cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Losing internet connection on my phone

BrianP2
Joining in

Since I started using the Hub3 I have noticed a random but extremely irritating frequent loss of Internet connection on my Samsung Galaxy S7. It was NEVER a problem with Plusnet and their hub, I could totally rely on it. Nothing has changed with the phone except for the new WiFi and being on O2.

Now I must constantly check that I'm still connected. Obviously when the screen goes off, I can’t tell if I’m still connected or not. I tend to rely a LOT on my phone to notify me of arriving emails, WhatsApp messages and so on.

The problem is that if the WiFi signal goes completely the phone will switch seamlessly to 4G and I’ll still know about any incoming messages. BUT if the Internet connection is lost and the WiFi remains ON the 4G doesn’t kick in and I get nothing.

If I’m busy I may not look at my phone for long periods at a time, when this first happened, I just assumed no-one was talking to me. Then I noticed the ! mark with the WiFi signal. Reconnected and received umpteen messages late, some asking where I was, why hadn’t I replied.

Now I know there’s a problem I check my phone as often as possible, but I shouldn’t need to, never had to worry about it with Plusnet.

So, is Hub3 disconnecting my phone from the Internet when the phone is idle? If so, is there something that can be set on the hub or phone to prevent this. I’ve looked on my phone and I can’t see anything, as I said, my phone settings must be the same as they always were, but there may be something now needed to work with Hub3. It’s really, really irritating. Any ideas?

4 REPLIES 4

jbrennand
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person
It could be the phone doesnt like the VM intelligent wifi - so try this
______________________________________________________

If you haven't done this already - try it first - it helps sort some Hub3/4/5 wifi issues for some devices.
Go into the Hub’s settings. 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 signal >smart wifi - tick the disable “channel optimisation” box or “Smart Wifi” box and save settings.  May be different pathways and wording on the 3 Hub types
Then, go to advanced>wireless signal>security, rename the 2.4 & 5 GHz network ssid's.  Just type over to change 'em to whatever you like and something that will differentiate them (e.g - Billybob2 & Billybob5) Try to avoid spaces and periods in the SSID names as they can cause issues with certain devices. 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 each device to connect to… individually from the "available networks" list on each of your devices. 

Note all your wifi devices will need re-connecting to the new SSID's and passwords.
All things being equal, 5 GHz is always better/faster and subject to less congestion/interference (and is better for iDevice speeds than the 2.4 one - although the 2.4 one has the better "range" and will be needed when the 5 GHz drops out of range and some older/cheaper/dumber devices can only use this one. 

You should also use a wifi analyser App (or Airport Utility on iOS) 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.

--------------------
John
--------------------

I do not work for VM. My services: HD TV on VIP (+ Sky Sports & Movies & BT sport), x3 V6 boxes (1 wired, 2 on WiFi) Hub5 in modem mode with Apple Airport Extreme Router +2 Airport Express's & TP-Link Archer C64 WAP. On Volt 350Mbps, Talk Anytime Phone, x2 Mobile SIM only iPhones.

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, tried all that already with all of my devices in an attempt to improve the reliability of the connection, particularly to the bedroom above the hub. 2.4Ghz is a complete disaster, maximum download speed drops to less than 60mbps on all devices.

Looks like I'll just have to live with it or leave my phone connected to 4G and forget the WiFi, if I want a reliable connection. Key thing with the phone isn't that I loose the WiFi connection, it's the actual Internet connection that is lost. If I lost the WiFi it wouldn't be that much of a problem, because 4G would kick in.

I use Netspot to monitor the immediate area and there are a few other signals out there, BT hubs in particular seem to have a pretty powerful signal. But I'm not convinced interference is the problem, especially with the one bedroom. (Currently using Ethernet cable via the window).

Trouble is the Virgin Connect app reports 'Great!' everywhere, while Ookla tells me that in this one bedroom I'm lucky to get 70mbps.

Never mind, I think I must just put up with it until my new contract runs out and then go back to good old reliable (but slower) Plusnet 🙂

Brian

Hi @BrianP2

 

Thank you so much for your post and welcome back to the community forums! 

 

I am so sorry to hear that you are facing this issue with your phone and your WiFi.

 

Can I ask if you have been able to try another SIM in the phone at all? If so do the same problems occur?

 

Does your phone have similar issues when connected to other networks? Or are there other devices in the home that are also effected? 

 

Thank you.

Thanks for the response Ashleigh. The problem of losing Internet only affects my phone. Not really noticeable on other devices because typically when my PC or laptop is on I'm using it and have an active connection.
My phone on the other hand is on all the time during waking hours and obviously, for the bulk of that time, it's on standby. I rely on it, especially when no computer is on, to alert me about emails and other messages.
I still have my previous SIM from Plusnet, and as noted I never had an issue with them. Don't really want to put the old SIM in because it would need to be in several days to see if there was any difference.
However, as I noted in my last post it appears that turning the Hub3 off at night is actually helping. Could just be luck and/or coincidence, have to give it more time and see. 
Not entirely sure what you mean by 'other networks' I only have the one provided by Virgin. I tend to rely on 4G when I'm away from home, but even if I do hook up to the WiFi of family, it's only for a few hours so wouldn't necessarily prove anything. The problem is, or perhaps was, entirely random, it would happen several times a day or not at all. What makes it so irritating is that because the WiFi connection itself remains active 4G doesn't kick in and so no incoming message alerts!

Brian