[Technology] Virgin Media Broadband

[Two Professors]

Been a customer since Telewest dial-up days and had very few problems.Their customer service has always been, at best,utterly pathetic so I hope the new Sky offering is going to be better.Coming around November/December apparently.

 

[PeterOut]

Utter joke, had their engineers out out on four occasions this year, WiFi service almost on a daily basis drops out, every time the engineer calls they give another reason for the failure and suggest it is now fixed!

Another joke is I get better download/upload speeds on my EE 4g when I compare on my phone!

Your problem is wi-fi - so try a different router. Borrow one from a friend if you can, or read reviews on which routers work best with your provider if you can't borrow a different brand / model.

 

[swindonseagull]

Your problem is wi-fi - so try a different router. Borrow one from a friend if you can, or read reviews on which routers work best with your provider if you can't borrow a different brand / model.

I think thats what he has been telling Virgin for a long time.

 

[Weststander]

Your problem is wi-fi - so try a different router. Borrow one from a friend if you can, or read reviews on which routers work best with your provider if you can't borrow a different brand / model.

The choice of router can make a huge difference.

We tried all the so-called best rated routers (as advised by computer mags, BT recommendations, etc) and each gave problems.

In the end we went back to Netgear and bought an expensive dual channel model. Two years on its been faultless, only ever had to reboot once. We're running online games and streamed movies from it, sometimes on 4 different devices simultaneously with no issues, lag, freezing ... ever.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

The choice of router can make a huge difference.

We tried all the so-called best rated routers (as advised by computer mags, BT recommendations, etc) and each gave problems.

In the end we went back to Netgear and bought an expensive dual channel model. Two years on its been faultless, only ever had to reboot once. We're running online games and streamed movies from it, sometimes on 4 different devices simultaneously with no issues, lag, freezing ... ever.

As said previously, don't mix up broadband with wifi. I know people will think it should be part of the package (rightly so) but if you want to get better, more reliable wifi in the house then stump up the cash and buy a good router.

Having got some recommendations from the Virgin forum, I bought a TP-LINK Archer C8 router and haven't had any drop out problems since and the wifi speeds are also much improved.

 

[Chicken Run]

Your problem is wi-fi - so try a different router. Borrow one from a friend if you can, or read reviews on which routers work best with your provider if you can't borrow a different brand / model.

The choice of router can make a huge difference.

We tried all the so-called best rated routers (as advised by computer mags, BT recommendations, etc) and each gave problems.

In the end we went back to Netgear and bought an expensive dual channel model. Two years on its been faultless, only ever had to reboot once. We're running online games and streamed movies from it, sometimes on 4 different devices simultaneously with no issues, lag, freezing ... ever.

As said previously, don't mix up broadband with wifi. I know people will think it should be part of the package (rightly so) but if you want to get better, more reliable wifi in the house then stump up the cash and buy a good router.

Having got some recommendations from the Virgin forum, I bought a TP-LINK Archer C8 router and haven't had any drop out problems since and the wifi speeds are also much improved.

Ok I get it, so I buy a new router, do I just plug the leads in the back and away we go, for the record Bens Grandad is more handy around tech than I am?? [emoji23]

 

[PeterOut]

There seems to be good help by knowledgeable people (including staff / engineers) on the Virgin message boards.
Not trying to duck the issue, but I do not have Virgin at my current address (had it for best part of 20 years previously), so would be unable to test / replicate any issues you might have.

The basic approach is to use your existing Virgin hub as a 'modem', so it stays connected and supplies your TV, etc. It will also then also provide your Internet signal to the 2nd router that you buy - the 2nd router will broadcast the wifi signal around your house (crude description, but trying to keep it simple).

See https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Broadband/ct-p/Broadband for the message board.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Ist thing i always do is change wi fi channel, because everyone else has the same channel on router !!

This.

Had probs recently (Sky). The clever Russian chap talked me through the channel tweak and its like new boots and panties.

 

[S'hampton Seagull]

This.

Had probs recently (Sky). The clever Russian chap talked me through the channel tweak and its like new boots and panties.

