Changing position of Virgin Router

[BlueBlueBlue]

I have Virgin Media internet that works fine most of the time. The line enters in our downstairs sitting room, but the room we use as an office is upstairs at the furthest point away from the router so the signal is very patchy in the place we need it most (zoom calls etc). The house is small but old so possibly the walls and doors are exacerbating the problem.

The obvious solution is to move router, ideally under the stairs where the rest of our utilities are, and which is a more central location. I have no idea how to do this - when I contact Virgin they give me the same line about resetting the router and trying the 5G band etc. This won't solve the fundamental issue which is that the router is not centrally located. Is this something I can do myself, or will virgin offer a service to move the entry point if I push them?

 

[mathepac]

Have you other devices plugged into the electricity outlet your router uses? If you do unplug it/them.

Do you have the option of using a signal booster with your router/modem? Ask VIRGIN is this is possible.

 

[Páid]

Can you run a LAN cable from the router upstairs? Then you would have no wi-fi issues.

5Ghz has less penetration than 2.4Ghz.

You could also use something like this https://www.screwfix.ie/p/tp-link-t...cbOwpoRx_ho4PYX9pBRoCke8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[DazedInPontoon]

You could also use something like this https://www.screwfix.ie/p/tp-link-t...cbOwpoRx_ho4PYX9pBRoCke8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you don't want wires at all, you can also get wifi extenders/boosters (just search those terms on Amazon for example) fairly cheaply that just plug into a power socket. You'd ideally put it mid-way between where router is and where the signal is weakest.

 

[AlbacoreA]

I had all those problems. A cheap Mesh will fix them all. I got 3 but 2 is good enough.

Turn off the Virgin Media Wifi, put it into bridge mode (dumb router). I have one mesh beside the VM unit. One in the kitchen. One up stairs. Though don't need the latter tbh.

 

[IrishHusk]

I had all those problems. A cheap Mesh will fix them all. I got 3 but 2 is good enough.

Turn off the Virgin Media Wifi, put it into bridge mode (dumb router). I have one mesh beside the VM unit. One in the kitchen. One up stairs. Though don't need the latter tbh.

Would have to agree on a mesh system. I got Google ones and they have not missed a beat in over 3 years. They are managed with the home app so all smart devices and WiFi can be controlled from your phone anywhere in the world. Bit pricey but worth it in my opinion. Great for managing what kids have access to and time limits etc

 

[AlbacoreA]

I use a second device called circle for the kids. The mesh (TP-Link) only cost me about 100. You can obviously pay as much as you want.

 

[Zenith63]

To answer the original question, the Virgin signal most likely comes into the house over a coax cable (although they are using fibre for new deployments), there’s nothing to stop you using some coax cable to extend this to the central location under the stairs. Relatively easily done yourself or an electrician would do it. I’ve moved the router both places I’ve lived without an issue.

The other suggestions are easier though and avoid a situation where Virgin won’t support your connection because your router Ian my connected to their cable directly.

 

[nest egg]

If you have a virgin connection (aka a "TV point") under the stairs, and believe that's a more central location to broadcast the wifi signal, the easiest thing to do is just move the router there, plug and play and away you go.

If you don't, then the next easiest option as others have said is to buy a mesh system. It's a replacement for your existing router/wifi network, with one "node" connected into your virgin modem/router, and others dotted around the house for consistent wifi coverage. It uses the same wifi name/pw, so your devices effortlessly switch between nodes without you noticing a thing, they're brilliant.

The downside is that there's more faffing about to get it setup, and putting the virgin router into "bridge mode". Based on my own experience, this requires a call to Virgin the first time you want to do this (there's a good reason for this which I won't get into, it's not important to know though, they'll know what to do once you say you need "bridge mode"). You'll also have to set up your devices again on your new mesh wifi, but once you're done with that, it'll be plain sailing.

 

[NoRegretsCoyote]

Would have to agree on a mesh system.

I've tried a few things (similar problem) and mesh is best.

Boosters are cheap though and should be tried first. A plug-in booster is about €50 on Amazon and if it doesn't solve your problem you can return it.

 

[jpd]

Virgin have a Wifi mesh adaptor - smartpod. This should be your best option as it will work with your existing router without having to change it to bridge mode

 

[newirishman]

I second the booster idea especially for the less technical crowd.
Note that switching into bridge mode is not necessary (nor recommended) for running a WiFi mesh network. turning off WiFi and DHCP server on the router should be good enough.
Switching to bridge mode removes an additional layer of protection and has no benefits in this scenario.
Also, don’t put your router under the stairs. Wood is an excellent isolator for radio signals, so you are in fact further weakening the signal.

 

[AlbacoreA]

Personally I had more hassle with boosters/powerline adapters than the Mesh.

Boosters are notoriously fickle with wiring and interference.
You don't need 3 or 4 firewalls on your network.
The VM routers are notoriously unreliable when in WiFi mode. Its a piece of Junk.

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The only time I'm still using a powerline adapters is for a device thats gaming's. where latency can be an issue on Wifi and its bypassing the kiddie firewall I have in place also helps with that.

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www.signalboosters.com

But boosters are cheap. Get one and see if it works. If you need more performance (and reliability) then try a mesh. Thats a win, win.

 

[nest egg]

Virgin have a Wifi mesh adaptor - smartpod. This should be your best option as it will work with your existing router without having to change it to bridge mode

This is definitely going to be the easiest option. The only catch is our friends at VM want €5 a month to provide them.

 

[BlueBlueBlue]

Thanks for all the replies. I tried a cheap tp link booster and it wasn’t up to much. Was hoping to avoid mesh as it’s pricey and the house is small so hoped moving the router was a viable option however this might be the way to go!

 

[nephster]

The mistake most people make with wi-fi boosters is putting them near where they want to be, like in the same room they currently have bad reception. Well, that won't work as the *booster* won't have any better reception than your device. They need to go somewhere between you and the router; find the closest place to where you want to be that still has coverage, and plug it in *there*.

 

[Leo]

Have you other devices plugged into the electricity outlet your router uses? If you do unplug it/them.

Having other devices plugged into the same socket should not cause problems. Homes are wired with a small number of circuits, so just plugging other devices in nearby will not affect WiFi signal unless the device itself isn't behaving and emitting interference.