What's best - a second internet provider or mi-fi?

[mutterphore]

There are three of us now working from home and our internet provider - VirginMedia - is increasingly unreliable with broadband/ wi-fi.

Would it be best adding another broadband provider so that when VirginMedia cuts out, there's an alternative or might both providers actually use the same local cable/signal and if one cuts out, the other would cut out too?

If so, any recommendations of another very reliable broadband provider?

Or, should we try a Mi-Fi device to use when we lose Virgin internet?

Hot-spot mobile is no use BTW.

We also probably need a booster for signal around the house where each of us works. Any recommendations for a specific booster?

Thanks.

What broadband package do you have with VM? Best bet is really to contact VM. They gave us 2 power line WiFi boosters for free which helps WiFi through the house. Standalone WiFi boosters don't work so well where there isn't line of sight from the router. We also have a couple of tplink boosters which don't seem to work alongside the VM boosters.

Is your problem Wi-Fi or the actual broadband connection, i.e. do you still have problems with disconnection when you're using a wired Ethernet connection to the router?

If it's just the Wi-Fi that's causing problems, and a cabled connection is fine, then an integrated mesh wi-fi product like TP-Link Deco or Linksys Velop could help. This is more of a total wi-fi replacement where you place multiple wi-fi satellite stations around your home to best spread out the signal. I've never found "boosters" to be much cop TBH.

If it's the VM broadband that's having issues, so not just Wi-Fi, you could consider binning Virgin and/or adding a second internet provider provided speeds and availability are good in your area. I find Plusnet to be good and not that expensive. If you don't mind paying a bit more then Zen Internet is excellent.

(Note if VM is already using Openreach cabling into your house - meaning Virgin doesn't have its own cables in your area - then adding another Openreach-based provider might not be all that helpful as there's still a single point of failure there. If you're not sure what it's using, check the master socket or wherever the cable for Virgin comes into your home.)

Finally: if a hot-spot using your mobile is no good, then I would say it's unlikely that a Mi-Fi product will work any better.

When our Virgin was installed the installer told me the router would be suitable for 10-15 devices. That sounds a lot but in a household of 4 adults/teens with alexas and robot vacuums etc or didn't actually go very far. We bought a couple of eeros and set up a mesh system. It was very simple with a little help from YouTube. The difference is unbelievable. The DL is always 274 and can easily handle a few streamed shows and a person working from home at the same time. It was also interesting to me because before that I'd cursed virgin and their service but eero shows that I can actually use the speed I pay for.

Vast majority of the time Virgin use their own infrastructure and fibre/cabling, so you could have a second provider into your home that uses the Openreach (formerly BT) network.

A mifi device is a glorified hotspot. You can pay more and get a better offering, and things like an external antenna that will point to the nearest mast to get the best connection. How is your phone signal in the garden? What speeds do you get?

Another option is to get starlink as an alternative too. They offer PAYG(ish) plans - so you can have it ready and not pay for it and then when you do you activate it for a 30 day period. It’s not cheap, but it’s a good backup.

I’d recommend logging into the ofcom broadband checker and it’ll tell you which providers are available in your area.

When the internet goes down, sprint to your router and see if it's baking hot.

You can also log into it and look in the logs - see if the internet dropped, or if your router rebooted itself.

My router can't handle 3 of us and all our devices on its own, so the router just does the internet, and I have a mesh system that sorts the wifi (actually I have a bit more than that, but for most people, mesh and a router would be enough - I'm a tech so my needs are a little more extensive!)

Virgin's router is renowned for being a bit rubbish and causes huge drops in WiFi signal. If this is the problem, I recommend a mesh system. We went with Amazon's eero system but there are others. WiFi signal in our 5 bed house with 2 adults and three gamer children is now almost faultless.

Thanks for all this useful info.

@ThereIsIron we've got an ancient package with VM where we had to take out TV, telephone and broadband altogether. the phone has never worked/ been used and isn't wanted. Broadband isn't the top speed but as the package costs almost £100 per month, it'd be even more expensive to get a better broadband speed.

