Hub One - 5GHz WiFi issue

[#1]

the one @bobpullen did the other weekend, god knows what number it is

[#2]

@AndyinBrum 

That will be one of the development versions that @bobpullen has been letting us test. It is good to hear that the version you have is working for you. The version you are on will show at the bottom of the router interface pages but the 'last updated' date may be wrong.

I had a version that worked but unfortunately the next iteration re-introduced the bug for me. There are some fixes for other known bugs which have to be incorporated before any of these versions can be released to everyone. As I understand it the fixes are for issues with commonly used WiFi devices out here in user land. Without them many customers will have problems other than the 5 Ghz WiFi issue.

It is frustrating knowing that there are versions of firmware which resolve this 5 Ghz issue for some customers but that can't be rolled out to everyone because it will cause problems for others.

At least Plusnet must now be narrowing down which changes to the firmware are causing this particular issue. 

Hopefully Bob will post an update soon.

[#3]

I am now getting this issue from a few days ago.. is there any resolution please or can Plusnet send me Router that works please?

[#4]

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@islwynll547st wrote:
Are you using the Talk Talk Sagemcom Fast 5364 ? I tried the proposed settings and called the Plusnet technical support but the conclusion was that it was locked to Talktalk.

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I grabbed one of these very shortly after they launched to have a play around, and no degree of hacking allowed me to open up the necessary PPPoE settings to allow it to be connected to a Plusnet line.

I get the impression from reading around that this restriction may well have been relaxed at a later date, however it would require a firmware update that's only possible if the router is online. Catch 22.

@AndyinBrum wrote:

Bob, is the router the same as the BT Home hub 5? Do you know if they have the same problem? 

Home Hub 5A, and yes.

@h2o your router should have received an update back on the 17th.

@Chris123 you too are already running a pre-release build, although it sounds like your problem has slightly different symptoms anyway.

@jwsg & @markangeltruema neither of your devices seem to be online at the moment?

@WillH5080 please private message me the serial number of your device as I'm struggling to locate your account.

@omatthews @mrmitch85 @eddyhopper & @onkarsinghy your devices will have rebooted a short while ago to apply some changes. Sorry if you were in the middle of anything, however you should find things are better now.

[#5]

@bobpullen 

Thanks for the update.

I'd been on HH6 for 3 months but plugged in the Hub One just to eliminate the HH6 as a cause of some sudden line problems. When the Echo Show lost connectivity so soon I posted that as info

Ive now gone back to the HH6 and prefer to keep my connection as is until my line probs ticket begins to get looked at 

[#6]

@bobpullen - I see I am indeed now running 4.7.5.1.83.8.273. I will try again and see how 5GHz performs...

Wow! 27Mbps on BT and 25Mbps on Ookla. That is phenomenal compared to previous tests :0

Whatever you do don't roll me back to 263.

Chris

[#7]

Noting some have mentioned problems with their echo I give the results of my own lengthy tests.

My echoes would drop out for no identified reason but their recovery varied. Sometimes they would reconnect quickly, other times after a while or not at all. The only way to get them to reconnect was to remove power.

I was monitoring what channel my hub1 was operating on and what other networks were near and what channels they were on. Only 1 other network, at a very low level, in the region of -89dBm and always on channel 1. I also noted that the hub1 would switch channels between 6 and 11 for what seemed reason at all. I wondered if the echo lost the stream and when it came back, no matter how quickly, if it came back on another channel the echo struggled. Thus I fixed my hub1 on channel 11. This has resulted in a marked improvement.

I do not claim this is the cause, only that what I have observed is the result of me checking. I am wondering why the hub1 seems to wander.

That's my half penneth.

[#8]

@bobpullen  Now running 4.7.5.1.83.273 FW since Bob put the updated FW on.That's 3 days now of not having to reboot the router, I appreciate this is still early, and hope I don't jink's this by typing this,but haven't had this sort of connectivity since last March . On 5 Ghz  now getting the correct speed I'm paying for,I still have the channels seperated 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz .So I can't say thankyou enough to Bob for this latest FW. 

[#9]

@briston, worth noting that other Wi-Fi networks aren't the only things that operate across similar radio spectrum. Bluetooth devices do too, as well as other things you might not even consider, like microwave ovens for example. As convenient as Wi-Fi is, it's a complex beast when you get under the hood.

[#10]

Given that so many people are now having to work from home it demonstrates that PN really isn't up to the job of providing stable broadband over WiFi. From next week I have to stay home with my 10 year old and home school using remote learning. If I hadn't binned one hub and bought the HH6 instead then remote learning wouldn't be possible. In these challenging times PN is a disgrace

[#11]

@bobpullen had to switch to a working router so that I can work at home properly. Netgear D7000 works fine.

[#12]

Don't really understand people saying they were unable to work from home. This is a 5GHz issue. Why can't people connect on 2.4GHz where there is no problem?

[#13]

@bobpullen could I please join in the testing programme for updated firmware?

I'm currently part of a village emergency team trying to keep a large number of elderly and vulnerable residents safe.

A router that plays hide and seek is not helping that.

[#14]

@matthewgdavies1 - If you haven't already done so I strongly advise splitting your 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels (raise a support ticket if you need help). The 2.4 channel should be rock solid. The trial firmware (ending. 273) fixes 5GHz issues.

[#15]

I will not go into details but if you have access to my support tickets look at the last one and you can see a problem with some aspects of plusnet, which has now been sorted.

As a customer we have to believe what we are told by plusnet and sometimes the willingness or skill of some agents does not deliver the goods. One agent has discovered a problem which has been in existence for months and he solved it within 24 hrs. I now have at least 30% increase in download and similar in upload line speed. The discovery involved looking at 2 measurements and deciding if the difference was reasonable. They were not. I know this is nothing to do with the WiFi system but until you establish what is going in is correct you cannot progress to understand what is coming out. So praise to the agent for spotting what others have not. Why did I not spot it? Because I do not have access to some of the information and also I am still learning.

Now the WiFi. Yes Bluetooth can affect WiFi, they both exist in the same 2.4GHz area as WiFi, CCTV, baby monitors, microwave. However, other users of the spectrum should not interfere and manifest in the same way as what I and others are seeing. Bluetooth hops channels like mad, we know when we turn on the microwave and we do not have babies and CCTV. However if Bluetooth was so destructive then the likes of Apple, who, with the iphone11 certainly default to on and Fitbit, both of which my wife has, would come under mega criticism for destroying home broadband WiFi. Not to mention smart watches and some remotes for tv. So yes Bluetooth etc. can interfere, but that's not what is happening in this case.

In good engineering style however, we should go back to the beginning and ask some questions.

Why did BT abandon what has now become the hub1?

Is it true that a firmware update was performed on the hub1 a few months back?

If there was a firmware update, why?

We are not sure if people's problems are even associated with WiFi. I certainly do have a WiFi problem but as previous agents did their tests and declared my incoming line meet specification, which incidentally was stretching the truth, they were wrong. Hence the large increase in my incoming line speed. As they were wrong about my incoming line what confidence that skill is being attached to this problem? As an old school electronics engineer I am the type who may not know a certain aspect of the subject but my skill is research to find out and I am learning.

As a customer we are not entitled to any of this information and I feel there is a lot of muddying of the waters. As this 'problem' is obviously not mission critical to plusnet that is the reason there is no solution, yet.