Intelligent WiFi Pods Not Working

[David1984]

Hi,

I've been on the phone to CS several times and they've not been able to sort out the issue. I have 3x intelligent wifi pods that have never worked as they don't connect to my Hub 4. All 3x pods are within 2m of the hub to try and get them to connect. I have tried them individually; there are no obstructions; hub is high on an open shelf; hub set in modem mode; reset hub numerous times etc.

I have just managed to get the Media Connect app to work with my Hub 4 and it doesn't have any pods listed and can't identify any. Light on pods slow flashing white.

[newapollo]

Hi @David1984 

Have you changed anything on your hub?

The pods only work under certain conditions.

Keep your Hub in Router Mode - Do not put the Hub into Modem Mode, as this disables the Wi-Fi and your Pods are connecting to your Hub via Wi-Fi. Likewise, if you use a third-party router it will not work because the Pods are designed to specifically connect directly with VM's Hubs only.

Do not split the SSID – If the SSID is split then the hub treats the two bands as two different standalone networks (the same as picking up your neighbours Wi-Fi when you search for a network). The Smart Wi-Fi cannot move a device between different networks.

Do not disable either bands – If both bands (2.4GHz and 5Ghz) are not switched on then the software cannot move the device for optimisation, which essentially disables the Smart Wi-Fi.

You should also ensure that Chanel Optimisation is enabled in your hub settings.

[David1984]

Thanks for the message. Hub is in Router mode - I incorrectly said modem on the post. Still no joy though. All pods flashing white lights and have never been recognised by the hub for some reason. 

[newapollo]

---

@David1984 wrote:

Thanks for the message. Hub is in Router mode - I incorrectly said modem on the post. Still no joy though. All pods flashing white lights and have never been recognised by the hub for some reason. 

---

Hi again @David1984 

Have you tried unplugging all of the wifi pods and then after a few minutes plug just one pod back in. 

Leave the pod to pulse it's lights for a couple of minutes and if it still isn't recognised by the app then reboot your hub. 

Hopefully the pod will stop flashing which means it's connected and will show up in the connect app - if by some miracle that happens then try connecting the others one at a time. 

If it doesn't happen then you might need to unplug that pod and repeat the same sequence with the other two, one by one  until one connects

[David1984]

Hi @newapplo

I've tried setting one wifi pod with no joy and then repeated the same with the other two. Pods and Hub just don't seem/want to connect. When I click the add button it says I don't have any wifi pods to install:

 

I've seen a few other posts with similar issues and they mentioned Virgin needing to add the pods to my account using the MAC address(?). Not sure if this is the issue.

[David1984]

Disconnected everything from my wifi and started from scratch. Still no joy getting these intelligent pods to work. 

I’ve spent too long talking to CS team last few days who don’t know what to do. They just go through the motions in test my router, get me to switch things on and off again. Any ideas how to elevate this issue rather than going back through same CS team in a call centre?

[spj20016]

I am having exactly the same issue and today when I called technical support, I was told it is a known issue and should hopefully be fixed within the next 5 days.

[David1984]

Thanks for update, that’s news to me so hopefully it’ll be fixed soon 🤞🙏

Not sure why CS didn’t just say the same to me. I was initially told there was a problem with broadband in my area despite having internet access still. CS have supposedly ordered me new Wi-Fi pods as well.

[spj20016]

I've been through all of that. In the last week I have had new pods sent and then a engineer visit even though my Internet was working fine and then a new hub and I still have the same issue. Hopefully what I got told today is the truth.

[David1984]

New wifi pod received. Plugged in. Left for hours. Fails to work. Imagine my surprise.

Does anyone at Virgin Media read these messages?

With so many people having wifi pod issues when are they going to let us know what the issue is rather than having to keep calling the CS centre and going through the motions. I've had 4x wifi pods now and none of them work. I can't imagine VM would be sending out so many faulty products so it must be something else that is the issue.