In the past, it can literally take days or even weeks to get hold of VM and talk to anyone helpful and my greatest fear is that if we ask for a different package or any change, that in the process of that change, they'll inadvertently cut us off broadband and it's absolutely crucial to have broadband at all times. I also think that existing customers never get a good deal compared to new customers and also, what looks like a good deal, becomes ever more expensive as time passes.

@MaybeSmaller there are really two problems - VM per se and the fact that there are so many problems and so often loss of internet at all - and then, even when it does work, the weak signal around the house.

I don't know if VM shares a cable with Openreach but those are the two providers that I think work in our area. Not sure whether a different provider like Plusnet would be viable where we are? Would providers like Plusnet and Zen be available in all areas and would new cables have to be laid under the driveway, involving lots of disruptive works?

Would the signal from a second provider interfere with the VM signal?

@WhyHasAllTheRumGone that's very helpful to hear about a mesh system and will look into that. I wonder if VM's own Powerline boosters, that @ThereIsIron mentioned, would be better or worse?

@HakunaMatiłda Starlink sounds interesting. I'm not sure how to check for signal speed. Mobile seems OKish in the garden but the issue is more that I use an ancient PAYG mobile, so don't instantly and easily have the ability to use a hotspot instantly if we lose VM signal nor am I familiar with doing this.

@ICanSeeMyHouseFromHere the issues is very definitely VM that keeps going off in our area as various 'works' are done locally, rather than a hot router. The VM TV Tivo hasn't worked at all now for a few months (I'm really not getting my money's worth for this package!).

@JollyMollyPolly another recommendation from you too for a mesh system. When VM works, this would definitely look like a good option. I'm totally non-technical but have a DS who might be able to advise.

Which mesh system would people recommend?

In summary, I want to ensure that exploring any of these options won't cut us off from the internet at all, as we need it 24/7. Anyone know what's the best way to start exploring new options, as an existing customer, with VM? I've always preferred speaking to a human than live chatting but don't think VM do that anymore.

In the past, I've also found that whoever I communicate with is really nice and helpful-sounding but because of the lack of communication between departments, promises are made that then don't transpire or there's miscommunication and they do something wrong!

I think if your virgin is cabled in its likely yourare getting the correct speeds at the point it reaches the house. That's what we found.

We tried a power line thing first and found no benefit.

Ditch virgin media and go with a better provider. £100 a month for crap internet? Why?

I have been with Plusnet for years and they're really reliable and responsive. We now have fibre optic which was really quick to put in - just a cable from the telegraph pole onto the wall of the house and then drilled into where the router sits. Because it's fibre optic, it's not affected by any local outages either.

Plusnet and Zen use Openreach so you can get them anywhere (in theory) but you need to use the online speed checkers to make sure they can deliver the speed you need.

If you're paying £100/mo already - yikes. I'm paying less than £35/mo for Plusnet and that's for 500 meg download speed. (Broadband only, no phone or any TV stuff)

To be honest, I'm biased against VM because I found their customer service to be very poor and the product not that great. I would only hold my nose and use them if it's the only way of getting fast broadband in your area.

If I was you I would, if it's viable: (a) Bin Virgin. (b) Go with Plusnet or Zen or whatever fits your budget. (c) Turn off the wifi on your router and invest in a decent mesh product to use instead for your wifi. (I can't offer any direct recommendations here, I've used BT Whole Home in the past but that doesn't seem to be available any more.)

But do those speed checks first.

We've only just renewed our virgin contract. We have the biggest volt package minus the BT sport channel and this includes 1 gig broadband speed. Cost is £65 a month. My husband phoned to "cancel" and spoke to retentions. There will be no disruption to our wifi. Virgin can be difficult to get in touch with, so try different times of the day.

With regard to MESH routers, some support multiple ISP connections, such as the Synology RT2600ac and RT6600ax. You can configure them to "fail-over" or "load balance", i.e. Switch over if one fails, or use both at the same time.

I've installed several of their routers with their Mesh Node (MR2200ac), and the coverage and stability has been excellent.