Mesh + Virgin = help please

[Phooey]

I'm interested in the current best set-up / technology for Virgin wi-fi.

Ideally I'd like to limit cables and boxes etc so does anyone know if you can buy an off-the-shelf all in one system that will replace my ugly Virgin-supplied router and also give reliable wi-fi throughout the whole house. My current router does not reach to all areas of the house so having to rely on them unreliable plug-in extenders - which are intermittent. Budget not an issue.

Thanks

[paralla]

Virgin Hub 3 in modem mode + Netgear Orbi system with one base and two satellites here. I get the full 100/10 speed that I pay for in every square inch of our house.

[Sixpackpert]

paralla said:

Virgin Hub 3 in modem mode + Netgear Orbi system with one base and two satellites here. I get the full 100/10 speed that I pay for in every square inch of our house.

Exactly the same setup here, covers our 5 bed house and most of the garden superbly.

[Lucas Ayde]

A mesh system will handle the WiFi ... just add the mesh, turn off the internal Virgin hub wifi and away you go.

Note: DO NOT put the Virgin hub in modem mode unless you get a complete router replacement mesh system. Many meshes are WiFi Access Point only - you will still need the hub to provide general routing and firewall.

The weak point of almost every ISP-supplied hub is WiFi. Many are total rubbish but the underlying modem/ routing/ firewall is fine.

[Mr E]

Lucas Ayde said:

Note: DO NOT put the Virgin hub in modem mode unless you get a complete router replacement mesh system. Many meshes are WiFi Access Point only - you will still need the hub to provide general routing and firewall.

The orbi solution mentioned above is a L3 router. Put the ‘superhub’ in modem mode, plug in the orbi bits, use the app to configure and you’re done in 10 mins.

[Phooey]

anonymoususer said:

You can't replace the Virgin Superhub as it is the gateway to the internet.
You can pop it in modem mode and buy a mesh system that will provide the wifi
But you just can't get rid of the Superhub completely.

TP Link do some good budget type mesh stuff
Netgear have some good stuff
I won't get involved in saying which is the one you should go for as there will be others who will have long term experience of such and such brand/ model
I don't have them at home having gone down the ethernet cabling/ wifi access points at certain places round the home route instead
But friends that do love them
But your stuck with the superhub I'm afraid

Thanks. Unfortunate that I have to keep the ugly virgin supplied modem/router. I'll have a look at the mentioned kit - thanks again

Sixpackpert said:

paralla said:

Virgin Hub 3 in modem mode + Netgear Orbi system with one base and two satellites here. I get the full 100/10 speed that I pay for in every square inch of our house.

Exactly the same setup here, covers our 5 bed house and most of the garden superbly.

Thanks guys. I'll have a look at the Orbi stuff, although I don't think I have the Superhub 3. I'll check when I get home but I know I've had it for years so it's probably an older modem/router. Would I be best buying a newer type and throw away the Virgin one?

Mr E said:

Lucas Ayde said:

Note: DO NOT put the Virgin hub in modem mode unless you get a complete router replacement mesh system. Many meshes are WiFi Access Point only - you will still need the hub to provide general routing and firewall.

The orbi solution mentioned above is a L3 router. Put the ‘superhub’ in modem mode, plug in the orbi bits, use the app to configure and you’re done in 10 mins.

Thanks for mentioning this - I'll make sure I get a complete system

[paralla]

You need a Virgin Hub of some sort, your connection will not work at all without it.

If you have an older hub you might be able to get a newer replacement from Virgin.
https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/existing-cus...

[Phooey]

paralla said:

You need a Virgin Hub of some sort, your connection will not work at all without it.

If you have an older hub you might be able to get a newer replacement from Virgin.
https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/existing-cus...

Cool, thanks for linky! It appears there's also a hub 4.. does anyone know if this is better than the hub 3? If I'm going to ask for a shiny new hub I might as well get the best one Virgin supply

eta - just realised you have to have Virgins Gig1 service. I have the lowly standard 100mbps.

Edited by Phooey on Monday 30th August 16:49

[Captain_Morgan]

Phooey said:

I'm interested in the current best set-up / technology for Virgin wi-fi.

