Virgin 1Gb now available.

deravarra

schmoo2k wrote: »

Day 1 I put the VM modem in the attic and ran hard wires to the four corners of the house, I bought an OpenWRT router for bridged mode (in the attic) and simply re-used old eircom / vodafone routers etc at each corner of the house (disabled DHCP, isolation etc.), works great and is cost effective.

This is on the 1 Gbps pack? And what kind of wireless speeds are you getting throughout the house with that setup?

schmoo2k

deravarra wrote: »

This is on the 1 Gbps pack? And what kind of wireless speeds are you getting throughout the house with that setup?

Depends which (crappy) WiFi router you hit, in general all our desktops hardwire to the four corners and the only consumer of WiFi are phones and tablets. But typically 5GHz "n" speeds.

deravarra

schmoo2k wrote: »

Depends which (crappy) WiFi router you hit, in general all our desktops hardwire to the four corners and the only consumer of WiFi are phones and tablets. But typically 5GHz "n" speeds.

The Orbi Wifi AC is excellent. A bit on the expensive side, but I am getting full download speeds wirelessly to my desktop. I can't believe how good it is throughout the house!

slith

sham69 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies folks.
I'll look into the orbi.
I have homeplugs aswell, they used to give me full speed back in the 240mb days but really not working well these days ( and I've upgraded them since then) I've probably spent close to 400 on my network over the years, different routers , WiFi extenders, home plugs, mesh etc.

The service is great when you get it working the way you want but my god the equipment they give you is shocking and it's not like we don't pay a good price for the service.

I had the home plugs, those powerline adapters, and I never got much from them (nowhere near their speed rating anyway). Bought cheap wifi extenders and all I got was bad wifi. Also created separate 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' wifi networks using powerline adapters. Unfortunately my devices would stick to the first network it found, and it wasn't possible to make the downstairs one invisible from upstairs... more bad wifi.

Finally I got a ZenWifi AX mesh (pack of 2). A bit finicky at the start, connection between the base and the satellite is supposed to happen automatically but it took a while. Once it is up and running it works very well.

But even with a great mesh you need to think how to position it carefully. If you need a mesh in the first place is likely to be because the house has internal elements causing black spots. So putting a satellite in the room with the blackspot is going to do absolutely nothing for you because the satellite will not be able to connect to the base. I've noticed in the houses I've lived in that there is very little interference between a room and the room right above it. So you can sometimes use that to go around that structure in the house creating the black spot.

If you are one of the lucky ones with a house wired for ethernet then consider not just a wifi repeater but one of the mesh systems that can use a wired backhaul channel (I'd say most of the good ones do), in that case you can put your repeater wherever you want

CoBo55

Unless you have a mansion many of these mesh systems are overkill. A good quality router would be more than sufficient and certainly more affordable.

alec76

CoBo55 wrote: »

Unless you have a mansion many of these mesh systems are overkill..

I would say unless you have a studio/ 1 bedroom apartment
one router almost definitely not enough, especially if looking 400+ Mbps wireless speeds in every corner of the house.

slith

alec76 wrote: »

I would say unless you have a studio/ 1 bedroom apartment
one router almost definitely not enough, especially if looking 400+ Mbps wireless speeds in every corner of the house.

I lived in a 4 bed. Maybe it was the hot water cylinder, maybe it was just the distance to the access point, but the master bedroom was a black spot for the wifi. And when I say a black spot I do not mean bad speeds, I mean minimal number of bars. I had an airport extreme at the time, probably not the best router but it had worked very well for me in a previous 3 bed just fine.

A mesh will allow you to work around distance and obstacles much better than a single good router.

CoBo55

alec76 wrote: »

I would say unless you have a studio/ 1 bedroom apartment
one router almost definitely not enough, especially if looking 400+ Mbps wireless speeds in every corner of the house.

I'm on the 360 and get the full 360 wirelessly everywhere in the house, I'm in a standard 3 bedroom council house using an Asus router. I had a tplink archer c8 before that and it wasn't as good particularly on the 5ghz network. I do have the router centrally placed in the house.

deravarra

CoBo55 wrote: »

Unless you have a mansion many of these mesh systems are overkill. A good quality router would be more than sufficient and certainly more affordable.

1650 sq ft is not a mansion. VM router doesn't cut it. Deco M5 didn't cut it either.
You're waffling

bk

I have to agree with CoBo55's comment. For most typical Irish 3 to 4 bed semi's. A single high quality router, well positioned, should give decent coverage throughout most of the house. And yes that would include 400mb/s+ in most of the home.

Of course it can differ based on placement of router, materials in walls, etc. They could reduce the reach.

