Virgin Media Community

[cd67232382]

I have a TP-Link Deco mesh WiFi system at home so I have disabled the WiFi on my Hub3, however recently I noticed I kept getting performance issues on my mesh network.  

I logged back into my hub3 to find the WiFi had been switched back on, which I assumed must have happened since the email that came out saying Virgin had improved WiFi.  I disabled the WiFi again and went about my business, only to find sometime later I was getting issues.   I logged back into the Hub3 and WiFi was back on. 

As a test I disabled WiFi but left the page open in my browser and periodically refreshed the page, and it seems it takes about 10 minutes before it ends up enabled again. 

Does anyone have any ideas or has seen this before?    I can't say when it started but I'm pretty sure this has only started up since I got the email about the router update for improved WiFi

[sophist]

if you have a deco mesh system then you’re better off running the hub in modem mode, which disables pretty much all functionality other than terminating the cable connection and passing the public ip address through to your deco..

instructions for doing so below..

Log into the hub on http://192.168.0.1 and select the option to put the hub into modem mode

The hub will then reboot and come back up in modem mode - give it five minutes to settle down

Disconnect all ethernet cables from the hub

Power off the Hub and your router/mesh system

Connect your router/mesh system to the hub via ethernet cable and switch it on - leave it five minutes to settle down

Power on the hub and leave it five minutes to settle down

Should all be working.

[cd67232382]

That's not practical for me, unless I go to the aggravation of buying a switch as well, as Modem Mode only allows a single ethernet connection to the Hub3.  I have several I need to connect up.

I really don't fancy now having to buy and put a switch down behind my TV now, when the feature used to work perfectly.

[sophist]

fair enough. 

you could try a full factory reset of the hub and then disable wireless again, see if that resolves it.. no idea why it would re-enable itself without intervention (though this isn’t the first post detailing the same symptoms)...

when performing the factory reset, you need to depress the reset button for a full 60 seconds (with a paperclip/sim tool) then release it and leave the hub to recover - probably 5 - 10 mins. do not switch it off during this time.. just let it do it’s thing. 

[cd67232382]

Done already.  Rebooted many times too.

If I had to take an educated guess I'd say there is a bug somewhere in the new firmware that is enabling it as part of it's periodic WiFi optimisation.

As another test, on the same page where you can disable WiFi (Advanced Settings / Wireless Signal) there is an option at the bottom for Smart WiFi where you have the option to enable or disable channel optimisation, I set that to disabled but left WiFi enabled this time, and sure enough after 10 minutes or so this option had toggled back to being enabled again.

[gary_dexter]

Just put it into modem mode. The routing capabilities of the hub are sub-par and you'd be far better off with the Deco's handling your NAT, routing, firewall, DNS etc.

[cd67232382]

Again as above, I stated my reasons for not doing this. I understand the benefits of using Modem Mode and I have already tested this when I first bought my Deco. However Modem Mode disables all but one ethernet port as it's passing through the modem function to your WiFi mesh of choice.

However I have a few devices that require to be cabled in via ethernet, so my only choice would be having to buy a switch and locate it next to my hub3 which I don't really want to have to do.

I had a perfectly working solution up until a couple of weeks ago and the option to disable WiFi is present in the Hub3 menu, therefore I should be able to disable it as is my choice.

Clearly there is a fault with the firmware that is enabling it again without any intervention from myself and that's what I want to get to the bottom of.

[Adduxi]

IMHO, VM are pressing ahead with the implementation of the rebadged "Plume" wifi pods.  To enable these pods to work, the Hubs must have Smart Optimisation (sic) on and a single SSID for both bands.  I suspect this is why the firmware has been updated to make this work.  As VM never publish release notes for any firmware, we will never know.  If you are staying with the Hub in Router mode, then you will have to accept the operation of the Hub as VM sees fit.  I know you are against an additional switch, but for the sake of your sanity, I really think you should reconsider?

[cd67232382]

Before I blindly go and do that, I'd like to actually understand if what I'm experiencing is happening to anyone else or I'm the anomaly and there is a genuine fault. 

If Virgin have now changed the firmware to auto enable any disabled WiFi then they should be removing the option to disable the feature from the admin page of the hub3.

I find it hard to believe they would do something so glaringly incompetent, so I'm thinking there must be a bug somewhere.

[-tony-]

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@cd67232382 wrote:

Before I blindly go and do that, I'd like to actually understand if what I'm experiencing is happening to anyone else or I'm the anomaly and there is a genuine fault. 

If Virgin have now changed the firmware to auto enable any disabled WiFi then they should be removing the option to disable the feature from the admin page of the hub3.

I find it hard to believe they would do something so glaringly incompetent, so I'm thinking there must be a bug somewhere.

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can only add i can to a degree repeat this - i have a hub3 on a decommissioned test line so no connection to the internet but i can log into it to check settings etc - so i turned off both wifi bands and double checked the disable box is ticked - saved everything and i can log back into the UI on wifi - in truth i have never turned off wifi on any hub so i am assuming thats the only setting to change - please tell me if i am wrong

but if i am right i can access the hubs UI with its wifi turned off via wifi - i have not checked your 10 minute rule as i never actually managed to turn wifi off assuming i was doing it correctly