Hub One - 5GHz WiFi issue

[#1]

Hi Bob

I'm a long term Plusnet user and I've had this problem now for over a year. It's been getting worse recently, meaning that the time between reboot is getting smaller and smaller. Can you send out the software upgrade to my router please?

My current software version is: 4.7.5.1.83.8.263.

My responses to your questions are below.

Thank you 

Colin.

1 Brief description of the problem, and how is masquerades itself. What are the symptoms? How frequently does it happen?

I first notice the problem happening when I’m playing Call Of Duty Mobile on my iPad I keep getting disconnected from the game it lasts for about a second and then reconnects and the disconnection periods gradually get longer and longer. Other devices start loosing connection too with HomePods and HomePod Minis being particularly bad. Once the router has been reset the problem goes away. It used to run OK for over a week but this has been getting worse too. This morning I had to reset the router for the second time in 24 hours. I also loose internet connection randomly from my iPad, this can happen in the midst of using it or when waking it up from sleep.

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?

Sometimes the iPad says it’s connected to the wi-fi and it says there is no internet connection and other times it isn’t connected to the router at all.

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?

I split the networks over a year ago when the problem first started to get bad and I spoke to technical support. They have different names and both cause problems. The 5GHz is practically unusable. I often get the incorrect password problem on both networks when I know the password is correct.

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?

Once the problem appears it carries on until I reset the router. I don’t think it used to happen this way, I think it used to go away by itself. Wired devices carry on being connected to the internet, but sometime speeds do seem slower.

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, I’ve not been able to reproduce the problem it really seems to be random.

6 Is the problem always resolved by rebooting the hub?  If so, how long does it take before problems recur? 

I believe the problem has always gone away after a reboot. As mentioned above the times between reboots has become less. Twice in under 24 hours today.

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.

My iPad Pro (10.5inch) seems to be the worst. It’s running iOS 14.4.2 currently but it has happened all all previous software versions. My wife has just bought a new iPad Air running the same version of iOS and the problem is now happening for her too. The HomePods and HomePod Mini also drop connection too and have to be rebooted to carry on working.

8 Have the devices experiencing problems recently received any patches that might correspond with the time the issue first occurred?

All devices are updated with the latest OS patches when they become available and the problem is no better or no worse with any version.

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.

On my network I have two Netgear switches and two TP-Link wi-fi extenders. I was experiencing the problem before the extenders were added. Wired devices al appear to work fine except for poor speeds at times.

[#2]

Hi Bob I hope you are still active on this? We or one of you team may have spoken to me a year ago on this. During the conversation you advised shutting the 5G off and all was well for a while but It's now back.  I thought it was just LOW SPEED. I called the help line before the weekend and after checking REAL LINE IN SPEED, I was told do the following .... and was given the Split, rename 5G, turn off sync. "cure. When I explain to the young lady I had done similar in the past and was advised by engineering to shut off 5 altogether she said "They're only BT engineers what do they know?".  

In my problem the router has been lying about what's going on. It reports to SOME devices that they are connected but no internet (Probably the device itself seeing low response times?).  It was initially a Samsung TV as the only problem. This went back under warranty and had new mother and WiFi boards. I then realised a Lenovo table was triggering the route rto throw a wobbler.   I have change configuration via the setup page only to find by analysis the changes are not made!  Today I did a power off reset and it came back up with an EARLIR configuration! 

SO>>.

What can I do to help?

We are yet to find a way to reliably replicate the problem ourselves under lab conditions, so it would be helpful if you can reply to this post answering the questions below (and providing any other detail you might think is useful!)

1. Brief description of the problem, and how is masquerades itself. What are the symptoms? How frequently does it happen?
   A Samsung TV claims no internet connection. restarting the Samsung hub within the TV doesn't work. Turning to sleep doesn't work. SHUTTING MAINS OFF to TV often works. After a reconnect. 
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?
   Yes. Main indicator light blue and shows not signs on a problem The status page also looks good. BUT SOME DEVICES ARE SHOWN AS STILL CONNECTED WHEN OFF!
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?
   I had the most success with them spilt and run as independent networks, I have difficulty getting devices to go on a specific network once they have been on. All reference to them has to be deleted from the router AND all router history has to be removed from the device. This is particularly the case with a Xiaomi mobile phone. It worked OK on 5G after being advised to put phones on the 5G in last weeks call. Then it screwed up and would only go on 2.5G. I deleted everything and got it on 5G but after a "power on reset" the TWO network names were the same(old setup) and it ended up back down on 2.5G. It did improve the reported line speed over WiFi.
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 VERY! Only Hive now in Ethernet. No known issue with that. It is mainly a Samsung TV. Other devices report slow connection speed. Although the raw feed looks good.
   
