Getting Virgin Dial-Up to Work...?!!!!

[5pitfire]

Can anyone please recommend a WiFi booster so that our Virgin super-fast broadband actually works in more than one room?!

Even just upstairs from the box we can't even get BBC or Netflix to work properly on the telly.

I tried plugging-in our old Belkin N300 range extenders but they're either broken or too old...

Thanks so much.

[Ham_and_Jam]

5pitfire said:

Can anyone please recommend a WiFi booster so that our Virgin super-fast broadband actually works in more than one room?!

Even just upstairs from the box we can't even get BBC or Netflix to work properly on the telly.

I tried plugging-in our old Belkin N300 range extenders but they're either broken or too old...

Thanks so much.

Assuming you haven’t got very thick walls, or the distance is very far from the router It sounds like there is an issue with either your router or the wifi on the TV. I would look at getting this right first.

Have you tried a different router? Tried a different plug in device (Fire TV or Roku) in the location your TV is to see if that works OK?

What us the speed strength of the signal near the router compared to the upstairs location?

[Tony1963]

Dial up? Really?

[Big Pants]

I live in a small flat and my Superhub 3's WiFi can't reach the bedroom from where it's sited in the living room, 2 rooms away.

I've spent a fortune over the years on TP Link range extenders and the like. The mesh system I haven't tried is the BT discs which do seem to work for everyone else, but the D-Link COVR system I bought instead was as useless as the range extenders.

In the end I bought a decent router from Amazon, put the Superhub in Modem Mode, and now have WiFi across the flat. Used the same network name so no faffing with passwords for each device.

TLDR: Virgin Superhub WiFi is toilet. Get a router.

[Fore Left]

I would be looking at ditching the SuperHub wifi and range extenders and going down the mesh route.

You don't need to spend a fortune. Tenda are pretty good for the money in my experience

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08CVRWW5N

[5pitfire]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Assuming you haven’t got very thick walls, or the distance is very far from the router It sounds like there is an issue with either your router or the wifi on the TV. I would look at getting this right first.

Have you tried a different router? Tried a different plug in device (Fire TV or Roku) in the location your TV is to see if that works OK?

What us the speed strength of the signal near the router compared to the upstairs location?

Quite thin walls, actually. Same issues using Fire TV.

It's between 40-120Mbps around the house. But the signal is showing as weak on various mobile devices.

[5pitfire]

Tony1963 said:

Dial up? Really?

No.

[5pitfire]

Big Pants said:

In the end I bought a decent router from Amazon, put the Superhub in Modem Mode, and now have WiFi across the flat. Used the same network name so no faffing with passwords for each device.

TLDR: Virgin Superhub WiFi is toilet. Get a router.

Forgive my ignorance, but is the Superhup the black box Virgin provides when installing?

[Jinx]

Big Pants said:

I live in a small flat and my Superhub 3's WiFi can't reach the bedroom from where it's sited in the living room, 2 rooms away.

I've spent a fortune over the years on TP Link range extenders and the like. The mesh system I haven't tried is the BT discs which do seem to work for everyone else, but the D-Link COVR system I bought instead was as useless as the range extenders.

In the end I bought a decent router from Amazon, put the Superhub in Modem Mode, and now have WiFi across the flat. Used the same network name so no faffing with passwords for each device.

TLDR: Virgin Superhub WiFi is toilet. Get a router.

As above - whilst spending £200 of your own hard-earned on a proper router may seem a waste it is the easiest and best way to get a good wifi signal in your home.

[Teebs]

I've just installed the TP-Link Deco Mesh system to work alongside the Virgin HH3 and it works a treat.

5 minutes to install

[Gary C]

Jinx said:

As above - whilst spending £200 of your own hard-earned on a proper router may seem a waste it is the easiest and best way to get a good wifi signal in your home.

A new 'router' may provide a better wifi signal, and better technology such as beam forming and multi channels but often won't totally solve all problems around a home if your suffering from interference or distance/shielding issues.

I would suggest hard wiring as much as you can (its worth it, not only are those links faster and more reliable, it also offloads their traffic from the wifi connections), but as thats probably not an option for many.
I would now suggest a mesh wifi system now that you can get them for reasonable prices. The Deco M5 seems to be a reasonable price and the BT mini discs are only ~£70 for three and give a wifi connection faster than most FTTC connections anyway and are simple to setup. Three discs will cover most homes (ours covers a three story house) and the good thing with mesh, you dont have to reconnect every time you walk from one area to another.

I also note that the white BT discs allow you to extend their 'mesh' by hardwired such that if you put one in the garden out of wifi range of the others, it will still form part of the mesh (just with a bit of a gap), the BT premium ones cant do that.

Edited by Gary C on Friday 8th January 12:25

[Richtea1970]

BT Wholehome wifi discs. Im on Virgin and tried loads of different things to extend my wifi signal (Router, Homeplugs, Range extenders) but only thing that worked for me was the Wholehome. Had it for about 3 years and its been faultless.

[Big Pants]

5pitfire said:

Forgive my ignorance, but is the Superhup the black box Virgin provides when installing?

Yes. This thing. Don't know why it's sideways.

[tribalsurfer]

Definitely not as good as installing a mesh but just after lockdown last March my BT HomeHub 5 went bang. Replaced with

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/dsl-mod...

So far very happy and provides a lot better coverage than the BT hub.

[s2kjock]

Teebs said:

I've just installed the TP-Link Deco Mesh system to work alongside the Virgin HH3 and it works a treat.

5 minutes to install

This worked very well for me, albeit I have the Hub 2 I think. (Range extenders I have tried in the past with BT routers never seemed to work reliably.)

My house has thin walls as well and my Virgin router generally gave a decent signal through most of the flat pre mesh - can you pester Virgin to send you another hub to try that first and save the cost of mesh if you don't need it?

[Ham_and_Jam]

5pitfire said:

Quite thin walls, actually. Same issues using Fire TV.

It's between 40-120Mbps around the house. But the signal is showing as weak on various mobile devices.

Well in that case it sounds like the superhub thingy is crap.

Either replace with a decent router, or boost with a whole home mesh system. My money would be to get a decent router. Start with decent stuff, rather than add to rubbish.

[Gren]

Stick the Hub in modem mode and add a mesh setup or a very good router. Wifi on the hub is known for being awful. It's a 5 minute job if you replicate the SSID and password.

Mine had particular problems with TVs and firesticks although I got the firestick to work by getting an extension cable and bringing it round from behind the TV. I think there is some sort of barrier/interference that the screen or speakers create. Strangely enough the Virgin V6 box under the TV never had a problem.

Bought a Nest mesh setup and have never looked back.

[5pitfire]

Thanks for all your advice, chaps!

fk me this is unnecessarily complicated for the layperson. Why can’t these boxes just work?

Think I’ll go for BT Mini Disks as they’ve got one choice and the reviews state the they work with Virgin.

Lost the will to live working out which TP-Link product to go for...

[Gary C]

5pitfire said:

Thanks for all your advice, chaps!

fk me this is unnecessarily complicated for the layperson. Why can’t these boxes just work?

Think I’ll go for BT Mini Disks as they’ve got one choice and the reviews state the they work with Virgin.

Lost the will to live working out which TP-Link product to go for...

If you use the mini discs you will need your Virgin hub to still be the router, so follow the instructions here https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-hub-... rather than putting it in 'modem mode' which would disable the routing function (ie the process of handing out addresses to connected equipment).