Hub 4 1Gbps not delivering

[AmMin]

The Hub 4 WiFi experience has been dreadful. I previously posted “Hub4 1GB intermittent WIFI. Connection unstable. Speeds all over the place” as the service, using WiFi, dropped out, especially when video conferencing (eg zoom/googlemeet…),  was inconsistent and unreliable. Re-setting multiple times did not provide a solution. PODS did not improve the speed nor reliability.  I decided to connect directly with an ethernet cable. I have done this with 2 different PC’s both running W10 from different manufacturers and with all drivers up to date. I have used 3 different ethernet cables (2 x Cat 6 and 1 x Cat 7) and connected each, in turn, to Port 4 and removed all other ethernet connections from the hub and disconnected WiFi. And tested on couple of different browsers. The speed tests were not all to the same target as the servers used are found automatically. The results are below using Ookla and Virgin approved ‘SamKnows .  

ISSUE 1: Speeds into Hub INCONSISTENT & TOO OFTEN BELOW VIRGIN THRESHOLD or ZERO

Speed into the Hub 4 varies and is often sub 500 Mbps or gives an error message that the router could not be found. SamKnows speeds into the Hub ranged from a low of 387 to a high of 926Mbps over the last few days. This fluctuating speed is not new. On 16/8 the speed ranged from a low of 253 to a high of 1029 Mbps.

On 13/09 morning I re-set the hub given this is a typical request. Removed all ethernet cables. Turned off and removed power cable. Waited roughly 10 minutes before reconnecting. Disconnected WiFi. Added ethernet cable. Here’s what happened. Speed into the Hub ranged from an error message to 999 Mbps and through 203 to 335 Mbps….

Questions:

• What is happening so that the speeds are so consistently below 1 Gbps or even 500Mbps or that the router is not recognised?    
• f I put Virgin Hub 4 into modem mode and get a WiFi 6 router with ports that are 1Gbps or higher (as i know I have a WiFi issue and a PC with WiFi 6 drivers) will that solve things or is there an underlying issue that requires fixing first?

ISSUE 2: Speeds out of the Hub TOO SLOW Using Ethernet Cables

Between 10 and 12/09 SamKnows speeds to my PC were between a low of 178 to a high of 292 Mbps (except when not recognizing the router when it was zero) and has shown consistently low speeds out to our devices.  Ookla was between a low of 112 to a high of 384 Mpbs with uploads between 35 to 47Mbps.  This is using ethernet cables.   

After re-setting hub on 13/09 and using an ethernet cable SamKnows speeds were 283 to 346 Mbps and Ookla was 130 to 341 Mbps on one pc and 953Mbps once before further test results at 441 and 481 Mbps on the other pc.    

This proves high speeds are possible but are simply not happening.  None of the speeds get anywhere near 1Gbps service on a consistent basis.

Note: I do not know if the service drops, especially on zoom, if I used an ethernet cable instead of WiFi, but that solution would be 100% impractical as the hub/router is in the wrong place for working tethered to a cable. I also do not know if the drop outs and buffering occur on all devices at once as they are not all in use at once.

Questions

• What stops my service from delivering +900Mbps through a tethered cable? 
• What is needed to make sure the hub is doing what it should do?

Other

I shall update the issues with WiFi and can share the BQM and router logs on my first post. 

Many thanks for all your help in advance.

[Zach_R]

Hi @AmMin,

Please let us know how the visit with the engineer goes for you, and if you need any further assistance after that we can go from there.

Thanks,
 

[AmMin]

If you have read this far you will know that Virgin CS on this forum said that my downstream specs were not quite right. 

The engineer visited. He confirmed everything was how it should be. There was no issue in the downstream spec. I had to agree as my downstream specs did not have the outliers you can see from all the suspect downstream specs posted on this forum. 

Yes it is working today. Here's why. My top 10 learnings.

1. Virgin upsell speed as a solution to bad connectivity. I fell into this trap after years of poor quality service. The oomph never turned up when I paid the price for 1Gbps. This sent me down a new diagnostic track with far too many hours reading these fora and time taken away from my family and work to solve a service issue that I was paying for. Don't fall for the shiny toys of speed if you have issues with connectivity.    
2. Hub 4 is buggy and not a good bit of kit. 
3. To make it work you need to check every wire and every connection and every socket in the entire chain from the exchange to your outside wall and then to the socket in your house and then to the back of the hub. 
4. Every bit and piece of my cable along this chain has been replaced. It took far too long for all the issues with each bit of cable and each connection to be found and replaced. Luckily I had 2 great engineers in my last two visits. It is crazy that Virgin do not take a proactive approach to each bit of cable and each socket and each connection from the outset especially when the Hub 4 is as sensitive as it is.  
5. Information sources such as packet loss or latency spikes in BQM charts; uncorrectables in router logs; consistently low and consistently variable speeds into the hub from Samknows (let's ignore the low speeds out of the hub over ethernet) do not have a high enough currency as a diagnostic tool within Virgin and too few enginners want to view them when they come around.
6. SamKnows is buggy and not that good. Even when I knew that I was getting consistent high speeds into the hub and only after the full cable replacemen, it was giving me low speed readings, that were not accurate, out of the hub over ethernet. 
7. Get a good mesh router and put Hub 4 into modem mode. You need to check a couple of posts in this forum to find the right sequencing.  It is mad we need to spend good money doing this. Sadly it seems essential.
8. Ask Virgin for a credit on your bill. Prepare to be ignored. Virgin, again, you can see the history and the private messages. Do I need to send in a formal complaint? 
9. Persevere. Don't wish for too much.
10. Hope that once things have settled down they stay working as they should. Continue to monitor everything. 

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @AmMin

Thank you so much for your post and your updates. 

I just want to clarify, are things now improved with your connection? 

I'm sorry to hear you have felt that let down by our teams in regards to your experience and compensation. In order to make a compensation request we do need to log a formal complaint for you so we can then discuss the resolution. 

I would be more than happy to look into raising a complaint with you, but it will require me to send a PM. Please do let me know if you would like me to do so and I'll pop a PM over. 

Thank you.

[AmMin]

Hi Ash

At the moment, yes. 

It is only working as the last 2 engineers cared and checked each and every bit of kit. And replaced everything.

I could then see that SamKnows' speeds into the Hub were consistently high. This had never been the case before.  

Then I ignored the Samknows speeds out of the hub over ethernet as they just seemed rubbish and I saw forum reports that SamKnows was buggy as well. 

I spent money on a mesh router. 

You say Virgin do not guarantee over WiFi. Fine with that as a statement. Not fine with that when Virgin issues a piece of kit that is not fit for purpose.   Not fine with that when SamKnows, over consecutive 3 day periods, is below the minimum guaranteed speed. Not fine with that when the efforts to stabilise the network had a month long repurcussion on my service. Not fine with that when I am left with zero internet after an engineer visit. Not fine with that when the service I did have was of such variable quality that is was impossible to manage.

We do need to look at this in more detail and look at compensation. Can you please forward via PM the next steps. Thanks

[Ashleigh_C]

No problem and I am so sorry to hear you feel this way. I will now send you a PM so we can take a closer look. 

Please keep an eye out for the purple envelope in the top right corner of your screen alerting you to a new message .

Thanks again.