Guide - Getting the most out of your high speed Virgin Media (UPC) 240mb/s service

TheDoc

TheDoc wrote: »

Just for an update tried a load of stuff and still getting poor DL speeds to my gaming PC. In recent times also getting a lot of WiFI drops and disconnects when downloading.

Pretty much going to ditch WiFi, have someone coming to put in an ethernet port by the router downstairs and up by my PC and just run wired. Ran well while it lasted, got a good two years of WiFi, but since moving to the 500mb package the WiFi speed on the PC has just been consistently worse then the 360mb pack

This was happening to me until i put a better wifi card in my PC.
Now getting at least 360 down on the 500mb package.

Anjunadeep

I'm very confused. I had Virgin BB and TV less than 6 months ago. Worked perfectly.
I dont have an outlet on the wall. Just a single cable. (I believe the apartment block was retrofitted)
If i remember correctly, I put that single cable into a splitter in the 'in' port.
And then connected the hub and the virgin tv box to the two 'out ports'.

I signed up to Virgin again and received the equipment today. But the 'in' connection on the splitter seems to be different and my cable cannot connect to it.. Im wondering if i get one of the old type splitters will that work?

Update :

To give an update as it may save someone wasting money ... Virgin Media customer care are a joke.. told me I would have to pay 50 euro to get someone to come out to install a wall outlet. That was not true. I managed to locate a different type of splitter which fitted the cable I have. Both TV and internet working perfectly now.

garo

So I got switched over to IPv4 recently but I find that I am still double-natted. I don't think I am in modem mode as the hub is still giving out a 192.168.0 address to my Archer router. I have the 500Mbps service. And I switched off the wifi on the hub before the switch to IPv4.
Any idea what needs to be done?
Hub restart?
Clone Mac address on the Archer router?
I don't see the bridge mode option in the menu as posted in the link above. Do I need to do a firmware update? Don't see any option for that either.

This might be it? https://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2057805945

CoBo55

garo wrote: »

So I got switched over to IPv4 recently but I find that I am still double-natted. I don't think I am in modem mode as the hub is still giving out a 192.168.0 address to my Archer router. I have the 500Mbps service. And I switched off the wifi on the hub before the switch to IPv4.
Any idea what needs to be done?
Hub restart?
Clone Mac address on the Archer router?
I don't see the bridge mode option in the menu as posted in the link above. Do I need to do a firmware update? Don't see any option for that either.

This might be it? https://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2057805945

Did you get horizon WiFi disabled? If you did you need to do a pin reset on the modem, the instructions are quite precise and need to be followed to the letter to work properly. The light on the modem is magenta when in bridge mode.

micks_address

garo wrote: »

So I got switched over to IPv4 recently but I find that I am still double-natted. I don't think I am in modem mode as the hub is still giving out a 192.168.0 address to my Archer router. I have the 500Mbps service. And I switched off the wifi on the hub before the switch to IPv4.
Any idea what needs to be done?
Hub restart?
Clone Mac address on the Archer router?
I don't see the bridge mode option in the menu as posted in the link above. Do I need to do a firmware update? Don't see any option for that either.

This might be it? https://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2057805945

Did you reset the virgin modem by holding in the reset button for 60 seconds?

garo

Got it working thanks. Needed to do the pin reset until the lights at the front started flashing. Then left it to reboot for a few minutes and then logged in to enable modem mode. After modem mode is on can only login via 192.168.100.1 and not 192.168.0.1
The Archer now has a public IP.

CoBo55

garo wrote: »

Got it working thanks. Needed to do the pin reset until the lights at the front started flashing. Then left it to reboot for a few minutes and then logged in to enable modem mode. After modem mode is on can only login via 192.168.100.1 and not 192.168.0.1
The Archer now has a public IP.

Is the light magenta? It looks nice...

garo

Yes indeed.

CoBo55

garo wrote: »

Yes indeed.

Sorted!! I had bother like yourself too, I wasn't doing the reset properly. Are you getting good speeds with the Archer? I wasn't for a long time until I used a WiFi sniffer and found there was a nearby 5ghz on the same channel, as soon as I changed it I'm getting WiFi speeds in the 300 range.

beauf

The hub should be switching to find the least congested bands. Mine doesn't.

CoBo55

beauf wrote: »

The hub should be switching to find the least congested bands. Mine doesn't.

Mine doesn't either, I didn't think it was supposed to.

beauf

It has channel optimization and auto settings for the channels.