Mesh is great for those whose homes are too big, but I feel it is oversold to the typical home. Keep in mind that it adds complexity to a setup and cause more problems then it solves if you use it in too small of a home, with interference between overlapping mesh units and hand off between units as you roam.

Also people don't really seem to understand that if you are using a completely wireless mesh system and in particular a dual band model, you are basically cutting the backhaul in half, which is quiet self defeating if you are looking to get the most out of a 1gig service. Mesh can help fill an area with no signal, but for cheaper mesh systems, it can be at the cost of your max speed.

I typically recommend to people to buy from a shop with an easy returns policy. Try out a good quality router first, positioned well (center of home, high up). If you find that doesn't work for you (black spots), only then start looking at mesh systems.

And of course, if you can, the most important thing to do is to run ethernet cables around your home and connect as many devices as you can reasonably to it. That will take as much strain as possible off the wifi network, allow you to use wifi backhaul for mesh if you choose to go that way and really get the most out of a 1gig service.

CoBo55

deravarra wrote: »

1650 sq ft is not a mansion. VM router doesn't cut it. Deco M5 didn't cut it either.
You're waffling

We all know the VM router doesn't cut it, there's a whole thread dedicated to replacing it. Maybe not for you but for me a good quality decent router works perfectly in my house and I'm sure it would work for many others here too. No point in addressing your last bit.

S.E.A.L.s

I'm surprised to have not seen the following simple hack as the solution to all of our bandwidth issues, it's really straightforward:


- Glue two or three modem/routers together then the magical nano bots will combine the elements to almost unlimited power!!!


No fuss, mesh, bridging or extending, etc.

BAM

CoBo55

S.E.A.L.s wrote: »

I'm surprised to have not seen the following simple hack as the solution to all of our bandwidth issues, it's really straightforward:


- Glue two or three modem/routers together then the magical nano bots will combine the elements to almost unlimited power!!!


No fuss, mesh, bridging or extending, etc.

BAM

Hack....eyes glaze over..

allanroche

deravarra wrote: »

1650 sq ft is not a mansion. VM router doesn't cut it. Deco M5 didn't cut it either.
You're waffling

If you have ethernet ports or cable in your house you could do what I did and get an edgerouter or something similar, then add a couple access points using the ports to spread coverage across the house.



When my VM connection is good the wifi in the house is flawless, it's just all banking on the incoming connection.

Nonoperational

deravarra wrote: »

The Orbi Wifi AC is excellent. A bit on the expensive side, but I am getting full download speeds wirelessly to my desktop. I can't believe how good it is throughout the house!

It's brilliant.

deravarra

I would think it fair to say that if you are fairly tech savvy, and have the wherewithall to launch into a project of wiring your house with cable, source and configure AP's at the correct locations for optimal signal around the house, then good luck to you!

However, if you are like me, and have had a poor experience with the original router which came with VM (remember - there are many factors for placing the router where it is located - mine just happened to be where the cable came in and I didn't want to start moving things around), due to it's location and have had a bad experience with another router (Asus AX11000 - gave me full 500 all around the house one moment and then as low as 1 Mbps all around the house shortly after), tried a mesh system on the cheap (Deco M5 - great in the living room right beside the modem - but once you go to the rest of the house, it has significant drops in speed and signal strength, mostly due to contended bandwidth on the 5GHz frequency which was being used for backhaul between each of the units and any device connected on the same frequency), you want to have one final go with getting a solution that will work for all rooms and without hassle. I got it with the Orbi. It simply works. And many people on this very thread have said so. Plug and play.

Just to show how much it improved between the Deco M5 and the Orbi - see the before and after results below:

Before After
Office 162 464
Sunroom 70 401
Landing 129 302
Bedroom 138 520
Spare Bedroom 35 350
Living Room 393 520
Ensuite 286 360
Upstairs Bathroom 47 366
Downstairs Bathroom 66 236
Hallway 196 354
Kitchen 80 468
Dining room 72 332
PC in office 205 520
Garden near sunroom 35 62
Garden decking - 68 68 70
Garden rear 15 24
Side of house 35 26
Shed 17 156
Front of house 43 360
outside of front garden 38 150

A massive improvement all around the house, and most likely would suit many people for their "mansions"

CoBo55

deravarra wrote: »

I would think it fair to say that if you are fairly tech savvy, and have the wherewithall to launch into a project of wiring your house with cable, source and configure AP's at the correct locations for optimal signal around the house, then good luck to you!

