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

mass_debater

moggser wrote: »

How're ya just a quick one is it expensive to upgrade the wifi card? What do I look for for eg

It's not worth it, the laptop antenna will be designed for wireless n, these run up the back of the screen. You are better to get a wireless 802.11ac USB adapter
TP-LINK Archer T4UH AC1200 High Gain Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TEYAN2S/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_TUiexbHJ6ZY44

moggser

mass_debater wrote: »

It's not worth it, the laptop antenna will be designed for wireless n, these run up the back of the screen. You are better to get a wireless 802.11ac USB adapter
TP-LINK Archer T4UH AC1200 High Gain Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TEYAN2S/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_TUiexbHJ6ZY44

Ah ok, I'll look into that so, what about these

http://www.adverts.ie/other-computers/mini-150mbps-usb-wifi-wireless-adapter-network-lan-wlan-card-ieee-802-11n-g-b/9432792

mass_debater

moggser wrote: »

Ah ok, I'll look into that so, what about these

http://www.adverts.ie/other-computers/mini-150mbps-usb-wifi-wireless-adapter-network-lan-wlan-card-ieee-802-11n-g-b/9432792

They are wireless 802.11n, same as what's in your laptop but would not perform as well because they have miniature antennas with them being so small.

moggser

Sound so I need 802.11ac then, sorry for the Q's bit of a fcukwit when come to the tech stuff ����

dodzy

moggser wrote: »

Sound so I need 802.11ac then, sorry for the Q's bit of a fcukwit when come to the tech stuff ����

yup

moggser

Cheers ��

moggser

sorry lads is this any use

mass_debater

moggser wrote: »

sorry lads is this any use

Yep, that's a decent one

Gr1f

thanks for post! went for the TP-Link C9 and delighted so far.
one Q. the 2.4gz is saturated to hell here so going to fix it to ab obscure channel. some hardware needs the 2.4 like Chromcast and some distant related phone access.

Question is, is there any benefit to fixing the 2.4 to wireless n only? and/or 20/40mhz?

Set it to N only if all of your devices are N capable. You'll only need mixed mode if you have b/g devices.

Using 40MHz carriers will actually degrade performance in congested space. So I'd suggest using 20MHz on 2.4.

ED E

Karsini wrote: »

Set it to N only if all of your devices are N capable. You'll only need mixed mode if you have b/g devices.

Using 40MHz carriers will actually degrade performance in congested space. So I'd suggest using 20MHz on 2.4.

+1000 there, 40Mhz sounds great on paper, but in the real world it only works if you live in the middle of nowhere.

mass_debater

Gr1f wrote: »

Question is, is there any benefit to fixing the 2.4 to wireless n only? and/or 20/40mhz?

Yes, if you have no devices that need g. Basically it's setting the wireless to faster speeds only

Gr1f

great, what about MHz? 40?

Gr1f

some interesting info on it here...
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/179344-how-to-boost-your-wifi-speed-by-choosing-the-right-channel

mass_debater

Gr1f wrote: »

great, what about MHz? 40?

Only if all your devices support 40MHz and you have clear channels with no interference. Personally I'd leave this on auto in a built up area

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Hopefully someone can help me with this. Would appreciate it.

I have virgin media 240MB/s (I get this speed when plugged directly in). However with the modem provided the wifi performance is very inconsistent. constantly dropping and only speeds around 20MB/s.


I have a Billion 7800N router (which I got for free) and followed the steps in the original post, but have seen little or no improvement. Is this the wrong type of router for virgin media? Are there extra steps I need to take?

ED E

That billion is still only wireless N without 5Ghz. It may be better than the Thompson/Ubee/whatever by a little bit, but not much.

Most of the benefit in built up areas is from using 5Ghz and to get really high speeds AC is required.