Everyone I see in my area is always on the same channel, so I assume it doesn't work that well.
I used to set it manually, but I use my own router now. The Hub is just in modem mode.

garo

CoBo55 wrote: »

Sorted!! I had bother like yourself too, I wasn't doing the reset properly. Are you getting good speeds with the Archer? I wasn't for a long time until I used a WiFi sniffer and found there was a nearby 5ghz on the same channel, as soon as I changed it I'm getting WiFi speeds in the 300 range.

370Mb on my phone. Had to play around with channels a bit.

CoBo55

beauf wrote: »

The hub should be switching to find the least congested bands. Mine doesn't.

I misread your post I thought you meant the archer had channel optimization.

TheDoc

bk wrote: »

It is most likely because your neighbours have been getting new wifi routers themselves and they are all operating on 5GHz themselves now and causing interference with you.

I noticed the same myself. Live in an apartment, two years ago, I was the only 5GHz signal in range, all my neighbours on 2.4GHz then. Now I'm seeing loads of new Virgin Media Compal routers pop-up in the area, all using 5GHz on channel 44 :rolleyes:

So less far stable now. Wifi 6E operating at 6GHz can't come soon enough. Will give me a nice couple of years of clear airwaves before they end up there too eventually.

Having said that, Ethernet is always the way to go if you can. So much faster and more importantly stable. You won't regret it.

Sorry slow on the response here.

Yeah I'm generally alright with networking and I can see not a lot of action on the channels I'm using but just really not hitting what it should.

Also having this problem recently where the wifi literally disconnects when I kick off a download of something sizeable. Now granted I'm not majorly in trouble here, the downloads hit 20-30mb/s but its just annoying when you want to be downloading something in the background.

Havn't had the ability with renting to put in proper cabling so always relied on wifi. Which in fairness is why I guess I bought all my own kit and it was going grand for ages.

I did get in touch with an electrician to come out and put in a cable for me and a few other bits around the house....but hasn't been able to fit me in the last month or two : /

I don't even know if its a problem tbh. Like I don't have any issues with my games which is the main thing but you know yourself, you want to try max it as best you can I have some devices hardwired downstairs like an Nvidia shield and RPI and they are incredible, downloads between 47-49mb/s and having recently bought a 4K TV streaming that content without an ounce of buffering

CoBo55

My archer C8 has given up the ghost. Any recommendations for a replacement? I don't want a monster that looks like something out of alien, my head is wrecked looking on various sites.

CoBo55

CoBo55 wrote: »

My archer C8 has given up the ghost. Any recommendations for a replacement? I don't want a monster that looks like something out of alien, my head is wrecked looking on various sites.

My Netgear R8000 has been perfect for me the last few years. Fast speeds and very good reach around the house including the converted attic. They have come down a lot in price since I got it.

branners69

CoBo55 wrote: »

My archer C8 has given up the ghost. Any recommendations for a replacement? I don't want a monster that looks like something out of alien, my head is wrecked looking on various sites.

Would you not look into a mesh system. Very reasonably priced and were not really an option when this thread started 5 years ago?

garo

Archer C2300. 109+shipping at Komplett. Good reviews for Wifi range on 5GHz band.

CoBo55

branners69 wrote: »

Would you not look into a mesh system. Very reasonably priced and were not really an option when this thread started 5 years ago?

Mesh would be overkill for my house, it isn't that big. The hub 3 is much better than when I got it but I miss not having a usb port for watching stuff on the TV. Thanks for the suggestions I'll let ye know what I go with.

TheDoc

branners69 wrote: »

Would you not look into a mesh system. Very reasonably priced and were not really an option when this thread started 5 years ago?

Explain mesh to me. Seeing it mentioned a lot.

WiFi gone to **** in my house since lockdown with everyone working from home.

Can’t get a sparks out to do a cable job for me all seem too busy to take this type of work.

limnam

TheDoc wrote: »

Can’t get a sparks out to do a cable job for me all seem too busy to take this type of work.

Would you consider doing it yourself?

It's fairly straight forward a couple of youtube videos and you'd be away.

TheDoc

limnam wrote: »

Would you consider doing it yourself?

It's fairly straight forward a couple of youtube videos and you'd be away.

Never trust myself with diy haha. I’ve be having to drill out to run cable up the house and back in , or up through floors. Wouldn’t have a clue what I’d be doing and to be honest the misses absolutely wouldn’t let me have a go haha

S.E.A.L.s

TheDoc wrote: »

Explain mesh to me. Seeing it mentioned a lot.

