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[Dr.Plimp]

Heyy, new here, after seeing that this website has helped people with similar problems in the past, I have decided to come here for help...

Basically, I have been having problems with my internet connection recently...over the past few weeks really. A few months ago I changed my normal broadband with Virgin to a wireless one, 8mb speed, and a Netgear DG834v4 router with it. For starters, I have done checks with speed testing sites that have come back saying that I am still receiving around 2mb speed through my internet...which is something I used to get, and had upgraded to 8mb from.
Also, over the past few weeks the internet has kept cutting out, on and off, randomly, and then reconnected. It is not a case of wires needing to be taken out and put back in, as even if i leave it 5 minutes, it will reconnect - therefore the problems that the wireless manager says I am having are not entirely true (i.e. telling me a cable cannot be found, and that I have to unplug and plug back in). This has become more frequent too, with it happening at least once every night whilst online, and sometimes at worst every 15 minutes.
It is not helpful as it ruins my Xbox Live if I am ever on whilst it happens, and it causes hassle with pc issues as well as the xbox issues of signing out just to troubleshoot and test connection. Also, seeing as though I was told the speed would automatically be upgraded to 8mb upon connecting the wireless router, I feel as though I am missing 6mb speed which I should be receiving - as my area can receive up to this speed, and the tests carried out indicate I am still receiving the old 2mb I had previously before wireless.
Aaanyway...the actual help I need is that after getting in touch with Virgin Media about the internet problems, they gave me various tips, some I did not understand, some I felt would only be required at an advanced stage if problems still persisted. The first step I have taken is to download the software upgrade for my router, as I was told by the Virgin assistant that this could lead to me reaching the speed I shoul be at (how I do not know). After downloading the lastest firmware for the router, I followed the steps to log into the router. (Go to http://192.168.0.1 , log in as 'admin' with password as either 'password' or '1234') However, neither of these default passwords work...When I type what I think is the right password, the screen goes white as if it is loading the page for me to upgrade the router, but the 'connect to 192.168.0.1' Login box reappears, asking me to enter the password again. I do so, but it yet again happens...with no headway being made, no page loading, and the box not going. At this point, I cannot press cancel as the box appears again, and even if i reenter the username and password correctly the same box comes up again...leaving me with the 'authorization Warning' browser open, and no way of closing the page other than through task manager.
Basically, I am asking for anyones help with the matter, regarding a way through this to help me log in, upgrade the router, and find out if that helps my connection and me reach the speeds I am paying my money for. Any help is appreciated, sorry for the long story but I felt I should include as much info as possible... also, any help with any problems I have raised, regarding constent loss of connection or the other problem about seemingly not receiving the speed I was promised, are appreciated too...

Cheers

[orainsear]

Try logging in with

user: virgin
password : password

There should be a sticker on the bottom of the router with login details on it.

[tuftedduck]

Is the router new or secondhand, and if new was it supplied by or bought from Virgin.

If second hand, it may have an earlier/different password applied by a previous user.

[waltergmw]

Do Virgin lock their modems down or would it be possible to either re-set to standard factory defaults of re-flash with standard firmwares?

Kind regards,
Walter

[tuftedduck]

Have been reading on this site.............http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1148

Acoording to them, the default Netgear user name is always admin and the deault password always password or1234 on older routers  ( quote "The router username is always admin
The default password is password or (for older routers) 1234 " )

In case of problems with forgotten or unknown passwords, they give the following guidance to reset to deafults ( caution......this will reset everything back to default )

" Write down configuration information such as IP addresses, security keys, opened ports and services, etc., that you modified. (The default username is admin and the password is either password or 1234. Try these before resetting the router.)
Press the reset button on the back until the test light blinks. This takes about 10 seconds. (To avoid accidental resets, the small button is recessed. Use a pen or paperclip to access it.)
Release the button.
Wait for the router to reboot.
Log in with the default password.

If the router was not cleared, try these additional steps AFTER the router has finished rebooting.
Unplug the router's power.
Press and hold the reset button. While the button is held down, reconnect router's power.
Continue to hold the reset button for 20 seconds after reconnecting the power.
Wait for the router to reboot.
Log in with the default password."

You could try that and let us know how you get on...

