Hub One - 5GHz WiFi issue

[#1]

@bobpullen 

Just to add to my fuller post on the previous page:

Changing the DHCP lease duration from 1 day to 21 days didn't help.  Wi-fi still crashed and burned after about 24 - 36hrs from its previous reboot.

I also checked the firmware version:  Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263

It may be a red herring, but I had another household device (think it was a DAB radio) that used to hang or crash after a few days' use, and it turnout to be poor memory management.  The microprocessor had a 256k RAM associated with it and, once that was full, it couldn't do anything.  The only solution was to power down, leave it for 60 secs and then reboot... sound familiar?  As I said, Hub One may have a completely different architecture, but I would check for an under-specced memory chip that is being filled up with cr*p and then crippling the system somehow.

Thanks,

enrico94

[#2]

@Dippy 

Quite right.  When I first saw the thread replies in my inbox I thought, "That was quick work by the Plusnet team!"... but of course it was just other people reporting the same problem.  Not very useful!

[#3]

1. Brief description of the problem, and how is masquerades itself. What are the symptoms? How frequently does it happen?
   
   I just started using Plusnet on the 8th Jan and this issue has just started happening from 18th Jan onwards. It's happening everyday now
   
   
2. Do the devices having problems appear to be connected or associated with the hub?  Is the hub status indicator normal/blue when the problem occurs?
   
   No it all seems to be running as normal
   
   
3. Do you have the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels merged (default setting) or split (different wireless network names)? If the networks are named differently, does the problem only affect the 5GHz network?
   
   Merged but I've just split them and will see if this helps
   
   
4. Once the problem occurs is it persistent?  Do you have any devices wired to the router and does the problem affect them at the same time?
   
   Yes, I need to restart the router. No wired connections.
   
   
5. Are you able to reproduce the problem reliably? Do you think you have a way of triggering it? [for example waking a specific device from power save mode]
   
   No just happens randomly
   
   
6. Is the problem always resolved by rebooting the hub?  If so, how long does it take before problems recur?
   
   Yes it seems like it. It seems to happen around mid day, late at night 10pm or early in the morning 8am
   
   
7. If specific devices are always impacted when problems occur, please provide details of which devices are impacted and which aren't i.e. manufacturer, model, variant and operating system version.
   
   Windows Desktop, Macbook Pro, 3x Google Home Minis, Android Oneplus 6, Google Chromecast
   
   
8. Have the devices experiencing problems recently received any patches that might correspond with the time the issue first occurred?
   
   No
   
   
9. Please provide a description of your home network setup and all devices in use including whether or not you're using any additional switches, Powerline adapters or wireless access points.
   
   No additional switches or powerline adapters

[#4]

Thought I'd drop in with an update on the 273. It's mostly stable but occasional days like today I've had to restart my router, this is maybe once a month. But it feels like the problems snowball, like I'm sure I've been getting more dropped zoom calls and bad gaming pings in the last week, and this morning was a rage inducing low point which resulted in a RESET at about 1015am.

I appreciate this is clearly a difficult ssue to resolve, but I'm baffled that it's taken two years and these faultily devices are still being handed out to the general public, with no warning and no compensation. Feels like a "Write to your MP" campaign waiting to happen.

[#5]

@bobpullen
Is the updated firmware still being pushed out to customers who post on this thread?
I'm still waiting.
Thanks

[#6]

1. Brief description of the problem, and how is masquerades itself. What are the symptoms? How frequently does it happen?
   
   Daily Wifi dropouts. Ethernet connection doesn't experience these dropouts
2. Do the devices having problems appear to be connected or associated with the hub?  Is the hub status indicator normal/blue when the problem occurs?
   
   The indicator stays blue
   
   
3. Do you have the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels merged (default setting) or split (different wireless network names)? If the networks are named differently, does the problem only affect the 5GHz network?
   
   Merged
   
   
4. Once the problem occurs is it persistent?  Do you have any devices wired to the router and does the problem affect them at the same time?
   
   Yes, I need to restart the router. Wired connection works fine
   
   
5. Are you able to reproduce the problem reliably? Do you think you have a way of triggering it? [for example waking a specific device from power save mode]
   
   It occurs randomly
   
   
6. Is the problem always resolved by rebooting the hub?  If so, how long does it take before problems recur?
   
   It is
   
   
7. If specific devices are always impacted when problems occur, please provide details of which devices are impacted and which aren't i.e. manufacturer, model, variant and operating system version.
   
