Virgin Media Speed

[donkeykong2012]

A technical question if I may.

I now have a Virgin Media Super Hub, and my speed is 30MB.

I have put the Hub into Modem only mode and installed a Router, an older model the Netgear WGR614V9 in order to change the MAC address and get a new IP.

On testing the speed now the speed is now about 20MB on speedtest.com, although this may be a glitch as I have seen it performing low lately with the Superhub.

My question is, will I need a new router to take advantage of the 30MB that I had through the Superhub? Does it support only up to 20MB?

Or has the ethernet cable linked between the SuperHub and Router having a negative effect?

[donkeykong2012]

I have answered my own question....

I need a new router....specs below.

WGR614

[rsot]

Asked and answered - good info though

[donkeykong2012]

One last question....

Do all Netgear Routers allow you to change the MAC address?

Are there ones to avoid or recommend?

[JamesNorth101]

When you run a speed test you will very rarely get the full advertised speed.

All Netgear routers that I have used with the superhub allow MAC address changes.

[An0nym0u$]

Getting back to your original post, did you do the basics to optimize speed to ensure you really need a new router?

By doing the basics, I mean confirming simple things before going out and buying new equipment. Yes new equipment will solve the problem, but it is not always necessary.

Location
The physical location of your router makes a difference. It should be in a centralized location in your home to avoid interference from other wireless signals (like a cordless phone).

Protocols
You can disable old protocols that aren't needed. For example, as soon as a device connects to your network using 802.11g, it will slow it down. You can change this setting in the router itself so it only uses 802.11n


Wired Connections
The most obvious. Any nearby devices (a PC or PS3/XBox/Roku) that you can hardwire to your router will help. The less wifi devices accessing the router, the faster it will perform.

And the last one I can think of is to upgrade the firmware of the router. There might be other ways to boost your router's performance, but these are the ones that come to mind.

[donkeykong2012]

Thanks for the replies.

I have not bought any new equipment, the Hub was supplied free by Virgin Media. I have had the router for years, I will see what I can do with regards to updating it.

By the way, I had absolute murder setting it up. I spent a lot of time on the phone to customer services in Delhi as I could not get any device to connect wirelessly.

I had to connect to the Hub through a cable, go into settings and adjust the "Channels" settings to 6.

It then worked fine.