help me select a router please

Philz0r · 21 Oct 2020 at 12:16

hiya, been having tons of trouble with my virgin media hub 3.0 as the wifi signals are next to nothing, tried to explain this to virgin and they don't seem to want to help me, asked on virgin media support forums and they said "buy a router, its better then the trash virgin media hand out anyways"

https://community.virginmedia.com/t...loser-to-Hub-3-0/td-p/4449187/highlight/false

so, i dont need anything fancy, cheaper the better, realistically what's a decent option for home use?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tp-link-archer-a5-ac1200-wireless-dual-band-router-nw-213-tp.html

do the trick?

thank you.

Rainmaker · 21 Oct 2020 at 14:45

The problem you'll have, especially at the type of budget you've posted, is that you may not end up any better off. WiFi is a bit of a dark art, with many variables affecting things. How many antennae does the receiving device have, and of what type? Is there RF interference? Wall composition?

As with most who are serious about decent network performance, I have the SuperHub (4 in my case) in modem mode, with my own router (x86 running OpenBSD) and wireless access point (Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Pro). The Ubiquiti access points are around £150 to £200 each (and you still need a router). Even then, I found that the signal from the UAP-AC-Pro wasn't massively better than the SH3 I had at the time; it just had more options and was directional so overall it worked out better for my use case.

As per the thread you posted, wiring up the PC (that's 5 metres from the hub) is a good start. Play about with the WiFi settings on the hub (eg channels, channel width width) and see how you get on, before spending out. If you do end up buying, I'd strongly suggest that paying <£50 for an all in one will leave you no better off. Either make the best of what you have, or do it 'properly' with a decent router and wireless AP. You never did post your BQM in the thread that I saw, but as someone pointed out, your issue isn't with Virgin it's just a WiFi problem. Your connection itself is likely fine. If you're using an old 2x2 antenna device from the other side of the house, through stone or plaster+metal walls, you'll never do much better without running cable.

Philz0r · 21 Oct 2020 at 16:19

there isn't any walls in the way of my router, PC is on the other side of the same room. i think its just an age thing and the router is wearing out. on hold to virgin now to see if they will send me a new router.

router hasn't moved for 4 years and been decent in all that time, now i just get constant disconnects that last anywhere between 30 seconds to 15 minutes across all devices.

i did post my bqm, its on page 2.

Rainmaker · 21 Oct 2020 at 16:56

Philz0r said:
there isn't any walls in the way of my router, PC is on the other side of the same room. i think its just an age thing and the router is wearing out. on hold to virgin now to see if they will send me a new router.

router hasn't moved for 4 years and been decent in all that time, now i just get constant disconnects that last anywhere between 30 seconds to 15 minutes across all devices.

i did post my bqm, its on page 2.

It's a possibility (heat issues or similar), but it could just as easily be RF interference nearby. As before, if the device in question is an actual PC can you not just run an ethernet cable? You'll get a far superior connection, and tbh even if you got a new hub and it 'fixed' the WiFi I'd still suggest you do that. A pre-made cat5e or better cable, some cable tacks/trunking/whatever and ten mins and the job's done.