Broadband Connectivity Problems

[x-pack]

Hi

We've got Virgin Broadband and basically it's ****ing wank. Does anyone else have issues with them?

The problem is that the connection will stop or slow down which isn't too bad on a PC but terrible for gaming. It comes back but then keeps doing the same thing. Games like GTA5 are disastrous when the connection breaks because it kicks you from whatever lobby you're in and then you sit there waiting before it either kicks you to the offline mode or finds another lobby. I get that all the time :x

Resetting the router sometimes works but no-one should have to reset the router several times a day when you're supposed to be on e some super-dooper mega unlimited broadband deal. Phoned Virgin who claim to 'send out signals' to boost the connection. Next day it's always the same again. I'm not sure how sending out signals works but it sounds like bullshit to me :roll:

I'm getting quite pissed off with them. We never had this with BT but we did used to go over our limit and ended up paying more each month.

Has anyone else got anywhere with **** broadband? I might just see if they will cancel the deal because we aren't getting what we're paying for.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[mr_palitoy]

Have your phone line checked. Shitty lines can cause the broadband to drop out all the time. It did with our sky broadband until I complained and Sky/BT fixed it.

Cheers Jason

 

[Frunkstar]

I'm in North Wales, of cause I have a **** connection :lol: had similar issues, got an engineer in & it's much better not, but may I can get here (on a very good day) is 4 meg & thats super lightning speed for where I live.

As Jason said, it's quite often a line problem

 

[x-pack]

I'm going to psyche myself up and phone them ...again :roll:

They can get their asses out and sort it :x

 

[Robstyley]

Mate we've got Virgin cable broadband and have had problems with it. I've done a bit of looking into it and spoken to Virgin and there can be a few reasons:

As mentioned it could be the cable feeding your property or a problem with the Virgin equipment/cables in the house. We had this and they came out and replaced the cable feeding the property with a better more powerful one.

There could be nothing wrong with the equipment or signal and it's the wireless communication between the router and the computer. This has happened to me, the computer said I had full internet connection but I couldn't get a page up. I phoned them, they tested the signal and said there was nothing wrong with it. They told me to turn off the network device drivers on the computer and reinstall/turn them back on again. I did that and it works fine now.

Or it could be that their network is down. We get that sometimes, you just can't get internet regardless of what you do, it's from their end. Doesn't happen much though and shouldn't last for long.

It's most likely a computer to router issue rather than from their end. Touch wood most of the time my internet is absolutely fine. Saying that, I don't play games so maybe it's got something to do with the large amount of info the router has to process when gaming?

Speak to Virgin mate, they've always been quite helpful when I phone them.

 

[Robstyley]

One thing I will say, we used to be with Talk Talk several years ago and they were ****ing shite! Virgin are a whole lot better than them from a broadband and customer service point of view. Plus you got the Tivo TV and all that, love it.

 

[Michael Sith]

Barry...

Ring your provider and ask them to " increase the gain on your line" this improves voice and data quality on legacy copper or cable telephony.

If you are using a wifi router, then reposition it if you can, ensure it is away from electrical items.
Maybe ask for a router upgrade ( foc of course) if you have had the router a while

Tell your provider you have done a line test with alternate providers and speeds are higher than you have, so your thinking of changing as the service drops so much, you do not feel it is fit for purpose, as per OFCOM guidelines :wink:

If you have adsl/ adsl2+ at the moment, maybe that there is no ivestment in the infrastructure and the more users added to the exchange DSLAM is contending the service more and more, strangling your bandwidth

Finally mate...in your area, your cabinet is enabled for FTTC, therefore BT and other BT share providers can provide " super fast BB"

http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/where-and-when/

Use the link, pop in your post code and select your address ...bingo...your Superfast

Good luck mate

 

[Richard_H]

It's virgin Mike. That's fibre optic cable and has nothing to do with Copper cables like BT.

