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Hub 5 and TP Link AV2000GB Powerline

glitterlady
Tuning in

I have just received the Hub 5.  I'm confused about the connection of it.  I have a booklet with instructions and a text from VM saying to reply to activate the hub.  At what point during the installation do I ask for it to be activated.  I am presuming when the cables are connected?  I also have 3 wired connections to my log cabin in garden (used for work), front lounge (used for gaming and TV) and 1 upstairs bedroom (used for work and gaming). Am presuming any port at the back will be acceptable to plug these in?

Also I have thick walls in an old 1930s house and have been using a TP Link powerline WIFI Kit (AV2000Gigabit/TL-WPS9610) to extend the range around the home and to get rid of dead spots.  I have no information about the range on the new hub 5 and whether the powerline will be needed  but if I need to connect, is there anything I need to do to ensure no service is interrupted?  My son and I both work from home so need a good connection at all times.  I am upgrading from the Superhub 3 by the way and wondered whether the range on the Hub 5 is wider than the Superhub 3?  Can anyone enlighten me because I don't know anyone who owns one of these yet to get an opinion and can't find it in any specification.

I'm not very tech savvy so please answer if you can in layman terms.  Many thanks in advance.

 

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

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Adduxi
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

@glitterlady wrote:
<snip>   . I am going to give it a go but waiting for the other half to come in to give me a hand and ensure I don't mess anything up. In all honesty, all Virgin hubs have had teething problems but resolved through updates. It's too early to make assumptions.

Just use the Hub 5 as a direct replacement for the Hub 3, i.e. all cables etc will plug in exactly the same.  It should be a simple process to swap.

As for Hubs and teething, the Hub 5 appears to be the first Hub I've ever known to be sent out to users without some sort of user based closed trials.  So be prepared to send it back if you find some of your IT kit doesn't work.  As noted, getting the Hub 3 re-provisioned can be a struggle.

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14 REPLIES 14

-tony-
Alessandro Volta

it may be pre activated and work when you plug it in - if not you need to ring the activation line - 0800 953 9500

connect the 3 lan connectors in and it should be fine once activated - the powerline - not sure - depends how you have it set up now - if its set just to extend wifi and has the same ssid and password as the hub3 then you need to reconfigure it - you could rename the ssid and passwords on the hub5 to be the same as those that are on the hub3 at the moment - if all then goes as planned the powerline and all wifi devices should just re connect

there have been a number of posts on here about problems with the hub5 getting things up and running as its in its early stages - the connect app will not work with it as pods will not - also there have been posts that say the wifi is no better than earlier hubs so it begs the question why are you upgrading 

if all you have works then why change anything - VM are keen to get some hub5's out in the field for test - the question to you is do you want to be part of that if the internet connection is so vital to you

 

____________________

Tony.
Sacked VIP

Hi Tony

Thanks for replying. My son wanted faster speeds for gaming and we obviously need to get rid of dead spots in the home, I sometimes have trouble connecting front CCTV and a couple of rooms have very weak connections. I was offered the upgrade free so am hoping there's going to be some improvement in these areas. I'll connect the hub 5 up and see what range it goes to and if it can get through my thick walls and if not I will try and connect the TP Link Adapter and Extender. They are supposed to be plug in but I'll reset them if they don't connect to the Hub 5 and start from scratch. I'm so worried of being without WIFI over Christmas as if I disconnect the SH3 then I may not be able to re-activate it!

Also worth mentioning (unless I have missed it) do you get a VM landline phone service through your hub 3? If so, there were some past comments on the phone not working that way on the hub 5 yet. Not sure if that is still an issue or has been updated.

There have been more than a few topics on hub 5 and wireless issues with particular devices. Some people have found they couldn't get the hub 5 working fully and reverted back to the hub 3 by phoning up VM again and getting the hub 5 deactivated and hub 3 re-activated.

If you make the switch you might have to be prepared for the above and the possibility of some calls to VM should you need to reactivate the hub 3.


@glitterlady wrote:
Hi Tony

Thanks for replying. My son wanted faster speeds for gaming and we obviously need to get rid of dead spots in the home, I sometimes have trouble connecting front CCTV and a couple of rooms have very weak connections. I was offered the upgrade free so am hoping there's going to be some improvement in these areas. I'll connect the hub 5 up and see what range it goes to and if it can get through my thick walls and if not I will try and connect the TP Link Adapter and Extender. They are supposed to be plug in but I'll reset them if they don't connect to the Hub 5 and start from scratch. I'm so worried of being without WIFI over Christmas as if I disconnect the SH3 then I may not be able to re-activate it!

Based on recent threads I would suggest you do not use the HUB 5.

Various issues have been reported.

Cheers for this.  At least I know I can go back to SH3 if needed.  

I have a virgin home phone line but not connecting to my hub. I just use my old BT wall sockets as I hardly receive any calls anyway, most people ring my mobile but the home phone is just there for back up really.

I understand there are issues but people are saying they are connecting to more devices and some have got the boosters and extenders to work but I understand the virgin pods do not. Beggars belief why not though! You would have thought they tested before supplying customers with pods. I am going to give it a go but waiting for the other half to come in to give me a hand and ensure I don't mess anything up. In all honesty, all Virgin hubs have had teething problems but resolved through updates. It's too early to make assumptions.


@glitterlady wrote:

Cheers for this.  At least I know I can go back to SH3 if needed.  


Keep in mind, if you do need to go back to the hub 3, it may not be an instant switch back as you will have to navigate VMs phone support to make it happen. This topic

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Home-Phone/Hub-5-phone-line-isnt-working/td-p/4885307

seems to have taken the best part of a week to get a hub 3 reinstated because of a non-working phone line on the hub 5.

Adduxi
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

@glitterlady wrote:
<snip>   . I am going to give it a go but waiting for the other half to come in to give me a hand and ensure I don't mess anything up. In all honesty, all Virgin hubs have had teething problems but resolved through updates. It's too early to make assumptions.

Just use the Hub 5 as a direct replacement for the Hub 3, i.e. all cables etc will plug in exactly the same.  It should be a simple process to swap.

As for Hubs and teething, the Hub 5 appears to be the first Hub I've ever known to be sent out to users without some sort of user based closed trials.  So be prepared to send it back if you find some of your IT kit doesn't work.  As noted, getting the Hub 3 re-provisioned can be a struggle.

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media. Learn more

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