Upgrading Router from VM3 Hub

RobbieH

The hub is downstairs and all the consoles are upstairs so we did try those plugs that turn your  house wiring into Ethernet connections but they said there wasn't much of a difference.

mickevh

"Everything was fine until you added smart lights and they don't work."

Does that not rather suggest the "problem" is with the lights not the SH...? Changing router, I suggest, is just guessing. It's rather like saying "my car won't start" and then leaping straight to the "fix" of "buy a new car." It may be that all that is required is the battery needs charging or the petrol tank needs filling. Further analysis of the problem is indicated.

"Change the DNS settings" also sounds like guessing. To analyse whether this is a valid strategy we need to pick apart a bit how the lights use DNS, what is not working and thusly what fix is required. The banner "DNS" hides a multitude of complexities - maybe you could link to some narrative of what the problem is, why the kit needs DNS and why the vendor thinks a DNS Resolver change will fix it.

Very briefly, is you have a problem connecting (called "Associating" in Wi-Fi speak) then changing DNS won't make any difference - IP type functions (such as DNS) cannot even begin to start working until basic Wi-Fi connectivity is established. In the same way that you cannot conduct a telephone conversation until you have established a connection, the language you intend to use is irrelevant until the call is established. Changing language from English to French will not "fix" any issues with establishing the call.

Incidentally, Wi-Fi is fundamentally an "only one thing at a time can transmit" technology. The more "things" you have, the more data they wish to transmit, the more "competition" there is for some "air time." Twenty-something odd devices isn't outrageous, but it depends somewhat on the use case such as their geographical spread, signalling conditions, air time contention, data volumes etc. etc. It might be that a better fix (certainly in VFM terms) is to deploy some additional Wi-FI cells to reduce the air time contention, and improve the signalling conditions (for example) but we'd can to get into cases later if you wish.

MarkyPancake

I don't see how DNS can affect a smart light, when essentially DNS just matches an IP address with a name, e.g. 123.1.2.3 is SiteNameHere, so instead of having to remember IP addresses, we just have to remember the names. Some DNS services do this lookup quicker than others and may offer additional user controls over your ISP's own DNS, but they're all still matching an IP address with a name.

There's a flaw in the Puma chipset used in the Super Hub 3 that causes regular latency spikes that can be noticed in online gaming and affect all devices connected to it. VM have tried to improve it with a firmware update, but from what I've read it cannot be fixed with software. Setting the SH3 to modem mode makes no difference, it's still affected by this issue with its hardware.

There's a massive thread about it on the Virgin Media Community forums and various articles online for other devices that use the same chipset.

RobbieH

Many thanks for all the info.
I'm tech savvy to an extent but when getting into details of  e.g. why to change dns settings and what specifics they do I lack that kind of knowledge. I've got a little lazy on keeping up with stuff like that. I was keen when I was younger but got lazy with age
I knew the Hub 3 wasn't the best but have never really experienced any major issues.
It wasn't until I started adding more "smart" things that seemed to highlight more it's down side and plenty of poor reviews on the hub.
But saying that I added a few cheap Emylo wifi switches to the system and they connected and work flawlessly and as said earlier about the gaming lag, but that doesn't always happen.
I have read many lag issues concerning the ring doorbell as well but also many that say there's work faultlessly, again it got me thinking could this be more of a router issue rather than the actual product.
I guess that's why I'm asking as I'm not 100% sure getting a new router is the way to go. It's one of those things where until you start looking at the little issues you then think then maybe there's something there.
If I  was having major speed issues or regular connectivity drop out then normally I'd have just replaced it.
The issue with the Yeelight ceiling light is what got me delving a little more into it. I'm not totally convinced the router is the issue but who knows what kind of software they're using. Plenty of comments and youtube vid's of said light working and connecting without issue.
Here's the link to the not that helpful Yeelight forum I've posted to Ceiling light 650 not connecting to App
Again thanks guys I really do appreciate the feedback.

MarkyPancake

I've got a Super Hub 2 set to modem mode and use an Asus AC68U as the router (running Merlin firmware), because I like more control over my home network settings than you can do with ISP's kit. It also has better hardware to cope with everything it's doing.

I've considered trying a Netgear R7800 in its place, but only if I can get one cheap, as it's more of a curiosity thing, since my last three routers have been Asus.

psychopomp1

Amazon UK every & now again drop the price of the R7800 to £120-£130 instead of the usual £170, so well worth trying it out if you can get hold of it at the lower price. And of course you have the standard 30 day returns as well. But if you wanted to stick to Asus, then the RT-AC86U is the one to go for but that aint cheap at around 190 notes.

MarkyPancake

I added it to my watch list at the weekend at £150 and today I noticed it's £164.

RobbieH

When i looked yesterday the R8000 was £170.99 and the R7800 was £164.
I may just be tempted and give the R8000 a trial for a couple of weeks. Although I love gadgets and boys toys I don't wanna spend anything on a new router   

RobbieH

Well I bought the Nighthawk from Amazon at £170. A little pricier than I really wanted to spend but so far so good. It hasn't fixed my light issue but It does show the light as being connected to the router, still on going talks with the manufacturer.
Also the lag from the ring doorbell has diminished drastically. A lot of the time there is no lag at all and much higher speeds and connection when my boys are online gaming.
I also like the fact you can name each connected device and assign an icon to what the device is. This is something you couldn't do successfully with the virgin hub 3.

thedude

Dude. I went to link but for the Christ's sake I'm struggling getting it connected to the virgin router. I can't configure the broadband.
Static
Dynamic

I've plugged it in all OK and set the router into modem mode