Superhub : Superhub 3 with 802.11ac?

[Chrysalis]

never mind found it now, dial *#0011# then menu key and select wifi.

certianly seems more useful than normal info available but on my device many of the lines say n/a.

I have n/a for
modulation
CR
TX
NETWORK

my link speed even tho on 5ghz with no other 5ghz networks in my area is 135mbps not 150 and thi sis very interesting as every single app I have used to report on wifi shows just 72mbps.

I am on WPA2 vs your WPA.

[johnholmes]

Virgin Media UK Prep 1300Mbps WiFi SuperHub 3 Cable Broadband Router

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php...nd-router.html

[General Maximus]

"Otherwise there will be the usual mix of USB and four Gigabit Ethernet ports"

which I very much doubt will be enabled. VM don't seem to like spending time on non-service critical features. If they can't be bothered to enable 3rd party dns servers (which will already be available in stock fw) then they defo aren't going to be bothered with usb. The sad thing is that they need to realise that if they really want customers to take the shub seriously and use it then they need to permit features such as print servers, media servers and shared network storage etc otherwise customers will just see it a very fast modem and still look to 3rd party routers for their needs.

[Kushan]

Originally Posted by General Maximus

"Otherwise there will be the usual mix of USB and four Gigabit Ethernet ports"

which I very much doubt will be enabled. VM don't seem to like spending time on non-service critical features. If they can't be bothered to enable 3rd party dns servers (which will already be available in stock fw) then they defo aren't going to be bothered with usb. The sad thing is that they need to realise that if they really want customers to take the shub seriously and use it then they need to permit features such as print servers, media servers and shared network storage etc otherwise customers will just see it a very fast modem and still look to 3rd party routers for their needs.

Why would Virgin care about people using the hub as anything other than a modem? Adding more features just means a bigger support scope as far as Virgin is concerned. If they had their way, we'd still be using standalone modems but they have to concede to "free wireless" in an all-in-one device because that's what the competition is doing.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by johnholmes

Virgin Media UK Prep 1300Mbps WiFi SuperHub 3 Cable Broadband Router

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php...nd-router.html

You're welcome

[General Maximus]

Originally Posted by Kushan

Why would Virgin care about people using the hub as anything other than a modem? Adding more features just means a bigger support scope as far as Virgin is concerned. If they had their way, we'd still be using standalone modems but they have to concede to "free wireless" in an all-in-one device because that's what the competition is doing.

because just as wireless was the "in thing" a couple of years ago, as technology is evolving, customers are expecting more feature packed cpe and if VM want to flout stuff like "unbeatable" and "the best" then it needs to live up to its name. Asking for a usb port to work on a unit that has a physical port isn't much to ask. They like to flap about streaming stuff and if they were clever they would encourage customers to host stuff on the shub and stream it to tablets/phones/consoles over the lan. People will be do it for the novelty and it will give VM the marketing edge. If they bought decent equipment to start off with then they wouldn't need to worry so much about tech support. How many calls do you think they have had about wireless over the last 4 years vs pre-shub support calls? There is another thread running atm where tech's are being sent out wireless performance because they are being booked as intermittent connectivity faults.

[jb66]

If virgin cant make money out of something they wont enable it. USB is probably reserved for voip incase they go for that in the future

[Kushan]

Originally Posted by General Maximus

because just as wireless was the "in thing" a couple of years ago, as technology is evolving, customers are expecting more feature packed cpe and if VM want to flout stuff like "unbeatable" and "the best" then it needs to live up to its name. Asking for a usb port to work on a unit that has a physical port isn't much to ask. They like to flap about streaming stuff and if they were clever they would encourage customers to host stuff on the shub and stream it to tablets/phones/consoles over the lan. People will be do it for the novelty and it will give VM the marketing edge. If they bought decent equipment to start off with then they wouldn't need to worry so much about tech support. How many calls do you think they have had about wireless over the last 4 years vs pre-shub support calls? There is another thread running atm where tech's are being sent out wireless performance because they are being booked as intermittent connectivity faults.

