Hub 5 disconnects random devices & cannot cope with multiple smart home devices

[K4te]

Hi,

I’m beyond fustrated with VM.

We have Volt and so a Hub 5. We’ve been with VM 6 months and so far I’ve had to reconnect ALL our devices multiple times because the Hub seems to disconnect a random selection of smart devices. (Way way Less than the 250 I’m sure the literature says the hub can manage)

Previously with Sky Broadband we had all smart home with smart bulbs, Amazon/Google home, cameras, phones laptops etc all connected and happy. 

It seems that the Hub 5 and this mega broadband VM have sold us isn’t fit for multiple devices and it seems to cap at 22-25. Not the 250 ish the literature leads me to believe. We’ve had the hub replaced, an engineer visit and the issue keeps happening and I’ve been runnning the minimum devices I can to keep things automated because I don’t have the time to reconnect everything again and again and again. (Usually the devices auto reconnected so whatever the Hub 5 is doing is really unsettling them).

There doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason, the hub has chosen a selection of devices and kicked them off, whilst others (the exact same in some instances) it's happy to maintain its relationship with and they work. 

I've done diagnosis, VM tell me it's not an issue. I'm going in circles and not willing to spend another few hours attempting to reconnect the devices for this to do it all again.

has anyone experienced this and resolved it please? 

[Nathan_B]

Hi there @K4te 👋 Welcome to our forum and thanks for your post 😊

Sorry to see you've been having issues with these devices disconnecting from your Hub 5, I can certainly understand the frustration with this 😔

I'll certainly be happy to assist with this further, just to check, are these the same devices that are disconnecting each time? What devices are these? Also, was it 22:25 that this was happening?

Let us know, we'll be happy to assist further.

Regards

Nathan

[Adduxi · Accepted solution]

The new Hub 5 is a wifi 6 (ax protocol) and it seems that some older IoT devices don't play well with this.

You can try setting the Hub 5 wifi to legacy settings as below;

Access your Hub by navigating to 192.168.0.1
Login with the default login info (on base of Hub) unless you've already updated it.
Go to Advanced Settings > Wireless > Wireless signal
In the Wireless frequency 2.4GHz select Wireless mode > 802.11b/g/n/ax mixed
Select Apply changes

Or you can also split the SSID into two distinct names as below, providing you are NOT using the VM Pods.

• Access your Hub by navigating to 192.168.0.1
• Login with the default login info (on base of Hub) unless you've already updated it.
• Go to Advanced Settings > Wireless > Security
• Under Wireless Frequency 2.4GHz change the Wifi Network Name (SSID), suggest append _2 to the end.
• Repeat for the Wireless Frequency 5GHz, suggest append _5 to the end and click on Apply changes
• Try to avoid spaces and periods in the SSID names as they can cause issues with certain devices.
• Disable the Smart Optimisation on the wifi bands.

If all the above fails, you may have to get an older wifi access point, using the ac protocol, and connect the "problem" devices to that.

Personally I use the Hub in modem mode with my own non wifi router, and supply the wifi via PoE access points on the ceilings.  All my IoT devices work without issue, but that's another story  🙂

[K4te]

Thank you so much! 

Im not tech savvy in terms of understanding IT set up, but within the household I’m the tech savvy one so this falls on me (as does all the other fun household load). 

The signal has low connectivity spots around our home, so we have 1 hub but probably need a second. However I have been considering a Mesh system (such as Google or TP Link) instead, forgive my ignorance but would that mean my devices would connect to this and not the hub directly and help with my normal issue. 

cameras, Smart Bulbs and smart plug devices are the main devices. As well as a brand new laptop and all my Apple devices. 

It’s a ridiculous situation as I am having to hotspot my home broadband from my old android phone to function! 

Thank you again for taking the time to reply and help. 👍

[K4te]

It’s not a new issue. It’s the 3rd time we’ve had similar. There is somewhat of a pattern in devices, however there there isn’t, as for example 1 smart plug works, the rest do not, they are all the same smart plug. No apple devices are connecting, but android ones are, the Tv that is directly connected to the router via Ethernet cable has no internet connection, it was fine yesterday and now it’s not. With 2 young children and WFH this is quite an inconvenience. 

It wasn’t a one time short term issue it’s been 3 days now . 

What is considered too many smart devices in a average size family home with VOLT Broadband? I think what we are running is perfectly normal in 2023, my husband believes otherwise. 

[Adduxi]

As you are a VOLT customer, you are initialled to get up to 3 free wifi pods.  This may help, as I believe they us the older wifi ac protocol.  Just note you cannot split the SSID, as the Pods require the Hub to be "as factory settings".

See below for information

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

Also this long "pinned" thread.  Solved: How do I order the Wi-Fi pods? - Virgin Media Community - 5123613

The official route for the Pods involves using the Connect app to identify the need for Pods, and to order the initial one Pod.  If it fails to work, you can still post here for help from a VM Mod.

If you prefer to buy you own solution, then a Deco Mesh system could be a good investment.  Lots of users on here have them.   It's all food for thought ......

[Zach_R]

Hi @K4te,

I'm just checking in to see if you need any further assistance with this at all since your posts? I can see that one of my colleagues posted in here a little further up on the thread offering some help with this.

Thanks,
 

[VMUser1812]

Zak, can I assume that your comments, refer to Nathan's post, in which he actually offered absolutely no help whatsoever?

You know what, just a suggestion but you might want to read the thread first and understand it before wading in with a crass and obviously ignorant comment! 

Any yes, I do fully understand that your employment terms of service are more geared towards number of post made as against how useful they actually are - so I can fully understand how you and your fellow forum team members are, well, incentivised to post any sort of BS, just to keep the metrics up -  but really come on!

[Megan_L]

Hi K4te,

I must apologise for the lack of help you've had on this thread, thank you to @VMUser1812 for bringing our attention to it, I have done some further checks on my side and have uncovered a few issues actually which may be the culprit to your broadband issue. 

I can see that your upload levels are majorly out of spec which may be causing some imbalance on your Hub - I think this is especially apparent seen as you've mentioned your TV connected via Ethernet cable is not working properly. (If Ethernet is having issues then we know it's most definitely an issue somewhere)

An issue with the Hub's specs will need to be dealt with via an engineer visit, so I'll send over a Private Message now in order to book this in for you 👨‍🔧

Speak to you soon!

Thanks,

Megan_L