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Networks Virgin Media - Superhub problems

Discussion in 'Tech Support' started by bawjaws, 30 Jul 2013.

  1. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Hi guys,

    Virgin Media recently sent me a "Superhub" to replace my somewhat ancient Motorola Surfboard cable modem. Unfortunately, I'm having some awful problems with my connection speed since installation, both over wired and wireless. My broadband is Virgin's 20Mbps, by the way. Incidentally, my Surfboard + Netgear router combo was happily giving speeds of 20Mbps prior to installation of the Superhub.

    On the PC, with a wired ethernet connection, Speedtest is maxing out at a princely 2.5Mbps. On my phone, at a distance of approximately 2 feet from the router, I'm getting the same speed. :jawdrop:

    However, with the PC switched off, wifi to the phone is maxing out at a fraction under 20Mbps! As soon as the PC is powered on, even if it's just sitting in the BIOS, the speed tanks horrifically.

    I've tried using the Superhub both in "normal" mode and in modem-only mode, using my old Netgear wireless router, and there's no improvement to speeds - as soon as the PC is powered on, the wifi connection plummets. Of course, the wired speed is equally dire in either case.

    On occasion, switching the Superhub off and back on again seems to fix the problem for a short period of time (although the Superhub takes about ten minutes to reboot, which makes this somewhat impractical).

    Now, I'll admit to being something of a networking noob, and it's possible that I'm missing something incredibly obvious, but I just can't understand why powering up the PC would cause the speed to drop. I've raised a ticket with Virgin but they seem to think that there are no problems at their end (borne out by the fact that I can acheive the rated 20Mbps, but of course only if the PC is switched off!). Can anyone help me or give me some ideas as to what to try to fix things? As I said earlier, the old modem seemed to work absolutely fine, but now the Superhub has been activated, the old modem no longer works, so I can't even go back to what I was using before.

    Thanks in advance
    Bawjaws
     
  2. sniperdude

    sniperdude Minimodder

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    post up your power leverl from the config page
     
  3. popcornuk1983

    popcornuk1983 Cake or Death?

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    To be totally honest the superhub is pretty rubbish. I've had 3 replacements since they sent me one (had to get one becuase I upgraded to 50Mb) and I've had nothing but trouble. From the IP flood detection bug, to the GUI access bug to random speed issues. The wireless is also pretty patchy even while sitting on top of a desk with nothing blocking it.

    For your specific problem, you might need to get a virgin engineer to attach some amplifiers to your coaxial cable. This should boost the signal. If that's what the cause is.

    Failing that Virgin have recently released the superhub2 which has been getting much better reviews that the first one. I called them and moaned and moaned until they sent me one.
     
    Last edited: 30 Jul 2013
  4. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    As I say, exactly the same connection was giving the rated 20Mbps speed with the previous modem, so I'd be surprised if it was a problem with the signal... Also, I can get 20Mbps now, as long as the PC is powered off and I connect to the router wirelessly :confused:

    sniperdude, the Superhub is sitting in modem mode just now, so I can't get into the Config page. Having checked the power levels the other day against some examples on the Virgin Media support forums, things seem normal.
     
  5. popcornuk1983

    popcornuk1983 Cake or Death?

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    Huh,

    Only thing I could think of would be a faulty ethernet chip on the superhub. Would explain why ethernet connections don't work to your PC via normal or modem mode attached to your old netgear.

    When you've got your Netgear attached with the hub in modem mode do you still get 20Mb speeds on your phone wirelessly? If you don't have any issues then scrap my previous suggestion.

    When you've got the hub in normal mode try switching off the firewall and see if it makes any difference. If no joy there, I'd be asking for a superhub2.
     
  6. CrazyJoe

    CrazyJoe Modder

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    The address for the config menus is different in modem mode, it's 192.168.100.1.
     
  7. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Hey CrazyJoe,

    The issue isn't that I can't access the Superhub, it's that in modem mode all of the config and option pages are disabled :)

    popcornuk1983,

    I've got the Superhub in modem mode, connected via ethernet to the Netgear, which is in turn wired to the PC. When the PC is off, I get 20Mbps via WiFi on my phone, which is great. But as soon as the PC is on, the WiFi speed drops to less than 2.5Mbps. In addition, the PC wired connection only gives me 2.5Mbps. It's as if there's some conflict between the PC, the router and the Superhub that's only present when the PC is switched on. There weren't any such problems with the Surfboard so I have to assume that it's a Superhub issue, but I've no idea what!
     
