Virgin Media Community

[mreevejnr]

So I've moved over from BT last Monday to Virgin M500 standalone as a household of 4 which includes 2 young boys with PS4, Xbox 1, Mobiles and laptops etc so wanted some good speed.  I can only presume that the Hub isn't up to the job for Wifi as if I stand right next to the hub I can get a reading on the Speed Test of over 500mb on my iphone but if I go to the room next door, I'm down to 30mb?  Surely that's crap?  

I've tested 2 separate laptops with cables into the hub and they only managed like 250mb max but I believe that might about the capabilities of the laptops rather than the actual direct line.  So I must be getting 500+mb if I got that reading on my phone, but really disappointed that I keep seeing the loading circle in most rooms outside of the lounge where the hub is - I thought those days were gone!

Our BT hub is still here as only cuts off later this month and whilst overall slower speeds obviously as was only getting 30-40mb, I had never had an issue with it in terms of signal.  Yes, I have switched it off and tested the signal on the Virgin hub and its just as bad.  I'm 7 days in now and believe I have a 14 days get out clause.  I don't think I qualify for free boosters and I'm damned if I'm paying £5 a month extra for them and heard they aren't great.

Admittedly the BT hub is in a different position (in the entrance hall) to the Virgin one (in the lounge) as taking the installers advice we didn't want a cable all the way along the front of the house which is what it would have taken.  

So do I cancel and forgo the potential of these super speeds or is here something else I can do to ensure I get great speeds throughout the house and garden, and if so what are they and how much will they cost?

Any comments happily accepted!  Just frustrating!

[legacy1]

---

@mreevejnr wrote:

I can only presume that the Hub isn't up to the job for Wifi as if I stand right next to the hub I can get a reading on the Speed Test of over 500mb on my iphone but if I go to the room next door, I'm down to 30mb?  Surely that's crap?  

---

Yes thats wifi for you best go by wire or a better wireless router or mesh setup might help.

[jbrennand · Accepted solution]

I will post some comments I have posted before for you to mull over.

_______________________________________________________

VM now supply “wifi pods” (not “boosters”). These are free to customers on the 1GB or Ultimate Oomph packages, and so are worth trying.

Otherwise you will be charged £5/month - and at that level of investment you would soon pay off the cost of buying a "better" solution that will be yours to own and use forever.

I have never used wifi on any Hub ! Assuming your wired connections are all ok, then getting your own wireless equipment will solve any wifi issues permanently, and will be transferable to other BB suppliers kit should you move supplier.

Get either.....

(1) A Mesh System, (2) A Wireless router, (3) A Wireless access point or (4) A combination of (2) & (3).

I would say a good Mesh will be the best/simplest/most flexible for most average users.  A Triband system is better for the "backhaul" feature and for users on high speed packages and umpteen simultaneous connections.

It all depends on your requirements for... better routing features, your house layout, size, construction materials, your tech abilities, and of course, budget, ~£60-80 will get a decent introductory wireless router but 'may' not alone solve the wifi in your house, but spending up to ~£500 (or more!) will get the “Rolls Royce” solution of a high-end Wifi6 Router & WAP's or a top end Tri-band Mesh system.

You'll probably want something suitable - somewhere within that range - I reckon ~£100-150 is around the “sweet spot” for most standard users, and where you would probably need to start for a standard 2/3-story house if it has brick walls. Less for a one-bedroom modern build flat, more for a stone built 8 bedroom mansion.

Good options for Access points/Wifi routers/Mesh systems come from Ubiquiti, Asus, TP-Link Deco's M4/M5, Linksys Velop's, Tenda Nova's, Netgear Orbi's (and others) – I would stick with these companies whose business this is - rather than “newcomer” and data-driven” companies like Google, Amazon, etc. Also be sure the router or Mesh specifically says that they have 1GB ethernet ports - some of the cheaper ones only have 100Mbps ports.

Recently, just as an example... two of my friends who both live in brick built 3/4 bed semis, both just got TP-Link Deco M5 3-packs (~£150) and both told me it is - “absolutely brilliant with full wifi speeds in all rooms, the attic and the garden, and the App is a doddle to use”. The first Mesh unit becomes the new router - you need to check whether the one you look at has all the "features” you need. Ethernet ports are usually limited to 1 or 2/unit , so you “may” need to add in an unmanaged GB port switch (<£20) in there as well. My mates also get "full speeds" from the ethernet ports on the Deco's in the remote locations. Finally if you get a 2/3-pack of any Mesh system, which doesn’t cover dead spots everywhere, you can just add in extra unit(s).

[mreevejnr]

Thanks for the heads up and those TP Link Deco M5 look pretty good and simple which is good news as I'm not 100% tech savvy but know some basics!  So if I placed one in my kids rooms can they connect their PS4 or Xbox with an Ethernet cable to give them better connection speeds? If we are the M500 how much speed do you think we might be looking at achieving if it all works well? Cheers

[jbrennand]

Cant say for sure (someone else should comment) re. speeds but I might expect about 200 on the third more distant unit unless you ethernet cable them together to do the "backhaul" and take the bandwidth off the wifi channels. That's the advantage of a Tri-band Mesh system - the third band does the backhaul - but you pay a premium price for that.

But those speeds will be solid and stable - and that should be more than enough bandwidth for average users - unless you are running several simultaneous 4K UHD Netflix screens from that unit 🙂

Note that the Deco's each have two ethernet ports - so if one unit is in the kids room they can run two feeds from that into devices in there. Speeds should be the same but as gaming needs less than 5Mpbs bandwith that alone shouldnt affect their gaming.

If you do go for a Mesh there is a sequence you need to follow to do the first connection so check back here and someone will advise

[mreevejnr]

Cheers again. Final question for now. We got a new printer and as soon as we put the wifi enable on it just takes slows us right down to the point that one of my old laptops gets no signal. 

I presume if I get the system and put one hub in the boys room I can link either their PC or PS4 and in the 2nd connector this printer. Then if I don’t enable the wifi signal I should be able to link it to the wifi network anyway? 

Thanks. 

[jbrennand]

You can also get a £15-£20 unamanaged switch with 5-8 GB ethernet ports that you can plug into any of the Deco ports to provide multiple connections. Can you connect the printer by ethernet? What make model is it?

[mreevejnr]

Yes pretty sure I can.  Its a Brother HL - L3230CDW.

Cheers

[jbrennand]

Ethernt would be better.

Pretty sure the printer is 2.4GHz only (my Brother is !) - your old laptop may be 2.4 only too - so if using the Hub in normal mode it would probably improve things if you separated the 2.4 and & 5GHz bands by renaming the SSID's - lots of posts for doing that on here. But that's irrelevant if you are getting a Mesh or your own router anytime soon

[mreevejnr]

Well I’ve but the bullet and my Deco 5’s are due to arrive later today. Any last pearls of wisdom before I hook it all up?