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Access Point with Draytek 2865 LAC and virgin hub5

  • mda99das
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21 Jul 2022 21:43 #1 by mda99das
Dear Group,

I am new here so apologies if this is a stupid question.
I have VM hub 5 in the loft due to all the coax cables running there.
The draytek 2865 LAC is supposed to be Wifi 6.
So far on my wifi tests, the hub 5 which does not have external antenna gives faster pings than the draytek.
I am playing around with the settings and there are 2 ways to connect the Draytek to the hub 5.
The first is to enable ethernet WAN, and plug the cable from the hub 5 into the WAN port on the draytek. This works, but sometimes can be a bit laggy, and sometimes it drops to the backup 4G connection. Not sure why this is.
I tried turning off the DHCP mode on the draytek and plugged the cable into one of the other ethernet ports, so the Hub 5 does all the DHCP, but this was a total disaster, not only could I not talk to the draytek, the DNS look ups were really really slow, wifi slow.
Questions is

1) How can I create an access point that is just as fast as the hub 5 wifi? Also is there a way that a connection can be kept alive and latches onto whichever gives it the strongest signal, ie hub 5 or draytek?
2) The outdoor wifi coverage is not great on the draytek, but I can get the virgin hub 5 outside as well. Both of these routers have WIFI 6.
3) Any other ways to speed up the Wifi?

Thanks

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  • hornbyp
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22 Jul 2022 00:16 #2 by hornbyp
I can only talk in generalisations, since the last VM Hub I used was the Hub 3 ... and I don't have a 2865 LAC

However:-

In general, VM hubs contain two distinct parts. One is the DOCSIS modem, that you absolutely have to use - the other is a NAT Router, with WiFi - which you don't!.The HUB 5 needs to be in "Modem Mode" (in VM parlance), which disables the NAT/WiFi/DHCP/Firewall part. (Every now and then VM play silly sods and don't provide Modem Mode until a few versions in, but they normally do in the end).

Since you spent money on a fancy Draytek NAT WiFi Router, you don't want it playing second-fiddle to some freebie ISP offering. So, find out how to enable "Modem Mode" :)

At the moment, you're double-natting (and maybe even suffering a clash of Wifi channels).

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  • mda99das
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22 Jul 2022 07:40 #3 by mda99das
Thanks for that, the issue is actually the physical wiring.
I only found out the VM still need COAX for each of the boxes, and when I refurbished the house I decided to put Cat 6 and COAX cables in, and they all meet up in the loft. Sky Q miniboxes work on Wifi or ethernet. However I have to say I am really liking the Virgin 360 boxes. They are much faster than Sky...maybe my BB is a lot faster.
I have 2 switches in different rooms that all meet up in the loft.
To use the modem mode method, I would need to run another 2 ethernet cables to those switches. I might be forced into it, but will use this step as a last resort. Luckily I still have my reel of Cat 6 and my crimping tools

With regards to double NATing, is there an easier way round this. Would it be better to assign static IP addresses to the draytek.
Also how do you stop Wi-Fi clash? I was thinking just in terms of testing Wi-Fi signal to use the sim card only as the WAN and physically remove the ethernet cable, so the only internet comes from the EE simcard. There are a plethora of apps, but it's so confusing, and not done this in a while.
Many thanks.

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22 Jul 2022 08:51 #4 by piste basher
Just a comment - afaik the "AC" models are wifi 5. You need an "AX" model for it to be wifi 6.

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  • mda99das
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22 Jul 2022 13:20 #5 by mda99das
Thank you, this makes total sense, as I actually put the Virgin Hub 5 in router mode, and thought I would do a like for like comparison.
The wifi downstairs crawls on the Draytek, and on the VM I get 200 meg .
The VM hub has superior wifi, so will revert to how it was.
There are so many combinations so this is all trial and error, but will report back here, as someone may also be having the same issue!

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