[SOLVED] virgin hub 3.0 as router and virgin superhub 2ac as wifi access point but link speed 10Mbps

[ams_bond]

Hello
I am new to this community. Please forgive any ignorance. I am using virgin hub 3.0 as my main router and want to use an old virgin super hub 2ac as an access point to extend the range. Want to use wifi from both hub 3.0 and access point hub2ac. Don't want to put the hub 3.0 in modem mode.

I have already done the setting up but the speed from the access point is limited to 10Mbps on all the devices. I have windows laptop, windows desktop, iPad pro, android phone and iPhone.

When I check in the hub 3.0 settings for connected devices I see the link speed is 10Mbps on the devices that are connected via the access point hub 2ac.

On the connection it shows they are connected by ethernet which makes sense I guess as they are connected to the access point hub2ac which is connected to the main router hub 3.0 via ethernet?

Connecting to hub 3.0 gives 100Mbps speed.

I have already checked the cable that connects the hub 3.0 to the access point hub2ac by connecting a computer and get 100Mbps via the same cable. Using cat5e cable.

my hub 3.0 ip 192.168.0.1
range is from 10 to 253
hub 2ac ip 192.168.0.254
dhcp off on hub 2ac. Firewall off on hub 2ac.

The first day of connection was giving speed of 100Mbps from the access point. The second day somehow started giving 10Mbps.

I have done reset of hub2ac a few times but no change in speed. I have tried changing ip address of the hub2ac with no success. Tried different ssid/password and same ssid /password. Still the same.

Would really appreciate your kind help.

Many Thanks
AMS

 

[Ralston18]

Take the Access Point (Super Hub2ac) and all served devices out of service.

Ensure that the router and remaining network devices operate in the 100Mbps range.

Then, one by one, add back the Access Point, and other devices served by the Access Point. Take your time and watch the speed. Allow time for the network to recognize and allow each device to fully function both within the network and out to the internet as appropriate.

Watch the router's admin screens and all speed LED's. You should see when each device connects to the network and at what speed.

Hopefully you will discover one particular device that is slowing things down.

 

[ams_bond]

@Ralston18 thank you for the advice.

I have tried with one device at a time. Every time switched off and switched on the access point hub2ac before trying with another device and kept an eye on the link speed.

Link speed always at 10Mbps showing on router hub3.0. checking the speed on speedtest.net gives aroung 9.40Mbps on the all the devices. Download and Upload speed are almost the same.

It seems that the link between the two hubs are capped at 10Mbps.
I read about auto negotiation between devices somewhere. Not sure how to check that on the hub3.0 and hub 2ac.

Any suggestion would be highly appreciated.

Many thanks
AMS

 

[bill001g]

That is strange since they both have gigabit ports. Some very old stuff with 100mbps port you would need things like crossover cables. This though appears to be modern equipment

If you plug a pc into the hub 2 does it connect at gigabit. The online manuals are not very helpful. Do devices have a screen that lets you see the port speed on the lan ports. Although it is very rare does it have the ability to set the speed on the port.

This almost has to be a bad cable. Make sure you are using cat5e or better cables. Make sure it is not fake cable. The cables must be pure copper (no CCA) and have wire size 22-24 (no flat or thin cables). Most quality cables have this information and the marking EIA/TIA on the side. The EIA/TIA certification is what it a actual ethernet cable.

 

[ams_bond]

@bill001g thank you for the input.

I also thought they should be gigabit ports. The connection on the first day was fine giving me 100Mbps from the access point hub2ac.

I have already checked the cable and it is working perfectly. if I plug the cable to a PC/Laptop then the speed is about 98Mbps.

If I connect a PC/Laptop to the access point hub2ac via ethernet cable it gives me speed about 9.40Mbps. I guess this means that the hub2ac is only receiving or transferring at 10Mbps?!

On the settings of the hub3.0 I can see the devices connected and the speed they are at but nothing about the port speed on LAN ports. Is there any specific location in the settings I should look into?

Any suggestion is much appreciated.

Many Thanks
AMS

 

[Ralston18]

Does the following link represent your Hub 2ac?

https://www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/help-and-advice/products-and-services/super-hub-2ac-guide/

 

[ams_bond]

Does the following link represent your Hub 2ac?

https://www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/help-and-advice/products-and-services/super-hub-2ac-guide/

YES.
This is the one I am trying to use as an access point.
I have solid blue power light.
5ghz and 2.4ghz lights are fast blinking when devices are using internet.
The WAN light is slow blinking Green/Yellow.

Many thanks
AMS

 

[Ralston18]

And for the Hub 3:

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-configure-advanced-settings-on-your-hub

Do you use 192.168.0.1 to access the Hub 3 router's admin pages - correct? And not using 192.168.100.1 (Modem Mode).

See the 3 bullet listing at the bottom of the link.

The objective is to "drill down" into the Hub 3 router settings to determine if something is astray. E.g., look in the router's logs if available and enabled.

However, in the meantime, I suggest trying another known working Ethernet cable having the spec's (per @bill001g) between Hub 3 and Hub 2ac.

The existing cable may work sometimes but some intermittent flaw or problem causes the speed to drop back.

 

[ams_bond]

And for the Hub 3:

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-configure-advanced-settings-on-your-hub

Do you use 192.168.0.1 to access the Hub 3 router's admin pages - correct? And not using 192.168.100.1 (Modem Mode).

See the 3 bullet listing at the bottom of the link.

The objective is to "drill down" into the Hub 3 router settings to determine if something is astray. E.g., look in the router's logs if available and enabled.

However, in the meantime, I suggest trying another known working Ethernet cable having the spec's (per @bill001g) between Hub 3 and Hub 2ac.

The existing cable may work sometimes but some intermittent flaw or problem causes the speed to drop back.

Really appreciate all the effort.

YES. This is the hub3.0 as the main router and using 192.168.0.1 for hub3.0 settings. Not using modem mode.
Indeed I should have looked at the logs. Did not realize that.
The network looks normal as in there are some warning, critical, notice, error due to the recent changes.

I have tried a different cable already but then again it was from the same box I made the long cable from.
Surprisingly I do not have any other ethernet cable.
I will grab one from the shops tomorrow and give it a try. Beginning to suspect the cable as I bought the 100m box from eBay at a cheap price even though it has served well till now.

I will update tomorrow.
Really appreciate the supports from both you guys.

AMS

 

[ams_bond]

I tried a new cable but still the same result with only 10Mbps speed.
Not sure if there is something wrong with the hub2ac. Could try using it as a router in place of the hub3.0 to see the speed.
If I get 100Mbps from the hub2ac as a router then will try the hub 3.0 as an access point to check the speeds.

Any suggestion will be much appreciated.
Many thanks

AMS

 

[ams_bond]

UPDATE..SUCCESS!!!
Used a cat5e coupler to join another tiny cable to the hub2ac to fool the main router hub3.0
Someone told that virgin hub limits the link speed if it knows its directly connected to another virgin hub.
adviced to try a coupler to make the router think it is just another device not a virgin hub.
Now getting 110Mbps from the access point hub2ac.

Thank you guys for your help.
AMS