Ideally I'd like to limit cables and boxes etc so does anyone know if you can buy an off-the-shelf all in one system that will replace my ugly Virgin-supplied router and also give reliable wi-fi throughout the whole house. My current router does not reach to all areas of the house so having to rely on them unreliable plug-in extenders - which are intermittent. Budget not an issue.

Thanks

More information is needed to really help

How big is the house
How many floors
Is it a normal shape
How old is it
What are the internal wall made of
Do you need good external coverage
Any out buildings to cover
How many WiFi devices are you looking to connect

[paralla]

Phooey said:

Cool, thanks for linky! It appears there's also a hub 4.. does anyone know if this is better than the hub 3? If I'm going to ask for a shiny new hub I might as well get the best one Virgin supply

If you are going to run the hub in modem mode and use a mesh WiFi system as well I don’t think it makes much difference which hub you have.

[Phooey]

Captain_Morgan said:

More information is needed to really help

How big is the house - 2000+sq/ft
How many floors - 2
Is it a normal shape - yes
How old is it - 1976
What are the internal wall made of - brick
Do you need good external coverage - no
Any out buildings to cover - no
How many WiFi devices are you looking to connect - upto 10.

Cheers. Answers above. The issue is my router/modem is in my office (bedroom 5) at the end of the house and the wi-fi doesn't reach the opposite end. Brick internal walls are the problem.

[Phooey]

paralla said:

If you are going to run the hub in modem mode and use a mesh WiFi system as well I don’t think it makes much difference which hub you have.

Ok, I'll see if my (I think it's called 2ac) Virgin router/modem will work. If not I'll ring them and try and blag a 3

[camel_landy]

paralla said:

Virgin Hub 3 in modem mode + Netgear Orbi system with one base and two satellites here. I get the full 100/10 speed that I pay for in every square inch of our house.

^^^ This is exactly what I've got...

...apart from mine running at 200/20.

M

[33q]

Virgin Hub 3 customer

I've turned the Hub Wifi off and installed TP Link Deco P9 units.

The P9 are hybrid using Powerline and mesh technology.

Well pleased!

[Captain_Morgan]

Phooey said:

Cheers. Answers above. The issue is my router/modem is in my office (bedroom 5) at the end of the house and the wi-fi doesn't reach the opposite end. Brick internal walls are the problem.

Brick can be a pita but should work with a tri-band mesh system.
These dedicate a WiFi channel for the interconnect between nodes to improve speed.

The orbi’s mentioned work well but can be on the expensive side,
Lots of folks also get on with the tp-link deco m5’s and m9’s.

If the 5th bedroom is on the first floor and you can run an Ethernet cable to the loft and it has power then you open up the option to run a unifi or Omada system with access points rather than a mesh which tend to have greater range and functionality but can be more complex to install.

[Smurfsarepeopletoo]

Virgin do their own Mesh system, can you not use that?

https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/intelligent-...

[durbster]

Virgin + Orbi here in a 1930s brick house. It is expensive but it does work very well.

One slightly odd side-effect is that when you run the Superhub in modem-only mode, you can only use one of the network ports on the back.

It's not a problem if you have nothing else plugged into the hub. I had a couple of network devices connected to it so had to get a network switch instead.

[insert coin]

I’ve got Netgear Orbi at home, been rock solid for about 4 years. But I fit TP Link for my clients, usually the P9, straight from Amazon with a 3 year warranty.

[paralla]

durbster said:

Virgin + Orbi here in a 1930s brick house. It is expensive but it does work very well.

One slightly odd side-effect is that when you run the Superhub in modem-only mode, you can only use one of the network ports on the back.

It's not a problem if you have nothing else plugged into the hub. I had a couple of network devices connected to it so had to get a network switch instead.

My superhub and Orbi base are in a cupboard and there's a few IOT gateways also in there. They are plugged into the ethernet ports on the back of the Orbi router.

[4Q]

Sixpackpert said:

paralla said:

Virgin Hub 3 in modem mode + Netgear Orbi system with one base and two satellites here. I get the full 100/10 speed that I pay for in every square inch of our house.

Exactly the same setup here, covers our 5 bed house and most of the garden superbly.

Me too although with three satellites, 4-500mb everywhere. Multiple users incl. my wife on teams calls all day seems to have no impact on speed either.