Replacement Router for a Vodafone Ultrahub

peace on 23/08/2023 - 07:55

We have a Vodafone HFC cable connection, which uses the Ultrahub. For a few weeks, the Wi-Fi has been dropping out for 2-3 seconds and reconnecting during Skype calls. Tried resetting the router and modem, switching off etc, Still it continues and Vodafone recommends replacing their router, which costs around $150 or free with 12 month HFC contract.

I am deciding whether to continue with HFC or switch to a fibre deal. What would you recommend I do in this circumstance please? Should I get a cheaper, better replacement router in the meantime?

Thanks in advance!

General Discussion

Comments

  • Toddy47 on 23/08/2023 - 08:43
    +1

    Unlikely to be an issue with the unit itself, but more likely to be an issue with either interference, poor signal, bad clients, etc.
    Recommendation is to switch to Fibre, check out wifi signal throughout the house using an app such as wifiman and you'll most likely need to add an access point or something.

    • peace on 23/08/2023 - 09:13

      Thank you @Toddy47. I will test it, but will consider some Fibre options when they become a bit cheaper. :-)

  • Alan6984 on 23/08/2023 - 09:18
    +1

    Do you get drop out when you use a wired connection, or is it only on WiFi?

    If the former, then likely the router / modem, but if the latter, then likely the WiFi AP or client.

    The QUALITY of the call on WiFi will probably be lower (entirely to be expected), but you shouldn't be getting complete drop-outs for two to three seconds at a time.

    • peace on 23/08/2023 - 12:14

      Thank you, I will test.

      • Alan6984 on 23/08/2023 - 12:16

        Once you know where the issue lies, then you can consider options for fixing. If the issue is, say, with a WiFi client causing the drop-outs, then changing your ISP / connection to fibre won't help.

      • Joe on 27/08/2023 - 15:06
        +1

        I have ultrahub if you want

        • peace on 28/08/2023 - 06:44

          Thank you, I will have a think about it. :-)

  • justaddwater on 23/08/2023 - 09:39
    +1

    Orbi?

  • TheDealMan on 23/08/2023 - 09:43

    Hi peace, I would recommend upgrading the router firmware to see if that helps with the dropouts. Link to instructions and firmware here.

    Also, are the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels separate on the Ultra Hub and do you use both? I.e. do you have two SSIDs (or network names) when you search for a wireless network? For example 'peace_2.4Hz' and 'peace_5GHz'. If so, try and determine if the dropouts happen on one or the other, or both. If your laptop is on the 5GHz network and is seeing dropouts, but another device on the 2.4GHz network doesn't dropout, I'd suggest using the 2.4GHz network for the laptop instead. Instructions for turning off a WiFi channel on the Ultra Hub here. The issue could be down to interference - for example a microwave running close to the Ultra Hub interfering with the WiFi signal. There will be a bit of trial and error pinpointing the issue :)

    Ultimately I would really recommend switching to the fibre network. I imagine it'd be cheaper, and you would see much faster speeds (depending on the plan purchased). Check out the deals on BroadbandCompare.

    • peace on 23/08/2023 - 12:13
      +1

      Thank you @TheDealMan! Much appreciated!

  • desikiwi on 23/08/2023 - 11:56
    +1

    Most easy will be 5 g or 4 g wireless it's stable mostly as long as your have cell site with less traffic ie most places in my city not sure where your , you can give it a try it's also cheap .

    Saying this as fiber can take time it took us two months to get it installed

    • peace on 23/08/2023 - 12:14

      Thank you, I will check out fibre options.

  • Grandma on 23/08/2023 - 12:01
    +1

    Get a microtik and a couple of APs and spend a long time figuring out how to make anything work!

    • Jexla on 23/08/2023 - 14:03

      Hahaha, this the techie way.

  • toocheap on 24/08/2023 - 12:07
    +1

    The ComCom test reports show HFC to be very close to fibre performance. Latency is a bit higher (0.007 seconds), but thats probably unnoticeable to most people.

    • peace on 24/08/2023 - 14:41

      Thank you, that's good to know!

    • mdsl32 on 25/08/2023 - 18:09

      Yes however HFC is very susceptible to drop outs it's well known and it's basically up to good luck.

      Fibre is more reliable but can see the appeal at the price for HFC
      Few providers out there offering good sign up incentives to switch

      If you continue to have problems you could reach out on geekzone few people close to the industry who might be able to grease the gears

      • peace on 28/08/2023 - 06:43

        Thank you @mdsl32 for your advice!

  • quebec on 28/08/2023 - 14:07
    +1

    @peqce Get Asus RT-AC68U, been using it for years without issue. It’s highly customisable too, can run adblocker like AdGuardHome on the router itself.

