Hub One - 5GHz WiFi issue

[#1]

@bobpullen I have this exact issue with my Hub One router which is on the .263 software. If there is a chance it could fix the problem, could I please be moved to the upgrade?

[#2]

Thank you for you help @bobpullen and I'm sorry for the confusion. I'll get it reported as a separate fault.

[#3]

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@bobpullen wrote:

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@PWD wrote:

@bobpullen thanks for pushing the update, we now have 4.7.5.1.83.8.273.  Unfortunately my problem (wifi dropping out briefly and frequently) persisted.

That doesn't sound like the same issue. The problem being discussed here typically results in a complete failure of the 5GHz Wi-Fi radio, where the only option to restore connectivity is to physically reboot the router. It sounds like yours is more intermittent in nature?

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@bobpullen weird, I thought I replied to this already.  In any case, sorry for the confusion, I thought the definition of the fault was more fuzzy.

Since the update we are now having some serious problems with traffic seemingly just disappearing from our downstream so I would like to switch back to our BT Home Hub; please would you stop firmware updates getting pushed to us if that is still happening because our Home Hub 6 renders itself inaccessible when we connect our line to it.  I have to factory reset it to gain access so I think it is somehow pulling down your 5A firmware.

[#4]

@bobpullen

Thanks for the update. I've power-cycled the router yesterday and could log on the 5GHz fine. I confirm the firmware is now:

4.7.5.1.83.8.273

However, this afternoon the 5GHz signal just went. My phone fell back to the 2.4GHz, so I didn't notice at first. I'm a little concerned that the router is not complaining (including on the webpage), whereas I cannot see the physical signal at all using a couple of wifi analyser apps. Any thoughts?

[#5]

Hello - I would be grateful if you could push the firmware update 4.7.5.1.83.8.273 to our router as we are currently (and have been for a while now) encountering the issues that have been referred to in opening post including:

Samsung Galaxy S8 and 2 separate iPhone 7s intermittently presenting authentication errors; a loss of ability to connect to our WiFi & the classic 'No Internet access' message where if I knew how to would screenshot the evidence!

Our Hub 1 is currently on the 263 version and I would be grateful if you could push the latest firmware down please?

I am also very disappointed that I can't get connected to Plusnet telephone customer support OR even use the chat method of contact. Both have been unavailable and seem to be unavailable every time I check. This current poor quality of connection & service is all on top of the shambolic account billing problems early / mid 2019 where we weren't billed for approx 5 months!!!

Hopefully any kind of help you can offer now can steady my frustration. Regards DC

[MagNeto]

Hi @bobpullen,

I upgraded my broadband connection from ADSL to Plusnet Fibre (FTTC) just over a week ago. The day before yesterday, my latop stopped joining the 5GHz WiFi AP running on Hub One, even though it could see it - it just could not connect to it. Thus far the hub had been working fine, in all respects. Other devices at home which have 5GHz WiFi wouldn't connect with 5GHz WiFi either. In short, I have the same symptoms as you described in your original post and as have some many others done in their posts.

I take it hasn't been confirmed that the FW upgrade fixes the issue, as MagNeto posted the issue returned to him/her after the upgrade? Similarly to MagNeto's hub, my Hub One is showing the 5GHz is all fine and working but devices just won't connect to it.

Have you managed to reproduce the issue at your lab now?

Is it characteristic to Hub One that when there is heavy throughput load, e.g. running a speed test, that the Hub One produces a faint hiss? It sounds to me like a switching regulator inside the Hub One could be going a bit unstable when it gets loaded heavily.... I know there is a lot of talk about FW and updates on it but this could be a HW issue too, which is then attempted to be patched by FW. Is the Hub One using a QCA (Qualcomm) WiFi chipset?

My Hub One has this FW: Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263 | Last updated Unknown

Kind regards

Sdav

[#7]

Hi @sdav 

My 5GHz signal has not come back yet. I'm waiting for some troubleshooting advice.

It is interesting that you mention hissing from the hub. Mine did that from the start;  looking on the internet I found story saying that this might be a "feature" of new electronic devices, especially those badly built. I almost called PN about it, as it is quite annoying and clearly not right, but then (not related) I got a new Dell PSU doing the same, so I just thought that there would be no point in complaining (for both), as they would at best send me a new one doing just the same.

Sorry to go on a bit, but where it gets interesting is that now that my 5GHz signal is gone, the hissing sound is gone too! The hissing has to be related to the 5GHz circuit, somehow. When things were working, the hissing did get worse when the hub was working harder (HD stream, Dropbox,  etc...). Unfortunately, at the time I didn't think of checking the 5GHz load.

@bobpullen, is a hissing sound "normal" for the hub, or could that have been the first sign of a component problem, which has now failed (and the firmware was then not the solution)?

[#8]

@sdav I gently suggested a while ago that as the problem was intermittent that is one of the worst faults to trace and put forward the idea of power supply.

That was not picked up so obviously powers that be thought not. My thoughts were that software bugs should manifest themselves with everyone but hardware faults as they not necessarily so. From what I can understand not everyone with a hub1 is experiencing problems.

