Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

Wireless ac is backwards compatable with other devices. You'll still only get the speed they are capable of.

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

Sorry but I've got to comment here.

The fantastic Wi-Fi speeds that are being quoted here just won't be possible in your situation.

Firstly, the 'ac' standards are only available on the 5GHz band that does have limited range. You'd have to also purchase a 5Ghz ac card in addition to any router.

Being in the 'attic' means that you 'see' lots of other 2.4Ghz networks but the router downstairs won't see all of these and won't be able to co-operate with them. 2.4GHz won't work well.

The only way forward is to get a working powerline system or a Ethernet cable.

Given you've already said that a cable isn't possible then powerline seems the way to go.

I have never used powerline systems but question if two disparate systems can be used together on the same internal wiring? I know that the standards say so but do they actually work together?

In terms of diagnosis of your problems it seems to me that you have significant (if not the only) problems in your internal connection from your PC to the router.

To get reliable and (game) workable connections you need to see less than 1% packet loss and a consistent ping of < 100ms.
From your posts it seems that you can't even get this over your BT powerline adapters - this is where you need to look initially.

Try disconnecting all other powerline system other than the two you are using (just temporarily for a test). Do a ping test for one minute (-n 60) and post the summary after the ping completes here. Would be interesting to do that test both with and without the other powerline system connected.

By the way, do you use the SH1 Wi-Fi? If not, switch it off. The Thinkbroadband graphs suggest that there is significant use being made of the connection. Might be worth looking at the use figures on the SH1 (although known not to be accurate).

Ian

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

Dear Ian,


many thanx for your comment.
so the SH2ac is not backward compatible, is that right?

i tired my BT powerline without Netgear powerline, the difference was quite minimal.
i really think the main problem lies withing the SH1 we have here.
i use wifi mostly, as sometimes BT powerline's connection is unstable.

tbh, i get quite confusing replies here, one says the powerline is bad, the other says its good, the other says you need 5ghz, and one claims wifi is garbage and that solid wired connection is the only way to go.
im running on a very limited budget now, and my first priority is to fix the stability of the internet. then i can focus on making it the best.
one day my connection is so good, the next hour it can not open a wikipedia webpage. one minute my ping is over 1000, the other its less than 30 ms.

my own guess says the problem is either Virgin or the router (SH1).

lets go step by step. lets see if SH2 would fix some of the issues.

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

The problem is that wifi is affected by so many other factors, such as distance, thickness and composition of walls and floors, the equipment receiving the wifi, as well as the router (and the SH1 is renowned for poor wifi, but the SH2AC is better).

Powerlines depend on the condition of the wiring, and there often can be problems if different floors are on different ring mains.

btw, the SH2AC is backward compatible.

The only way to guarantee consistent speeds is a cabled link - having said that, I am getting 133Mb/s wifi, but that is on an iPad Pro about 10 feet from my SH2AC.

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

It is backward compatible but you can't use its advanced 'ac' technology unless you have a 5GHz wireless 'ac' card in your PC.

Did you disconnect all the other powerline units? Not just the one at the SH1?
What test did you perform after you disconnected the other units?

I would suggest that you need to perform some careful diagnosis test to properly identify where the problem lies.

Test your BT powerline adapter in isolation.

Disconnect all other power line systems and then:-
1. Test the BT system in the same room
2. Test the BT system attic to router
3. Reconnect the other powerline and test again.

The best test is to use the ping command with an extended payload...
On Windows...

ping -l 10000 192.168.0.1 -n 60

This should return zero packet loss and low consistent (<50ms) response time.

Only when you have confirmed your internal network is working ok can you start to point you finger at Virgin.

As mentioned before, the SH1 Wi-Fi has particularly poor range.

If Wi-Fi is the way to go (I doubt it), then one solution would be to connect a cheap good quality wireless 'n' dual band (2.4 and 5Ghz concurrent) router to your existing SH1 and site it on the first floor (or maybe in an elevated position on the ground floor).

Regarding testing the broadband bit directly on the router, do you not know any friends who would be willing to assist with a laptop?

If so, put the SH1 into modem mode and connect the laptop and run a few speed tests. If they can be run at 6am, 2pm and 10pm that would give you a good basis to judge the VM bit.

Cheers,

Ian

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

Eh? You're moaning about £10? That's the cost of two pints around here, and I don't even drink.

