White pods kill Hub5 wifi speeds

[billc47]

My network has been based on a Hub 5 with two white pods (one with dual RJ45 and one with single RJ45 connections). The broadband service is 1GB Volt Max service. 

I became aware that my wifi speeds on my iPhone & iPad even close to the hub were varying between 150 Mbps and 260 Mbps where originally the speeds were 700+ Mbps.  The LAN side ethernet ports continued to deliver 950+ Mbps.

I received a replacement Hub 5 a few days ago after complaining about poor wifi performance which Virgin tests failed to identify any issues.  Why have a 1GB broadband service if the wifi performance falls to circa 200Mbs?

After installing the replacement router the wifi speeds were restored to 750+ Mbs. Even in more remote locations the speeds were 200+ Mbps.  Then I paired the wifi pods to the new Hub 5 (without any difficulties) and placed them remote from the hub.  After checking the mesh network speeds of the pods the results were poor and offered no genuine improvement over the Hub 5 on its own.  But after returning to the location of the Hub 5 and measuring the wifi speed I found it had crashed to little more than 200 Mbps.  However restarting the client and remeasuring the speed it was restored to 700+ Mbps.  The Hub 5 shares its SSID and password with the pods.

Virgin Connect scans indicated that all devices were connecting through the wifi pods even when close to the Hub 5.  The wifi pods are remote from the Hub 5 location.  It suggests that the devices using wifi once connected into the wifi pod mesh network no longer access the Hub 5 directly even when the Hub 5 is adjacent.  The mesh network appears to run at a fraction of the Hub 5 wifi speed, and not to include the Hub 5 in the mesh.  Restarting the iPhone or iPad is required to free them to reconnect to the hub directly, possibly because they are configured to remember their network connections and rejoin without asking.

I’m left with the following thoughts:

1.  Does the Virgin pod mesh network reduce its speed to accommodate 2.4GHz devices  (e.g. printers, smart thermostats and alarm systems with online access, and older devices predating 5GHz)

2.  Does the mesh network not segregate devices according to their 2.4/5 GHz radio capabilities - the Hub5 is required to be configured to smart channel optimisation in order to use the pods

3.  The Hub 5 does not operate as the ‘mesh master’ and is not part of the mesh.

Thoughts anyone?

[Client62]

Speed on the 2.4 band is quite distinct from the 5Ghz band.

Folks expect wonders with VM Pods but they are just ISP supplied Wi-Fi repeaters that are locked down.

When ever a Wi-Fi signal crosses a Wi-Fi repeater the repeated signal may be stronger but the speed is halved.

So if your have Hub 5 >>> VM Pod >>> VM Pod, the Wi-Fi speed is reduced to a quarter i.e. 75% is lost.

When it comes to MESH we are more into marketing than technology, most often the real issue is it is your mobile device or laptop that picks the Hub or a Pod for its WI-Fi service.

[jpeg1]

"Why have a 1GB broadband service if the wifi performance falls to circa 200Mbs?" 

Why indeed? 

VM will only promise you 30Mbps with their Pods.  You can get very much more, but you'll have to invest in your own wifi equipment. 

[legacy1]

Why do people seem to think that Wifi is faster then wire and from a ISP hub.

[Client62 · Accepted solution]

Why do folks never consider their own kit may be the cause of their problems ?

Ever posted a gripe about the electricity company because your desk lamp was a bit dim

[billc47]

I’m not sure my original post suggested where the problems lay - it provided a fairly lengthy description of the issue for context and then posed a few thoughts/questions.  

In the absence of available information and documentation outlining how the Hub 5 and Virgin Pods interact and establish an effective mesh network, I am looking for answers which might help increase my knowledge and understanding of the issues and the Virgin solution.  (There is a lot of documentation available relating to my own equipment and network analysis software). 

Insightful responses will be most welcome before I consider my next steps.

[Adduxi]

You should be requesting the matching black wifi 6 pods. They use the same wifi as the Hub 5. I’ve no idea if you will be successful in getting them.  Other than that, invest in your own PoE AP’s or a proper Mesh system. 
TBH you are wasting your time trying to wrestle with any ISP kit. 

[billc47]

I’ve certainly been looking at alternative solutions, e.g TP-Link Deco X60, which seem to offer an improved mesh network capability.  I’m still in the mode of improving my knowledge and understanding of the issues and technoligies though.

[Adduxi]

Once you get your head around the Wifi tech from decent suppliers, you will realise just how poor the software management of most ISP supplied kit is.  

Example - Have a look at the managment software on the TP-Link EAP 610.  This is a ceiling mounted Wifi access point. This would be similar to what a lot of user here would have installed at home.     A "sort of" very upmarket VM Pod ......  EAP (tp-link.com)

NOTE - This is a genuine TP-Link working emulator, so go ahead and have a good rummage.