Support told me I'm being remotely monitored for slow speeds?

[spanner1]

Just told support via live chat that my Router is not connecting to devices unless I'm in the same room (literally 0 internet speed over multiple devices on 2.4ghz and 5ghz connections), and after a bit of trouble shooting, they ended the chat saying they're going to put me on remote speed monitoring.

I can't help but feel I've been fobbed off as they say. I can't find any reference to remote speed monitoring anywhere publicly available. Is this a thing? What can I expect from this, how will I know if it's worked or not and when should I escalate?

For more background on my specific issue, here's the query I raised:
My router seems to be struggling to reach devices that are not in the room. It's only in the last 2-3 month this has been happening, but it's getting worse. Happening to different devices (2 laptops, 2 phones, 2 tablets) on both 5ghz and also 2.5ghz. The devices are still connected to wifi with 1 or 2 bars, but speeds are so slow, even basic web pages wont load. The light on the front of the device is orange, which i understand to be showing it's struggling to fully reach devices. We just renewed our contract with you (which we've had for nearly 10 years), but didn't haven't had any new equipment for some years. Could this router just be getting too old? I have removed the power cable for over 30 seconds multiple times and restarted.

[jbrennand · Accepted solution]

Wifi environments are very fluid - and usually they deteriorate over time as more and more wifi connections are made around you.

You say that the Hub light is orange - that implies to me that its a Hub3 where the 1p LED fades away with time - but it is not an indicator of poor connectivity.

See this for background info...

Do you know if its a wifi only issue (are ethernet connected devices ok?), if it is - 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 or Apple Airport Utility) 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 - so its worth trying - 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 and poor value “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. VM Wifi is now “guaranteed” to 30 Mbps/room it’s now called… Wifi Max
See if anything in here helps….

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

You call 0800 064 3850 to order the first one after scanning for blackspots using the connect App.- 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 do call dont get fobbed off by the offshore CS agents' saying you aren’t eligible - if you are - it is clearly stated on the webpage.

If not free to you… you will be charged £8/month for up to 3 pods (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.

If you do want to invest in better equipment, you would need to get either a… (1) Mesh System, (2) Wireless router, (3) Wireless access point, (4) a pair of good quality Wifi Powerline Adaptors, or a combination of (2&3).

£40-100 (that’s ~4->12 months of Max Pod rental) should sort it for most customers with an average property and usage. Spend more for additional advanced“features” - if required.

[spanner1]

Thank you for your quick and insightful response. I was SURE I read somewhere in official documentation (not just a random forum or website) that an orange light meant the SH3 was struggling to connect to a device. I can't find it anywhere though, so I must be mistaken.

This has definitely been a progressive issue over the past couple of months. I used to have 0 blackspots, and have been working from home for about 6 years and never had a problem - I was upstairs at the other end of the house with 2 walls and a floor between me and the router previously, now I can't even be in the next room. At first, teams calls were stuttering, then it got worse until now I can't load basic web pages. 

It's only on wifi too. If I'm in the room, I get 200+mbps (my package is around this amount), a few meters away in the next room today I had 0mbps.

Can routers degrade over time? 

[jbrennand]

The Hub hasnt degraded over time - your ethernet connections are all good - although some Hub firmware updated do bring some issues occasionally.

Your wifi environment has - e.g. our new Panasonic microwave  oven causes my 5GHz connection to drop out upstairs when its switched on - wifi restores on the ping 😎

[Megan_L]

Hi Spanner, 

Thanks for posting this on our Community Forums, I can see @jbrennand has already given you some help and tips on this 🤗

Just as a few further points that may help with your connection and speed issues, I have a couple more links for you below.

Click here to run a WIFI test on your connection, this will detect any issues and give you basic information on how to fix it - https://virg.in/wifisos.
You can go onto your Online Account here - https://virg.in/myvmapp - And run a more in-depth broadband test which may give more information on a fault and will allow you to book an engineer if an issue is found. 

If you're struggling to connect to WIFI in other rooms, you might be interested in our WIFI Max scheme here - https://virg.in/wifimax - It includes WIFI Pods which help to spread the signal around your home using a "Mesh" system. 

To find out whether you're in need of WIFI Pods, please download our Connect App here - https://virg.in/connectapp - It will allow you to run a test in each room to detect weak WIFI issues and will offer a prompt to order your first WIFI pod if it detects any problems. 

If you still need help, then by all means reach out and we'll be happy to help!

Thanks,

Megan_L

[spanner1]

Thanks to you, I’ve sorted this! After your advice, I checked channel utilisation and all the wifis were stacked on 3 channels. I manually picked a free one and things are much better. You saved me a load of hassle getting new kit and calls to VM etc. very helpful, thanks jbrennand