salmonbuddie Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 My broadband has been up and down over the past few days like the proverbial. I phoned Virgin, my service provider, and they're telling me there's nothing wrong up to and including the modem (and there hasn't been for the past 24 days) so the problem must be with the router. When I first took broadband from them, they didn't provide free routers so it's my own, a Netgear W111T, and a few years old now. I'm not brilliant on these things but (to my way of thinking, with my limited knowledge), it's a digital piece of hardware, so surely it either works or it doesn't work? Before I phone back, I'd appreciate it if anyone savvy with these things could give me any advice before I go about replacing the router i.e. is the up and down thing possible and the router gubbed or is the router fine and the problem with the service. I certainly don't intend to pay for a new one, I'll use the threat to leave to get a new one if I do need to replace it, and if that doesn't work with Virgin then I'll leave - there are plenty of providers out there who'll give me a free router. I might be back asking for suggestions! Thanks in anticipation. ps - this the second time I've tried to start this thread, I lost the first attempt because the service went down. Again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
div Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 Assuming your connection is wireless have you tried using a wired connection to the router to see if it is any more stable ? Just for testing purposes, it would be useful as if the service is rock solid via a wired connection then you know the issue is purely with the wireless service on the router. Wireless signals can be disrupted by lots of different things and you can move on to a different channel on the router, move your router physicallyy etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 Can't do that, Div, I don't have long enough wire and it's a pc so not easily moved beside the router! There's nothing different that I can think of that would now cause a signal problem - the signa strength icon in the tray was always "Good" or "Very Good" before, now it varies from "Low" to "Good." I'll dig out the manual and try a different channel. I may be back for more help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 I'm also with Virgin and had an erratic and often piss-poor performance. I called them and, as with you, they suggested the connection was fine and it must be something at my end. I told them that I was contemplating changint o Sky in any event, so they offered to reduce the price of my package (this is an annual routine BTW). I also asked for a new router (free), and they duly sent one out. I can confirm that this made a very significant difference. In summary, I wouldn't worry too much about the techie side of things. Simply tell them you're a pissed off loyal customer who is thinking of leaving, and when they make offers to entice you to stay, ask for a new router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 Cheers, Drew - did the new router make any difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 (edited) Cheers, Drew - did the new router make any difference? Without a doubt. I was struggling to watch Youtube videos despite having a 20Mb (allegedly) broadband speed. I'd also bought my own router a good few years back before Virgin issued them (I'd previously been with Telewest). My old router was wireless-G which is quite old technology now. When I discussed this with Virgin, they tried to argue that this wouldn't make a great deal of difference, but I told them I wanted an up-to-date router anyway. I took delivery of the new router a few days later (wireless-N I think) and it immediately made a huge difference. In fact, it is almost as if my broadband speed has jumped from about 2Mb to 15Mb+. All the wirelessly connected devices we use at home are putting out a much improved performance. I was actually pretty surprised by how much difference the new unit made. The bottom line is that you won't lose anything by insisting on them sending a new router out. If your connection doesn't improve, you'll then have a good idea that the problem lies elsewhere. Edited December 23, 2011 by Drew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bud77 Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 If you have an android smartphone, try downloading WiFi Analyzer for free ( I don't know if it's avaiable for Apple). You can then scan for wifi signals nearby and it wil give you the signal strength. Try scanning in different places about the house and you'll be surprised how your signal strength varies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Sid Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) Worth investing in a cable and going hard wired SB. You will get infinitely better performance. Best to use wireless for wifi only now and then devices like Kindles, etc. When dealing with Virgin best not to waste you're time with the @rseholes in the Indian contact centre - they are f'k'n useless and just want to bounce calls. Better to go straight to customer services and have them put you through to the Welsh flavour of @rseholes in Cardiff. Sometimes you get lucky and get to speak to someone that knows a wee bit and more importantly gives a shite. Had a rammy with them yesterday and they are sending me out one of the new super hubs free of charge after the dafty offshore contact centre made a bawz of it again. The Bellshill mob hate the offshore mob even more than us. Edited December 27, 2011 by St. Sid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Cheers, Sid, don't fancy the cable all the way through the house but might be able to run one through the loft so I'll have a think about that. Didn't mention in my original post but I use it for my phone when I'm at home and it's had the same problems so I doubt it's interference - I'm about 2m away from the router when I do that!. Last one I spoke to at customer services was a Geordie but he could only tell me that the modem hadn't reported any problems. Defo need to get them to give me a new hub, though, it's well overdue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 . If you have an android smartphone, try downloading WiFi Analyzer for free ( I don't know if it's avaiable for Apple). You can then scan for wifi signals nearby and it wil give you the signal strength. Try scanning in different places about the house and you'll be surprised how your signal strength varies. Sorry, bud, missed your post before now - I don't have an android phone, I did have for about 8 hours before my son nicked it from me and left me his old piece of crap! I'll do that on his (mine!) and give it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squigglebob Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 . Sorry, bud, missed your post before now - I don't have an android phone, I did have for about 8 hours before my son nicked it from me and left me his old piece of crap! I'll do that on his (mine!) and give it a go. One of the problems i've had with a Netgear router (WGT624) was the Android phone kept causing the router's wireless connection to fail for all devices. Everytime the phone was moved out of range while connected, the wireless would fall over. Had to reboot router. Other problems i've had : Neighbour with new router