Virgin Media Broadband

[JAC]

@phenomlab having a booster in the room where we sleep?

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Virgin Media Broadband:

One powerline adapter in the lounge

Would this replace the current virgin one?

[phenomlab]

@jac said in Virgin Media Broadband:

having a booster in the room where we sleep

If you’re concerned about the level of radio activity, it’s no worse that having a mobile phone to your ear - see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wireless-networks-wi-fi-radio-waves-and-health/wi-fi-radio-waves-and-health

[JAC]

@phenomlab very true yes, will read up shortly . Many thanks.

[JAC]

@jac Just read it. Thanks for the information.

So would a booster not be able to be plugged into a different room not too far away?

[phenomlab]

@jac forget boosters. This is the job of the new router. It can be in any room upstairs provided you don’t have a house built like a castle keep.

[JAC]

@phenomlab So the adaptors I purchased don’t I need them? /The virgin ones.

[phenomlab]

@jac no, in an ideal world, but you can always use them elsewhere

[JAC]

@phenomlab so connecting the virgin box to this new router should be enough without them? Or is it worth swapping them for the virgin ones?

[phenomlab]

@jac you should only use the new power line adapters you have recently bought and remove the virgin ones.

Nothing will work without the adapters

[JAC]

@phenomlab Great! Thanks. Going to sort this tomorrow, I guess the internet may go down for a bit but there’s never a good time to do it .

[phenomlab]

@jac good luck

[JAC]

@phenomlab thanks .

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Virgin Media Broadband:

@jac good luck

Later… . Looking forward to hopefully having better internet speeds etc.

[JAC]

Just a quick question…

Do I need to unplug the virgin media hub in order to connect the extender? Basically do I need to go without the internet whilst this is set up? Sorry if it sounds dumb .

[phenomlab]

@jac said in Virgin Media Broadband:

Do I need to unplug the virgin media hub in order to connect the extender?

Nope

Basically do I need to go without the internet whilst this is set up?

Nope

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Virgin Media Broadband:

@jac said in Virgin Media Broadband:

Do I need to unplug the virgin media hub in order to connect the extender?

Nope

Basically do I need to go without the internet whilst this is set up?

Nope

Brilliant, many thanks.

Looking to do this very shortly! May possibly need guidance, but without annoying and posting on here every 5 mins .

[phenomlab]

@jac Ok, no issues. Let me explain a bit here about what is going to happen when you connect the new router…

Your existing Virgin Hub remains at the centre of your internet connection, and that won’t change. By connecting the new router via the powerline adapters to get into the room upstairs of your choice, we are leveraging the electricity supply to make the connection from point A to point B.

Once the network lead is connected from the Virgin Hub downstairs -> powerline adapter then powerline adapter upstairs -> WAN port of new router, the new router will “think” that is directly connected to the internet, but is in fact, a “slave” of the Virgin Hub.

Based on this, it becomes a Wifi access point in it’s own right, but will “proxy” all requests for the internet to the “default gateway” which is the Virgin Hub downstairs. The router will have it’s own SSID and password to connect to (factory default, which should be changed for security reasons), and when connecting anything upstairs, you’ll be connecting to that and not the Virgin Hub.

Hopefully, this makes sense ? It’s likely that there is some configuration that needs to be completed, although if necessary, we can do this over a remote connection.

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Virgin Media Broadband:

@jac Ok, no issues. Let me explain a bit here about what is going to happen when you connect the new router…

Your existing Virgin Hub remains at the centre of your internet connection, and that won’t change. By connecting the new router via the powerline adapters to get into the room upstairs of your choice, we are leveraging the electricity supply to make the connection from point A to point B.

Once the network lead is connected from the Virgin Hub downstairs -> powerline adapter then powerline adapter upstairs -> WAN port of new router, the new router will “think” that is directly connected to the internet, but is in fact, a “slave” of the Virgin Hub.

Based on this, it becomes a Wifi access point in it’s own right, but will “proxy” all requests for the internet to the “default gateway” which is the Virgin Hub downstairs. The router will have it’s own SSID and password to connect to (factory default, which should be changed for security reasons), and when connecting anything upstairs, you’ll be connecting to that and not the Virgin Hub.

Hopefully, this makes sense ? It’s likely that there is some configuration that needs to be completed, although if necessary, we can do this over a remote connection.

Wow thank you so much for the very detailed response mate! I’ll see what I can do mate very shortly, wish me luck . Absolutely if necessary mate I will be back in touch about remote connection.

[phenomlab]

@jac Ok, just let me know. The key fact here is security. By adding another access point which funnels traffic into your Virgin Hub can expose you to risk if not secured properly. Additionally, you want to be sure that the SSID is secured so it’s not open to the public.

If it were me, and I do this on all my kit, I would hide the SSID by disabling the broadcast. It does mean that you have to manually enter everything, but it also removes the “I’m here with an unsecured Wifi access point - come get me…” banner…