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Very poor setup instructions with hopeless Broadband App

MJeff
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

Three weeks ago I upgraded to Vodafone Pro II broadband with its new Ultrahub and Super WiFi 6E boosters.  It is now working adequately but it has been a frustrating struggle to get there.  Connecting the components was intuitive enough and it was simple to get the hub working.  The problems started with the boosters.  I assumed I could just plug them in and they would work.  They didn't.  I now know that getting them to pair with the hub is simple enough but the process is not intuitive and there were no written instructions for either the hub or the boosters to tell you how.  What you have to do, for those who don't know, is hold down the WPS button on the booster for several seconds and release, then press the WPS button on the hub briefly.  After a few minutes and with much flashing of lights, they should pair.  Simple enough and easy to describe but not written down and not intuitive.  It is also not mentioned in the YouTube videos that you are directed to.  The first video says - first download the Vodafone Broadband App - you will need this later to set up your Ultrahub and Super WiFi boosters, so I did and it was entirely useless.  Somewhere along the line I found a comment that it might take a few days for the App to recognise your account.  What on earth is the use of that when you need it immediately to set your system up?  But it is worse than that - three weeks after my activation date I have still not been able to get into the app because it still cannot find my account.  I resorted to asking TOBi (I hope I've got that right) which is a dispiriting and maddening process, first "chatting" i.e. texting to a computer then a person and eventually if you are persistent actually talking to someone on a poor line to Bangalore or somewhere.  Why can't communications companies communicate?  The people I eventually spoke to were not in the least interested in helping me to get the App up and running but only advised me to type http://192.168.1.1 into my browser - which appears to give access to the hub's settings but which I am almost certain does not tell you how to pair your booster or guide you to the optimal position of your booster - something that the App claims to do.  Finally, to discover how to pair my boosters I had to drive 11 miles to my nearest Vodafone shop where they did not know themselves but seemed to know how to get to someone in the technical department of Vodafone who did know.  What does Vodafone think it has to gain by making life so difficult for its customers!

21 REPLIES 21

Hi PawCat,  it has taken quite a time but I have at last been able to log in to the Vodafone Broadband app.  How I got there is becoming a bit hazy.  I eventually found myself communicating with Vodafone via Facebook messaging and they were clearly trying to be helpful, not always successfully.  They eventually opted for a "deep clean".  My understanding of this was that they were going to erase all the usernames I might ever have used from their system and start again.  I only ever recorded one username in my password manager but they seemed to think there were more than one and that might have been the cause of my problems.  I had to wait a few days and then, under instruction from them, re-register.  During this process they said I should try two different usernames which added to my confusion.  I went along with it all and it failed - and I gave up for a while in frustration.  Several days ago I made contact again to try to discover which username I should use - and they gave my two, one of which I had never knowing used before.  I re-registered in myVodafone with this and established a new password, memorable word etc.  I was able to get back in to myVodafone, then tried the same details with the Broadband app ------ and it worked for the first time.

I must say that I have found it to be less than helpful so far - for instance I think that if you were to rely on it to tell you how to pair a booster with your hub, you would be disappointed.  Also it tells me that my boosters (I am using two at the moment) are not connected - whilst I can see, by the lights on them, that they are connected!  My understanding was that you could use the app to decide on the optimal placement of the boosters.  If it does not recognise that they are connected, I cannot see how that is possible!

I've had the app working for months and months then last week I noticed that it could not see all my devices connected....was told to re install the app and since then I can no longer log in.....as account not found........sounds like I might have a world of pain ahead of me trying to get it working again.......

Hey @PawCat We certainly need to get the App login sorted for you. Can you please reach out to the Social Media Team 

I always had trouble with the vodafone app and website, but once I got them both working it didn't improve my life. Also my username is capitalized as well for some reason

If you are talking about the smartphone app then I find I have to turn the 4g mobile signal off and just use wifi (Iphone). As far as I recall there isn't anything useful on it so I use my laptop to access 192.168.1.1 if I need to do something with the router

 

And when you do get it all set up it drops out regularly with phone messages saying "the access point if full"

Is there a limit ? we have two laptops , two phones, a tv, an ipad, alexa, Hive heating controls and two boosters. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me..

To be fair I can identify with some of this. The tech support I had was great once you get through to someone alive. The Vodafon Bot is a nonsense and needs reprogramming otherwise you are wasting your time.  Please put instructions in with the boosters - not everyone has a smart phone or QR code reader.

Ripshod
16: Advanced member
16: Advanced member

Vodafone's app is very unreliable, as you've noticed. I don't even use it at all. It all seemed to go to pot with the app updates to include the new router. 

I'm glad you're sorted, Although I agree that the bells and whistles can leave some feeling let down, the core product (the broadband itself) is generally pretty darn good with only a few people experiencing difficulties. 

addyrazz
4: Newbie

The app is useless, I gave up on it and the Ultra Hub and boosters and purchased my own mesh system.

Well no surprise I've spoken with the Facebook lot and a wifi expert and after several reboots and so called firmware updates it still does not work......so pretty useless and complete waste of my time...... I don't actually think anyone at vodafone have a clue how to fix it....it's all just wild guessing.......try this , try that, oh let's turn it off and an on several times in the hope it fixes itself......

Ripshod
16: Advanced member
16: Advanced member

You're starting to fully understand now.

The combined knowledge of the forum members far outweighs that of the so-called "experts".