I have virgin broadband and have never either bought a 2nd router of changed the channel. What do you change it to and how do you do it? Cheers

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[phoenix]

I have virgin broadband and have never either bought a 2nd router of changed the channel. What do you change it to and how do you do it? Cheers

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0XXJesqgdQ

My advice would be to try every channel. right down the number of channel you find best then save it, piece of piss.

 

[phoenix]

This.

Had probs recently (Sky). The clever Russian chap talked me through the channel tweak and its like new boots and panties.

Hi Vlad from Russia here!! I'm with BT I had great wi fi for a year where i live then suddenly, it turned all crappy. I live in a block of flats and the lady upstairs switched to BT . it took me a couple of days to work out what was wrong, So i went through every channel writing good, ok, and crap, Then i just set Router to best channel. It's mad really because the routers are all set to same channel. Or at least they were.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I have virgin broadband and have never either bought a 2nd router of changed the channel. What do you change it to and how do you do it? Cheers

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

You need to give them a ring and tell them you are running slow. They will talk you through what to do. Takes 10 minutes.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Hi Vlad from Russia here!! I'm with BT I had great wi fi for a year where i live then suddenly, it turned all crappy. I live in a block of flats and the lady upstairs switched to BT . it took me a couple of days to work out what was wrong, So i went through every channel writing good, ok, and crap, Then i just set Router to best channel. It's mad really because the routers are all set to same channel. Or at least they were.

Sorry. You've lost me

 

[phoenix]

There are about 12 channels on Router some work better than others, by trying them all i was able to decide which had strongest signal.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

There are about 12 channels on Router some work better than others, by trying them all i was able to decide which had strongest signal.

And the default is the same for all routers. This is why it is called the default. Apparently.

 

[John Byrnes Mullet]

Utter joke, had their engineers out out on four occasions this year, WiFi service almost on a daily basis drops out, every time the engineer calls they give another reason for the failure and suggest it is now fixed!

Another joke is I get better download/upload speeds on my EE 4g when I compare on my phone!

I have had same trouble in Bevendean Brighton. The Land Line goes on and off when it pleases and Broadband can be mega quick or as slow as a snail. We have had engineers out 6 times. The last engineer admitted all the cables need replacing in our road but the company won't pay out. I wish there was an alternative like the Utility Bills.

 

[BNthree]

What is your process for rebooting?

Edit apart from switching it off and on?

Just pulling the power out!

In my house there are 4 computers, 2 tvs, a printer, xbox, 4 phones, 5 tablets, 2 kindles, firestick, 2 Alexas and chromecast all on the wifi network so no surprise it has issues.

 

[Bold Seagull]

On a Mac if you click [alt] while clicking the wifi symbol you get an additional option called wifi diagnostics.

If you then click [cmd] and press 4, it will scan all the wifi signals it can see and it will tell you what channels they are using, and it will be able to tell you the best channels for your own router to be on for minimum interference. As an example my best 2.4Ghz channels are 11 and 3, best 5Ghz is 40 and 44.

You should be able to access your VM router using this address from any browser: http://192.168.0.1 or 192.168.100.1 if its in modem mode.
Password should be on the bottom of the hub if you haven't changed it.

Virgin Media for me has very good broadband speeds, but the wifi router in the hubs is very basic, doesn't deal with interference very well and doesn't like high numbers of devices connecting and disconnecting frequently. As someone said previously, powerlines, with separate wifi router / wifi extenders will be a lot better.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

I have had same trouble in Bevendean Brighton. The Land Line goes on and off when it pleases and Broadband can be mega quick or as slow as a snail. We have had engineers out 6 times. The last engineer admitted all the cables need replacing in our road but the company won't pay out. I wish there was an alternative like the Utility Bills.

You must live close to me.
After phoning 150 auto-message says they are working in our area.
I have no standard definition on the main five channels and several others, but they work in HD.
The internet drops out - my start up page on Google keeps changing

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Ok I get it, so I buy a new router, do I just plug the leads in the back and away we go, for the record Bens Grandad is more handy around tech than I am?? [emoji23]

To change your Virgin superhub into modem mode, you need to log into the router (I'm going to guess that you haven't changed the password from the one on the box). I think it is on the home screen where you can switch to modem mode.

Most routers will work fine out of the box for you without the need for complex configuration. Just follow the setup guide.