables are readily available too for a few quid. 😎

The pods are ok but why pay £5 to rent when you can buy your own better quality kit for £50-150 and keep it as yours forever

[Stuart_R]

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@jbrennand wrote:
Before telling you to be done with the Hub and Google wifi kit and get a decent Mesh system 🙂

... do you know if you have any connection issues that aren't wifi related? Simplest way to tell is to check is to see what happens on a computer/laptop connected directly to the Hub with a Cat5e/6 ethernet cable at the same time as the issues occur over wifi. Can you check that?

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I found a cable 😀

• Wired direcctly into the Router:
  Ping:  11ms
  Download: 216.69 Mbps
  Upload: 18.59 Mbps
• Wifi next to the Router
  Ping: 13ms
  Download: 215.84 Mbps
  Upload: 17.59 Mbps

[gary_dexter]

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@Stuart_R wrote:

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@jbrennand wrote:
Before telling you to be done with the Hub and Google wifi kit and get a decent Mesh system 🙂

... do you know if you have any connection issues that aren't wifi related? Simplest way to tell is to check is to see what happens on a computer/laptop connected directly to the Hub with a Cat5e/6 ethernet cable at the same time as the issues occur over wifi. Can you check that?

---

I found a cable 😀

• Wired direcctly into the Router:
  Ping:  11ms
  Download: 216.69 Mbps
  Upload: 18.59 Mbps
• Wifi next to the Router
  Ping: 13ms
  Download: 215.84 Mbps
  Upload: 17.59 Mbps

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What speed package are you on and which router were you wiring to when doing these tests?