ports blocked Virgin

jhe

thanks very much for the information esuhl, will try work my way through it later.
I use wifi for devices . laptop. printers, wifi extender phones etc. phone app for CCTV viewing, -all wireless
I have only ever asked Virgin to unblock certain port numbers in the past. I havn't asked their advice on 3rd party devices.
The Virgin 3.0 hub was installed 2 weeks ago. it replaced a 2.0 superhub that also used to block ports and internet was running so slow with the 2.0 they replaced it with the 3.0.
the engineer just installed the 3.0 to get it up and running, all devices were working fine to begin with .including app for cctv on our phones and ipads, didn't have a choice of 2g or 5g with the router when first set up,
made several phone calls over the last few weeks regarding internet running slow which they just to fobbed me off ,
Sunday just gone, the internet was so slow no devices would work -phones, laptop, ipads, couldn't view cameras on app so phoned Virgin again. speed test was showing 5.0 instead of 100.0 so techie I spoke to changed settings to 2g and 5g, resulting in every device in the house having to have the same passwords added again, had to reset and link the wifi extender again, but still ipads wont link to cctv because of blocked ports. when I run a check there are numerous blocked ports.
regarding changing the advanced settings on the router , I know how to access them but havnt a clue how to make the exceptions or assign static IP addresses to the devices whose ports need forwarding, and then set up the port forward.
thanks for your help. will study it later

esuhl

My *guess* is that the CCTV devices have been set with fixed IP addresses that the router doesn't know about. This is usually necessary for port-forwarding.

If you turn off all your internet devices, turn off your router, wait 10 seconds, turn on the router, turn on ONE device (PC, tablet, phone, etc.), does that device work?

Basically... if the CCTV devices are kept off after this, you should find that everything else works fine.

---

The first thing you want to do is to find out what IP addresses your CCTV devices are using. Then you can tell your router to always use that IP address, and then set up port forwarding to that IP. So...

Turn everything off. Turn on the router, wait a minute, turn on the CCTV device (so it gets first dibs at getting an IP), wait a minute, then turn on ONE other device (computer/tablet/phone/whatever -- I'll call it your "PC").

Log in to your router from your "PC" and you should be able to see a list of all the connected devices on your local network, along with their IP addresses. Hopefully the CCTV device will be listed (if not, try rebooting the CCTV device a few times).

Make a note of the CCTV device's IP address, and then find the settings on your router to change it from a dynamic IP (DHCP), so that it will always use that same IP.

To test access to the CCTV, you should be able to type its IP address into the address bar of your web browser, log in, and see its settings (just like you can see your router's settings).

You can then go back to the router and set up port forwarding. You'll need to specify the IP address (or name/label) of the CCTV device, the port numbers that need to be forwarded, and whether you want to forward TCP or UDP packets or both.

I'd just try forwarding ports 7287 & 7288 to start with -- the others look like they might be related to the web interface (settings) of the CCTV device which you probably don't want to be accessible from the internet, but... I'm not sure.

---

Since your new router (mostly) worked when you plugged it in, I wouldn't worry about messing up any settings. If you completely balls it up, you can just do a factory reset and try again. :-)

---

As for the speed issue, wireless speeds drop off over distance, don't easily pass through solid objects, and may be subject to interference. You need to connect a single PC to your router with an Ethernet cable to get a realistic idea of how fast your connection is.

onomatopoeia99

A standard router for home users will effectively block all incoming ports unless you explicitly open them and direct them to a specific device on your local network. NAT essentially imposes this.

It sounds like you want to open a port or ports so you can view the CCTV when you are not at home. This will require some configuration of your router. You ISP will not provide support this, even if their router has the facility to allow it, because configuring the router to work with random third party products / software goes way beyond their remit of making your connection work and moves them from "support" to "free consultancy".

If you don't understand networking fundamentals, pay a professional to set it up for you.

jhe

onomatopoeia99 wrote: »

A standard router for home users will effectively block all incoming ports unless you explicitly open them and direct them to a specific device on your local network. NAT essentially imposes this.

It sounds like you want to open a port or ports so you can view the CCTV when you are not at home. This will require some configuration of your router. You ISP will not provide support this, even if their router has the facility to allow it, because configuring the router to work with random third party products / software goes way beyond their remit of making your connection work and moves them from "support" to "free consultancy".

