Intermittent connection drop out

[seand1]

Hi there,

I'm struggling to resolve an issue with my broadband connection where on a frequent basis it drops out. A few key points:

• I've tried with and without wi fi booster, same issue on all my devices. Done the obvious stuff like reset router.
• Its an issue mainly noticeable on video conference calls. On nearly every 30 mins call I will have an unreliable link where I will drop out, sometimes for a second or two, occasionally for >30 seconds and I need to reconnect. 
• I'm a new customer within the last few months. VM recently launched in the area and I think the unreliable connection has been an issue since the start. There's a lot of new build housing in the area. Maybe the area is over subscribed or its not been installed as well as it could have been?
• Here's the BQM. I dont know if the spikes are good or bad? There's no packet loss and I'm guessing some of the spikes are more to do with peak time for usage in the house.
• 

Thanks for any help provided!

[jbrennand]

You BQM is rejected as it still contains you ip address. You need to follow the "share live graph" link on the TB website.

I can see it though and it looks fine - better than mine.

So can we check… are the issues only evident on wifi connections or do you see them at the same times on devices connected on ethernet cables? If you don't know, can you check to help diagnose whether it is just a wifi issue or it could be network connection/Hub related?

What Hub model is it? What are the various Hub lights showing/doing when this happens if a Hub3 is the base light a steady white(ish) or flashing green?

If its purely a wifi issue - then see this post...
_____________________________________

If it is a wifi only issue (is it?), then on a Hub3/4/5, you should first try separating the SSID's of the 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi bands by renaming them in the settings At the same time switch off "channel optimisation/Smart wifi” and “ apply and save the settings. All wifi devices will now need reconnecting to the best SSID at each location. Also use a wifi scanning App to find the best wifi channels to use (just select and use channels 1,6,11 on 2.4GHz) - this often helps Hub users get better wifi performance - but its still no substitute for getting better kit 🙂

To address the wifi issues, VM now supply “wifi Pods” (no longer doing cheap and cheerless “boosters”). However, their Pods are only free to customers on the 1GB, Volt (or old Ultimate Oomph) packages - is that you? If so they are worth trying - they should work for you. Its now called… Wifi Max see…….

https://www.virginmedia.com/wifi-max

You can call  0800 064 3850 to order the first one - or follow instructions on that website - or just wait here for a VM person to respond in a day or two and they will sort the first one for you . If you call dont get fobbed off by the offshore CS agents' saying you aren’t eligible it will be £5 or £8 month - you are… and it wont be - just look on the webpage.

If not free to you… you will be charged £8/month (note - BT charge £10/mo for their whole home wifi solution). It’s a simple solution and should work for you. However, you would soon pay off that cost by buying your own wireless solution that will be yours to own and use forever, although the VM Pods should be a simpler option.

You would need to get either a… (1) Mesh System, (2) Wireless router, (3) Wireless access point (4) A combination of (2,3).

£30-100 (that’s ~4->12 months of Max Pod rental) should sort it for most customers with an average property and usage.

[seand1]

Many thanks for your reply and support. In response to your questions:

• Its proving hard to tell if its Wi Fi or something else, due to the issues being intermittent. What I can say is that I have my own WiFi booster which makes no improvement to the issues and it can happen in the same room as the router.
• The Virgin status check on my line and the Wi-FI test via the app indicate no issues at all. And as you say, the BQM indicates no issues either.
• I have a Hub 3 and haven't seen anything other than a steady white

Therefore I'm not arriving at an easy resolution to my problem. I guess I was hoping a VM employee would do some checks in the background upon seeing this post and they'd say they've seen an issue in my area or something, like they've done on many other posts. Other than that, I'm a bit at a loss as to what I can do other than put up with it until I can switch back to my old provider where I never had service issues like this.

[jbrennand]

If it turns out to be just a wifi issue then see this post.....
________________________________________

If it is a wifi only issue (is it?), then on a Hub3/4/5, you could first try separating the SSID's of the 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi bands by renaming them in the settings At the same time switch off "channel optimisation/Smart wifi” and “ apply and save the settings. All wifi devices will now need reconnecting to the best SSID at each location. Also use a wifi scanning App to find the best wifi channels to use (just select and use channels 1,6,11 on 2.4GHz) - this often helps Hub users get better wifi performance - but its still no substitute for getting better kit 🙂

To address the wifi issues, VM now supply “wifi Pods” (no longer doing cheap and cheerless “boosters”). However, their Pods are only free to customers on the 1GB, Volt (or old Ultimate Oomph) packages - is that you? If so they are worth trying - they should work for you. Its now called… Wifi Max see…….

https://www.virginmedia.com/wifi-max

You can call  0800 064 3850 to order the first one - or follow instructions on that website - or just wait here for a VM person to respond in a day or two and they will sort the first one for you . If you call dont get fobbed off by the offshore CS agents' saying you aren’t eligible it will be £5 or £8 month - you are… and it wont be - just look on the webpage.

If not free to you… you will be charged £8/month (note - BT charge £10/mo for their whole home wifi solution). It’s a simple solution and should work for you. However, you would soon pay off that cost by buying your own wireless solution that will be yours to own and use forever, although the VM Pods should be a simpler option.

You would need to get either a… (1) Mesh System, (2) Wireless router, (3) Wireless access point (4) A combination of (2,3).

£30-100 (that’s ~4->12 months of Max Pod rental) should sort it for most customers with an average property and usage.

[Molly_T]

Hi Seand1, welcome to the community! Thank you for posting!

Sorry to hear you have been experiencing connection issues. 

Having had a look on our systems there have been no drop outs on your hub in the last week or so, however there were quite a few earlier on in the month. 
There aren't any issues with the signals at the exchange or those reaching your hub currently. 

As you mentioned the issue primarily happening when in video conferencing it would be good to check:

-Are you using a VPN? 

-Have you experienced the issue across multiple devices?

-Does this also happen if you connect the device via Ethernet cable? (Just let us know if this is not possible to test).

-Are you using any devices via a wired connection where the drop-outs occur?

-Is there any noticeable pattern to the drop-outs? (Eg are they happening at the same time each day)?

I understand you have your own Wi-Fi booster set up, however if you would like to scan your home for Wi-Fi coverage issues you can do so using our Connect app. If you need help to use this here's a handy support article: https://virg.in/conhelp. 

If you can also try some of the troubleshooting steps advised by Jbrennard, this may help identify or resolve the issue for you in the meantime!

Let us know how you get on and we will offer further support!

All the best.