WiFi gone to **** in my house since lockdown with everyone working from home.

Can’t get a sparks out to do a cable job for me all seem too busy to take this type of work.

Mesh is a fancy word and simple way of explaining how wireless devices work together in extending Wi-Fi signal coverage for an area like the home, office, secret base, etc.

In enterprise networks this has existed for many years, but it's new ish for non-commercial applications as it use to be complex to implement, now many manufacturers have made it easier

Also, there are many ways to set this up and mixing equipment to get results is possible if one knows how, I've a mix of ASUS, Devolo, and TRENDnet devices (routers, powerline and switches)

And then most wireless devices (mobiles, tablets, laptops, consoles, etc.) within the last decade support mesh via the 802.11r / fast roaming standard that's built-in

(could go on and on, but it's becoming a thesis)

TheDoc

My Broadband Ping

Things going real well anyway

TheDoc

My Broadband Ping

Been looking at this site since I saw others using here, and there is just a constant ping spike all day, every day? I can feel it in my games or when I'm watching something its so annoying.

ED E

TheDoc wrote: »

My Broadband Ping

Been looking at this site since I saw others using here, and there is just a constant ping spike all day, every day? I can feel it in my games or when I'm watching something its so annoying.

That looks like a HUB3.0 that was never updated. THe update reduces that drastically but not completely.

TheDoc

ED E wrote: »

That looks like a HUB3.0 that was never updated. THe update reduces that drastically but not completely.

Anyway for me to initiate that or is it a ring Virgin thing ?

*EDIT
Just reading the thread from the old Virgin support where you were heavily involved. Just WOW, I'd no idea it was a problem.

Struggling to work out the timeline of whats the "problem" firmware.

CH7465LG-NCIP-6.12.18.26-3p7-1-NOSH

Is what I have showing at the moment. Have to say I'm disgusted to see that much jitter on my connection. I put it down to maybe contention or issues in the area due to COVID, but I'm starting to think maybe I need to look at competitors? I've never contemplated not being Virgin because its being so solid and reliable for me, but maybe I'm only getting informed on the issues that have been plagueing me for so long

ED E

CH7465LG-NCIP-6.12.18.26-3p7-1-NOSH
CH7465LG-NCIP-6.12.18.26-3p7-1-NOSH

Identical to mine, so it has the mitigation.

Your segment could be very busy which is exacerbating the problem. The thing is its shared medium so your modem receives your packets and those for 10-20 neighbours and then decodes the one destined for it. Problem is its puny so its like a 16yo waiter trying to serve 200 tables at once.

Note with that graph yellow is MAX, not mean. The hub will be fine for 90s, terrible for 1s, fine for 90s. So its not constant jitter, just regular slowdowns. Kinda like microstutter in gaming you could say.

garo

I have the exact same problem and the exact same firmware. TheDoc could you point me to the thread you were referring to or how you sorted it out? Thanks.

TheDoc

garo wrote: »

I have the exact same problem and the exact same firmware. TheDoc could you point me to the thread you were referring to or how you sorted it out? Thanks.

Hey,

I havn't sorted it, hoping to get some info here I've generally kept tabs on this thread as I've moved through the virgin bundles haha.

TheDoc

ED E wrote: »

Note with that graph yellow is MAX, not mean. The hub will be fine for 90s, terrible for 1s, fine for 90s. So its not constant jitter, just regular slowdowns. Kinda like microstutter in gaming you could say.

Yeah problem I have is it feels like it's every few seconds. I've gone into this MENTAL state of having packet loss and ping graphs turned on in all my games and its become super distracting feeling the stutter, check graph, see spike, then return and rinse repeat.

Just running a looped ping to google.com there for example.

Average time is 8-10ms and then every four to five hops it goes 25-27ms.

I know its not "crisis" point but damn you can feel it in the games I'm playing.

The general issues with video lag, stream buffering and my WiFi disconnecting when I start to download big files, well thats just general stuff I'm constantly trying to sort.

garo

Right. I seem to be on the same firmware as you: CH7465LG-NCIP-6.12.18.26-3p7-1-NOSH. I switched to IPv4 and bridge mode and got a TP-Link router but I still have issues when I just lose the internet connection for a couple of minutes. And then it comes back by itself.

ED E

garo wrote: »

Right. I seem to be on the same firmware as you: CH7465LG-NCIP-6.12.18.26-3p7-1-NOSH. I switched to IPv4 and bridge mode and got a TP-Link router but I still have issues when I just lose the internet connection for a couple of minutes. And then it comes back by itself.