caused interference with mine no matter how close i was to the router. Changed the Channel to fix it. WiFi Analyzer as mentioned by bud77 should help you out. Ipod dock with wireless speakers completely destroyed wifi reception. When i moved home i revised my setup to look neater by sitting the cable modem on top of the router. Caused major interference and drastically reduced my connection speed. Moved them to sit side by side and regained full connection speed. Just mentioning these incase you've added/changed something and forgotten about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Neighbour with new router caused interference with mine no matter how close i was to the router. Changed the Channel to fix it. Cheers, s'bob, I've noticed a new network recently so maybe you're onto something there - div suggested trying a different channel a few posts ago but I haven't attempted it yet. I'll give it a go tomorrow so expect me back with more cries for help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEORDIESAINT Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Salmonbuddie. Our previous router wasn't up to much, but Virgin have just given us a free replacement which is much better. Though they did try to charge us £60 once we recieved it. We politely refused to pay it of course. It seems now is a good time to ask for one. Nowt to lose by asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 I've used Powerline technology for around 8 years now between my router and any other rooms where I need stable connection.....rather than rely on wireless. It uses existing electrical circuits to carry the signal to wherever I need IP connectivity. Also comes with added encryption and security as standard. It's really simple to set up and means I don't need to run CAT5e/6 everywhere. In an ideal world my house would have been built fully networked, but this is a way round the problem....plus it is a very portable solution. https://www.homeplug.org/tech/ I really can recommend them - as I say I probably first started using this around 2003 and still use the original 85Mbs plugs. Thinking of upgrading to 200Mbs in certain rooms - especially as the prices are coming down in price. I like this idea mate, cheers for that. On a slightly different subject I recently improved my broadband speed significantly by removing the BT bell wire at the source socket. http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/socket.htm Thanks again, but I'm with Virgin so I have a cable straight to the modem, not a phone socket, so I don't think this applies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Salmonbuddie. Our previous router wasn't up to much, but Virgin have just given us a free replacement which is much better. Though they did try to charge us £60 once we recieved it. We politely refused to pay it of course. It seems now is a good time to ask for one. Nowt to lose by asking. I think that could well be today's job before I start trying to change channels! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FS Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Might not be related but since I switched to a smartphone (HTC Android) anytime I switch on the wi-fi receiver it totally wipes out the reception to my lap-top/PC. I'm also on Virgin and supplied my own router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 I'm using a Symbiam phone, FS, never had that problem. I did get an HTC on android but , as I think I said earlier, I had it for about 8 hours and my son decided he could make more use of it! Pretty sure I've been on the PC when he's been in the house and using the phone but I'll check that out tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted December 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Checked out the channels being used by the other networks and none are on the same as mine so I got onto Virgin yesterday. The new router will be with me foc within 3 working days so we'll see if that makes a difference. Thanks for all the advice and help, guys, much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Sid Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 I got mine a couple of days ago......easy to setup for the hard wired kit. None of the wifi devices are finding it though. wifi is shite - especially the utterly pointless kindle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Sid Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Have you logged in to the router and checked the wifi settings? Sounds to me like it isn't broadcasting... Should be - Wireless - On Security Mode - WPA Auto Broadcast SSID - On Wireless Band - 2.4GHz Wireless Channel Settings - Auto seek best wireless channel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squigglebob Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) Have you tried the Virginmedia help section: Troubleshooting guide :link Setting up wireless guides : link Push N Connect guide : link and link although it does give a warning that all of your devices must support this. The second link states that if you hold the button on the router for too long it disables the wireless altogether. Super HUb articles : link ets: Have you tried manually inputting the SSID on your devices? Edited December 31, 2011 by squigglebob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Sid Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Have you tried the Virginmedia help section: Troubleshooting guide :link Setting up wireless guides : link Push N Connect guide : link and link although it does give a warning that all of your devices must support this. The second link states that if you hold the button on the router for too long it disables the wireless altogether. Super HUb articles : link ets: Have you tried manually inputting the SSID on your devices? I'll start fannying around with all that if Virgin Media pay me the going rate of £1,000-a-day. It should work straight out of the box or it's shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmonbuddie Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Got mine today and after a bit of fannying about I've got everything connected (pc, printer & phone) and, like Drew, it seems to be much quicker than the old one. What did they send you, Sid, I got a D-Link DIR-615. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Sid Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 I got the SuperHub...pretty sure NetGear make it. Half decent on the wireless side, but I only use the wirless for wifi devices and have the PC / laptop / netbook hard wired. wifi is too slow for my use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyS Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Just noticed this thread after my Virginmedia experience yesterday Had noticed that wi-fi was running slower than normal so called virgin and asked them what I should be expecting. I've been paying for the 20Mbps package since 2008. Ran the test (www.speedtest.com) as I was on the phone and it came out around 2Mbps! Turns out that as I also have had my own wireless router I'm limited to what the speed I get. Short outcome is that Virgin are sending me a Speedhub FOC, upgrading my package to 30Mbps and reducing bill tby £2 or so per month Longer outcome, based on why they never advised this 4 years ago, yet to be agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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