If you don't understand networking fundamentals, pay a professional to set it up for you.

it has all been set up profesionally both the router off Virgin and the CCTV by an approved installer, also TV is saying 'connect to Virgin Media services' when I do the TV says 6 named ports are blocked and to contact ISP.
I am the first to admit I do not understand that's why I asked advice on here,
If I called the installers out everytime there was a problem with the routers it would be costly. (sometimes I have managed to sort my probs out thanks to helpful people)
the CCTV app works on mobile phones but not ipads at the moment

jhe

esuhl wrote: »

My *guess* is that the CCTV devices have been set with fixed IP addresses that the router doesn't know about. This is usually necessary for port-forwarding.

If you turn off all your internet devices, turn off your router, wait 10 seconds, turn on the router, turn on ONE device (PC, tablet, phone, etc.), does that device work?

Basically... if the CCTV devices are kept off after this, you should find that everything else works fine.

---

The first thing you want to do is to find out what IP addresses your CCTV devices are using. Then you can tell your router to always use that IP address, and then set up port forwarding to that IP. So...

Turn everything off. Turn on the router, wait a minute, turn on the CCTV device (so it gets first dibs at getting an IP), wait a minute, then turn on ONE other device (computer/tablet/phone/whatever -- I'll call it your "PC").

Log in to your router from your "PC" and you should be able to see a list of all the connected devices on your local network, along with their IP addresses. Hopefully the CCTV device will be listed (if not, try rebooting the CCTV device a few times).

Make a note of the CCTV device's IP address, and then find the settings on your router to change it from a dynamic IP (DHCP), so that it will always use that same IP.

To test access to the CCTV, you should be able to type its IP address into the address bar of your web browser, log in, and see its settings (just like you can see your router's settings).

You can then go back to the router and set up port forwarding. You'll need to specify the IP address (or name/label) of the CCTV device, the port numbers that need to be forwarded, and whether you want to forward TCP or UDP packets or both.

I'd just try forwarding ports 7287 & 7288 to start with -- the others look like they might be related to the web interface (settings) of the CCTV device which you probably don't want to be accessible from the internet, but... I'm not sure.

---

Since your new router (mostly) worked when you plugged it in, I wouldn't worry about messing up any settings. If you completely balls it up, you can just do a factory reset and try again. :-)

---

As for the speed issue, wireless speeds drop off over distance, don't easily pass through solid objects, and may be subject to interference. You need to connect a single PC to your router with an Ethernet cable to get a realistic idea of how fast your connection is.

Thanks Esuhl
I will try to work my way through your helpful advice tonight when I have some time to take it in.
I didn't plug the router in Virgin did. everything did work until they altered the settings at their end ( which has improved the speed greatly)
The CCTV is wired and viewed through mobile apps. will have a look to see if I can find the address later
the router is in the same room as Laptop phones etc- around 6ft away no walls or solid objects regarding the speed, it is at the minute 99.0. I know it will fluctuate but a regular speed of 5.0 was unacceptable.
will try turning everything off later and testing.
thanks again

fiendishlyclever

I used to have loads of problems with port forwarding with my Virgin Router - a restart fixed things. Switching it into Modem mode with a decent router made them all go away, and boosted the range of my wifi too. Best investment ever! (The Virginmedia Smarthub is much better in modem mode - it was forever crashing and needing to be restarted when run as a router)

patricia1066

@fiendishlyclever, I am trying to set up the Hub 3 as modem only and you seem to have succeeded so I wonder if you could offer any clue what I can do next.

I encountered a problem in setting it up, and since then, I have no internet access on modem mode, and VM tech on phone said that they see no service once hub 3 is in modem mode. Her next offer is to pass me on to a paid for service who can help.

Equipment
Virgin Hub 3
Router Linksys 1900acs (factory default)
Ethernet hub

This is how far I got;
I used the web admin page to choose modem only, with direct ethernet cable between pc and hub 3.
I got internet connection, and went on to connect the new router on it's wan port to port 4 on hub 3. This connected and gave IP addresses to all wired and wireless devices.

I then connected a 3rd party hub which had worked when hub3 was in router mode. The pc upstairs saw a unknown connection.
I unplugged the 3rd party hub.
Now, there was no longer any Lan or wan connection in the hub3. Nothing on IP address 192.168.100.1. The Linksys also had no connection on it's IP address 192.168.1.1

Even after power cycling and wired connection to PC, I had no internet.

According to the two support people I spoke to, my choices are
Return to router mode
Pay for the trained support.

Chino

patricia1066 wrote: »

@fiendishlyclever, I am trying to set up the Hub 3 as modem only

patricia1066 has gone on to double-post here:
[URL="https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6042425setting up 3rd party router Virginmedia Hub 3 in modem mode[/URL]