Replace Virgin Media SH4

dtsrules

dtsrules

dtsrules

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29 Jul 2003
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Sorry if this has been answered before but im a bit crap at finding stuff on forums and online as well.

I need to replace the dire SH4, its a woefull piece of trash.
I need it to have preferably 6 ports and decent wifi.
I have a pretty much plasterboard house and it seems the virgin router cant get through my walls. I did try those things you plug in to the electric sockets but they failed miserably as well.
Is there something i can just stick in front of the virgin hub thats not to hard to configure that will do the trick?
 
Ive had mine a few years but run a RT-N66U with the virgin router in modem mode. Recently adding a mesh wifi system on top of that to improve coverage.

Mesh systems are far better for wifi coverage, I have 4 pods in my house. The Asus router is just better.
 
personally i'd stick the SH into modem only mode and stick something like an Archer C6 and a switch alongside it,

i currently hvae 2 Archer C6s one upstaits one downstairs. both using the same network name which seems to create a lovely single network that my devices switch between, you can add various APs from TPlink or others to give you extended network but i've found hard wiring a second c6 upstaits easiest and cheapest.

weve went from getting 20-30meg a second upstairs to a solid 370-380 (virgin 350 pack)

total cost was £80 for 2 c6's and a lot of faff running a bit of cat6 from downstairs up to the loft then into one of the bedrooms.
 
you can't replace the virgin router. It's tied to the network by them. Also it's their kit that you have to use.

Secondly, the virgin wifi is actually pretty OK, about the same as any other wifi router, they all operate much a muchness.

third, the reason you have issue with your wifi is probably because you are expecting the signal to go through probably more than 2 walls.. no wifi will come with this reliably, And the location of the router probably isn't optimal (in a corner of your house? ?)

what you will need to do is get some addtional AP (access points) and put them in your house to create a larger wifi coverage and in the places you need it. theres lots of options here depending on what exactly you want.
 
To recap, you can't get rid of the router even fi you only use it as a modem, WiFi and more ports are an issue and from the sounds of it you don't have any fancy networking/routing/firewall requirements.

That being the case then a cheap 8 port unmanaged gigabit switch stuck into one of the SH LAN ports sorts out your port issue. Widely available everywhere for less than £20

That just leaves getting WiFi where you want it. The principle is you want something acting as a wireless access point (WAP) nearer the dead zones. But in order to broadcast WiFi whatever is in those dead zones requires the network from your SH to reach it. In order of my personal opinion of worst to best you have the following options:
  • Wireless repeaters. I think this is what you have already tried. They are effectively a WAP and a wireless client in one. You put them half way between your router and the dead spot. They receive their connection to the router wirelessly and retransmit it. They are pants generally as you have found.
  • Powerline. You use your mains cables effectively as extending your wired network. One plugs into a socket next to your router with an ethernet cable between the two. Then in theory all your mains cables are an extended network. Find an electrical socket near your deadspot and plug in an adapter that also acts as a WAP and in theory you've extended your WiFi range. However in practice they are dog slow, riddled with issues to watch out for, are dependent on the quality of your wiring, I've found can intermittently drop out and I don't like them.
  • Mesh. The idea here is that you dot mesh units (also called nodes) around your house. The first one should be wired into your router with an ethernet cable. Subsequent nodes then talk back to this first node either directly or hop amongst themselves to further extend the reach. This can be via network cables for more expensive units or using their wireless. Personally I've never really understood why you'd spend more on wired backhaul connections for mesh nodes because I think you get a better solution from the next bullet point. If you really don't want to run network cables around your house then wireless mesh is my preferred method over the two above. This is what @peige has done in the example above.
  • Wired infrastructure and WAPs. By far the best results because you're going to ensure you get gigabit going to all your WAPs. Here you run ethernet cables from your router/switch around the house to strategic points where you want WiFi. Where the cable ends you put a WAP to give you WiFi in that location and vicinity. Given you say you have plasterboard internal walls this isn't the biggest job. If you don't fancy it yourself most electricians will take it on. I also think it adds value to your house to have a nice neat wired network infrastructure in your home. This is conceptually what @233 has done in the example above.
In all cases (except repeaters where you'd leave WiFi on in the SH) you'd probably want to turn WiFi off on the router and let whichever solution be your sole provider of WiFi. The SH can remain as a router for its modem requirement to actually connect you to the internet and its routing/NAT/firewalling etc. that you're probably not interested in.

Having said that, it is still perfectly valid and sometimes desirable to take a step further as @233 and @peige have done and also remove routing duties from the SH leaving it to only act as a modem.
 
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Im a bit wiser now thanks, as for the wifi, its dire. In the same room on a 350 connection im getting about 10% of that. If i go one room away through one plaster wall i get about 3-5. Going to try something like the C6 and stick the SH4 in modem mode. My sons room upstairs is hardwired so would putting another C6 upstairs help. Thanks for the replies so far.
 
dtsrules said:
Im a bit wiser now thanks, as for the wifi, its dire. In the same room on a 350 connection im getting about 10% of that.
Click to expand...

on what device ? only the best devices will get the top speeds.

You might be experiencing wifi interference

you should modify the sh settings to change to a wifi band that has less traffic. you can determine this by using a wifi scanner software.

but going with a c6 x2 and a wired link back might help, but you still need to be careful of wifi bands and interference
 
whitecrook said:
on what device ? only the best devices will get the top speeds.

You might be experiencing wifi interference

you should modify the sh settings to change to a wifi band that has less traffic. you can determine this by using a wifi scanner software.

but going with a c6 x2 and a wired link back might help, but you still need to be careful of wifi bands and interference
Click to expand...

The wifi test is on various fairly new android phones.
Will get my son to look into changing settings on the SH4. Will stick an order in for a C6's, give that a go and see if its any better.
May have to get on to virgin before hand as im loosing wired connection quite a lot at the moment.
 
I definitely would give them a call.

I've recently been having issues with my internet speeds, I'm on the same 350 virgin package.
Last Thursday was absolutely shocking with the internet constantly dropping out on wired connections.
I got on the blower and after going through the checklist of problem solving with them for about 40mins I got an engineer booked to come out and have a look.

He came out today and basically replaced everything, the only thing that he didnt replace was the cable running under my garden!

So far that seems to have fixed it.
 
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