Virgin router replacement

[phenomlab]

@JAC Most likely, yes. The Virgin Router is notorious for it’s abysmal throughput on wireless connections. I have the 400Mbps package, and the wireless speeds are almost non-existent.

I resolved this specific issue by purchasing a TP-Link AX5400 below

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-ax73/

However, this is not cheap (over £100), so you could start by attempting to change the channels that 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz are broadcasting on to see if that makes a difference.

[JAC]

@phenomlab Thank you for the advice as always Mark, appreciate it massively.

Will try this when back in.

[phenomlab]

@JAC No problems. You might also want to consider using an app which will provide the best available / lease used frequency. Some recommendations below

https://www.netspotapp.com/wifi-troubleshooting/best-wifi-booster-apps.html

[JAC]

They have sent out new cables. They agreed that the speed we are getting is incredibly low for the package we are on. There is over 1gbps to the box, but sometimes only 100mbps to a device.

I know certain devices only allow certain speeds so this will vary, however the speeds are still incredibly low when even tested in the same room as the router.

They appear to be taking note of my complaints now, seeing as there is only 4 months left on the contract.

I am going to have to look into alternatives and generally find Virgin to be the best but on principle this may go out of the window ;).

[phenomlab]

@JAC new cables are very unlikely to help in any way. The only way to improve the Wi-Fi speed of a virgin hub is to put it into bridge mode and place a decent WiFi router inline.

The Wi-Fi router then acts as the gateway and passes all Internet requests to the Virgin hub for resolution.

[JAC]

@phenomlab Thanks Mark.

How do I achieve this? Is there one that you recommend?

I have the latest Virgin router, is this clearly not good enough? - contract ends in December, the internet issues need sorting one way or another.

May end up getting a technician out yet, when I spoke to someone the other week from Virgin they said I shouldn’t get less than 800mbps, I get nothing like that, in fact I’m lucky to get 200mbps.

[phenomlab]

@JAC said in Virgin router replacement:

May end up getting a technician out yet, when I spoke to someone the other week from Virgin they said I shouldn’t get less than 800mbps, I get nothing like that, in fact I’m lucky to get 200mbps.

What speeds to do you get if you plug an ethernet cable into the back of the virgin hub and use a laptop? Remove the Wifi for the moment - I want to see what speeds the hub is actually delivering in terms of direct internet access.

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Virgin router replacement:

What speeds to do you get if you plug an ethernet cable into the back of the virgin hub and use a laptop?

Will try this tomorrow and update.

[JAC]

I’m looking to either replace Virgin soon or at least get it working at some good speeds .

Is there anything you recommend personally like a mesh system?

The trouble is the router is downstairs, so anything upstairs isn’t getting great speeds despite having two WiFi pods that they provided, but the package expires in December, we have an engineer coming to look at the issue over the weekend, so it’s time to see what they can do to resolve the issue or what I can do differently myself.

[JAC]

- with 1gb ethernet cable to laptop.

- with wifi connection only

Both tests were done in the room where the router is located. - Package 1gbps.

[phenomlab]

@JAC those speeds are extremely low in terms of download to the device. What tools did you use to get those results?

[JAC]

@phenomlab long story short, they didn’t show up at the weekend.

Complained etc and they are coming out on Monday now.

I’ve never received over 300mbps on a 1gbps package… looks like I’ll be moving to Sky if they don’t fix this.

[phenomlab]

@JAC Ok, but you’ll get the same issues on SKY. That service still uses ADSL, which will be FFTC (Fiber To The Cabinet) only, and not FTTH (Fiber To The House). The last mile is always run in copper, so you’ll get breakneck speeds at the cab, and whatever the copper line can take to the house.

[JAC]

@phenomlab I see Mark, thanks for the information. What do I do then if I’m always going to face an issue with either provider?

Many thanks

[phenomlab]

@JAC I don’t think the provider is the issue here. From what I’ve seen you have decent speeds to the Virgin hub, but I’m surprised to see such a slow connection when wired from the screenshots you sent me. Are you sure that this is in fact the case, and not over Wifi?

[JAC]

@phenomlab I understand yes, and I agree with that the speeds to the router are what you expect of the package.

The speeds tests I ran one was via WiFi and one was ethernet, the speeds are lower with the ethernet connection which I am baffled at.

Of course we’ve been paying for well over a year and realistically only getting between 2-300mbps.

[phenomlab]

@JAC Can you provide the network settings of the port on the laptop you are connected to? How old is the laptop, and what is the make/model? If the network card is older and restricted to 100Mbps then this will be your bottleneck.

[JAC]

@phenomlab I will do when home mate. It’s a fairly new laptop, and doing speed tests on every other device possible only really gets speed of maybe tops 300mbps, I should add that this speed was on a Samsung mobile, other devices are lower even when in the same room as the router.

The shield for example upstairs gets no more than 80mbps, lowest I’ve got upstairs on a Samsung mobile is around 30mbps.

[phenomlab]

@JAC Thanks. More concerned with the wired connection presently, so let’s focus first on that.

[JAC]

@phenomlab yes sure mate