Number of devices connected

[#1]

Hi,

I have what I think is the Hub 0 router, and I’m on fibre so I have the box thing underneath.

The number of devices connected to my network has grown over the last year significantly, 5 phones, 3 iPads, 3 TVs, two laptops, amazon fire, 2 games consoles, 6 Sonos speakers and two heating system thermostats all connected wirelessly and then a wired connection NAS drive and a daft Vodafone (not very sure) suresignal thing. Signals galore going everywhere.

What is apparent now is the last connected devices are starting to struggle and I get the “cannot connect device” message. This is often when people visit and want to connect their phones.

My download speed is fast, getting consistently near 50MB/s on Speedtest.

I have experimented with changing the channels and worked through 1, 6 and 11, but doesn’t seem to make a difference. Sometimes a reset of the router lets more devices connect.

Is there anything else I can do, or is it that my router could do with an upgrade given the demand? Would it be worth asking plusbnet for the new hub router?

Any advice gratefully received

Thanks very much.

[#2]

Couldn't tell you anything about the Hub as I use my own but if it has two frequencies bands i.e. 2.4 GHz band and 5 GHz band, have you got both enabled? If you have, are these newcomers connecting to the right band. A device designed to use say just 2.4Ghz won't be able to connect to the 5 Ghz band. There is software that you can download that will tell you what channels are in use nearby. Have you got access control turned on? If so that will block unknown devices.

FWIW I've got 19 devices that connect to my system, spread across 2.4 and 5.0 bands. No problems but don't forget although it sounds a lot, they don't all talk at once. Although gaming consoles might eat into it a lot.

The latest hub from Plusnet seems to be ok from what I've read. If yours doesn't have 2 bands then an upgrade is what I would do. And do name the two bands separately. Helps when connecting.

[#3]

@idonno

The  OP has a Hub Zero, which is single band so the option isn’t available with this router.

@Panholio

Either ring Plusnet and negotiate a Hub One in exchange for a new contract or buy your own combined modem/router. Quite a few of us use a BT Smarthub 6 bought off EBay for around £30. This has better WiFi performance than the Plusnet Hub One.

With either it’s best to split the 2.4 and 5GHz bands.see https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/2-4ghz-and-or-5ghz-best-practice/td-p/1351950

[#4]

Thanks very much for your help all.

I have obtained a new hub 1 for £15 from the bay of dreams.

Will see if this fixes my issues.