Technician claimed Hub 3 Modem Mode is why I have broadband instability issues - true?

[JusttryintoISP]

I have been getting broadband connection issues since moving into a new property. Initially, I had no issues for a few weeks. I used router mode. After a time, my router-modem connection will drop and my wired connection will have no internet access. The admin page would show access denied during these times...

An engineer has visited recently and claimed my issues were external to my flat unit and it was due to an overtuned upstream (I have not heard of this before). The drops frequency improved but I still have spikes and pauses and drops here and there.

Fast forward, I started to use modem mode with a mesh router (instructions found on virgin's own website). Was okay with the same issue as above, but lately the issue has made having home broadband unusable. I tried calling to ask for a Virgin engineer to be sent but the phone technician was not helpful and dismissive...

From the get-go, I was asked if I used an extender etc I tried to say that even my wired connection has issues. The person over the phone zoned in on the fact that I'm using modem mode and that's the source of the problem..."go back to router mode and it will be fixed". Any attempts to retell the story before modem mode and ask for help were interrupted and I was refused an engineer because unless I stop using modem mode, I will continue to have issues.

The technician did not need to ask about what router I was using...
my thoughts to be recorded here are...
1) If the virgin modem mode is unusable and the technician is correct, then why allow this function, and I will be glad to move ISP to one that will support modem mode and advanced routers.
2) If the phone technician is wrong, then can Virgin include this in training as it was a terrible experience to simply ask for tech to have a look and be denied as the technician refuses to explore alternative solutions as they have heard enough. An engineer visit was "permitted" after I asked fine I'll just request an engineer via complaints as I was also refused to speak to someone else to confirm the claims.

3) What's most likely the fault of a stability issue?

Notes: Speed for DL is fine when there is BB, UL seemed to take a hit after the reduction of upstream signal. After the previous engineer's visit, the box protecting the cable joints was not reinstalled and was exposed to the rain....

[jbrennand]

First off... the person on the phone was highly unlikely to be a real VM Tech - more likely an offshore CS agent reading off scripts - so anything they said can be disregarded and let start afresh here.

So what are the issues exactly?

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 and what package are you on?

What make/model of your own router is it?

[legacy1]

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@JusttryintoISP wrote:

From the get-go, I was asked if I used an extender etc I tried to say that even my wired connection has issues. The person over the phone zoned in on the fact that I'm using modem mode and that's the source of the problem..."go back to router mode and it will be fixed". Any attempts to retell the story before modem mode and ask for help were interrupted and I was refused an engineer because unless I stop using modem mode, I will continue to have issues.

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Talking out their pie hole, if modem mode is a problem why add modem mode to all the hub to cause a problem riddle me that? no modem mode was added because of problems with router mode. 

[-tony-]

start with some info from the hub

log into hub3 - 192.168.0.1 [or 192.168.100.1 if in modem mode] - DON'T SIGN IN, click - click router status [centre of screen] - and post the downstream and upstream figures - to see those press on the grey buttons/boxes labelled - upstream - downstream

if its an earlier hub button is top right

[jem101]

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@JusttryintoISP wrote:

I have been getting broadband connection issues since moving into a new property. Initially, I had no issues for a few weeks. I used router mode. After a time, my router-modem connection will drop and my wired connection will have no internet access. The admin page would show access denied during these times...

An engineer has visited recently and claimed my issues were external to my flat unit and it was due to an overtuned upstream (I have not heard of this before). The drops frequency improved but I still have spikes and pauses and drops here and there.

Fast forward, I started to use modem mode with a mesh router (instructions found on virgin's own website). Was okay with the same issue as above, but lately the issue has made having home broadband unusable. I tried calling to ask for a Virgin engineer to be sent but the phone technician was not helpful and dismissive...

From the get-go, I was asked if I used an extender etc I tried to say that even my wired connection has issues. The person over the phone zoned in on the fact that I'm using modem mode and that's the source of the problem..."go back to router mode and it will be fixed". Any attempts to retell the story before modem mode and ask for help were interrupted and I was refused an engineer because unless I stop using modem mode, I will continue to have issues.

The technician did not need to ask about what router I was using...
my thoughts to be recorded here are...
1) If the virgin modem mode is unusable and the technician is correct, then why allow this function, and I will be glad to move ISP to one that will support modem mode and advanced routers.
2) If the phone technician is wrong, then can Virgin include this in training as it was a terrible experience to simply ask for tech to have a look and be denied as the technician refuses to explore alternative solutions as they have heard enough. An engineer visit was "permitted" after I asked fine I'll just request an engineer via complaints as I was also refused to speak to someone else to confirm the claims.

3) What's most likely the fault of a stability issue?

Notes: Speed for DL is fine when there is BB, UL seemed to take a hit after the reduction of upstream signal. After the previous engineer's visit, the box protecting the cable joints was not reinstalled and was exposed to the rain....

---

OK then

indeed as @jbrennand rightly said above, you didn’t speak to a VM ‘tech’ you spoke to a poorly, and by poorly, I mean not at all, trained call centre worker who has probably never seen a VM hub, has about as much idea of how the system works as my cat does and is told to just blindly follow the script and in the event of something not being covered by said script, then make something up, lie and chalk up another successfully closed call!

Anyone of the forum team care to argue against this? Thought not!

So 

1) modem mode is absolutely not an issue, you are lied to plain and simple.

