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Quick and preferably cheap/functional solution for an IT numpty.
We've just switched from Openreach / BT broadband to Virgin Media - so far so good, BT has been variable while VM seems to be noticeably faster and my neighbour who's also on VM and needs it as a permanent home worker says reliability has been no problem. So far so good.
But the socket for the VM box is in the front room and the signal to the far corner of the house is weak. I'm considering running a RF cable under the floors and through a wall to a better place but that's a longer term solution; in the meantime the BT broadband goes off in a few days and I need a solution before then, ie: an extender. Or my streaming kids will kill me.
Any real difference? Could seemingly get one for £15 from Argos or Screwfix today but worth spending more? Recommendations please. Do I spend more and it becomes a better solution than the time cost of moving the VM (Hub 3 fwiw) full stop?
Like I said, IT numpty, so if it's harder to connect than press this button and then that one within 2 mins, it scores minus points.
The real answer is to put a mesh system in and ditch the VM WiFi.
Can be expanded as and when needed and just "better".
Soooo many threads on here (if you can actually find them 😬)
yeh, I looked at that and it's a £200 investment at that point to make use of what mesh can really do?
I have TP link plug about £20. it creates a second extended network. It occasionally needs turning on and off but gives a bit of extra range to my Wi-Fi and has worked fine for the last 3 years.
Tenda MW3. There are faster mesh systems but our broadband is 4g and 40-50mb max so not a drama for me. If your system is faster than 100mb you'd loose a bit of speed in lieu of 100% coverage around your house and seamless jumping between nodes. Unless you need super high speed, it's a no brainer. Setting up is pretty idiotproof.
Yep, Mesh network, don't mess about with anything else. That Tenda link convert posted looks fine to me.
First off, the virgin routers are still pretty rubbish at wifi so you'll ideally be wanting something else anyway to do your WiFi.
Those tenda MW3 are great. You probably only need 2.
Stick the virgin router in modem mode (plenty of guides on the web), plug the first mesh device into it then the second mesh device somewhere further away.
Works far more slickly and reliably than a WiFi extender/repeater.
Do you have to switch to modem mode with mesh - if you put the first mesh box wired to the router can they both still connect wirelessly?
Been with VM for years. Router has never been any good for WiFi but really got noticeable in COVID.
Tried a router upgrade and that was better but still a bit meh.
I then bought a relatively inexpensive 3 "can" mesh system with the VM router in modem mode, a powerline extender to the shed and a separate WiFi router (the new one I'd put in the house originally) on a different name down there.
Dead easy to configure and game changing in terms of signal through house and garden.
Do you have to switch to modem mode with mesh – if you put the first mesh box wired to the router can they both still connect wirelessly
Yes but it is no bother just keep a printer or written note of how to reverse it. Don't try and run the mesh and wireless on the VM box. It'll go awry for reasons I don't remember.
It's just the PITA factor that I've connected about 30 devices to the router today and some were a real pig (Hive home hub for example). Just laziness!
That's into the router via lan cable, would that need to change and go into the mesh, or can that stay into the VM router?
+1 for the tenda system albeit with bt router, used the app to set it up and have seamless connection when walking about throughout old house with granite walls between front and back of house.
When you put the router into modem mode only one LAN socket will work (unless something has changed). It may be restricted to socket 1 or just any one.
Most MESH units have a LAN in/out socket.
You might need a switch wired from one of the units if you've got multiple things that need a wired connection but here you are straying beyond my networking/smart tech experience as our house is largely free of smart devices (other than TVs and computers).
Our back room unit has a cable from it to the powerline plug that feeds the shed but the "supply of internet" to that unit is WiFi only. This works fine so I assume could feed other uses.
My experience supports most of the above. Tplink extender is ok, but needs rebooting from time to time. Mesh is much better. I set my mesh up to the same network details as the virgin router so I didn’t have to reconfigure everything thing and if I ever roll back it still all works. It’s pretty simple to do. And yes modem mode. I bought a cheaper Tplink deco and only realised afterwards it’s limited to 100mbps, so bought a better one that gives me the full 300+ anywhere in the house.
I've got the Tenda MW3 mesh system on Virgin cable broadband. For optimum performance you need to put the Virgin router into modem mode - very easy to do. Setting up the Tenda system takes only a matter of minutes and has a helpful app. I've haven't had any problems in the 3 years I have had it. There are lots of other mesh systems available but for a basic system you will have difficulty beating the MW3 system.
<p style="text-align: left;">It’s just the PITA factor that I’ve connected about 30 devices to the router today</p>
In the future don't connect devices to the router. Come up with a WiFi name and password you like/can remember (password in the form word-word-word' which makes it easy to supply to guest etc without looking it up) and change any new router to use that. This means all devices that have been connected in the past just work and you only have one thing to configure*. Alternatively if you want to avoid reconnecting this time set the mesh to use the network name and password of the new VM router.
