Hub3 2.5GHz versus 5GHz

[BillyRiccy]

hello, I am a new member of this forum.  Does anybody know the default operating frequency of the Hub3?  I am getting crackles with a new Bluetooth speaker I have set up and I have read that it could be caused by interference between 2.5GHz Wifi and the Bluetooth signal, so it is advisable to switch the router to work at 5GHz or both 5GHz and 2.5GHz.  I cannot log in to check or change my router settings at 192.168.0.1 because when I enter my username and the "settings password" shown on the base of the Hub3 I get the message "the password you entered is incorrect".  That is another issue I need to get to the bottom of!  Any suggestions welcome, e.g. how do I get to talk to an actual human technical support person at Virgin Media?!!  Thanks.

[jbrennand]

First reset the Hub so you can login - as per below

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With the Hub switched "on", disconnect any ethernet connections (leave the co-ax connected) and then push in the “reset pin” with the end of a paperclip/thin nail/SIM tray “tool” or similar (bigger items like ball point pen ends may not press it in far enough) until you feel it at the “stop point” and hold it there firmly for a "timed" minimum of 60 seconds do NOT manually restart the Hub at any time. Leave it 10' or so to stabilise and then your passwords/passphrase for both the Hub settings and the Wifi networks will revert to the two printed on the Hub sticker on its base/side/card.

Make sure you use the wifi one for devices connecting to the wifi and the settings/admin one to access the Hub they are different !

See if that sorts it.

Once you are logged in - try this
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Type in  http://192.168.0.1  into your web browser’s url box and login with settings password on the Hub's base sticker (or your own if you changed it). Then in Advanced>wireless>smart wifi - tick the disable “channel optimisation” box and save settings.  Then, go to advanced>wireless>security, rename the 2.4 & 5 GHz network ssid's.  Just change 'em to whatever you like and something that will differentiate them (e.g - xxxxx_2 & xxxxx_5) -- use the same password for simplicity,  Then, apply settings and restart the Hub.  Your 2 wifi networks will now be clearly separated - and you can then select the network you want to connect to individually from the "available networks" list on each device. 
Note all your wifi devices will need re-connecting to the new SSID's and passwords.
5 GHz is always better/faster and subject to less interference (and is better for iDevices ) than the 2.4 one - although the 2.4 one has the better "range" and some older/cheaper/dumber devices can only use this one.
 
You should also use a wifi analyser App to check which 2.4 channels are being heavily used around you and move yours to one of numbers 1,6,11 that is least so, but it wont help if there is other interference.

See if these changes help - you will lose any “seamless roaming” benefits but it may not matter and you can always change the settings back by doing a " pinhole factory reset " if you prefer the way it was - or it doesn’t help.

[BillyRiccy]

Thanks John, that is a very complete answer, just what I was hoping for!  I'll go search for  paperclip.  I know for sure that my old Epson printer won't like 5GHz but I do need a new printer anyway 😉  Billr

[jbrennand]

Then the Epson should connect just fine to the 2.4 SSID 🙂