Ethernet connection issue - Virgin Superhub 3

Alz_D · 4 Dec 2016 at 19:43

Hi - wondering if anyone here has had issues or has any suggestions on how I can remedy my problem.

We have a Virgin superhub 3 in the living room hooked up to the TV etc. No issues whatsoever. The problem is with my pc upstairs which is connected to the router through 2 TP link gigabit power line adapters.

My pc will not connect like this. The connection says "identifying network" and never connects. Diagnosing it states that the hub isn't giving it an ip address.

I've deleted and re-installed the ethernet driver on the PC. I've changed the cables. I've swapped the adapters round. I've reset the hub. It seems quite a common issue when searched online but there doesn't seem to be a solution anywhere.

I did see that a few people had bought aftermarket routers and this seemed to fix the problem by setting the superhub into modem mode.

Does anyone have any ideas and if you think buying a third party router would help - do you have any suggestions. It's doing my head in now so any help is really appreciated.

Alex

Rannoch · 4 Dec 2016 at 20:08

Does the pc connect when plugged directly into the Superhub with an ethernet cable?

Alz_D · 4 Dec 2016 at 20:21

I don't have a long enough cable to try and my pc is a water-cooled monster of a thing. Every other thing connected directly to the the router works fine - amazon fire box, Ps4, smart TV.

Glanza · 4 Dec 2016 at 20:30

Reset your powerline adapters, it's possible they have setup a 'secure' network.

Alz_D · 4 Dec 2016 at 21:52

I'll have a go resetting them tomorrow after work and report back. Thanks for the suggestions so far

Alz_D · 6 Dec 2016 at 10:18

So - I've reset the powerline adapters - no joy.

Tried a different PC up stairs and same error - however plugging that PC direct to the hub the connection was fine so leads me to think maybe dodgy powerline adapter. Going to swap them out with a different set later and see if that makes a difference. Failing that I will just have to explain to the Mrs why i need a 10m LAN cable running through the house.....

Mujja · 6 Dec 2016 at 10:21

Have to tried setting a static IP on your PC?

the-evaluator · 6 Dec 2016 at 11:43

Mujja said:
Have to tried setting a static IP on your PC?

That won't make any difference. If a given PC works fine connected directly to the SuperHub but doesn't when connected via the powerline adapters then that tells me that DHCP is working fine but the powerline adapters are crap.

Alz_D · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:01

That is what I was thinking.

Mujja · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:27

It's worth a try, the client might just not be able to discover the DHCP server.

Only take a few secs.

Once configured you can try a ping to the router which will confirm if the adapters are working correctly or not.

Alz_D · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:28

So how would I try that then?

Mujja · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:37

Alz_D said:
So how would I try that then?

If you router is 192.168.1.1 then use the settings below

Control Panel > Network and Internet > View network status and tasks
In left pane, Change adapter settings
Right-click on the network card and Properties
Scroll down to Internet Protocol Version 4 and Properties

Check Use the following IP address.

IP address : 192.168.1.50 (should be free)
Subnet mask : 255.255.255.0
Gateway : 192.168.1.1 (router's IP)

DNS1 : 8.8.8.8 (Google's DNS)
DNS2 : 8.8.4.4

Alz_D · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:42

Ok the router is 192.168.0.1

So i change the 1 to an 0 then

bledd · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:46

Throw them in the bin and get a long cable installed. Cheaper and 1000x better.

Alz_D · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:47

bledd said:
Throw them in the bin and get a long cable installed. Cheaper and 1000x better.

I'm starting to think you're right!

Alz_D · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:49

Same error with fixed ip

Sp00n · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:54

bledd said:
Throw them in the bin and get a long cable installed. Cheaper and 1000x better.

Well sure, cable will always be better but not always possible.

The static IP not working shows that the powerline adapters aren't working, either they're broken or they're not pairing, have you tried them physically closer together like in the same room?

bledd · 6 Dec 2016 at 12:58

Sp00n said:
Well sure, cable will always be better but not always possible.

The static IP not working shows that the powerline adapters aren't working, either they're broken or they're not pairing.

It's always possible, just harder sometimes

Mujja · 6 Dec 2016 at 13:05

You could try a wireless adapter in the PC if a cable is out of the question.

In some rooms my Wifi has higher bandwidth than powerline adpater, all depends on how your place is wired and location of router etc.

Mujja · 6 Dec 2016 at 13:07

Sp00n said:
The static IP not working shows that the powerline adapters aren't working, either they're broken or they're not pairing.

Also this, do the adapters have a status indicator when pairing\paired?