* for bonus points use the same details for your phone hotspot. This means you can easily share connection when away with any device you use at home without further setup and can use the phone (assuming newer android) as a gateway on other WiFi networks.
Sadly the option is, spend the money once. We had the same issue. Took the advice here and £100 later 3 TP Link Deco’s have transformed the wifi. Now anywhere in the house we have no issues. Two downstairs and one upstairs 👍
Ok, mesh on order as per link above. If I **** it up, my kids think you're all bastards
connected about 30 devices
After you have put the virgin router in modem mode and you set up the mesh system, just give the mesh system the same SSID and password as you used on the virgin router.
The vast majority if not all will just connect fine.
VM and Tenda MW6 user here.
Depends how far the signal has to go. Each hop on the mesh reduces the quality of the signal. My office is in the perfect diagonal corner of the house from the router. I pissed around with a single mesh network for a couple of months, but the signal was never great due to the multiple hops. I ended up running a Cat 6 cable around the outside of the house and into my office above the garage and then using a single Tenda unit up here as a router. So we have 2 networks in the house.
Just be aware that Tenda is at the cheap and chearful end of things. They've worked OK for me, but @Cougar didn't get on with them.
i understand reading the blurb that the units (I went all in for a 3-er) come from the factory already paired up. I guess I will have to rename and repassword all three separately. Family discussion to see whether we want to go for a family password instead of the Virgin one, and if so I'll have to go into battle again.
signal to the far corner of the house is weak.
Is the speed slow or is the signal weak, which is it? What sort of speeds are you getting at the far end of the house V's next to the router?
We don't get a signal. We had BT but that inlet was more central and even then we had a disc too, which aiui is their version of mesh
It’s just the PITA factor that I’ve connected about 30 devices to the router today and some were a real pig (Hive home hub for example). Just laziness!
? Did you change the settings on all the devices to make them connect to the new SSID on the VM router?
You know it is easier to change the SSID (wifi network name) and password on the router to whatever you had chosen on the last one? Then all the devices connect OK. Just like nothing has changed for them.
Please tell me that people don’t really change all their devices’ settings when they get a new router.
Edit. And whatever Virgin say, their routers are pretty poor. Getting your own system will make things better for you. MESH connected by Cat5 cables is better than MESH connected by WiFi but either will be a big improvement on a woeful Virgin ‘superhub’. You can just use multiple routers (some in AP or ‘bridge’ mode), but MESH makes set up and adjustment easier.
Edit edit. On the Hive hub, when you get your MESH system everything connects to the MESH network by WiFi or wire. The only thing that plugs in to the Virgin hub (in modem mode as has been said) is the MESH’s main unit. Good luck getting the correct port on the superhub.
I have those Tenda units. Bought about 2 years ago on offer.
They are ok and will get the job done but not the fastest. My eldest moaned about the speed of the WiFi, could only get 80mb and internet is 250mb so he splashed out on an ethernet over power line adaptor. Works well for him and his hardwired connection. He is at the exact opposite corner and upstairs from the main router though, so not a surprise.
I guess I will have to rename and repassword all three separately.
Shouldn't have to configure each mode no. Part of the idea of a mesh is a single configuration that is applied to all the nodes in the mesh. The limit of configuration for a node should be adding it to the group. If they are already paired then you shouldn't even need to do that.
In English??
You use a Cat5/6/7 cable to connect the WAN port of your MESH ‘main’ router into the SuperHub.
When you put the superhub into modem mode only one LAN port is active. You’d expect this to be, for example, port 1.
Apparently it can vary. As it can take a short while for the superhub and your router to set up the it communication it can be hard to discern whether you’ve picked an inactive port or whether it’s just taking a while.
https://www.virginmedia.com/content/virginmedia/dotcom/en/myvmapp/help/help_l3_t4_s8_a1.html
Thanks, a bit of googling said the same but then elsewhere it said Port 1 was the right one. So I went for that (I'd have gone 1 first anyway) and it seems to have connected through no problem.
Remarkably easy, all told. Even the Hive hub worked ok, hard wired into one of the nodes but the wireless thermostat and boiler receiver then connected through to the hive home hub with no issue, whereas last time they took several reboots.
I even then changed the network name and password! For me - that's gold standard IT'ing!
Thanks all for help.
Excellent @theotherjony you are now a MESH guru. In the spirit of see one, do one, teach one it’s your turn next 😁
I bet it feels good to have decent wifi coverage throughout.
We did the whole TP Link Deco Set up a couple of years ago. The coverage through the house was maginal before, but the main trigger for me was the the upstairs loo was the farthest point from the router and you had to lean forward slightly to maintain a wifi connection. Changed the SSID to match the Plusnet router that was already set up. Now been with 2 other providers but it's still set up as Plusnet-xxx123 on the SSID. Never had a problem with any devices finding it each time we switched.