WiFi is terrible and not fit for working from home

[faith280401]

Hi all,

I am so sick of this awful broadband and need help desperately.

So, the technician left us so little cable that we can't move our hub to get a good coverage. We only have a 2 bed flat and yet when I am on the other side from the box the WiFi drops continuously. Trying to actually speak to someone who can help is even more stressful then trying to work from home with the awful broadband. 

Before anyone says it, I've done speed checks and upgraded the broadband to a package that should cover the devices and usage in our home. 

I am at my wits end now. Can I just buy a longer cable and move the box? This is starting to affect our work life. 

Thanks in advance.

[jbrennand]

VM will relocate the Hub to another room/location with longer cables - they will however charge you £25.

A better solution would be to get a good wireless access point and simply connect it to the Hub on an ethernet cable

[jbrennand]

Something like this used in access point mode

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Archer-C6-Wireless-Supports-Parental/dp/B07L5YRYF4/

[faith280401]

Thank you so much for your response!

Will that definitely work? The hub is against an outside wall on one side of our home. Would it be better to book an enginner and have it moved to a more central location? That said, I can't even manage to find out how to book an engineer. I'm going round in circles.

Many thanks

Lindsay

[g0akc]

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@faith280401 wrote:

Can I just buy a longer cable and move the box? 

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You are not supposed to use your own cable.  It is supposed to be supplied by VM - to ensure quality, no interference and correct power levels etc.

[-tony-]

hmmmm maybe a bit more info both ways would be useful - when were you installed - if within the last 14 days then a call saying you are not happy and are thinking of terminating the service should get you a tech out to move the hub without paying £25 - even if its outside 14 days the tech should have done better than a short cable

you cannot buy your own 3rd party cable they are [said to be] special to VM - you might find some genuine ones on ebay but if you do you cannot change the length by much 

a better/faster package will not improve the wifi - VM hubs are in the pound shop class - you could try splitting the bands so you can get on the best band - 2.4 or 5 

if you are one of the better packages or Volt you could get a pod or more free to fill in dead spots but dont be conned into paying monthly they are not worth it - if you want to pay money out look at a router or mesh system - an asus router or similar will be streets ahead of anything VM have - look at an ASUS RT-AC66U or 68U as good examples

[jbrennand]

The WAP I linked too will definitely work no matter where the Hub is - even if it were in a cupboard, or under the stairs etc.

You just need to buy a Cat6 ethernet cable of enough length to plug it into the Hub where it already is - to the point where you would like the WAP situated - a nice central open location is best. For example - 3/5/10/20.... metre runs of cable are cheap enough on Amazon.

Just follow its instructions to set it up in "Access Point Mode" - in the first instance - and it should be good to go.

The other options from Tony are good too if you dont like cables 🙂

[jbrennand]

Also see this...
_____________

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 if anything in here helps….

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/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 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.

[Tudor]

My view is that anyone WFH should use a wired Ethernet connection, WiFi is too fickle. 

[Robert_P]

As Tudor has already advised, for the fastest most stable connection we would always recommend using a wired connection wherever possible. We have these tips available to help with broadband issues:

• Service status page - virg.in/service
• Wi-Fi hints and tips - https://virg.in/wifisos
• Wi-Fi troubleshooting - https://virg.in/wifinotworking
• Slow speeds - https://virg.in/SpeedUp
• Speed test - virg.in/speedtest

When running a speed test we would always recommend running this via a wired connection This can be completed using an ethernet cable via a PC or laptop and will allow us to see the speeds available at the Hub.

We do have the Connect App https://virg.in/connectapp that will allow you to scan your property to optimise the wireless network and if needed order pod's. Depending on your package these may be free but any package is eligible for these if needed.

You can also give the team a call on 150 from a Virgin Media landline or 0345 454 1111 option 1 then option 2 this will get you through to the Broadband technical team who will be able to look into this further for you. 

We also have a vast variety of ways to contact us for help or support and I have listed a few below for you:

• Text: 0753 305 1809
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virginmedia/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/virginmedia

Rob