Virgin Media Super Hub and Sure Signal

[neil50]

I recently, and rashly I think, just "upgraded" to the Virgin Media Super Hub hardware version 2.0 software version V2.38.01. Since that day, my Vodafone Sure Signal has at best had terrible line dropping and sporadic signal, and at worst simply doesn't connect.

The Sure Signal is an Alcatel-Lucent 9361 Home Cell V2-V.

The signal in parts of the house without it is very poor, so I really need to get it going again without the interference/dropping/not working.

I have read some of the forum tips on hub settings, and have tried a few, but they don't seem to work.

I have noticed a lot of issues reported however, and it would be good to know if these are easily fixed (through a new Sure Signal box or similar) or whether I have to the in depth configuration changes to devices that is implied.

Any help welcomed  - I have reached the end of my engineering capabilities.

[grolschuk]

Hi there,

What have you tired changing if anything, and what settings have you confirmed are looking correct?

Random disconnections are not too easy to diagnose, as the SS is actually getting to vodafone for a bit, and then losing sync.

It could be down to not enough bandwidth available (if something else on the network is doing a huge file transfer at 100% capacity)

Or flakey firmware that keeps resetting itself

Or it could just be a bad coincidence that your internet line is having issues that falls into the same time as your upgrade.

[neil50]

That was quick. Thanks for response.

So far I have tried:

• Testing bandwidth - no problems there. 120Mb broadband which rarely dips below 20mb
• Powering down the whole system and powering up in order
• Factory reset of SS box
• Turning off anything else using wireless
• Deregistering and re-registering SS
• Connecting router wire from SS to modem direct, then to router extension
• Enabled IPSec Passthrough on Hub - not sure what it is, but tried it anyway
• Was attempting DCHP Reserved IP Address but got confused on Port Forwarding element so abandoned. Happy to try again if that works just may need instructions
• Kicking the box  - made me feel better!

None of the above have improved the situation in any noticeable way.

[grolschuk]

Sounds like quite a lot then

The whole port forwarding and vpn passthrough setup tends to fix problems of the device being unable to leave the house and get to VF.

As yours is actually making a connectiong and then resetting it may not be needed.

If you want to give it a go, then the steps you want to do are (being at work I don't have access to my superhub for exact instructions)

1. find the IP address of the sure signal

1a. if it allows permananly assign the same ip to the device (DHCP/MAC resavations)

2. find the area for hosting services/servers and create an entry for each port that needs forwarding, with the internal IP being that of the sure signal. internal/external ports are both the same if it asks for one of each, and the protocol is TCP/UDP (Both)

Have you tried Virgin to see if there are any known problems with the line? or if there is a way to roll back to older firmware?

Do you have a friends house that you can try the suresignal at, to see if it is stable elsewhere.

[neil50]

Thanks again.

The port forwarding screen looks like below. The internal IP address is 10, which is now reserved, and I guess I put in the obvious box below. However, I am not sure what to put in the Start Port or End Port Box, or whether or not to select a Service.The services are quite codified and not sure what they all mean.

[grolschuk]

The picture is a bit garbled.

On a number of other posts there are lists of ports, consisting of 8, 50, 4500, and a handful of others.

In the screen the start and destination ports will be the same in both cases

the protocol will be both

the name is something random that you want to enter... maybe SS8, SS50, SS4500 to identify which port is contained within.

I would ignore the service, it sounds like they are pre-defined rules for well known applications... unless you hit the green ? next to it and it says otherwise. (it could be to do with the advanced settings if there is more than 1 interntal network, or multiple external links)

[Retired-Kay]

Hi neil50, 

Please take a look at our Sure Signal Troubleshooting thread. If this doesn’t resolve your query, please post your reply either below, or in the relevant thread, together with the details requested, including the following information.

Your speed test results from here.

Your ping test results from here.

Your external IP address from here.

The results of a traceroute.

Your Sure Signal serial number:

VSS Traceroute command

On a PC:

Click on Start and select Run

Type CMD into the Run box and press enter/click ok

A black box will appear.

In this box type tracert 212.183.133.177 press Enter

Paste the output of this command into your reply.

This will help us get the quickest possible resolution for you.

Thanks

Kay

[BarclayBoy]

Dear Kay,

I have got my Sure Signal working a few times, but before the end of the day the power light is flashing and it has lost its signal.  If I reset it all, it will work again for a few hours before the same thing happens and it flashes that it has lost the connection.

I have completed the port forwarding through the Virgin Media Super Hub 2 as suggested and spoken to VM tech support (who helpfully tell me it is not a supported device).  Vodafone have replaced the sure signal once for me, but it obviously isnt that.

My Speed Test showed ping 11ms; Download 21.9Mbps; and Upload 11.66Mbps

Ping Test showed Ping 17ms; jitter 3ms; unable to test packet loss

my IP is 82.3.237.203

my tracert paste is attached as a jpeg

my sure signal serial number is 40132327541 

Please can you help?  It just isn't practical to reset it every day or twice a day, given that it takes over 30 minutes to activate each time.

Many thanks

[Retired-James]

Hi BarclayBoy,

As you’re a Virgin media customer, can you log into your router admin panel and make sure that you have IPsec Passthrough selected?

This has been a common cause of this issue in the past.

James

[BarclayBoy]

Hi - I have all three of them selected.

IPSec Pass-Through
PPTP Pass-Through
Multicast Pass-Through