Superhub Stopped working all of a sudden

vinnyh · 21-11-2011, 13:04

I daresay this is a common story, but I thought I'd post anyway:
I got the SuperHub a few months ago, with free upgrade from 10 to 30mbs. It worked pretty well from the outset with a wide range of devices in our houshold: laptops, Macs, iPads, iPhones, printer etc., with only the occasional need to reboot - nothing like the problems other people were reporting here.
It worked fine on R29, and remained fine after R30 was rolled-out. A few days ago, however, something must have decided to 'go bad', with frequent Internet dropouts occuring, and the laptop connection status showing 'local only'. Sometimes a reboot would restore the internet (but usually only for a few minutes) and sometimes it would not. It was the same state of affairs whether using wi-fi or Ethernet cable.
Numerous epic calls to VirginMedia failed to get the problem sorted; they said everything appeared fine at their end, and as the SuperHub was showing the correct status, then the problem must be with my laptop. When I asked if the Macs, iPads, etc. etc. were faulty too, they booked me an engineer for this coming Wednesday.
In the meantime, I thought I would give Modem Mode a try, and so retrieved my Netgear wi-fi router from the 'departure lounge'. Connection has been rock-solid since; seems faster too (although I might be imagining the last bit; Speedtest reports >30mbs for laptop, which it did before, and >20mbs for iPad, which I think was only about 11mbs before). Needless to say, my router, which for months had been sulking in a corner, is now grinning like a Cheshire Cat! Strange (or not) that the support staff didn't suggest trying modem mode?
There's probably a strong case for cancelling the engineer visit, and sticking with what I've now got, but I quite like the idea of only needing the one box, so I'm going to give the engineer a crack at it! I suspect though it might prove to be a futile exercise until they finally get the SuperHub sorted out.

Mick Fisher · 21-11-2011, 14:41

The superhub is junk as you have just found out. Sticking with modem mode is your best bet by far.

However if you really want to fiddle with the superhub try:

Making sure your band is 2.4Ghz and your mode is 145Mbps, download and install InSSider and manually select the channel that gives you the lowest RSSI value.

The superhub wireless is weak and super sensitive to interference. Someone in your locality has probably started transmitting on the same channel as you with a strong signal which is killing your superhub.

Good luck

vinnyh · 21-11-2011, 14:54

Thanks Mick, I'll give InSSider a try, even if only out of technical interest. Now you mention it though, one of my neighbours has been looking even more furtive these past few days!

Mick Fisher · 21-11-2011, 15:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinnyh

Thanks Mick, I'll give InSSider a try, even if only out of technical interest. Now you mention it though, one of my neighbours has been looking even more furtive these past few days!

General Maximus · 21-11-2011, 22:07

tbh I am happy for your vinnyh and you should serve as an example to everyone else. However the expression goes, you have to take a step backwards to take a step forwards and you have done yourself a favour; ditch the shub and keep what you have got. I have got an engineer coming out to install 100mbit on Wednesday and you have just re-affirmed my decision to refuse the shub and keep my current modem which has been working flawlessly for the last 2 years with my Cisco router.

vinnyh · 21-11-2011, 22:39

Thanks, GM! I hope your 100mbs upgrade works out.

vinnyh · 25-11-2011, 12:32

Happily, back to just the one box (SHub) since the tech visit on Wednesday. I think he identified which nearby wifi was knocking mine out, and set the channel (previously Auto) in order to avoid it - pretty much as suggested above (thanks again, Mick Fisher). The connection has held good since then, with full 30mbs+ speed per Speedtest.
At least I know what to do if it happens again, and I won't be chucking my trusty router out any time soon.

Mick Fisher · 25-11-2011, 13:53

Nice to hear you are up and running again.

AndyCalling · 25-11-2011, 18:02

I wonder what's causing these slowdowns. I have a Shub and use it in standard mode and it runs at the full 50meg fine without needing a reset ever.

Could it be that the Shub can't cope with 100meg speeds well and that 50meg is the limit if you want solid reliability?

EDIT: Sorry, just realised the OP is on 30meg. Can't be a 100meg only issue then. Still, it's a puzzle. Why isn't my Shub crashing or limiting speed? Could it be that there's a dodgy batch of Shubs out there with a short life span? If so then Shub failure could be on the cards for many more of us soon.

Mick Fisher · 25-11-2011, 19:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyCalling

I wonder what's causing these slowdowns. I have a Shub and use it in standard mode and it runs at the full 50meg fine without needing a reset ever.

Could it be that the Shub can't cope with 100meg speeds well and that 50meg is the limit if you want solid reliability?

EDIT: Sorry, just realised the OP is on 30meg. Can't be a 100meg only issue then. Still, it's a puzzle. Why isn't my Shub crashing or limiting speed? Could it be that there's a dodgy batch of Shubs out there with a short life span? If so then Shub failure could be on the cards for many more of us soon.

I notice that very few people who are having issues with the superhub seem to get them resolved by a replacement superhub.

I also notice that the same people who always have excellent results from their superhubs also seem to have excellent results from their STB's.

Personally I have a history of issues with STB's, Phone and BB. So much so that Cable TV and Phone became unusable so I am only left with BB. Surprisingly since getting rid of the Cable TV the BB has become more reliable. Actually pre Superhub it was Rock Solid.

Anyway my theory is that it has something to do with the local network infrastructure. I have no idea how or why but I heard somewhere, somewhen about an overloaded node issue.

Could that be a possibility?

castlekeep · 26-11-2011, 11:09

Hello,

I just upgraded my BB from 20Mb to 30Mb.
On the 20Mb I was using a Linksys Wireless router and my hard wired and Wifi connected devices were rock solid.

I now have the superhub with only my PC hardwired at the moment.
As soon as the engineer left after installing my tivo and the superhub, around 30 mins later the superhub lost connection and rebooted. This problem is happening every 10mins or so.
The internet will be accessable for 10 mins, the router will reboot and I then have a connection for the next 10 Mins or so. This has been happening for the last two days.

They are sending an engineer out to investigate but this is not until Tuesday.

Is there anything I can check to try and resolve this myself ?

Thank You for any advice.

Phil.

Mick Fisher · 26-11-2011, 13:24

I refer you to my post#2

castlekeep · 27-11-2011, 15:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

I refer you to my post#2

Thanks Mick,
I'll try setting the hub up as Modem Mode and put my old Linksys Router back in place instead.

Mick Fisher · 27-11-2011, 15:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by castlekeep

Thanks Mick,
I'll try setting the hub up as Modem Mode and put my old Linksys Router back in place instead.

Sounds good to me.

castlekeep · 01-12-2011, 17:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by castlekeep

Thanks Mick,
I'll try setting the hub up as Modem Mode and put my old Linksys Router back in place instead.

Hi Mick,

The virgin engineer arrived the other day and swapped out my SuperHub with another.
Seems the Router part of the Hub was failing with a power issue.

All is good now.

Thanks for the guidence.