Using Hub One as a modem only?

[#1]

Hi

I’d be interested in a few more details on how you’ve connected the new router to the hub one please . I’m finding Hub one awful for WiFi distance and definitely need to do something before my daughter throws it out the window!
Many thanks

[#2]

Raadghast: Yes, I had trouble with the Hub One's range and as I added more wi-fi enabled devices, it became increasingly  difficult to get fast reliable connections sometimes.  Adding the Nighthawk has completely sorted things out - an expensive solution, but worth it for the extra speed alone!

All I did was connect an ethernet port on the Hub One to the Internet port on the Nighthawk and switch off wi-fi on the Hub One.  There is an app you can download for the router which made setup pretty straightforward and you can also download a full pdf manual.  I'm no expert on this sort of thing, but if you need any more info, I'll try to help.

[#3]

@Raadghast

I have no idea how @NickR has connected his router as he hasn't specified the model. I suspect that he has a straight router, the Netgear part number of these is prefixed R. These do not contain a modem and hence the need to use the Hub One. If you are set on buying a Netgear device they also do effectively have the same range but incorporating a modem. These are prefixed D. If you use one of these you do not need to use the Plusnet Hub One.

However before spending money it might be worth just looking at the Hub One settings, whilst the WiFi performance of these is not in the first league it's not that awful. The first thing to try is to separate the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. For some reason these are synchronised by default and can cause all sorts of issues. To separate them see here  https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/2-4ghz-and-or-5ghz-best-practice/m-p/1351966#M840. By 'point browser to 192.168.1.254', what is meant  by 'point browser' is put 192.168.1.254 into the address field (not the search field) on your internet browser. Once you have done this you will have two WiFi networks showing on your devices (assuming your device has a 5GHz band, not all have). Try connecting to each in turn and use the best.

Another thing to try is changing the wireless channel. I use the free app WIfi Analyser on an Android phone. With this you can see both your and your neighbours' WiFi transmissions. If you check at both the router location and where you use your devices you can see which has the lowest transmissions from neighbours. If necessary again go back into the router advanced WiFi settings and manually set the channel to the quietest, rather than leave the setting on auto.

In terms of buying another router, I recommend getting a BT Smarthub 6 from Ebay where they go for around £20. They are cheap, have better WiFi than the Hub One and are easily set up on a Plusnet account, see https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/Using-the-BT-Smarthub-6-on-a-Plusnet-Account/m-p/1587673#M85...

[#4]

For info, I have the Nighthawk AX8 / AX6000, model no. RAX80, which was admittedly rather more than £20!  I had already separated out 2.4 and 5 GHz channels on the Hub One and experimented with changing channels, neither of which has been necessary with the Nighthawk.  It just instantly gave me faster and more reliable wi-fi.

[#5]

After looking up the price, Ouch! I would expect it to have better wireless performance. I suspect that you did not need to separate the bands because that is the default condition for most routers. Most people will not need to spend this sort of money, I thought that mesh systems were too expensive when there's cheaper options!

[#6]

Yes, the bands were already separated.  I'm sure you are right about the cost; without knowing a lot about this sort of thing, I decided to try to make sure it sorted out my problems once and for all.