The engineer visited today. Replaces the Hub 4 box twice and internal cabling once but despite multiple and valiant efforts he is unable to get a broadband connection. I have ZERO broadband. We are now waiting for a new visit tomorrow to replace the external cabling and to fix the broadband.
My Hub 4 with 1Gbps has never worked properly. I have little stability and not much speed. Here's the summary. ACTIONS for VM at the end.
During September
- Lack of stability on the line characterised by frequent latency spikes in the BQM graphs which means the connection unstable so I lose internet connection when video conferencing or when doing remote access for IT support.
- Speeds, even over ethernet cables, generally delivered half of the promised 1 Gbps and, over WiFi, completely rubbish. Speeds into hub were consistently slow and often below 500 Mbps over 3 consecutive days measured by Samknows. Speeds are consistently sub 500 Mbps even using an ethernet cable whilst testing different PC’s (both running W10 with all drivers up to date); using different ethernet cables from CAT 6 to 7 and across different browsers.
- The dropped connections are clear from the router logs as the hub re-negotiates channels. The Uncorrectables (Post RS Errors) in the 3.1 downstream indicate a probable noise problem.
- Lots of wasted time in resetting hubs and checking and waiting. And too many replies that are standard cookie cutter responses that do not address the issues. PODS did not help.
Several engineer visits resulted in a cable re-pull by early October
- Engineer 1: Virgin state there are downstream issues. Engineer states everything fine. Ignores BQM analysis
- Engineer 2: Virgin state there are no downstream issues. Engineer visits and states lots and lots of noise and cable needs to be repulled. Cannot understand engineer 1 conclusion.
- Engineer 3: Cable repulled.
Re-pull not delivered. Service is pathetic
- Consistent packet loss of between 0-20% throughout the day which means it is impossible to do a zoom meeting as there is little stability to the line. BQM also shows this ongoing daily packet loss stems from an issue in the core network rather than my home.
- Latency spikes even when idle. The latency spikes are slightly better than before indicating less noise in the system but still showing noise.
- The router logs show multiple timeouts and significant uncorrectable Post R/S download errors
Engineer 4 as above. No internet.
Hub 4 is a useless modem/router that should never have been released. There is a well-known .ax vs .ac compatibility issue (also known as WiFi 6 vs WiFi 5) especially if your computer, like mine, has Intel Killer AX WiFi drivers that Virgin is unwilling to acknowledge even though it is written about on multiple forums including Virgin, other PC OEMs as well as Intel.
Virgin, I no longer want to have a Hub 4 as it has failed to provide the service I am paying for. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires any consumer service to be provided with "reasonable skill and care", and second, the Ofcom Fairness Commitments, state that services should work as promised, reliably over time. I am not sure if VM can fix the systemic issues with the core services they have promised to deliver, and that I am paying for, within a reasonable period of time as we have given you the time and it is still broken.
As the Hub 5 is now available please arrange for a Hub 5 which has to be better made and better suited to deliver your promises than the Hub 4 and more compatible with my PC.
Virgin, I cannot see the engineer that is meant to be booked for tomorrow. Please advise urgently as we have ZERO broadband connection. Suggest they arrive with a Hub 5 as this may alleviate some of the issues though will not solve a network that is creaking at the seams.