However, if you are like me, and have had a poor experience with the original router which came with VM (remember - there are many factors for placing the router where it is located - mine just happened to be where the cable came in and I didn't want to start moving things around), due to it's location and have had a bad experience with another router (Asus AX11000 - gave me full 500 all around the house one moment and then as low as 1 Mbps all around the house shortly after), tried a mesh system on the cheap (Deco M5 - great in the living room right beside the modem - but once you go to the rest of the house, it has significant drops in speed and signal strength, mostly due to contended bandwidth on the 5GHz frequency which was being used for backhaul between each of the units and any device connected on the same frequency), you want to have one final go with getting a solution that will work for all rooms and without hassle. I got it with the Orbi. It simply works. And many people on this very thread have said so. Plug and play.

Just to show how much it improved between the Deco M5 and the Orbi - see the before and after results below:

Before After
Office 162 464
Sunroom 70 401
Landing 129 302
Bedroom 138 520
Spare Bedroom 35 350
Living Room 393 520
Ensuite 286 360
Upstairs Bathroom 47 366
Downstairs Bathroom 66 236
Hallway 196 354
Kitchen 80 468
Dining room 72 332
PC in office 205 520
Garden near sunroom 35 62
Garden decking - 68 68 70
Garden rear 15 24
Side of house 35 26
Shed 17 156
Front of house 43 360
outside of front garden 38 150

A massive improvement all around the house, and most likely would suit many people for their "mansions"

How much did you pay for the orbi?
This is my paltry offering https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing-accessories/networking/network-routers-and-switches/routers/asus-rt-ac86u-wifi-cable-fibre-router-ac-2900-dual-band-10172009-pdt.html?istCompanyId=fbc6ef6d-ab18-45e3-927a-0cb677794424&istFeedId=0959f117-9faa-4499-80bd-c0265bb2950e&istItemId=wrwtiqrlw&istBid=t&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1pyCBhCtARIsAHaY_5ddjFPz00Q3vtdMgaRCTvSvJcUeAm83UV_GDjbyjf1ImzbimpkEDqkaAvPTEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
I get coverage everywhere in my little mansion, the full 360.

deravarra

CoBo55 wrote: »

How much did you pay for the orbi?
This is my paltry offering https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing-accessories/networking/network-routers-and-switches/routers/asus-rt-ac86u-wifi-cable-fibre-router-ac-2900-dual-band-10172009-pdt.html?istCompanyId=fbc6ef6d-ab18-45e3-927a-0cb677794424&istFeedId=0959f117-9faa-4499-80bd-c0265bb2950e&istItemId=wrwtiqrlw&istBid=t&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1pyCBhCtARIsAHaY_5ddjFPz00Q3vtdMgaRCTvSvJcUeAm83UV_GDjbyjf1ImzbimpkEDqkaAvPTEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
I get coverage everywhere in my little mansion, the full 360.

400 euro. Discounted at the time on amazon. Wish I did it right first time round and saved myself money, headaches and nagging about how bad the wifi was around the house.

My house is 1650 sq ft over two stories. My mesh system covers everything. All users now very happy and never complain.

Trust me, listening to the moaning about how bad the wifi was gave me so much stress that the cost of the mesh system was easier to cope with.

I had previously used Asus routers on a number of occasions before going down the mesh route, and I will never again use any Asus router. Always let me down

CoBo55

deravarra wrote: »

400 euro. Discounted at the time on amazon. Wish I did it right first time round and saved myself money, headaches and nagging about how bad the wifi was around the house.

My house is 1650 sq ft over two stories. My mesh system covers everything. All users now very happy and never complain.

Trust me, listening to the moaning about how bad the wifi was gave me so much stress that the cost of the mesh system was easier to cope with.

I had previously used Asus routers on a number of occasions before going down the mesh route, and I will never again use any Asus router. Always let me down

Oh I had the same myself with the original hub and also when the archer was failing. I'm very happy so far with what I have, hopefully it will stay that way. All I am trying to say is that there are other alternatives available to people that work very well and are a huge improvement over the hub.

deravarra

CoBo55 wrote: »

Oh I had the same myself with the original hub and also when the archer was failing. I'm very happy so far with what I have, hopefully it will stay that way. All I am trying to say is that there are other alternatives available to people that work very well and are a huge improvement over the hub.

definitely. Not everyone has the same building size, build materials or build type. I have at least 30 items connected to my wifi at all times, and I work from home quite a bit as well. Thats why i went with what I did. I asked a number of people on this very thread what they found good, and many recommended the system I use, so I went with it. I valued their opinion. In fact, I wished I had asked in this forum before I got the Deco and the last Asus. I would have been in wifi heaven well before now

Hurrache

CoBo55 wrote: »

A good quality router would be more than sufficient and certainly more affordable.