   All wireless devices: laptops, smartphones, Smart TV
   
   
8. Have the devices experiencing problems recently received any patches that might correspond with the time the issue first occurred?
   
   No
   
   
9. Please provide a description of your home network setup and all devices in use including whether or not you're using any additional switches, Powerline adapters or wireless access points.
   
   No additional switches or powerline adapters

[#7]

1. Brief description of the problem, and how is masquerades itself. What are the symptoms? How frequently does it happen?
   
   Daily Wifi dropouts. Ethernet connection doesn't experience these dropouts
2. Do the devices having problems appear to be connected or associated with the hub?  Is the hub status indicator normal/blue when the problem occurs?
   
   The indicator stays blue
   
   
3. Do you have the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels merged (default setting) or split (different wireless network names)? If the networks are named differently, does the problem only affect the 5GHz network?
   
   Merged
   
   
4. Once the problem occurs is it persistent?  Do you have any devices wired to the router and does the problem affect them at the same time?
   
   Yes, I need to restart the router. Wired connection works fine
   
   
5. Are you able to reproduce the problem reliably? Do you think you have a way of triggering it? [for example waking a specific device from power save mode]
   
   It occurs randomly
   
   
6. Is the problem always resolved by rebooting the hub?  If so, how long does it take before problems recur?
   
   It is
   
   
7. If specific devices are always impacted when problems occur, please provide details of which devices are impacted and which aren't i.e. manufacturer, model, variant and operating system version.
   
   All wireless devices: laptops, smartphones, Smart TV
   
   
8. Have the devices experiencing problems recently received any patches that might correspond with the time the issue first occurred?
   
   No
   
   
9. Please provide a description of your home network setup and all devices in use including whether or not you're using any additional switches, Powerline adapters or wireless access points.
   
   No additional switches or powerline adapters

[#8]

Hi @bobpullen Another update on the 273 Hub one, currently showing 43 days connection (would have been longer but had to have the electricity switched off). Wifi signal no problems whatsoever, no dropouts on either 2.4 or 5Ghz. Extremely happy with the Hub one and PN, keep up the good work.

[#9]

Hi @_tm_13
I think you've got the nail on the head. Why Plusnet are still giving customers this problematic router, I just cannot understand. If they couldn't fix the issue within 12 months then they should at least have started sourcing another to provide to customers.
I think that they should be obligated to inform customers that the router they will receive does not work correctly. For the most part it won't be too much of a problem but others may want to use 5 GHz.
2 years and still no fix is poor. Given the number of people seeing this issue and ISPReview website reporting it back in 2019 it shouldn't have been too difficult for them to reproduce.
I wonder if OfCom could do something if enough people complained.

"We'll do you proud". What a joke.

[#10]

@bobpullenI have the same issue as reported here.  Can you push the updated firmware to our router?  We have been experiencing the problem for some months but only on 5GHz channels since we started using 5GHz.  We have tried changing channels. inSSIDer shows the 5GHz channel but no Internet connection

Our login is ssn50@plusdsl.net and current software version is Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263 | Last updated 18/02/19

1. Brief description of the problem, and how is masquerades itself. What are the symptoms? How frequently does it happen? 5GHz drops off on connected devices (network shows as active but Browser says NO INTERNET
   
   
2. Do the devices having problems appear to be connected or associated with the hub?  Is the hub status indicator normal/blue when the problem occurs? BLUE
   
   
3. Do you have the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels merged (default setting) or split (different wireless network names)? If the networks are named differently, does the problem only affect the 5GHz network? Split Networks
   
   
4. Once the problem occurs is it persistent?  Do you have any devices wired to the router and does the problem affect them at the same time? It persists until router is rebooted.  Wired connections and 2.4GHz connections are unnaffected
   
   
5. Are you able to reproduce the problem reliably? Do you think you have a way of triggering it? [for example waking a specific device from power save mode] No way to trigger the problem.  Appears intermittent
   
   
6. Is the problem always resolved by rebooting the hub?  If so, how long does it take before problems recur? Yes, problem occurs every 1-3 days
   
   
7. If specific devices are always impacted when problems occur, please provide details of which devices are impacted and which aren't i.e. manufacturer, model, variant and operating system version. Any device on 5GHz (Iphone, Macbook Pro, iPad)
   
   
8. Have the devices experiencing problems recently received any patches that might correspond with the time the issue first occurred? No
   
   
9. Please provide a description of your home network setup and all devices in use including whether or not you're using any additional switches, Powerline adapters or wireless access points.Iphone, Macbook Pro, iPad.  One wired Netgear 4 port switch.  I have removed Powerline adapters with no improvement. 

