Hub4 -sudden drop from 1.1Gb to 94Mb in download

[ozsat]

So I check my download speed every few days to make sure I get what I am paying for,  Samknows real speed would usually come back with around 1140 and 940 - Ookla would come back with around 940Mbps too. During all this the upload is a constand 52Mbps.

Noticed things going slow on Sunday and the speeds had dropped to around 94Mbps download.

I have two different 1Gb network cards in the PC and swiitching between those (and SH4 ports) made no difference.

After a couple of power resets of the PC and Hub4 all went back to the expected rates.  I suispected the PC had got intob a weird state.

During yesterday I could tell from download speeds that things were not right again - and they were back to 94Mbs download and 52Mbps upload.

Tried the power resets again and still 94Mbps download via Ethenet. 5GHz Wifi is still working at over 300-400Mpbs which has never changed.

I have another device with a 1Gb card which would give similar speed results to those excepted - but that is now maxing at 94Mbps download too. A few other devices would usually achieve over 130Mpbs - and are all maxing at 94Mpbs too.

One device I could always get around 300Mbs download via Ethernet is now showing 94Mbps too - but still 300Mbs when switched to Wifi.

It seems the SH4 is auto-negotiating at 100 and not 1000 on all four ports. Config still shows 1 DOCSIS 3.1 channel connect and config download is still 1230000450.

Have done a pinhole factory reset and before doing any SH4 customisation I tried again and still only 94Mpbs on all four ports.

I am sure it is not a signal issue as Wifi is good and I'm getting between -1.1 and +3.0 on all power levels and between 37.3 and 38.8 on all SNR.

I've not seen anything in the logs to show a firmware update but the logs were lost here in the factory reset - currently cmreg-vmdg640-bbt076+voc-b.cm

I will call TS today and get them to suggest things but I can put the issue down to the SH4.

Power levels are mainly the same after the factory reset so within expected range.

Anyone any other ideas of things to try?

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[legacy1]

Its not like VM removed the ability to rate limit you and not show it in the hub but why would VM do this one reason is to download you have to upload like 92Mb download you have to send like 2.2Mb upload if you can't download faster by way of rate limiting then this help the upstream not get over utilisation with ping spikes.

The other possibility is VM are not rate limiting but a coding error in firmware means that the hub is accepting on the WAN packets to rate limit hubs and rate limit under 100Mb could look like a problem with the cable or a 100Mb NIC and VM blame the user.

[vassilis]

I have the same problem! I am on a 1G contract with a HUB 4. I had constantly 900mbits+ for months but today I noticed that I am down on 94mb down and 50mb up. 

When I reset the Hub it goes up to 400-500mb for a few minutes and then comes down to 94mb.

Surely this is a Virgin fault if so many people have reported it.

[mikelkite]

It's a deliberate throttle because something is broken but they aren't telling us why what or when it will be fixed. It's been doing it for about 2 weeks or more but as you say a reboot USED to fix it but now it does not fix it. They have done something either with firmware or with their network having issues. It's as other people have said the WAN port is stuck in 10/100 mode. I was going to be upgrading to the 1GB but I won't be doing anything but looking to move away if this isn't resolved in the next few days as I am out of contract and will look to find a better supplier who is more honest.

[Matthew_ML]

Hey mikelkite, thank you for reaching out and I am sorry to see you are having some issues with your connection.

I can see you have been speaking to the team, did they manage to resolve the issues for you? 

I can assure you that we do not throttle our speeds. Thanks 

[awhea832]

I too am experiencing this issue.

It has happened in the past every so often  and switching the Ethernet port on the Hub 4 that my router was plugged into used to solve the issue. (I run the hub in Modem mode using a UniFi Gateway).

We had an outage in our area about a week ago and since then the issue is more prevalent and does not sort itself with either a reboot or different ethernet ports.

If I unplug everything and leave the Hub 4 to cool for a while sometimes when switching back on I get the full gigabit speeds for a while then it reverts back to a 100mbps connection.

