Superhub 3 - Ethernet not working

[dalenichol]

Hello,

A few days ago I signed up to Virginmedia for broadband and got the new superhub 3.0. 

I've had the engineer round to set it up and it's now up and running, with wireless connections being fine, however direct connection via ethernet simply isn't working and my computer does not have a wireless adapter. 

I've phoned technical support and they couldn't get anything sorted, suggesting that the problem may be computer related, but I was using a competitors hub this morning via ethernet and everything was working fine. 

Technical support then tried to put me through to gadget rescue, but each time they did this, I'd be put on hold before the line would inevitably go dead, and I'm not particularly wanting to call back again.

I'm now in a bit of a predicament, as my main computer workstation, which I use for my university work, doesn't have internet access and I'm not really looking forward to having to go out and spend money on a wireless adapter which I shouldn't need, nor want. 

I've checked 3 different ethernet cables, including the one that comes with my hub, checked all 4 ports, made sure my drivers were up to date and done various resets both soft and hard. Any advice would be greatly apprecated.

Thanks,

Dale

[b12hb]

I don't have the TP router as I stated ended up buying the higher spec netgear VPN router which worked fine.

[MontyBiggles]

We had the same issues after upgrading from SH2 which worked fine before the SH3.

Our problem was that we have about a dozen things on our network which the SH3 can't handle. We would see devices randomly dropping off and when we got a list of devices on the SH3 page some of ours wouldn't be there!

We bought a RS600VPN and that worked for us - this may be a bit overkill but I wanted the problem sorted and I didn't have time to spend hours messing about. We also have an external TP Link wireless access point which is far better than the SH3 one.

We have most things on Ethernet so we have an external 24 port Gigabit switch too.

Our SH3 is in modem now with its WiFi disabled - completely stripped of it's privileges and left to do the only thing it can't mess up. 

Hope this helps!

[b12hb]

Hi MontyBiggles

I sorted mine with a netgear VPN switch my network is similar setup to yours - personally this is a simple test that the Virgin techies should be able to replicate and get the SH3.0 issues resolved.

Maybe the tech support staff should look for
Common themes on the forums - it is a joke that the newer kit they are supplying isn't able to
do the basics where the SH2.0 could handle fine.

Mine is a bit of an overkill as well - but like your self I just wanted the problem fixed.

Cheers

[jjonjoe]

Just got the TP R600VPN switch working and everything seems to be working fine.  That's all thanks to you and 'Monty Biggles' ... Much appreciation to both of you.  I'm very new to all of this and have learned quite a lot  ... mainly, to not take Virgin's next superhub edition!

[b12hb]

Glad to see you got it working!

[dariomolinari]

So, I've just received my replacement SH 3.0 hub since I was having problems with the ethernet ports and after reinstalling and reprovisioning it I enjoyed 10 minutes of connectivity.

Now the ethernet ports don't work anymore: "not working" though is a misnomer because they all blink green and I can see some wired devices in the "Advanced Settings - DHCP - DHCP lease table" but NOT in the "Home - Ethernet connected devices" table?!?

I'm now going onto Amazon to purchase a router for the wired part!

VM please sort the firmware, I suspect the DHCPd part or fix whatever hardware is regularly failing! 😞

[Martimcfly]

Make sure your network adapter is using TCP/IPV4 and set to obtain an IP address automatically

[roly1950]

Hi all

seems i have the same Ethernet Connections , only been with Virgin for 4 days have had 1 Hub 3 changed 2nd arrived today have spent 6 hrs and 2 phone calls to Virgin and still cannot get the Ethernet to work 1 port connects for about 1 min very slow then auto disconnected, changed cables changed equipment No change, on monday just before my connection with PlusNet all was working Fine so it must be a VIRGIN problem.

use internet to send my Heart Pacemaker info to the Hospital

any advise from any one if it cannot be solved i will cancel my account  4 days with Virgin and only 1 days use. on wi fi.

help if you can please

Roly

[Smallg]

Hi - my hub died a couple of days ago so it seems like I am the latest victim of a dodgy hub or firmware issue.  At first, there was no wifi, no lan, nothing.  The thing simply wasn't assigning IP addresses to devices.

Managed, by resetting to factory conditions several times and expanding the IP list by a few, to get the wi fi working for some devices (strangely not a new samsung galaxy 7, which is still failing to obtain an IP address). 

Now, although the LAN lights are green and even flashing as if they are transferring data when the cables are plugged in, the devices I'm trying to set up on the wired system don't recognise that they are connected to a cable.  For example, the PS4 asks to be connected to a cable during the set up process.

All very perplexing.    I really don't have the time or the patience to go through the same process I did earlier this year when I called Virgin for assistance and, after several hours and a couple of dropped calls, misdirections to the wrong department and repeating the same steps over and over, I was eventually sent a new hub 3.0 after the 2.0 version died.

It's interesting that someone mentioned a faulty LAN cable in a previous post on this thread, which appeared to be working but which was preventing the whole system from functioning.  I may have a go at taking all the cables out later and putting them back in one at a time to see if this helps.

Any thoughts anyone?

Dave

[VM219674]

I've had the same experience as others mentioned with the Virgin Media hubs. I've been running for 2 years with Virgin here in Perth and in that time I have got through one old style hub (I believe it was a Virgin Media 1.0 Hub) which periodically stopped responding and another Virgin Super Hub 3 (attempting to fix the LAN / Ethernet problems discussed in this thread).

My latest Super Hub 3 I installed this morning and the following guidance arises from getting that up and running and dealing with the LAN / Ethernet issues as they arose.