 

[Michael Sith]

sorry thought it was the old NTL connection moved to Virgin not the fibre optic.

I will stand in the corner now

 

[Richard_H]

You may be right Mike but I'm pretty sure that Virgin is fibre optic all over.

 

[x-pack]

All i know is that they had to install a new cable which runs from the street and into the house. BT didn't do that. I guess that's the fibre optic thing.

BT was fine. Virgin has been rubbish from day one. And we haven't had it that long :|

 

[Michael Sith]

Fibre optic from Virgin, in the main is very similar to BT s FTTC ( fibre to the cabinet)

Virgin predominantly use hybrid mix of coax and copper cabling for the tun from local nodes, then thrown into homes, it's not true fibre. Virgin were taken to task for their description.

True fibre is Ethernet (MIA Circuits) managed Internet access, where a 100mbps up to 10gb is delivered to the premises ( this is a business product due to its expense) where providers can utilise BT, CW, Virgin, Opal tails to reduce the cost, but invariably requires a dig and ducting and cabling ( armour cable 2 to3 metres underground)
These providers manage the circuit and throuput through Cisco kit usually ( routers) and will open ports on the routers in order that business IT departments can configure their LAN requirements ( chop up bandwidth on the LAN for example and predetermine usage limits within areas of a building )
10/100Mbps Ethernet can be around £280 to £320 per month!
1Gb/ 1Gb around £26k PA
If anyone wants Ethernet or MPLS give me a shout :wink:

 

[x-pack]

Blinkin eck Mike! I gather this is your job or something?

Computery techy stuff is lost on me. Like football :wink: I just want things to work

 

[Richard_H]

Eh? Ethernet is copper - typically cat5e or cat6 in most places still. Probably even beyond cat6 now but I'm not sure. Ethernet is used as the standard adaptor to plug into a network point (network card) via the RJ45 adaptor. In your home it's the cable that goes from your router to your PC, games console etc. Virgin (at least where I live but we had United Artists, then telewest) don't use BT lines. They dug our roads up in the mid 90s to lay fibre cabling which is not Ethernet. Admittedly the cable from the main line to the house is copper but that's because fibre optic isn't (or certainly wasn't but it has more flexibility now) flexible and would snap. It needs to be flexible to bend at 90 degrees etc to get into the correct place.

 

[Michael Sith]

I'm talking WAN Ethernet, i.e. Backbone infrastructure throughout the UK that delivers tails, these tails are then utilised.

Cat5/ cat 6 cabling utilised around a building for the LAN and Ethernet ports internally, dual port for PC/ telephony infrastructure which is moving now more towards converged voice and data where telephony is supplied via preconfigured kit on site, traditional PBX units done away with ( as the kit is sat in data centres) and traditional ISDN infrastructure removed and main bearer numbers/ did s and snddis ported to the cloud.

 

[Richard_H]

I can only assume that Virgin are not using the same infrastructure in the North West as they are over here then as their infrastructure (which was installed by United Artists in Gateshead, Glasgow and I think Birmingham initially) was completely independent on the main UK backbone and was true fibre optic. If they're piggy backing on BT over there then that is totally wrong and I can understand people being furious about it.

 

[Michael Sith]

BT provide 80Mbps FTTC where Virgin Media deliver over a 152 DOCSIS3 network as I said they have been taken to task for it, but the ASA don't seem to have a problem with it.
Virgin market the product as fibre optic, where you don't actually get fibre optic cable directly into your home which does utilise coax and copper pairs. This was my point.

Sorry Barry for taking the OP off tack

 

[x-pack]

Fight fight fight!



:lol:

 

[Robstyley]

I'm hearing Japanese I think I'm hearing Japanese I really think so.. I'm hearing Japanese I think I'm hearing..

 

[Michael Sith]

I'm non attritional, and certainly have no intention of causing offence, my apologies if I have in any way done so, Rich, your a top bloke