[Dr.Plimp]

Hey, thanks for the various advice...i was stupid, as the username and password were on the bottom of the router - as virgin and password. However, it didnt let me on, so therefore had to take the other advice given too and reset the router by turning it off, resetting whilst turning on. Managed to get logged in after that and update the driver to the latest firmware...
Thing is, loss of internet still persists now and again, especially with the xbox, where lag is probably as high as ever, and loss of connection happens more than ever too...it is not to do with router and xbox location however, even though they are on different floors, they worked fine for the first couple of months, giving good signals and receiving no lag whilst playing...
So yeah, at least ive updated the router anyway...but unfortunately still lag persists, and my speed isnt great obviously if lag happens. After running a speedtest, I am now receiving around 4.48 mb/s download speeds, and 0.38 mb/s upload speeds...not sure what the upload speeds for a 8mb connection should be, but I do know that im basically receiving half of what i can get in this area, and should be getting from my virgin package...
Any tips, questions, help, etc...

[waltergmw]

Hi Dr.Plimp,

It could be that you are exceeding your download allowance which will depend upon your contract.

You could try at various times of the day and night to see if you can detect any differences.

Have a look at this thread:-

http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php?topic=4527.0

However do check your own contract as the tariffs change quite frequently.

Kind regards,
Walter

[jeffbb]

Hi

not sure what the upload speeds for a 8mb connection should be

448 Kbps I believe

Regards Jeff

[jeffbb]

Hi again

Can you post your stats ? if unsure how this might help

edit: http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php

regards Jeff

[Dr.Plimp]

ADSL Link                            Downstream                    Upstream
Connection Speed                 7616 kbps                       448 kbps
Line Attenuation                    22.0 db                           12.0 db
Noise Margin                             10.1 db                         23.0 db

Them's the stats...

[jeffbb]

hi
with your attenuation you should connect at 8128Kbps with a profile of 7150 .I suspect you have interleaving on ?Reduces the max synch rate.
even so your profile should be 6500. your download speeds are probably a bit low because of some contention . It will depend on when you run your checks .
Regards Jeff

[Dr.Plimp]

ok...thanks.
Any suggestions on what to do to try and boost the speed im receiving, up to the speed i should be receiving?

Also, from the looks of what ive posted, does it look to you guys like im getting fair speeds and the connection that i should be receiving from Virgin?

One more thing...internet doesnt seem to cut out on pc any more, just the xbox, where it randomly disconnects from xbox live altogether and i leave it a few minutes before i reconnect...and when i am online with it, i receive lag on the mic and in online games anyway.

cheers

[roseway]

Your stats are fine for an interleaved connection. Interleaving does increase the latency of the connection by 30 ms or so, so this may explain the lag with the xbox (if you are a games player with very fast reactions).

You can't reach any conclusions about download speeds without doing several tests at different times, but 4.8 Mbps with an IP profile of 6500 (presumably) isn't unusual. The speed can vary widely, depending on exchange and ISP congestion, ISP traffic management, and your own setup. If your internet connection is BT-based (i.e. not LLU) you can check your IP profile here.

The random disconnections of the xbox may be nothing to do with your internet connection as such. If you're connecting wirelessly, then it's quite likely to be the wireless part which is the problem. You may find that changing to a different wireless channel will help.

[orainsear]

As has been mentioned if you are using a wireless bridge then this can indeed introduce latency.

Can you perform some ping tests to a couple of sites, e.g. bbc.co.uk and perhaps your internet service provider?  Try these tests at different times of the day and post the results so we can see if congestion is a possibility.

Also can you describe how you have your router set up with regard to port forwarding?  Have you manually forwarded ports or are you using UPnP?  Are you using an original XBox or XBox 360, and what does the XBox dashboard network connection test say?

[Dr.Plimp]

I'll try the ping tests...just one thing, which bits of info are you after from that? I did the test to bbc.co.uk and there are several bits of info that i cant copy n paste, so if i know what you need then ill type it over from that.

Regarding the xbox, it is a 360...dont really know too much about the forwardng ports and uPnP, as i know basic knowledge when it comes to that technical stuff, sorry. But basically my connection, if this helps, the 360 automatically finds the wireless router from downstairs with the pc, and just needs the password so it can connect through it.

Shall check what the dashboard says the next time it disconnects and i try reconnecting straight away. Any more questions regarding the technical jargon, youll have to talk me through it in more simpler terms lol...

cheers