How to Acquire WiFi Boosters?

[TobyCottrell]

Hi,

I'm a new Virgin Media customer and recently had the Ultimate Oomph bundle installed at my property.

My wired and wireless broadband speed in close proximity to the Hub 4 router is as expected (500Mbps - 600Mbps) but, the wireless connectivity in my bedroom (which is down quite a long hallway) is very intermittent and often slow (40Mbps - 70Mbps). When my broadband was installed the engineer mentioned I would likely have issues in this room and would need a WiFi Booster but told me to contact VM Support if I did have issues.

I've been trying to contact VM via phone and live chat but it's been impossible to get through to someone regarding my issue. I'm unable to test and order WiFi Boosters through the Connect App as the Hub 4 isn't supported with it yet so my primary question is;

How/where can I get Virgin Media to send me a WiFi Booster/Powerline Adapter? If I understand correctly I should be eligible for a free booster if required? 

[lotharmat]

Personally I'd wait it out on here for a forum rep to respond - a day or so! - That kind of question will bamboozle customer services and you could find yourself on a whole new package paying the equivalent of the whole Third World debt!!

[jbrennand]

Yes - you do have to call in to get them. A VM person on here can also help with this but it will take a few days.

While waiting try calling again attempt.. options 1,1,4,4 "thinking of leaving" that usually puts you through to a UK agent who may help you if you say you want to downgrade from oomph as you haven't had your Pod ! Or at least connect you to the correct Department to get one sent out.

Worth a try - 08.00 Sat or 09.00 sun - is the best time to call

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @TobyCottrell

Thank you so much for your first post and welcome to our Community Forums, it's so great to have you on the team! 

As an Ultimate Oomph customer you are entitled to one free WiFi Pod if we can run diagnostics and determine one will improve your set up. I will send you a PM now so we can get this looked into, please keep an eye out for the purple envelope in the top right corner of your screen.

Thank you. 

[jbrennand]

Toby - if you dont get the Pod - or it doesnt help - post back here and we can recommend some other 3d party kit

[TobyCottrell]

Thanks, John!

will be sure to update my post with results once I've received some sort of Pod or extender.

I'm a bit skeptical about the Pod as it seems you need to place it somewhere in-between a good area and the bad area but unfortunately I have no AC sockets in the long hallway that connects my bedroom to the living room with the router in it. I basically only have sockets next to the router and in the bedroom with bad WiFI, so with this in mind I was thinking some sort of powerline adapter/wifi booster would suit me better. This way I can have my PC set up with a powerline adapter/ethernet cable and it'll also boost the WiFi signal in my room for my wireless devices?

I've included a floor plan of my property with a rough visual of the WiFi signal strength and also the location of my power sockets, if it's of any use. 

My WiFi is the absolute worst where the red arrow is pointing so I'm wondering if the bathroom is blocking the WiFi signal. If I stand in front of the open door to the bedroom the signal is definitely stronger.

 

[jbrennand]

Yes - my lad is a serious internet gamer who thinks wifi is the work of Satan and should never be used for gaming. Ethernet cabling your devices is always the best way to go, but running cable to his room was problematic. So he uses a pair of Solwise AC1200 powerline adapters. His PC/Xbox/PS3 can now all be "wired" - with short Cat6 cables – back to the wireless router downstairs and he gets a solid 60-70Mbps on our V200 package - he hasn't complained once in years!

Worth considering whether that will work for your house on your mains circuits, the two circuits must go through the same consumer unit/fuse box (most do) and be free of any "noise". You can get wifi ones as well or also add a wifi access point alongside to boost that up there as well.

Devolo are the bees knees - but expensive - you can get a good Mesh system for the price of them!

The TP-Link range is more reasonably priced and have a very good reputation.

Get ones with a pass-through power socket, multiple GB ethernet ports (make sure they point in the direction that is not going to be obstructed!) and a good throughput.

[Anonymous]

If you can get your hands on a Pod, it will make a huge difference. They work VERY well. I have one placed in the kitchen about 10 metres from the Hub and past two thick brick walls. I average 80-90mb in the kitchen.

(I’m on Gig1 fibre). 

[jbrennand]

Its a small property and as said... if you can get one - the Pod should be fine for you. Set it up on a socket near the Hub and then move it to the other sockets to find the best coverage

[TobyCottrell]

So, while I wait for Virgin Media to ship me a pod I ended up getting a TP-Link AV1300 to play with. It's a powerline adapter that also extends the WiFi; I was hoping this would eliminate the need for me to run a super long cable down the hall and also solve my slow WiFi. Tested this today but the speeds seem to drop off a LOT when using it, so it doesn't really solve my issues.

Speeds from my bedroom:

PC Wired to Router directly: 660 Download, 41 Upload

PC Wired to TP-Link: 79 Download, 41 Upload

The WiFi signal is roughly the same when connecting to the router directly and the 5G signal of the TP Link (70 - 80Mbps but very interminent).

I'm guessing my mains circuits are noisy and not suitable for using a powerline adapter or the cabling cant support high speeds..? If the Pod doesn't end up being that great for the WiFi what would my other options be?

Is it possible to run an ethernet cable directly from the router to my bedroom, then into a second router or wifi extender/booster of some sort, then also connect my PC wired into this second router/booster for the super fast 660 down speed? 

I'm a full-time self-employed video editor so I download and upload a silly amount of 4k video files every day so every bit of speed I can get is super important!