Hub One keeps dropping off the internet

[#1]

Ever since we installed the Hub One in our main socket (Dec 2017) we've noticed the internet service is rather flaky. However due to us being so busy we put up with it.

However it is now getting ridiculous because when we watch Amazon Prime films, the internet connection is often lost and takes about 5-10 mins to reconnect. As you can imagine watching a film in this manner with interruptions is so frustrating. The dropped connections seem to occur when we pause the film. Hmm?

We've checked our phone line, the Hub One is in the master socket. I've checked the speeds and when connected, generally speeds of 25-27 and 6.3. But nothing when the internet connection is lost.

I suspect it is the Hub One box but can PlusNet check for a fault on our line? Or suggest a better box?

Thanks

[#2]

Plusnet should be able to check for a fault on the line if you give them call.

Can you tell if the hub powers off or if it simply looses connection?

There are some logs within the hubone which can give more insight as to why the disconnect happened, but it these would more than likely need to be passed onto plusnet for investigation.

With regards to the hubone, ive had a couple and are no longer using it. For a short period I used a BT Smarthub which worked with no issues at all (this does however require some configuration as will most routers not supplied by plusnet)

[#3]

Hi Sandx!

I've just checked your line and diagnostics don't indicate any problems, in fact I can see you've been online for over 64 days now. 

Are you connecting over WiFi? if so can you try connecting over a wired connection to the router if the same thing happens?

[#4]

How do I connect a Firestick to the hub one?
Btw the blue connected light stays on the box when we lose internet which seems to suggest the WiFi signal is weak.

[#5]

I wouldn't want you to do anything other than follow the advice from the PlusNet team but 2 thoughts if you are losing wifi contact to the hub rather than the hub losing contact with the outside world.

Do you have any phones using wifi and do they lose contact as well?. I forget which frequency(s) the Fire Stick uses to connect but there have been reports that some kit can get confused by the Hub 1 broadcasting wifi on 2 frequencies. There can be problems when devices decide to switch from one to the other,  and reports of even dropping the connection. It might be worth separating the two signals. @bill888 has posted how to do that at https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/Devices-stop-working-on-5-GHz-connection-Wifi-drops/m-p/1395....

On the second tack, have you tried https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/getting-the-best-wifi-signal/ ?

[#6]

Hello BrightonRock - sorry if my terminology isn't correct but yes I suspect our devices (mobiles, tablets, Firestick) are losing their connection to the Hub One. As PlusNet have kindly advised, our connection to the broadband is steady and I haven't seen anything other than the blue 'connected' light on the Hub One.

Very often facebook, email and messenger apps on our phones / tablets take too long to refresh and I often see a 'reconnecting' message across the top of my messenger app or a spinning wheel!

Thanks for your post. I'll look into those links. Also someone at work suggested using the free WiFI Analyzer app and see if changing the channel may help. My colleague thinks it could be interference from other wifi boxes ?!

[#7]

An update

I've been using the Wifi Analyzer app and it showed that the channels 11 and 44 are being used for the 2 wifi speeds but they always show as having the most interference according to the app.

Even restarting the Hub One doesn't help - it selects another channel 6 and that is still very poor with about 5-6 other households on the same channel. Why is this? I thought the Hub One was smarter than this?

Is there a way for me to change the channel myself to say channel 14? It must be possible surely?

Further update

Apologies for asking a stupid question - I've found this post and will be trying it out.

https://community.plus.net/t5/Fibre-Broadband/Wireless-a-bit-flakey/m-p/1450180

[#8]

Hi @sandx

I'm glad  you found a way to do it. However, for future reference and anyone who comes to this thread, you can change channels by the following method;

1) To connect to your Hub One, you will need to open a browser and go to 192.168.1.254 If you have any issues doing this via Wireless, we recommend trying to do it via Ethernet cable instead.

2) You should come to a page with information about your connection, click 'Advanced Settings' at the top and it will ask you to sign in with a Password. This is located on the back of your router under 'Admin Password'

3) Select the option for 'Wireless' followed by '5 GHz Wireless'. What we want to do to begin with is turn 'Sync with 2.4 GHz Wireless' to 'Off' and update the SSID to be different. The easiest way would be to add '-5G' to the end so it is identified as its own connection. Once this is changed, we will need to keep an eye on it for a day or 2 to see if the issue continues. If it does, the next step would be to change the wireless channel. Keeping in mind the original 2.4Ghz unchanged name network connection would be the best to connect your devices  to for a stronger signal. 

4) Following the above guide to get to your 'Advanced Settings' page, you will need to change the settings within the 2.4 GHz Wireless tab and the 5 GHz Wireless tab.

5) Under the correct heading, you will need to find 'Channel Selection' on the list and change this from 'Automatic' to any one of the other channels, This can also need doing under '5 GHz Wireless' to cover both signals. Give it 3-4 hours of testing to see if the issue still persists and try to change the channel again if you see little or no improvement. Let us know how it goes.

[#9]

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@sandx wrote:
Is there a way for me to change the channel myself to say channel 14? It must be possible surely?

 Bearing in mind that there are quite a few devices that will not work on channel 14.

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