Thats it crashing and rebooting, downtime of about 3 mins or so depending on how fast your TP detects the link up.

If VDSL wasnt 20-30Mb on my street Id move. May still do. Feasibly I'd get a better connection from Three LTE as theres a site about 200m way (obscured) that isnt usually super busy.

garo

Alas there is no SIRO on my street either. Best other providers can do is 100 Mbps. Probably enough for me but with multiple device users and WFH I appreciate the extra bandwidth.

It must be an area specific issue you are having. I had those issues a couple of years ago and constantly complained to VM when they were on Boards. Eventually the issue stopped but I have no idea if VM did anything.
However, my hub 3.0 is in bridge mode with a Netgear R8000. I have 3 serious PC gamers (how did I end up with 3 gamer sons, I don't know as although I am in IT, I was never a gamer) in the house and they have no issues anymore and all are connected by WiFi.
Am on the 500Mb package and when I speed test at router level I get ping of 8-10ms on average and speeds are up around 470/55.

garo

My hub is in bridge mode too. The problem certainly seemed to have reduced in severity compared to a few years ago. But happened yesterday.

TheDoc

I'm also in bridge using an Archer C8. I've been a happy Virgin customer really, never had a hitch. Been with them all the way since they were Ireland Online.

Totally accept there is widespread degradation due to COVID (Sat in enough meetings in work about enterprise level degradation during initial lockdown) but it's just been these niggly issues since February/March.

To be honest it's only that I'm now seeing all the spikes on my graphs that I'm tieing it to real world impacts. It's either stutter/lag in my games or poor registry on shots, jitter or total drops on Video conf (where it reconnects) or failures when I'm pushing commits of code where something has just gone boink.

I swore I'd never touch eir again, Vodafone I'll never consider more then a phone company, so the only other alternative I have locally are Sky (not overly interested) or Digiweb, which is same price/more expensive for just a flat 100mb FTTC as opposed to the four higher options Virgin provide.

In no way contemplating leaving them tbh, just another COVID related pain in the hole I'd say

AndrewJRenko

TheDoc wrote: »

I'm also in bridge using an Archer C8. I've been a happy Virgin customer really, never had a hitch. Been with them all the way since they were Ireland Online.

Totally accept there is widespread degradation due to COVID (Sat in enough meetings in work about enterprise level degradation during initial lockdown) but it's just been these niggly issues since February/March.

To be honest it's only that I'm now seeing all the spikes on my graphs that I'm tieing it to real world impacts. It's either stutter/lag in my games or poor registry on shots, jitter or total drops on Video conf (where it reconnects) or failures when I'm pushing commits of code where something has just gone boink.

I swore I'd never touch eir again, Vodafone I'll never consider more then a phone company, so the only other alternative I have locally are Sky (not overly interested) or Digiweb, which is same price/more expensive for just a flat 100mb FTTC as opposed to the four higher options Virgin provide.

In no way contemplating leaving them tbh, just another COVID related pain in the hole I'd say

I'm considering switching away from Virgin ('up to 250 mb/s') service for Sky ('average 75 mb/s') service. All my usage is wireless, and I'm getting anything 40-50 download, 10-20 upload speeds. So I'm reckoning I have nothing to lose by switching to Sky - am I on the right track?

bren2001

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

I'm considering switching away from Virgin ('up to 250 mb/s') service for Sky ('average 75 mb/s') service. All my usage is wireless, and I'm getting anything 40-50 download, 10-20 upload speeds. So I'm reckoning I have nothing to lose by switching to Sky - am I on the right track?

Plug in an ethernet cable and see what speeds you're actually getting. Switching to Sky won't fix your issue, you won't get 75 to your device over WiFi. Putting the box in modem mode and buying a better router seems like the obvious solution.

AndrewJRenko

bren2001 wrote: »

Plug in an ethernet cable and see what speeds you're actually getting. Switching to Sky won't fix your issue, you won't get 75 to your device over WiFi. Putting the box in modem mode and buying a better router seems like the obvious solution.

Thanks, though I'm honestly not really trying to fix the current service. It works OK for me for WFH and for the family in the evenings.

I'm really just looking for reassurance that switching to Sky with the lower headline speed (average 75 mbps vs max 250 mbps) won't make things any worse.

garo

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Thanks, though I'm honestly not really trying to fix the current service. It works OK for me for WFH and for the family in the evenings.