Kevin

[#11]

Same problems. Coming to a head whilst working from home in Lockdown!

1. Brief description of the problem, and how is masquerades itself. What are the symptoms? How frequently does it happen?
   Wifi dropping off. Some devices can't reconnect until router rebooted. Happening every day now, and almost hourly.
2. Do the devices having problems appear to be connected or associated with the hub?  Is the hub status indicator normal/blue when the problem occurs?
   Normal Blue
3. Do you have the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels merged (default setting) or split (different wireless network names)? If the networks are named differently, does the problem only affect the 5GHz network?
   Merged but does seem to only affect devices using 5GHz 
4. Once the problem occurs is it persistent?  Do you have any devices wired to the router and does the problem affect them at the same time?
   No wired devices
5. Are you able to reproduce the problem reliably? Do you think you have a way of triggering it? [for example waking a specific device from power save mode]
   No way of triggering. Possible load on XBox Live but can't say for sure.
6. Is the problem always resolved by rebooting the hub?  If so, how long does it take before problems recur?
   Yes, some devices lose connection within minutes!
7. If specific devices are always impacted when problems occur, please provide details of which devices are impacted and which aren't i.e. manufacturer, model, variant and operating system version.
   Certainly happens to HP ProBook laptop and iPhone 7. Doesn't seem to affect LG TV
8. Have the devices experiencing problems recently received any patches that might correspond with the time the issue first occurred?
   No
9. Please provide a description of your home network setup and all devices in use including whether or not you're using any additional switches, Powerline adapters or wireless access points.

No additional Network devices. Just the usual iphones, laptops, TV, Alexa, Xbox and iPads

I have the Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263 | Last updated 28/03/19 - Any chance it can be updated?

[#12]

Firstly, apologies things have been a bit quiet since the New Year. I've been busier than usual (in part working on this problem) and I've struggled to find much spare time. 

@danny1199 @leelewis21 @djshrike @andy_morley @AndyK3 @Bosede @neilhughes @neilmurray @Chris1974 & @Johnb925 - an update has been pushed to all of your devices. You'll need to power the router off/back on to apply it. I hope it helps.

[#13]

@jmad1305 @chrishiggins69 @Rhyd @SWilliams1 @jschaitel @martinkingham @CW1 @KevHamilton @spacepods & @Dippy - same applies. Power your router off/back on and it should update to a newer firmware version.

[#14]

@enrico94 @lordy @Sara123 @rpawz @bornmild @plopnofear @babylon5 & @supersub70 - your respective devices have also all had an update pushed to them. As per previous posts, you'll need to switch the router off/back on to apply it.

@KT3 - I think I've done yours too, however I'm not 100% I've identified the correct device. If there's no change after a reboot then drop me a private message containing your account username and router serial and I'll take another look.

@Deividas1981 - apologies, not sure what happened the last time I tried updating your router. Try another reboot and you should now be good. Let me know if not.

[#15]

@mattroberts3001 @norster @martinbrown1 @nickvale @Naomi_W & @rw08388 - I also took at look at your routers, however none of them seem to be online. I know some of you have swapped your router for another (which explains things), but for anybody who is still using a Hub One - drop me a private message containing your account username and router serial number so I can make sure I'm looking at the correct device.

For those who've received a firmware update and are till seeing micro-disconnections/devices fluctuating between 2.4GHz and 5GHz, remember that Wi-Fi is particularly prone to interference and environmental fluctuations where there are competing Bluetooth/Wi-Fi radio signals in the vicinity.

The Hub One will leave it to the connected clients to decide which radio frequency to connect to i.e. 2.4GHz or 5GHz. If a device is on the limit of a reliable 5GHz signal (5GHz doesn't reach as far as 2.4GHz), then it's not unusual to see it 'flip-flop' between bands as the radio environment changes. One way to limit this behaviour is to configure the 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSID's with separate names. That way you can control which devices connect to which frequencies. If you 'forget' the Wi-Fi configuration for the frequency you don't want the device to connect to, then it won't try.

In terms of a wider update, I haven't much to add beyond what I posted here. In short - we're in the process of preparing for a full deployment of a firmware that resolves this, and other recognised issues.

[#16]

Thanks Bob. I see that my router is showing "Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263 | Last updated 23/01/21".

Does it have to be a power reboot or can I just do a soft restart? Unfortunately I am reluctant to do it anyway until I see a few other folks report that it works and has no worrying side-effects.