Hub 5 Problems

[bart7796]

I was offered a free upgrade from Super Hub to Hub 5, because they made it sound better.

The Hub 5 largely works but some WiFi devices keep dropping down to very low speeds (like 0.2Mb/s, I even saw 1.2Kbps once). Resetting the Hub 5 might fix it for a while.

Anything I can do about this?

I tried putting the Super Hub back in, but that now doesn't work at all. Can I ask someone to reenable it? Thanks.

The two devices where it's most troublesome are a PS4 and Samsung tablet. I haven't noticed problems (apart from the usual ones) on my smart TVs.

[legacy1]

If wired is fine you can put the hub in modem mode and get your own wifi router with 1Gb ports.

[John_GS]

Hi bart7796

Thanks for posting and welcome to the community. I am sorry to hear of the WiFi issues.

Our system check has detected high levels of WiFi interference within your home. This is causing a poor quality WiFi signal and is impacting multiple devices. WiFi Capacity issues can be caused by interference from electrical devices and impact multiple devices by reducing the quality of your WiFi. Is the hub at least one meter away from other electrical devices? 
The Hub's location could be causing the Coverage problem – check that it is:
• Out in the open
• Next to the TV not behind it
• Away from large bodies of water (e.g. fish tanks)
• Away from baby monitors and cordless phones
• Away from microwaves

Think of the Hub as a radio, and WiFi as the sound - the further away you are from the radio, or the more obstacles that are in the way (walls, electronic devices etc.), the quieter the radio & the poorer the WiFi.

We've identified that you have devices that are 5GHz WiFi compatible but are, or have been, connecting to the less capable 2.4GHz WiFi network. 5GHz WiFi will typically provide faster speeds, but it does not reach as far as 2.4GHz WiFi. Devices are supposed to switch back and forth between the 2 WiFi networks to ensure the best possible connection at all times, however this often doesn’t happen. A simple way of ensuring you are connected to the best WiFi signal is to turn off WiFi on the impacted device and then turn it back on, particularly if you’ve just moved location in your home. This will encourage the device to connect to the best WiFi network.

Let me know 🙂

[bart7796]

> Our system check has detected high levels of WiFi interference within your home

Thank you for replies; sorry for delay in replying. I've been monitoring the situation.

First, I'm surprised you can scan inside my home, and even that you can identify me.

However, the setup is exactly like the old SuperHub, the new hub is in the same location, and the problems have only surfaced on two devices since that hub was installed.

One is a Samsung tablet, on which the user has reported problems. That has stabilised somewhat, although if I do broadband speed tests, the results are still erratic. However it's usable.

The other device is a PS4 console, which still has problems. Either the Internet Test fails, or I eventually get a silly download speed like 10Kbps (silly for 2022 that is!). For that, when it needs to connect to the internet, I've just plugged in an ethernet cable (and asked people not to trip over it).

So the problems are not urgent at the moment.

I understand from other replies that I can just buy my own WiFi router that connects via ethernet cable to the hub (but why do I need to switch it to modem mode?).

So that is an option if things get worse, but the point it, the Hub's WiFi should work; why isn't it doing so for the PS4?

[jbrennand]

The Hub5 is not officially released - that is it is still being tested by a few invited users. Issues are arising on certain devices that will be addressed in firmware updates

If its nor working for you insist that you get the old Hub back and reactivated onto your account.

TBH the best solution is to put any Hub into modem only mode and use your own router and wireless equipment because the quality of that equipment in any ISP Hub is "poor" - as they are all supplied via Poundworld. An you "have" to use the VM modem to connect to their network.

[legacy1]

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@bart7796 wrote:

So that is an option if things get worse, but the point it, the Hub's WiFi should work; why isn't it doing so for the PS4?

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Not paying enough too much complexity for router mode yet VM keep on trying.

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@bart7796 wrote:

(but why do I need to switch it to modem mode?).

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Easier to understand and show VM you don't like router mode, Its a bit like going on strike you can strike at home or strike out side with a banner

. 

[bart7796]

> If its nor working for you insist that you get the old Hub back and reactivated onto your account.

[Haven't yet figured out how to do proper quoting]

That's the reason why I haven't sent the old hub back as they requested. I will have to phone them to ask them to reinstate it, but then I'm also reluctant to do so.

Since where it works, the new hub works well; I've noticed fewer issues with devices losing connection or not being able to connect at all until something is reset.

[jbrennand]

If you want to stick with the Hub5 then you will have to live with its little foibles until VM get around to sorting them out - this can take years - based on Hub3/4 issue sorting.

Or sort it once and for all and stick it in modem mode and get your own better quality router and wireless equipment

[Ilyas_Y]

Hey there @bart7796, thanks for reaching out to us.

I am sorry to hear about the Hub 5 issues with the broadband.
I can get this Hub 4 activated for you again, I will send a private message - watch out for the purple envelope. 

Kind regards.

[big-luap]

Have run my own Routers as WiFi Access Points for over 20 years.

Firstly Hub 5 will support 5 devices via WiFi, use more and you will have problems. Older devices like your Samsung Tablet use 2.4GHz. your PS4 does it have an ethernet port, if so that is much more reliable.

A Gaming Router like the Netgear Nighthawk R8000 AC3200 (suppoorts 3 devices on each channel, 2.4, 5.0 & 5.0), when I connected this to previous hubs it self configured as a WiFi access point. With the Hub5 I am getting 200mbits on 2.4 GHz and around 800 mbit on 5.0 Ghz WiFi connected to the 2.4 GHz port on the hub. But this will depend on how new your device is and what protocols it supports.