Router advice

siamese0109 · 13 March 2018 at 8:24AM

I'm adding more and more smart devices to my home and finding that my basic Virgin hub is struggling. I'm looking to buy a new router but have managed to baffle myself!

I don't want to spend a fortune and have narrowed my choice down to 3 - all of which are around the same price, all rank about the same on amazon and all say they're the fastest! :undecided
Can anyone advise me which really is the best of these three please....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MPI5N7U/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FB45SI4/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01B4X503S/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Thankyou!

John_Gray · 13 March 2018 at 9:11AM

"Best" for what purpose?
Do you have a problem with wireless signal in the furthest place in the house where it is required?
Obviously you've checked that the routers will work in 'broadband' mode rather than/as well as ADSL/VDSL mode!

I suspect you'd be happy with any of these routers, but check whether there are any technical reviews on the web rather than the consumer reviews on Amazon.

BTW you want to get "Modem Mode on the Virgin Media Hub" document from the VM website unless you know all that stuff anyway!

My crib-sheet for the Hub 3.0 follows:

If lower solid rectangular light is WHITE

Hub 3.0 is in router mode
admin GUI accessed at 192.168.0.1
all four ethernet ports are active

If lower solid rectangular light is MAGENTA

Hub 3.0 is in modem mode
admin GUI accessed at 192.168.100.1
any ethernet port can be used to connect to the customer router
BUT that 'turns off' all the remaining three ports

datostar · 13 March 2018 at 1:41PM

It might be that the OP's Virgin hub is struggling with the number of devices connecting rather than a wifi range problem. I've got a Virgin Hub 3 and suspect I'm having the same problem with up to 8 devices. Virgin's own forums point to others having this problem with the Hub 3. Some have reverted to the Superhub 2 which perhaps can cope better with multiple devices and others have gone for separate routers. I'm considering going for a separate router too.

siamese0109 · 13 March 2018 at 5:41PM

Hi - think it's a bit of both actually - the signal was never brilliant on wifi but never dropped and now it does it all the time! I'm still on Superhub 2 though and have 9 devices attached. Although I enjoy 'playing' with the smart devices I'm not really techie and consequently the specs on the routers I posted just went over my head

John you said 'Obviously you've checked that the routers will work in 'broadband' mode rather than/as well as ADSL/VDSL mode!'....... I have to admit that I hadn't I just thought all routers would work with broadband!

esuhl · 13 March 2018 at 5:52PM

If the problem is wireless coverage, I'd try getting some additional wireless access points (or powerline extenders or wireless repeaters if you can't add wired APs).

Otherwise, Draytek routers always get good reviews. Some are a little expensive, but I managed to pick up an old model for £10 on eBay.

Robisere · 13 March 2018 at 6:44PM

If you want no more than 4 LAN (Ethernet cable) ports, you will need a VDSL router. This is mine:
https://www.tp-link.com/uk/products/details/TD-W9980.html

Available here is the upgraded newer model:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-Wireless-Connections-VR600-V2/dp/B01LFGTEI6/ref=dp_ob_title_ce?th=1

Or choose from Reviews, the TP-Link 2600 being a very good router:
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/pc-peripheral/best-routers-of-2018-3217482/

datostar · 13 March 2018 at 7:39PM

Robisere wrote: »

If you want no more than 4 LAN (Ethernet cable) ports, you will need a VDSL router. This is mine:
https://www.tp-link.com/uk/products/details/TD-W9980.html

Available here is the upgraded newer model:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-Wireless-Connections-VR600-V2/dp/B01LFGTEI6/ref=dp_ob_title_ce?th=1

Or choose from Reviews, the TP-Link 2600 being a very good router:
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/pc-peripheral/best-routers-of-2018-3217482/

As the OP is on Virgin Cable Broadband with their Superhub 2 rather than on any kind of DSL connection those routers will not be suitable. The 3 he originally mentioned will be suitable.

olbas_oil · 18 March 2018 at 6:37PM

I was in the same situation (Virgin Hub) and found that an ASUS AC1200G worked perfectly. I got that for £42 from Amazon warehouse. https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-RT-AC1200G-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Wireless/dp/B01F4WOFD6/ref=sr_1_7?m=A2OAJ7377F756P&s=warehouse-deals&ie=UTF8&qid=1521394514&sr=8-7&keywords=asus+router

I then changed to the ASUS RT87U, because the AC1200G doesn't support Merlin firmware, and I wanted to be able to track usage by individual IP. That also works perfectly. It is supposedly AC2400 twice the speed, but in practical terms I found no difference. 'Fastest' is a measure of combined speed across the bands, and so isn't available to any single device.

Both these support a 4g LTE dongle, which allows you to stay connected when Virgin goes down!

So, if you don't need any of the additional firmware features, consider a budget alternative? In fact I'm considering selling the RT87U, and going back to the AC1200G because I'm not getting on well with the admin interface. When using a web browser it keeps logging me out when viewing the client list. The Asus app works perfectly, but I hate having to use a phone, when I could use a monitor!

telemarks · 18 March 2018 at 7:35PM

I've always been a netgear fan. Never had problems. Currently 21 devices connected, and running fine.

I've always found even the budget routers (sub £40) to do far more than I need. I use two in the house (due to a 7 foot thick solid stone wall in the middle of our house) and another to cover the 1/2 acre garden. All wired together via a 8 port switch,

The whole lot was a about the same as one expensive router, and I'm sure I get better coverage.

olbas_oil · 19 March 2018 at 10:40AM

olbas_oil wrote: »

I was in the same situation (Virgin Hub) and found that an ASUS AC1200G worked perfectly. I got that for £42 from Amazon warehouse. https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-RT-AC1200G-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Wireless/dp/B01F4WOFD6/ref=sr_1_7?m=A2OAJ7377F756P&s=warehouse-deals&ie=UTF8&qid=1521394514&sr=8-7&keywords=asus+router

I then changed to the ASUS RT87U, because the AC1200G doesn't support Merlin firmware, and I wanted to be able to track usage by individual IP. That also works perfectly. It is supposedly AC2400 twice the speed, but in practical terms I found no difference. 'Fastest' is a measure of combined speed across the bands, and so isn't available to any single device.

Both these support a 4g LTE dongle, which allows you to stay connected when Virgin goes down!

So, if you don't need any of the additional firmware features, consider a budget alternative? In fact I'm considering selling the RT87U, and going back to the AC1200G because I'm not getting on well with the admin interface. When using a web browser it keeps logging me out when viewing the client list. The Asus app works perfectly, but I hate having to use a phone, when I could use a monitor!

I've just had an email saying there is 20% off Amazon Warehouse deals at the moment, so the AC1200G is now £39.67. It is a returned product, but these are usually in perfect condition and you can always return if there's a problem. So unless you want to make an offer for my RT87U, I'd get that.

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