PC network question

charlton4ever

Can any PC expert help? I want to move my desktop PC/printer from my living room to a spare bedroom. I currently get a really good download Mbps of 214 as my PC is wired to my Virgin hub which sits next to it. If I buy some powerline adapters and plug one in upstairs in the spare room and move everything there would I still get a good speed? If so what make would you recommend?  (I don't mind paying or quality). Don't want to shell out anything if the download would be rubbish. Thank you .

Mendonca In Asdas

I’ve got virgin ‘pod boosters’ they came out recently, which are free on the package I’m on, but they will only let you have 1 at a time, to a max of 3, I’ve got 2 at the moment.

Im on the 1gig package, router in front room , speed between 300 -  400mb in that room.

I have moved upstairs to the spare room to work, one of the pod boosters is on the landing, speeds I get in the spare Room  are typically 100mb - 150mb, so you do lose a lot moving from downstairs to upstairs, but you do pay through the nose for an 18 month contract from what I remember, I’m certainly no expert, but hope this helps.

https://www.virginmedia.com/shop/broadband/intelligent-wifi-pods-new

Mendonca In Asdas

Forgot to add I’ve also downloaded the Speedtest app, 99p I think? So you can check the broadband speeds, which I do a lot.

Mendonca In Asdas

When I had a virgin engineer out a while back he said the old boosters that virgin did only went up to 500mb , had to pay for one, might well be the new pods can only go up to 500mb anyway, but I fitted them myself, just plug in and go, rather than pay for an engineer, it’s shut my 2 lads up re gaming, and is often used for zoom / teams meetings, does the job for me.

I was was originally on the lowest speed package, so the difference is much better, good luck, I know it can be a nightmare, and it hasn’t been without problems.

cafcpolo

What speeds are you looking to get / what is the PC used for? Fair enough if you are streaming movies / downloading / gaming but if it's just for work, browsing, watching the odd video, etc. I'd be tempted to move what you've got and do a speed test. No point forking out on powerline, wireless boosters if it's just for the latter in my opinion as you wouldn't need high speeds.

If you do need the higher speeds, TP Link are pretty decent for powerline adapters (I've found these better than boosters providing the other end is wired). The biggest downside is that although on some models you can clone your current WiFi so it all appears as one network, if the device still has a weak connection to the "original" network you need to disconnect / reconnect in order to pick up the stronger signal given off by the adapters.

If you don't need the wireless element, something like this would do the trick and still give you pretty decent speeds...

TP-Link TL-PA8033PKIT AV1300 3-Port Gigabit Passthrough 2x2 MIMO Powerline Adapter Starter Kit, No Configuration Required, UK Plug: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

charlton4ever

I am looking for high speeds - thanks Mendonca and Polo - help appreciated

SuedeAdidas

I have Virgin and I have found their bundled hubs to be pretty useless. I tried power line and their new 'pods' but still suffered substantial speed and signal strength drop from room to room.

I eventually got my wallet out and bought a mesh system (TPlink Deco X60) - and I just wish I had done it earlier. I now have solid speed and signal strength all over the house and garden.

I pay for a 350mb service and get appx 250-280mb wirelessly throughout the house with the mesh system.

charlton4ever

SuedeAdidas said:

I have Virgin and I have found their bundled hubs to be pretty useless. I tried power line and their new 'pods' but still suffered substantial speed and signal strength drop from room to room.

I eventually got my wallet out and bought a mesh system (TPlink Deco X60) - and I just wish I had done it earlier. I now have solid speed and signal strength all over the house and garden.

I pay for a 350mb service and get appx 250-280mb wirelessly throughout the house with the mesh system.

thanks for that - stupid question but its ok to swop out your virgin hub ? do you just swop it or do Virgin have to activate anything ? cheers

SuedeAdidas

You still keep the Virgin hub. You need to go into the settings on the hub and set it to modem mode only and then link it to one of the mesh hubs via ethernet. The other satellite hubs then connect wirelessly.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-hub-modem-mode

I'm far from a tech wizard but the set up of the Deco mesh system was very simple and all driven from the App that accompanies the package. I would fully recommend.

maddferrett

Don't want to hijack the thread, but why does anyone need a 1Gb download speed? What are consumers doing with all that speed

guinnessaddick

maddferrett said:

Don't want to hijack the thread, but why does anyone need a 1Gb download speed? What are consumers doing with all that speed

Porn, nothing worse that it freezing on the vinegar stroke.

SamB09

I use powerline adapters for my pc , much better connection than wifi.

charlton4ever

Cheers everyone - always something new to learn!!