  • Joshyss on 28/08/2023 - 19:36

    Sorry to hijack but I’m wondering if someone knowledgeable here would be able to help me out please? I have an Asus RT-AC66U. I’ve recently switched over to slingshot and all was working well for about a month and then all of a sudden the internet would not work. I’ve tried powering on and off the router and the ONT. I’ve changed the network cables with new ones. I’ve phoned slingshot who said that the problem must be my router and since it’s not theirs they cannot help unless I get another from them. Everything is powered and I can connect to wifi or plug in via Ethernet but no internet will work and when I login it does say status is ‘disconnected’. I’ve tried resetting the router to factory default and starting over but that didn’t work either. All the lights in the photos below are solid. I’m not sure what I could try next? Any help would be much appreciated.

    https://ibb.co/JpQPdRt
    https://ibb.co/f0p2LZc
    https://ibb.co/6vT7gB3

      • Joshyss on 28/08/2023 - 20:49

        Thanks but I have tried that to no avail

    • Alan6984 on 28/08/2023 - 21:16

      Hi Joshyss,

      Sorry to hijack but I’m wondering if someone knowledgeable here would be able to help me out please? I have an Asus RT-AC66U. I’ve recently switched over to slingshot and all was working well for about a month and then all of a sudden the internet would not work. I’ve tried powering on and off the router and the ONT. I’ve changed the network cables with new ones. I’ve phoned slingshot who said that the problem must be my router and since it’s not theirs they cannot help unless I get another from them. Everything is powered and I can connect to wifi or plug in via Ethernet but no internet will work and when I login it does say status is ‘disconnected’. I’ve tried resetting the router to factory default and starting over but that didn’t work either. All the lights in the photos below are solid. I’m not sure what I could try next? Any help would be much appreciated.

      Might be a bit of a long-shot, but did you backup the router config sometime in the past when it was working okay?

      If you did, you could try restoring that backup which could fix it if something has gotten corrupted.

      HTH,

      Alan.

      • Joshyss on 29/08/2023 - 11:51

        Hi Alan,

        Thanks but I did not. I’m not sure that anything changed though? It just stopped working one day.

        • justaddwater on 29/08/2023 - 13:51

          stopped working one day implies something went wrong with the router/fibre cable or something went wrong at the ISP (less likely)

          to narrow it down, best to borrow someone's router

        • Alan6984 on 29/08/2023 - 15:37

          Hi Alan,

          Thanks but I did not. I’m not sure that anything changed though? It just stopped working one day.

          Even if you didn't change anything, its still possible that something got randomly corrupted in the router.

          Another option - not very appealing perhaps - would be to wipe it back to factory settings and re-enter all the config.

          If you were going to do that, I would backup the config as is anyway (gives you a potential way back to where you are right now), then depending on how much you know about such things, you could systematically go through every single 'page' and screenshot the current settings before resetting it, then go back and manually re-enter everything.

          Whatever path you go down, if you get it working again, backup the config at that point, and keep it somewhere safe :-)

          As JustAddWater suggested too, you could also pull it out (without doing anything to it), and replace it with another router - perhaps you have an old / spare one lying around? If not, you could ask around friends / family - there's a good chance someone will have one they aren't using, but you'd need to check the specs to make sure it will work with your Vodafone HFC cable connection. I have no idea if that will make it hard to find another router or not.

          Good luck!

          Alan.

          • ace310 on 29/08/2023 - 15:58

            @Alan6984: He is using Slingshot fibre as per the post, not HFC.

            • Alan6984 on 29/08/2023 - 16:03

              @ace310:

              He is using Slingshot fibre as per the post, not HFC.

              Unless I am missing something, I think it says in the OP:

              We have a Vodafone HFC cable connection

              Maybe I am reading it wrong?

              • ace310 on 29/08/2023 - 16:07

                @Alan6984: Not OP. You are replying to Joshyss

                • Alan6984 on 29/08/2023 - 16:26

                  @ace310: Ahhh - You are right (of course!)

                  He is the 'hijacker' to use his own term :-)

                  My apologies!

  • Joshyss on 30/08/2023 - 20:44

    Thank you for the help guys. I’ve managed to get it working with an old router from a previous fibre provider.

  • Joshyss on 08/09/2023 - 17:28

    Am getting alot of drop outs on this old skinny modem. Would this be a good router to replace it? Or would you guys recommend something else?

    https://www.amazon.com.au/ASUS-Extendable-Subscription-free-…

    • ace310 on 08/09/2023 - 17:42

      Yes. It is a good router. Depends on your house layout and the placement of the router inhouse.

      Do consider a mesh in case. You can have asus in aimesh or tplink mesh. Asus has better functionality but depends if you need them or not.

      I have asus as well and bit of custom settings on it including vpn, parental controls, etc.

    • ace310 on 08/09/2023 - 17:48

      This is one of the very good one, you can have this as main one and other one you mentioned as slave. In most cases below should be fine for 3-4 bedroom house depending it is located centrally in house.
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/791636

  • Plug on 08/09/2023 - 22:28
    +1

    If you're out of contract then definitely take the opportunity to bail on One/Vodafone.

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