PressTheButton

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=99448222&postcount=5

space2ground1

I have VM broadband and my trouble is getting the range around the house. I have a VM Cisco wireless modem and although its relatively reliable in the same room, upstairs is a disaster. I bought the TP Link extenders that are supposed to use the electrical cabling in the house but its not working very well still. I have full signal upstairs on the TPLink but its mirroring a weak signal and apps/pages load slowly or not at all. I have them on different channels and IDs.

Is the TPLink router compatible with the Cisco router supplied?
I was considering getting an Apple Airport as all the devices I have are apple and I'm a fan of the ease of use and quality. Would it work?

Thanks a lot!

ED E

Homeplugs are compatible alright.

It could be a weak powerline connection between the devices, test yours with a laptop via ethernet first.

space2ground1

ED E wrote: »

Homeplugs are compatible alright.

It could be a weak powerline connection between the devices, test yours with a laptop via ethernet first.

Laptop to the furthest dlink extender?

ED E

Yep

beauf

Try different sockets different rooms. Also try disconnecting other electrical devices. Powerline adapters work best on same electrical loop, and if there's nothing electrically noisy on the same line.

I use the TP Link and work fine with my TC7200. Can't get the wifi sorted though. Still getting poor Wifi even with a newer better wifi router. Might need to upgrade my wifi cards though.

Dandelion6

mass_debater wrote: »

Yep, that's a decent one

Seems to be out of stock everywhere. How is this one?

http://www.did.ie/tp-link-wireless-dual-band-usb-adapter-t2u-prd

Gr1f

Hi Folks,
After a few weeks of trouble free wireless connectivity an issue has raised it's ugly head and I can't work out what the fix is.

Every 5-10 minutes or so the connection drops between the TP-link and the UPC. It stays dropped for about 1-2 minutes then comes back again.

To isolate i've tested an ethernet connection to the UPC box and it's been stable.

Logs on the UPC box seem quite limited but I did see this:
2016-05-29 21:15:13: [Warn] Map Reject - Not Authorized for Requested Downstream Traffic ...

2016-05-27 18:07:15: [Info] TLV-11 - unrecognized OID;CM-MAC=8c:04:ff:a5:51:f9;CMTS-MAC=0...
--- -- --:--:--: [Warn] DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response ;CM-MAC...
--- -- --:--:--: [Info] Honoring MDD; IP provisioning mode = IPv4

not sure if its related tho as i'm not seeing entries with the same frequency as the drops.

seems like the UPC box is dropping the TP-links for some reason. Or maybe VM don't want users to extend their POS routers?

Anyway, any help greatly appreciated as it's driving us all insane :-)

ED E

[Assuming by "TPLinks" you mean a pair of homeplugs]


Connect a laptop with an ethernet cable to the remote homeplug(one away from Virgins box).

Then run:

ping 192.168.1.1 -t

from the command prompt and leave it run. If you see the connection drop periodically there then the issue is with your homeplugs.

The way to diagnose this is to unplug every other electrical device in your house, then plug them back in one by one. Enjoy.

Gr1f

ED E wrote: »

[Assuming by "TPLinks" you mean a pair of homeplugs]


Connect a laptop with an ethernet cable to the remote homeplug(one away from Virgins box).

Then run:

ping 192.168.1.1 -t

from the command prompt and leave it run. If you see the connection drop periodically there then the issue is with your homeplugs.

The way to diagnose this is to unplug every other electrical device in your house, then plug them back in one by one. Enjoy.

Nope It's a TPLink Archer C9 (referenced in the thread easier :-)

n97 mini

Odd issue here, wondering did anyone else experience similar before I call VM.

I was on a 60/6 package till yesterday when I upgraded to 240/24. Modem is the (POS) Technicolor.

Wired connection on Speedtest used to show 60/6 or very close to it. Now it shows 45/24. It has never gone above 50 on the download.

Anyone else had this happen?

beauf

I think at this point I would probably pay to get the top end 360 just to get the new router, then drop back to a lower speed after the minimum term. (How long is that?).

Xpro

Hi, Im thinking aswell of buying a C9 or D9 Archer, is there a definite guide on installing one in conjunction with UPC router. Thanks