   
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] YES! I think a Lenovo MiiX 310 tablet will trigger it. It is rarely used and the problem appears with time but the Tablet may also do it.  I think it is only capable of 2.5G?
   
   
6. Is the problem always resolved by rebooting the hub?  If so, how long does it take before problems recur? YES! Probably a day. It's every time I "retire" up to the telly concerned. LOL  I have just started extending the LEASE for the connected devices. More to follow on that?
   
   
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. Samsung TV UE40JU6500 probably running Tizen OS(?) WiFi Version BRCM43569_1.201.58_160201_CHA
   
   
8. Have the devices experiencing problems recently received any patches that might correspond with the time the issue first occurred? NO. Problem probably started when router was last updated! LOL
   
   
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. Hive on one ethernet line now. Samsung TV, National Panasonic TV, Old Lenovo Laptop, Xiaomi Mobile phone, Samsung tablet, Occasional Miix310 Lenovo Windows based tablet. Sometime a jaguar E Pace logged in for updates and the odd old phone for streaming audio to sound system. 

On a closing note, I recognise this problem is causing quite a lot of frustration for some of you but want to reassure folk that we're committed to getting to the bottom of it, and appreciate everybody's patience in the meantime 

If you can push some firmware to kick this thing into the real world I would be very grateful.  As said above The issue is compounded by the router lying about what's really going on. Confirmed by turning off and it being in a different state when it fires up.  I had just decided to change provider in order to get another router when my contract ends shortly.

Garry....  now hairless after two years of this! LOL

p.s. Not sure what HTML has been removed by the system?

[#3]

Sorry I should add...

Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263 | Last updated 11/07/19

and there is also an EchoDot.

ta

Garry

[#4]

So changing the DHCP lease to 21 days worked for a day and then back to getting no internet or unable to connect so I've reverted to splitting the 2.4 and 5 bands and now everything connects OK but only to the 2.5 but this is not really a great workaround as it limits the speed to about half what Plusnet promised when I upgraded.

Are there any other workarounds Plusnet can apply (downgrade or upgrade router version) ?

[#5]

Hi Bob. We have a problem with my wifes lenovo yoga tab constantly dropping its wifi connection. Been struggling with this for over a year. Could you push the update out to me to hopefully to solve this problem, and relieve Alis headache at the same time. Many thanks

[#6]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for sending me the firmware update.

I have now been over a week since the firmware update took place on my Plusnet router and so far I have had no issues with the router.  In the past the 5GHz WiFi issue normally returned within an hour of rebooting the router.

[#7]

I give up. I surrender. I have purchased a BT HH6 and now my WiFi just works. Yay...

(Also the front LED is far less offensively bright, so that's a bonus)

(Oh, and also, the 2-7 Jitter is now a big fat zero, bonus bonus)

[#8]

Only just found this post, but it seems it's not fixed yet as my HubOne is on the "Latest" firmware Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263 Last updated 19/02/19.

We've been having problems with iPhones and iPads loosing connecting to the WiFi and not being able to reconnect (even to a different WAP) after being on the HubOne.

After about 6 months of this happening I tried reconfiguring the two WAPs and HubOne wifi channels and channel ranges, but no real joy from that.  I used a WiFi scanner on my laptop to check all my wifi channels and others near by.   In early Feb it seemed the the 5Ghz channel from the HubOne had failed and wasn't showing up in the wifi scan anymore. Even after a reboot.

I gave up and bought a different router that seems to be running my network much better, both wired and Wifi seem much faster internally... but with all the jiggering about the VDSL broadband speed has dropped significantly over the last month (I assume due to DLM.)  