I think you're vastly overestimating how many people would actually make use of that USB port. Sure, you and I would, but the sheer vast majority of people wouldn't bother with it. A lot of the ones that would are just as likely to use their own router anyway, because no matter how hard Virgin tries, their hubs will never be as feature-packed as a high-end router - and it doesn't make sense to be for cost reasons, why spend all that money when most customers won't even know or care about it? The ones that do will just end up causing more phone calls getting it to work, which means more training and more expense - all for something most people won't ever use.

I get that it's an important feature to you, but nobody else (as far as I know) is pushing those features either, so it's not just virgin.

[Martin_D]

Declaration of Conformity for the VMDG490

http://www.downloads.netgear.com/fil...EN_27Mar14.pdf

[dave.m]

Originally Posted by Kushan

I think you're vastly overestimating how many people would actually make use of that USB port. Sure, you and I would, but the sheer vast majority of people wouldn't bother with it. A lot of the ones that would are just as likely to use their own router anyway, because no matter how hard Virgin tries, their hubs will never be as feature-packed as a high-end router - and it doesn't make sense to be for cost reasons, why spend all that money when most customers won't even know or care about it? The ones that do will just end up causing more phone calls getting it to work, which means more training and more expense - all for something most people won't ever use.

I get that it's an important feature to you, but nobody else (as far as I know) is pushing those features either, so it's not just virgin.

Most people won't know they'd use it until it's there and other people shout about it. To simply attach a USB drive for storing your media/photos content would be extremely useful to a lot of people.

[jb66]

Originally Posted by dave.m

Most people won't know they'd use it until it's there and other people shout about it. To simply attach a USB drive for storing your media/photos content would be extremely useful to a lot of people.

And when they cant get it to work who do they call? Book a tech....

[Kushan]

Originally Posted by dave.m

Most people won't know they'd use it until it's there and other people shout about it. To simply attach a USB drive for storing your media/photos content would be extremely useful to a lot of people.

It sure would be useful, but again I don't think most people would actually bother with it, given that the majority of people seem somewhat allergic to technology in general.

In any case, picture the scenario - let's say someone has a router with said USB port and they have a USB hard drive fllled with pictures. Let's say they put 2 + 2 together and plug the two together - now what? How do they view those pictures? I know it seems obvious, but most people wouldn't even know where to start.

Originally Posted by jb66

And when they cant get it to work who do they call? Book a tech....

And this is the crux of the issue - Virgin aren't going to pay for additional training of their agents, just so they can deal with the odd one that does actually call in. If Virgin were to enable such a feature, it'd likely have an overall negative impact on customer's as the ones that call in to get help using it will invariably not get the help they need and not be bothered with it. Tech's will be booked that can't do anything about it and people will just blame Virgin.

I agree that it'd be a nice feature to have but then I would know how to use it. I know that the majority of people out there wouldn't know where to start.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by dave.m

Most people won't know they'd use it until it's there and other people shout about it. To simply attach a USB drive for storing your media/photos content would be extremely useful to a lot of people.

And then how to do you make sure whatever else you want to see the photos on is compatible?

Should the router run DNLA, should it be AirPlay or something else? Have they configured their own devices properly to be able to connect to the SuperHub in that way?

[General Maximus]

the whole point of this is VM's ethos around tech support. If they left it as it is from Netgear and let Netgear provide the setup guides and documentation then I am sure customers would be happy to sort themselves out as they would with any other router they bought, or any other electrical appliance. The problem is that VM are using support as an excuse not to provide services and features.

[Kushan]

Originally Posted by General Maximus

the whole point of this is VM's ethos around tech support. If they left it as it is from Netgear and let Netgear provide the setup guides and documentation then I am sure customers would be happy to sort themselves out as they would with any other router they bought, or any other electrical appliance. The problem is that VM are using support as an excuse not to provide services and features.

Close. VM is concerned with spending as little money as possible. The way they figure it, preventing ANY unnecessary calls in is a way to save money. Less calls means less agents. Even people calling in to get told to phone netgear is something Virgin probably feels they could avoid, though I'm sure they have branding to consider as well.

When I was working there, admittedly a call centre, you got the distinct impression that they did everything possible to reduce trouble calls. In a weird way, if the call centre was taking less calls, they felt they were doing something right.