I'm really just looking for reassurance that switching to Sky with the lower headline speed (average 75 mbps vs max 250 mbps) won't make things any worse.

If your devices are only getting 40-50 max then probably not.

TheDoc

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Thanks, though I'm honestly not really trying to fix the current service. It works OK for me for WFH and for the family in the evenings.

I'm really just looking for reassurance that switching to Sky with the lower headline speed (average 75 mbps vs max 250 mbps) won't make things any worse.

If your using ISP provided router for WiFi and are having problems, going to the lower speeds could cause you more problems, yes. It depends, everyones house and home is different.

Obviously your contemplating dropping your speed by over half, so you'll be sharing lower bandwidth, with the same number of devices and people.

My Dad has SIRO through Sky and says it's fine, but I can't say I've ever heeard rave reviews about their non SIRO services.

AndrewJRenko

TheDoc wrote: »

If your using ISP provided router for WiFi and are having problems, going to the lower speeds could cause you more problems, yes. It depends, everyones house and home is different.

Obviously your contemplating dropping your speed by over half, so you'll be sharing lower bandwidth, with the same number of devices and people.

My Dad has SIRO through Sky and says it's fine, but I can't say I've ever heeard rave reviews about their non SIRO services.

Thanks for the feedback. It will be a different router presumably, the Sky one instead of the current Virgin one, so I'll see how that goes. I guess if I have serious problems, I can think about replacing the Sky router with something better.

Sharing shouldn't be a big problem. I'm the only one working from home, so no-one else would be taking that bandwidth during working hours.

And yeah, I know every home is different and that there are no guarantees. If I can cut my bill from €94 with Virgin to €55 with Sky without causing myself serious problems on network performance, I'd be crazy not to go for it.

CoBo55

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback. It will be a different router presumably, the Sky one instead of the current Virgin one, so I'll see how that goes. I guess if I have serious problems, I can think about replacing the Sky router with something better.

Sharing shouldn't be a big problem. I'm the only one working from home, so no-one else would be taking that bandwidth during working hours.

And yeah, I know every home is different and that there are no guarantees. If I can cut my bill from €94 with Virgin to €55 with Sky without causing myself serious problems on network performance, I'd be crazy not to go for it.

Have you tried getting a deal from VM? Many on boards are getting half price for 9 months, full for 3 etc. Be no harm giving them a ring.

AndrewJRenko

CoBo55 wrote: »

Have you tried getting a deal from VM? Many on boards are getting half price for 9 months, full for 3 etc. Be no harm giving them a ring.

Yeah, I did a call last week and was offered €84. I might give it one more shot before I switch. If I go Sky, I guess I'll be able to switch to Freeview /Saorview at the end of their contract period, and will never go back to Virgin - more than 25 years as loyal customer of Cablelink/NTL/UPC down the drain, because they won't give me the same deal that they'll give a new customer.

TheDoc

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback. It will be a different router presumably, the Sky one instead of the current Virgin one, so I'll see how that goes. I guess if I have serious problems, I can think about replacing the Sky router with something better.

Sharing shouldn't be a big problem. I'm the only one working from home, so no-one else would be taking that bandwidth during working hours.

And yeah, I know every home is different and that there are no guarantees. If I can cut my bill from €94 with Virgin to €55 with Sky without causing myself serious problems on network performance, I'd be crazy not to go for it.

94 seems extremely high for the 250mbps package. I'm paying 70 for 500mbps and im out of my discounts.

I'd say maybe giving them a call to get a better pricing would be the best shout. To be honest Virgin has been the best non FTTH service in the country for years. If you have issues with your Virgin router you'll likely have the same issues with Sky.

It's why its generally recommended to get your own router and turn the ISP provided one to just be a modem. I did that a good few years ago on the back of this thread starting and one of the best choices I made regarding my home technology.

TheDoc

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Yeah, I did a call last week and was offered €84. I might give it one more shot before I switch. If I go Sky, I guess I'll be able to switch to Freeview /Saorview at the end of their contract period, and will never go back to Virgin - more than 25 years as loyal customer of Cablelink/NTL/UPC down the drain, because they won't give me the same deal that they'll give a new customer.

Somethings not right there at all. Are you getting other services from them other then broadband?

AndrewJRenko

TheDoc wrote: »

Somethings not right there at all. Are you getting other services from them other then broadband?

Yes, sorry, should have clarified that it includes a TV bundle with two boxes as well.

garo

The 55€ deal from sky only gets you one box I believe.