Our speed back in mid Feb when I installed the new router was 16Mb down and 0.6 up (we are about 1.6km from the VDSL cabinet on an impacted line.)  Today we are down to 7Mb down and 0.6Mb up I have a feeling this is a combination of number changes -disconnects- during set up of the new router and a bad NTE5C Mk4 filter plate.

Anyway I didn't know about this post and the "known 5Ghz" problem or probably wouldn't have bought a new router. 

Anyway in case it helps diagnose the root cause:

HubOne is VDSL connection as above, with WiFi sync off but both frequencies using the same SSID and password. HubOne is in the lounge with wifi connections to the Firestick, HiFi system, a set top box and whatever mobile devices wander in and out.  One wired connection to an ethernet switch and two WAPs on the wired network, plus other devices (PCs, NAS etc.) on the wired network.

It seems the entering and leaving the HubOne WiFi zones and connecting to the WAPs and back again cause connection problems for the iPads and iPhones.

All WAPs and HubOne are using the same SSID and Password, but are configured to avoid my channels overlapping.  There are quite a few neighbours' WiFi signals (that we can't change) one the same frequencies with different SSIDs.

Hope this is of some help (and that DLM eventually brings my broadband speeds back up!) 

[#9]

I have been having this issue for an age an havent been able to get any help at all

[#10]

Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.273 | Last updated 23/01/21

absolute garbage

Working from home as a software engineer is nearly impossible. I have to reboot it 5-6 times a day just to get WiFi working.

I'll try disable 5Hgz wifi but I need to have reliable connection which this router does not provide at all!

[#11]

Have this exact problem, would love a solution, hopefully replies are still being monitored and a reactive fix is possible...

Re the questions:

1. Brief description of the problem, and how is masquerades itself. What are the symptoms? How frequently does it happen?
   Some devices intermittently show as connected to the wifi but in reality have no internet connection whilst other devices are fine.  Having split the 5GHz channel out separately, attempting to connect to that presents a password error despite the password being correct.  The 2.4GHz channel appears fine.
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 hub status is fine and other devices will retain connection.
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?
   The problem was present with the channels merged, I tried splitting the channels and only the 5GHz channel is affected.
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?
   The problem is usually resolved through resetting network connections but recurs frequently, there are 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]
   There are no obvious triggers but it occurs frequently.
6. Is the problem always resolved by rebooting the hub?  If so, how long does it take before problems recur?
   The problem can be temporarily resolved via various resets, reboots, etc. but always recurs within a day.
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.
   Most frequently noticed on iPhone 8 running iOS14.4.1, has also affected 8th gen iPad (iOS 14.4.2) and Google Home device.  Laptops, Samsung tablets, smart TVs and other iPhones/iPads unaffected.
8. Have the devices experiencing problems recently received any patches that might correspond with the time the issue first occurred?
   No, this problem has occurred on multiple OS versions.
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, adapters or access points in use.  Devices are phones, tablets, laptops, smart tvs and smart speaker.

[#12]

@brocken @LeviBond @Champa @Glennbakey831 @rgristle @rickbeau @MrThomas @nigeldewebb @ColinBee & @ggrigg - I've just pushed an update to your respective devices. You'll need to power the router off/back on at your side to apply the update.

Hope it helps.

[#13]

@tandemfans @stirl & @GreenWindmill - you guys too. Same applies: you'll need to power the router off/back on.

@docsubaru & @babylon5 - I have pushed the latest update to your devices too, however you are both already running builds that should not be affected by the issue described in this thread. Hopefully it helps, but I'm wondering whether or not you have another issue

@oily & @Ian06 - either your routers aren't currently online, or I'm having trouble locating them. If they are in use, then please drop me a private message containing your account username and router serial and I'll take another look.

@MagNeto wrote:

Re. the problem, I can say with more certainty the following: the 2.4GHz band does lose internet connection at random, daily...

If you're already running the .289 build and you're having problems with the 2.4GHz channels then I'd suggest maybe starting a separate thread so it can be investigated in isolation. It's going to get very confusing if I attempt to diagnose a 2.4GHz issue here.

[#14]

Thanks, will test it out and report back

[#15]

Thanks Bob,

I can verify that the Software version is now 4.7.5.1.83.8.289 and I can connect via 5Ghz again, I will montior for a few days and report back later.