Not sure if it is the router overheating or a firmware upgrade error or something to do with the outage the other week but very frustrating.

I have tried swapping out ethernet cables in case of faulty cable but makes no difference and they are all cat 6a cables which previously gave 900+ mbps.

Nothing changed in my network and it seems odd that I can get the gigabit speeds if only briefly

Suggests to me that the Hub when on modem mode is setting all ports to 100mbps rather than 1000mbps. Not sure if that is down to overheating, faulty hardware, a software bug or error or something else.

Notified virgin today and they have told me I need to call back after 24 hours again.

With the amount of comments about this issue it seems to be something that virgin should be aware of and hold their hands up to by now.

[awhea832]

Problem fixed - corrupt initialisation files in hub 4.

So I spent over 30 mins on the phone to virgin yesterday as after my first call they asked me to monitor for 24 hours despite already monitoring for a week.

They got me to put the hub in router mode telling me I was wrong to use it in Modem mode and that was how most problems started. Essentially blaming my network rather than their equipment.

We put the hub in router mode and sure enough network speeds were back to 800-900gbps. However when we switched the hub back to modem mode the ethernet ports seemed to restrict the output to less than 100mbps again. 

They ran some tests and spoke about doing something with initialisation files. We rebooted the hub one more time and problem solved.

Nothing had changed on my network so it was clearly the hub. If you are experiencing this issue and have checked your cables etc. like I did first then definitely give Virgin a call as it seems some software / firmware issues can impact on the ethernet port setting the max speed to 100mbps.

[jb66]

I'm betting ite temporarily fixed, we will see

[Phatz]

I am experiencing this issue as well.

1GB Service, HUB4 in modem mode and the WAN keeps changing from 1GBPS to 100mb.

I have tried options of resetting router from the pin hole. This let the 1GP on the Ethernet port stay for a approx  15 mins then it went back to 100mb. Before it went back to 100mb I successfully made a speed test in the upper 950s , proving the service to the house is ok and that my own router is working ok. Just the HUB4 it seems to decide to drop down when in modem mode.

When in Router Mode it sits at around 970 down and 51 up.

When changed to modem mode from speeds that I used to get of the 970s it now sits at 90 down and again the ethernet port reverts to 100mb

I have tried all Ethernet ports on the hub when in modem mode. Each time it goes to 1GB then to 100mb

Reboot / Reset does nothing to avoid this.

AM hoping when and if I get the HUB5 this resolves the issue or VM sned me an replacement H4.

I have tried the support desk on matter other than this previously but just keep getting told if it works in router mode then there is no issue.

I reiterate its not the service to the house its the product HUB4 in the house causing the issue.

[Phatz]

I will give them a call this week to go through the hoops , but before I do , can you confirm this resolved the issue now with you. Plus this maybe cheeky but to save me time can you quote the ticket number / pm me the number so I can quote it to the support team to say this is what I am experiencing? Dont want personal information or address or phone numbers lol just the ticket number. A big ask I know! 🙂

[awhea832]

So sorry to hear you are suffering from this issue too Phatz. I think it is a far wider problem than this thread or virgin will admit. Thankfully the resending of the initialisation files or whatever they sent seems to have fixed the issue for me. Saying that when I ran a test the other night it was back down to 90Mbps. It was late in the evening so I waited until the morning to call them but when I tested again in the morning it was back up to 900+mbps. Seems to be fine 99% of the time for now but it doesn't fill me with confidence. For Virgin to suggest that it is down to our own equipment and that we should only use their equipment in router mode is awful. I have multiple Wireless APs and they give me much better coverage than the Virgin hub would do in router mode in its less than optimal location. (One AP is in the attic for example). I would try calling Virgin and ask them to check the initialisation files. They definitely did something as after the reset it worked better. If you do get them to send whatever it is please try and get them to tell you what they did so we can share with others as I sense we are not alone.