They aren't for a lot of people though. My Archer C7, decent enough, struggled to get a decent signal to one side of the house. I messed around with it as much as I could before resolving it with an Eero mesh. It came with 3 satellites but I'm only using 2. The C7 actually didn't perform a whole lot better than the Virgin router.

I worry little about getting every last bit and byte out of my connection, so for most people any issues around a backhaul is meaningless for the most part anyway.

sham69

Just bought the orbi AC 3000 from Amazon Germany , 358 delivered . Should be here by Friday. Thanks all for the advice ...

CoBo55

Hurrache wrote: »

They aren't for a lot of people though. My Archer C7, decent enough, struggled to get a decent signal to one side of the house. I messed around with it as much as I could before resolving it with an Eero mesh. It came with 3 satellites but I'm only using 2. The C7 actually didn't perform a whole lot better than the Virgin router.

I worry little about getting every last bit and byte out of my connection, so for most people any issues around a backhaul is meaningless for the most part anyway.

Ah now in 2021 the C7 is the equivalent of a valve telly. Issues around backhaul aren't meaningless when it starts affecting your system because it's overkill for the type of house you have. Many including myself don't have 500 plus to drop into a mesh system there are cheaper alternatives.

deravarra

sham69 wrote: »

Just bought the orbi AC 3000 from Amazon Germany , 358 delivered . Should be here by Friday. Thanks all for the advice ...

Very easy to set up. More or less plug and play.
Which VM pack are you on? 500 Mbps? or the 1gig?

VM made a mistake with my pack at one stage and had the line giving 1 gig to the old modem. I still managed to get over 600 Mbps over the wifi

alec76

There are plenty not expensive and better alternatives to residential MESH systems. All of them required Ethernet Backhaul I am afraid.
You could get set of used industrial grade APs ( Aruba , Ubiquity etc) for peanuts of EBay etc if you lucky. And some of them 4x4 MIMO. They hardly plug and play though.
ps. As for the some system being pricey ... Some people buying IPhones for €1000 and at the same time thinking €400 is too much for the good solid WiFi at home....

Hurrache

CoBo55 wrote: »

Ah now in 2021 the C7 is the equivalent of a valve telly. Issues around backhaul aren't meaningless when it starts affecting your system because it's overkill for the type of house you have. Many including myself don't have 500 plus to drop into a mesh system there are cheaper alternatives.

Cost me £150, currently £250.

sham69

deravarra wrote: »

Very easy to set up. More or less plug and play.
Which VM pack are you on? 500 Mbps? or the 1gig?

VM made a mistake with my pack at one stage and had the line giving 1 gig to the old modem. I still managed to get over 600 Mbps over the wifi

I'm on the 1gb package for the past week, not enjoying it due to problems mentioned in original post. Looking forward to getting the orbi and seeing how it performs.
Cheers.

bk

deravarra wrote: »

I would think it fair to say that if you are fairly tech savvy, and have the wherewithall to launch into a project of wiring your house with cable, source and configure AP's at the correct locations for optimal signal around the house, then good luck to you!

Well keep in mind many newer homes come pre-wired with ethernet, mine did.

I'd always recommend to anyone who is building a new home or renovating to run ethernet.

It blows my mind how lazy people have gotten today. It use to be that people use to think nothing about running a phone line or aerial cable to another room in their house. It use to be pretty much standard practice in most homes. We have gotten a bit spoilt with the wireless tech.

Even if you can just run one ethernet cable, that can help greatly. I find that issue that people have with a single router is that usually it is on one side of the house, near the front door. It is then ther other side of the house that can get a black spot. If you can move the single router to a more central location, that normally fixes the issue. The problem with most homes is that the router is basically firing 50% of it's signal out to your front garden.

As for your comment on configuring APs, most decent mesh systems support ethernet backhaul out of the box. Nothing to set up, just plug them into ethernet and usually they will configure themselves and take advanatage of the greater wired backhaul.

deravarra

bk wrote: »

As for your comment on configuring APs, most decent mesh systems support ethernet backhaul out of the box. Nothing to set up, just plug them into ethernet and usually they will configure themselves and take advanatage of the greater wired backhaul.

Referring to someone who had mentioned they used old isp routers instead of mesh systems. That would take a bit of configuring.

I am all for mesh systems

schmoo2k

deravarra wrote: »

Referring to someone who had mentioned they used old isp routers instead of mesh systems. That would take a bit of configuring.

I am all for mesh systems

The only real trick is to:
1. Disable DHCP on the old routers
2. Ensure the IP range matches your main router attached to the modem
3. When plugging it into wired backhaul do not use the WAN port