---------- Post added at 11:19 ---------- Previous post was at 11:16 ----------

Given the PS3 is the biggest console without 5Ghz WiFi I have a hard time believing the rest of your information.

---------- Post added at 11:20 ---------- Previous post was at 11:19 ----------

I could, but I won't.

---------- Post added at 11:20 ---------- Previous post was at 11:20 ----------

Then why are we here at all?

---------- Post added at 11:20 ---------- Previous post was at 11:20 ----------

14 is always the best channel! ;)

---------- Post added at 11:21 ---------- Previous post was at 11:20 ----------

You realise the BQM is only worth updating once a day and Thinkbroadband already provides an archive of every PNG file you can download at any time, right?

---------- Post added at 11:22 ---------- Previous post was at 11:21 ----------

In this case it's 450 vs 1300.

---------- Post added at 11:23 ---------- Previous post was at 11:22 ----------

Very rarely. Symptoms exactly like this are more the norm.

---------- Post added at 11:26 ---------- Previous post was at 11:23 ----------

You've already been told ten times it's backwards compatible.

It's very simple.
Cable ethernet > Powerline > Wireless > Crappy mixed up broken powerline that you don't know how to use.

You've already been told ten times your internet is perfectly stable.


You've already been told ten times that is the fault of your powerline network.

Your own guess is wrong. Maybe listen to what you've already been told ten times by five different people.

We already have. You're ignoring the facts.

---------- Post added at 11:27 ---------- Previous post was at 11:26 ----------

^^ Eleven times? :D

My phone gets about 800Mbps, but that's because I use hacks.

---------- Post added at 11:28 ---------- Previous post was at 11:27 ----------

^^ This.

+1

+11

+11111oneoneoneelevenhundredandone

+over9000

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

@qasdfdsaq

chill your beans mate.
i get a single shot whiskey plus soda on the rocks for £2.70 here.
btw, with additional stuff, you can connect your ps3 to a 5ghz wifi.

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

With additional stuff you can connect anything to 5Ghz WiFi, why don't you get it for all your gear?

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

well thats the plan.
let me get the new superhub first, then the proper router and then additional stuff ^^

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

What sort of building are you in - thick stone walls (and certain types of concrete buildings with steel rod bracings) can heavily interfere with wifi.

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

seems those stubborn *******s are not going to send us a new SuperHub what so ever..
gonna make a complaint then cancel our contract.

---------- Post added at 15:41 ---------- Previous post was at 15:41 ----------

nah, its an old building with brick outer walls and wooden interior walls.

---------- Post added at 15:45 ---------- Previous post was at 15:41 ----------

lol but my landlord told them off really well :3

---------- Post added at 16:34 ---------- Previous post was at 15:45 ----------

any suggestions for another ISP?
is BT any good?

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

..and yet again you didn't follow my advice ; request the Superhub via the community forum.

While they take a few days to answer, you'd get it sorted no problem without having to jump through diagnostic hoops.

Calling regular customer services only results in what you experienced.

The other alternative is to call 'retentions', the thinking-of-leaving department. They deal with a lot more than people who want to cancel. Your landlord could get a new Superhub and money off his bill at the same time.

Btw, you don't have a contract so you can't cancel it.



---------- Post added at 16:54 ---------- Previous post was at 16:49 ----------

Getting a new ISP is more hassle, money and time than getting a Superhub for free. Also no guarantee whether a BT/Sky connection will work reliably.

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

i have to ask my landlord to request this in the Virgin's forums.
i am not the account holder you know. i dont know his account number anyway.

could you please tell me more about this 'retentions'? contact number etc..

my landlord said he would probably cancel it, you wont believe it what treatment we got over the phone. might be a hassle, changing the ISP, but the goodies which come with it makes it worth-while.

just look at the comments here..
seriously i have been treated better in any other forums. not u, but most of others here talk really arrogant.
im just trying to fix the internet/connection or whatever you call it, so atleast i can load a single webpage normally. not much to ask really.

Re: need advice and help for a possible fix
 

Correct its not much too ask but anything that has been suggested here has been rejected by you. You really need to establish where the fault as there seem to be several different problems occurring.

Start by connecting a PC/Laptop directly to the shub so as to eliminate any problems occurring in your internal network. It will either show an external problem or indicate that the problem is within your house.