  8. CrazyJoe

    CrazyJoe Modder

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    You can still get your power levels though.

    http://192.168.100.1/VmRgNetworkStatus.asp

    Plus you can get basically everything else here: http://192.168.100.1/advanced_list.asp

    If you create a thread in the VM forums you should get a response from VM within a few days but it's more likely that some of the "experts" on there will help you out before then.
     
  9. popcornuk1983

    popcornuk1983 Cake or Death?

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    Bit of a head scratcher there bawjaws (love the username btw, are you by chance a fellow Scotsman?).

    As you said, it might be a conflict between the NIC on your PC and the ethernet controller on the superhub. Have you got any other devices like a laptop that you could try with an ethernet connection? Would tell you if it's the PC or the superhub.

    Only other fixes I can think of would be to try a new ethernet cable from your PC and factory reset the superhub. If you've not tried this already.
     
  10. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Crazyjoe,
    Many thanks for the tip - didn't realise that you could "manually" navigate to the settings pages even in modem mode! Power levels per that page are:

    popcornuk,
    I am indeed a Scot - as you guessed :) I don't have any other devices with ethernet so can't rule out the PC being at fault 100%, although it worked absolutely fine with the previous modem. Factory reset of the Superhub has been tried and didn't help, unfortunately.
     
  11. CrazyJoe

    CrazyJoe Modder

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    Downstream levels aren't great, ideally it should be between -3 to +6 dBmv.

    Is this with the PC on and when you get the poor speeds?

    Plus you have a lot of Post RS errors, when did you last reboot the hub?
     
  12. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Rebooted about two hours ago I think...

    The weird thing is that the Superhub gives a totally fine WiFi connection as long as the PC isn't on, and the previous modem also managed to perform faultlessly with the PC. Hopefully VM will come back with a response tomorrow.
     
  13. CrazyJoe

    CrazyJoe Modder

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    They should be sending out an engineer with those power levels anyway.

    But yeah, it does seem like a very strange issue.
     
  14. dancingbear84

    dancingbear84 error 404

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    Hmmm. Odd. Just to be clear, superhub - Ethernet cable - pc / superhub - wireless - phone.
    There is nothing else in the mix.
    Are all the drivers and bios on the pc at latest levels?
    Have you changed the cable between the superhub and pc?
    You used all the cables that came with the hub, ie didn't decide to use the old modem power cable or something daft, if they had the same connection?
    In my experience it is better to rule out the really basic stuff early on, I learned that the hard way.
     
  15. sniperdude

    sniperdude Minimodder

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    I would give them a ring you need a tech visit to drop you on a lower tap bank at the cab
     
  16. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Thanks for the replies, everyone. I'll give them a call and ask if someone can sort this out.

    The one thing that confuses me is that if the power levels are too low, wouldn't this affect the connection regardless of whether the PC was powered on? The Superhub can manage 20Mbps as proved by the WiFi speed on my phone when the computer isn't on, but it just can't do it when the PC is switched on :confused:

    This might be a daft question, so bear with me: If the Superhub is in modem mode, can I connect it directly to the PC via ethernet without needing the router? This is the one thing that I haven't tried yet, and I guess it might be good to do this just to make sure that it's not a router problem (although I doubt it myself). To be perfectly honest, I'd rather have a good ethernet connection to the PC and no WiFi than a 2.5Mbps connection shared between the PC and WiFi :D
     
  17. CrazyJoe

    CrazyJoe Modder

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    Yeah, only 1 port is active, check the picture on the modem mode page in the config to see which one it is.
     
  18. Kovoet

    Kovoet What's a Dremel?

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    Mine hours direct from the superhub to my pc and Mac. Tablet and everything connects via Wi-Fi
     
  19. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Cool, when I get home tonight I'll try wiring the Superhub directly to the PC in modem mode and see how that goes.

    I wonder if I could just plug my old modem back in and call the activation line to get it online again :D The old one perfectly until I replaced it with the Superhub :D
     
    Last edited: 31 Jul 2013
  20. Kovoet

    Kovoet What's a Dremel?

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    You can but this superhub ain't bad.
     

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