[#9]

To continue in the same vein...  I had the original problem (failure to connect to 5GHz) a few months ago and was fortunate enough to receive the ...273 update.  All seemed well for a couple of weeks but then the low throughput on 5GHz issue appeared.  I reverted to 2.4GHz only and (with just the 2 of us in the house most of the time) this situation is ongoing with no major issues.  I reported the new failure 'mode' and also suggested a hardware related problem, in the form of an EMC (interference) issue from the 5GHz signal as possibly being the root cause.  I've never noticed a hissing noise from the router, but it's in the hall so I'm not normally near it. 

Given that I used the router for some months before the issue arose, I can't help thinking that hardware component degradation may have at least some bearing on the issue.  No new devices were added to the network anywhere near when the problem initially appeared.

[#10]

I found this thread this afternoon whilst try to sort out my 5GHz problem. I have been suffering this issue off and on for a number of months. I have followed your guide to a quick fix and it seems to have settled down a bit. My most recent problems started after a power cut last week. Before that I had both the 2.4 and 5 GHz as separate entities and all seemed reasonably stable. But now it has become intolerable, with me actually considering a third party router.

Could you tell me if the problem exists in all routers at the update version mentioned or if some routers are physically defective.

I do hope the temp fix I have completed improves the internet access for the various equipment within our house, leading to a less stressful life.

Will those affected receive a tried and tested replacement hub, or a software upgrade to improve performance.

Thank you

[#11]

I posted here about a month ago that things had been ok since my update, having previously had the Hub One completely freeze, requiring a restart.

Unfortunately, that happened again this afternoon.

I log this here as the two freezes have occurred since the update to "Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.273 | Last updated 26/03/19".  Although 2 freezes in ~4 months is quite infrequent, I'd not had such problems before.

I was watching Youtube on my smart TV, which is cabled to the Hub One via a gigabit switch.  My mobile phone was also connected via 5G wifi, and a friend's Amazon Kindle Fire tablet also connected (I think via 2.4G)

Watching a video that had been running for maybe 10 minutes, Youtube on the TV froze, with a spinning disc, which later changed to say "connecting..."  I checked my phone and found it had reverted to mobile data, and did not have a wifi connection.  Attempting to connect to wifi, I got repeated connecting..allocating ip address..connecting messages, and a failure to connect.

During this, the HubOne LED remained blue with no warning lights.

Friend's Amazon Fire Tablet continued to work, able to access Google and the HubOne home page.  My phone would not connect to this, nor would a laptop that was also cabled to the HubOne.

I have a Raspberry Pi Zero cabled to one of the HubOne Ethernet ports (via USB>Ethernet adaptor) - this provides ad-block and DHCP/DNS services.  A laptop, plugged into ethernet, was not able to connect to this locally cabled Raspberry Pi, not could it connect to the internet. 

I have attached a screenshot from the tablet, showing part of the event log on the HubOne - the Android phone is connecting and disconnecting, starting at around 15:31.

To reiterate, the problem here is affecting WIRED connections to the hub as well as wifi.  The Smart TV is not configured for wifi, only ethernet.  The laptop that couldn't connect to a locally cabled device or the internet has both ethernet and wifi.

A curiousity here is that the Kindle Fire Tablet continued to work!

When I power cycled the HubOne, it all came back to life, the laptop even now showing the HubOne screen which had refreshed from the previous "unable to connect" error.

Is this a seperate issue - something failing in my hub one?  It's a bit troubling.and annoyingly intermittent!

Thanks

Ian

(Attached : screen grab from tablet accessing HubOne event log at a time when no other device would work)

[#12]

@rkhazelwood I have had problems over months.

I am running firmware version xxxxx 273 but only using the modem side of the hub1, with the wireless is switched off.

I first purchased a Deco M5 and use that as a router. Instant success. Greater range and devices connect to the 5Ghz stream that have never done before. I then decided to purchase another Deco to reach areas that would be unreasonable for a single router to reach.

I have come to an attachment with Plusnet over the matter.

[#13]

@ briston  Can I ask how that would work with my configuration. I have sky Q, with an E220 hub connected to the plusnet router via an ethernet cable. With the TP link mesh system in place would I be able to do away with the sky hub?

[#14]

Ok, I see, @MagNeto . For your and perhaps @briston and @CymonP 's interest, virtually all electronics have switching regulators in them nowadays. They normally switch at frequencies higher frequency than humand audible range but sometimes you may get resonances from other parts that emit a harmonic audible frequency. This may also happen depending on the load it sees, depending on device and design. Another possibility is that the switching regulator has gone unstable i.e. is not working as expected and hence generates an audible frequency. It's obviously bad design if it goes unstable like that, or there is a component batch problem which consequently causes it. Anyways, usually you try to design the circuit so that it doesn't emit audible noise but obviously that is one aspect that can be compromised if so wanted at some stage of product development.

When I noticed the hissing sound, I was doing a speed test and was hooked on the Ethernet i.e. wired connection. Also, the hiss isn't that loud as I ended up having the router next to my head when I heard it.

Briston, I think you're on the right lead about FW/HW issue. If it was purely a FW issue, it would likely be affecting a lot more people and in the same way. I'm not saying though it can't be a FW issue.

Obviously, HW issue is touchy subject for PN.... first of all you try to fix it with FW but if that doesn't work, there's only one way to fix it....and given there are quite a few people reporting the same issue... $$$.

I de-synced the 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFis. That worked for about a day but I'm back to laptop not connecting to 5GHz.

[#15]

@rkhazelwood I have replied as a private message to keep this thread on target