2) training? ah now that is expensive so won’t happen. Be honest if the call centre workers can read from a script and that sorts, what 90% of all calls so why bother investing in anything more?

3) Cabling fault, bad joint mostly. Maybe faulty amp in a cabinet but not likely.

[JusttryintoISP]

Thanks John. The person's claim was just so confidently or arrogantly delivered without room to budge that I was bewildered whether it's true. I suspect it is overseas script personnel from the accent but that's not a problem usually for me - as long as I'll get my support.

Issues include home wide connection connection spikes at all times including Ethernet and WiFi. Observed as short paused during video streams or during online games, whole house would moan at the same time.

The more frustrating issue that's more frequent lately...the modem-router hub in modem mode would go to a different colour (green flashes) showing an attempt to connect. The admin page would show next to internet status: access denied. Meaning the whole house loses connection for 1 to 10 minutes. Happens 3 to 5 times an hour so I had to make a call/complaint.

On 100mbps download package with hub 3 on modem mode. Hub in use for 20 months.

Own router is a tp link deco x20.

[JusttryintoISP]

Alright thanks all, i think it's unanimous that I need to speak to someone else and just get an engineer out. 

Still strange that I got refused to speak to someone else who would be willing to send the engineer, or that an engineer request was denied at all. 

Makes no sense as a firm if I have to call up again as my problem won't have been resolved with such a response anyway. 

[-tony-]

you need to post some info here as i asked - staff will look and if there is a problem sort a tech but self diagnosis is not an option on that

you can ring again and likely get offshore who will give you all the help you want with a completely different set of facts - mostly made up on the fly as they are clueless

[jbrennand]

As Tony says - post up the Hub data asap..

But also, If you haven’t already, set up a free, secure and “offlsite” - “Broadband Quality Monitor” to continually monitor the state of your connection and record any true network dropouts , latency issues, packet drops, etc - it will thus allow you to differentiate between those and simple wifi dropouts. It does it 24/7/365 and it keeps a visual record of any/all of your network disconnections, useful data to have to match to the Network logs (in your Hub settings) and also in discussions with VM - note it will take a few hours to start seeing a sensible picture - post up the “link” to the “share live graph”. Click the lower link (Share Live Graph) then click generate. Copy the text in the Direct Link box, beware, there may be more text than you can see. On here click the Link icon (2 links chain to the left of the camera icon) In the URL box paste the link you copied and then click OK

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality

[JusttryintoISP]

Report as of now, uploading with internet access. Will try to get data during the drops:

downstream:
Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) SNR (dB) Modulation Channel ID
1 338750000 5.3 38 256 qam 26
2 202750000 6.1 38 256 qam 9
3 210750000 6.1 38 256 qam 10
4 218750000 6 38 256 qam 11
5 226750000 6.1 38 256 qam 12
6 234750000 5.9 38 256 qam 13
7 242750000 5.6 38 256 qam 14
8 250750000 5.6 38 256 qam 15
9 258750000 5.8 38 256 qam 16
10 266750000 5.5 38 256 qam 17
11 274750000 5.5 38 256 qam 18
12 282750000 5.6 38 256 qam 19
13 290750000 5.8 38 256 qam 20
14 298750000 5.3 38 256 qam 21
15 306750000 5.4 38 256 qam 22
16 314750000 5.6 38 256 qam 23
17 322750000 5.4 38 256 qam 24
18 330750000 5 38 256 qam 25
19 346750000 5.3 38 256 qam 27
20 354750000 5.3 38 256 qam 28
21 362750000 5 38 256 qam 29
22 370750000 5 38 256 qam 30
23 378750000 4.8 38 256 qam 31
24 386750000 4.6 38 256 qam 32

Downstream bonded channels
Channel Locked Status RxMER (dB) Pre RS Errors Post RS Errors
1 Locked 38.6 5724 266
2 Locked 38.6 10857 1053
3 Locked 38.6 10379 989
4 Locked 38.9 9850 831
5 Locked 38.6 9504 808
6 Locked 38.6 10266 881
7 Locked 38.6 9698 839
8 Locked 38.6 8908 653
9 Locked 38.6 9268 854
10 Locked 38.6 12056 1967
11 Locked 38.6 11102 1449
12 Locked 38.6 7346 642
13 Locked 38.9 6849 405
14 Locked 38.6 11068 523
15 Locked 38.9 7735 321
16 Locked 38.6 6478 310
17 Locked 38.6 6315 391
18 Locked 38.6 6883 353
19 Locked 38.6 5437 337
20 Locked 38.9 5429 256
21 Locked 38.6 5775 389
22 Locked 38.6 4571 433
23 Locked 38.6 5766 319
24 Locked 38.6 4865 239

===
Upstream

Upstream bonded channels
Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) Symbol Rate (ksps) Modulation Channel ID
1 39399957 43.5 5120 64 qam 4
2 46199983 44 5120 64 qam 3
3 53699991 44 5120 64 qam 2
4 60300012 44.5 5120 64 qam 1

Upstream bonded channels
Channel Channel Type T1 Timeouts T2 Timeouts T3 Timeouts T4 Timeouts
1 ATDMA 0 0 0 0
2 ATDMA 0 0 7 0
3 ATDMA 0 0 0 0
4 ATDMA 0 0 0 0
===
status page:
Acquired Downstream Channel (Hz)
338750000
Locked
Ranged Upstream Channel (Hz)
39399957
Locked
Provisioning State
Online