Hopefully this will help others to follow, both during setup and if you get subsequent problems.

IMPORTANT POINTS:

• Unplug hard wire LAN / Ethernet cables from the back of the box and undertake the initial configuration / reconfiguration after a factory reset through a wireless WIFI connection. I came to this conclusion after attempting to work through a laptop connected via the LAN / Ethernet port and the continual dropouts and failures to connect made it tedious and time consuming. Using the wireless WIFI connection proved quicker and more reliable to get back to a working state.

• If your devices were previously connected to another router (or the current router before a factory reset) immediately prior to this then you will have DHCP leases / local IP addresses (typically in the 192.168.0.* address range) allocated to these machines and still valid. This seems to cause the Super Hub 3 confusion during the setup of the network, which is why unplugging them all helps. 

• I think some of the problems with the Super Hub 3 are caused by it not reacting well to changes in the power draw across the LAN / Ethernet port. You can see this when you plug in several additional LAN / Ethernet cables and you will suddenly lose all LAN / Ethernet connectivity. This is why I recommend plugging in a single cable at a time, letting the Super Hub 3 stablise for a short period (couple of minutes) before plugging in another cable. This is tedious, but it seems to trick the Super Hub 3 into functioning.

Recommended Approach:

1. Bring the router back to a factory reset state, either from the Super Hub 3 browser interface menu option (Admin -> Reload and Reboot -> Restore Default) or following the instructions <HERE>
2. Unplug all of the LAN / Ethernet cables (but leave the power and co-axial cable connected)
3. Using the switch at the back of the Super Hub 3, power it off and leave it powered off for 20 seconds
4. When the router reboots in factory reset mode, connect to it through a wireless connection to undertake the initial configuration
5. Once you have specified a new password, go to the Super Hub 3 browser interface menu option for DHCP (Advanced Settings -> DHCP) and check the "Starting local address" settings. By default it is set to 10, but if you have existing DHCP leases out these may be in the range 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.10 and may be being ignored by the Super Hub 3. I changed mine from "10" to "2" (since 192.168.0.1 is reserved for the Super Hub 3 itself). As well as hitting "Apply Changes" I also restarted the Super Hub 3 and checked to make sure that the change had been saved.
6. If you are using DHCP Reservations to allocate static IP addresses, then add them at this time and afterwards, reboot the router and return to the Super Hub 3 browser interface menu option for DHCP to check they have been setup correctly.
7. Plug in ONE AND ONLY ONE of the LAN / Ethernet cables into the top LAN / Ethernet port of the Super Hub 3. If the Computer / Laptop / other device is turned on then the tiny LED at the top right hand side of the port (next to the port number "1") should start flickering a pale green colour. This means that you have physical connectivity.
8. Next see if you have an Internet connection on the device you have just connected. If you have then your job is done. Leave it for a few minutes before connecting the next device and checking its connection status.

Troubleshooting:

• If, when you connect a cable you lose the connection on all of your other devices, unplug ALL of the LAN / Ethernet cables from the back of the Super Hub 3 and start again, plugging each cable in, checking for internet connectivity and then leaving it for several minutes before plugging the next cable in. I had to do this several times before I was able to establish connectivity across all my devices.

• If you have plugged in a device and it shows no internet connection (in Windows 10 this is a little yellow triangle with an exclaimation point in the middle), then it is likely that you have physical connectivity, but the Super Hub 3 has been unable to allocate an IP address properly (possibly due to DHCP reservation from previously). In this case try the following:
  1. Power your machine off and then back on again (this often works, but not always), then check to see if you have a connection again.
  2. If you still don't have a connection look to see if you have a pre-existing or faulty IP address (typically something like 169.254.*.*), you can see this in Windows 10 under Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center then clicking on the blue link next to "Connections" and on the next screen clicking on "Details". This will bring up the Network Connection Details and your IP Address (see Photo 1 below) for details. Alternately you can launch a "Command Prompt (Admin)"  session from the Right Mouse Menu of the start bar and type "ipconfig" (see Photo 2 below)
  3. If this is still not working, or you have a faulty IP address (typically something like 169.254.*.*), then launch a "Command Prompt (Admin)" session from the Right Mouse Menu of the start bar and type the following:
     • ipconfig /flushdns
     • ipconfig /release
     • ipconfig /renew
  4. If none of the above works (and the above was pretty much exactly what I've had to do to get my devices working), then I'm not sure how to resolve your remaining problems. My only suggestion would be to switch everything to assigned DHCP reservations, but this requires you to know the MAC address (see Photo 1) for each of your machines and reserve them under the Super Hub 3 browser interface menu option for DHCP (Advanced Settings -> DHCP -> Add Reserved Rule), to illustrate these operating, look at my examples in Photo's 3 and 4
  5. Although it requires patience to get it all working and the Super Hub 3 can be a bit temperamental, it is possible to run a substantial network from a Super Hub 3 with additional LAN / Ethernet devices connected in hubs (I run two separate wired hubs, a TP-Link TL-SG108 8-Port Desktop Switch, a Sweex Powerline 500 extender network and an additional wireless hub) as illustrated in Photo's 5 and 6.
  6. Detailed Instructions for getting your IP address in Windows 10Detailed Instructions for getting your IP address in Windows 10 through the command lineAdding your computers MAC address into the Super Hub 3 Routers DHCP Reservations tableExample of DHCP configuration showing multiple DHCP leases and reservationsSuper Hub 3 Status overview showing multiple connected LAN Ethernet and Wireless DevicesSuper Hub 3 Connected Devices screen showing lots of working devices (Windows 10, Linux, Smart TV, etc.)