Wi-Fi issues on some devices

[ASingh1]

Hello.

I've got a weird problem, involving the Superhub 3. I'm on the M350 package.

Sometimes some of my devices just stop working when on the Wifi. They will be connected but just won't do anything. 

For example, my laptop will say connected and have full bars but then just won't load a page and will error. I've also had this happen with my iPhone 12 Pro, where it's connected but nothing works.
Furthermore, my Ps5 will randomly drop connection while playing and log me out, and it picks up the SSID, but when I do a test on the ps5. Sometimes it fails when trying to pick up the ip address, and others it failed when trying to connect.

I also received an iPad 9 from eBay today, and that's also been doing it, but then on the other hand half the other wifi devices in the house are working fine.

im not sure what to make of this and have a feeling it could be a router issue as this issue only started a few weeks ago and was working before.

Thanks

[jbrennand]

Are devices connected on ethernet cables all stable?

If so, and its just a wifi issue then it could be a Hub fault or just external interference. Does it happen on a device that is located close to the Hub all the time?

You could try this experiment...
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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 - ASingh_2 & ASingh_5) 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 or “specialised” 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.

[ASingh1]

Hello,

I believe Ethernet is fine, the only device on Ethernet is the cctv but haven't seen it go down.

It seems to be wifi devices that are faulty and not all at the same time and it never was like this before, everything had worked fine. I've had it happen in the room next to the hub but not as much as it happens downstairs, but the wifi router has been in the same spot for years and never had a problem. 

I will try turn off the channel optimisation first alone and see what happens but would prefer to keep it as a joint SSID & not separate due to the seamless experience it brings but will try it as a last resort.

thank you

[jbrennand]

OK for wifi only issues see this...
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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 20 Mbps/room it’s now called… Wifi Max see.-

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

You can call  0800 064 3850 to order the first one - or follow instructions on that website - 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 call dont get fobbed off by the offshore CS agents' saying you aren’t eligible it will be £5 or £8 month - you are… and it wont be - just look on the webpage.

If not free to you… you will be charged £8/month (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 combination of (2,3).

£30-100 (that’s ~4->12 months of Max Pod rental) should sort it for most customers with an average property and usage.

[ASingh1]

Hello,

Unfortunately I'm on a Volt350 bundle but I saw these pods before and then decided against it because my wifi was fine up until recently but I'm struggling to understand why it acts this way as monitoring a BQM on the network is fine. 

Genuinely I don't feel like spending money when I've had the SH3 in the same spot for  years and it's never been a problem. I did look at replacing the router with a good Wifi AX router with MIMO etc. But thought the SH3 has surprisingly been trouble free 95% of the time. 

I'm going to wait and hope a VM rep can reply and look into it. 

[newapollo]

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@ASingh1 wrote:

Hello,

Unfortunately I'm on a Volt350 bundle but I saw these pods before and then decided against it because my wifi was fine up until recently but I'm struggling to understand why it acts this way as monitoring a BQM on the network is fine. 

---

You are on a Volt package so the pods are free. Try them, you have nothing to lose. 

You can only order one at a time and need a weeks gap before ordering a second one.

[ASingh1]

Hello,

I found them on my virgin media login but after I go to checkout, it says "From month 12 of your original plan, your total monthly cost will be £76.95. Prices may change. The remainder of your original 18 month minimum term applies."..

Can you explain this? It is currently £34 and it was an 18 month contract which expires October 2023. Does it mean the price changes to £77 from month 12 instead of remaining £34? If so, I am not going to take the pods.

What I am struggling to understand is that it works on some devices in the same location but not others. Or they will work and off.

If you look at the link below, I have attached some examples of what is going on.
So e.g. - the PS5 will connect fine sometimes, no issues at all but other times it will not connect to the wifi etc. and struggles for like 15 minutes, but the signal strength is always 80+%.
As I am typing this, my wifi on my laptop is cutting out at times and not working but it has been connected throughout, as witnessed with one of the imgur images where pinging a site can time out. But my phone is working fine right now.
But other times my phone will cut out too.
Just seems to be timing out a lot.

I also ran a test on the VM Connect App in the room and you can see the hub latency ended at over 10000ms, but the speeds are high.


The imgur link is:
https://imgur.com/a/Qqaga4h

I am hoping a VM rep can check my connection soon.

Thanks

[Kath_F]

Hi ASingh1,

Thanks for your post and it's great having you back in the Community. 

I'm sorry to hear that you are having continued issues with your WiFi connection. Checking our systems, I can see all is looking well with the Hub in terms of power and signal levels, uptime and time outs. There are no faults open that may be affecting you either.

There are so many things that can influence a WiFi connection some of which include but are not limited to, a fish tank being in the same room, walls being built with concrete instead of brick, it could even be that your next door neighbours router is interfering with yours. Due to this, we are only able to offer limited help. Please have a look here: WiFi Help.

The Hub's location could also be causing the coverage problem so we do need to check the positioning of it. Even if it's in the same place as previous, it may now need adjusting. Can you please ensure the following: 

• Out in the open
• Next to the TV not behind it
• Away from large bodies of water (e.g. fish tanks)
• Away from baby monitors and cordless phones

Think of the Hub as a radio, and WiFi as the sound - the further away you are from the radio, or the more obstacles that are in the way (walls, electronic devices etc.), the quieter the radio & the poorer the WiFi. 

The results from the home scan you've done via the Connect App look good too. If a pod could help, it would have suggested it. 

Finally, where you've posted about the contract changes, it looks as though you are changing your bundle as opposed to just added our new WiFi Max service here. If you would like to add this, we can do this for you. 

Please try the WiFi tips above first and keep us posted on how you get on. 

Thanks, 

[ASingh1]

Hello,

the wifi box has been in the same place for years.

Never had any problems before so I'm not sure what's going on. 
everything is in the same place and never had a problem. It was working up until like 3 years ago but the latency on the virgin media connect app for the hub is high. 

[Ayisha_B]

Hi @ASingh1,

Did you manage to look at the WiFi help link Kath sent?

If you would like to add the new WiFi Max to your account, let us know. 

Thanks