topic Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub. in Broadband

Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:30:45 GMT

Hi all. So, I juse received my 5G Hub,MC888, so far I have only tried the TV and my PC on new hub, both are connected via ethernet.

Regarding wifi, At the monent I am still on Virgin Media hub ( contract not cancelled,,,yet ) with all my wifi devices, I have about 20+ devices connected via wifi, which include 3x Ring cameras, 1x Ring doorbell cam, 2 x ring chimes, 3x older `other` IP cams, about 8x smart plugs, 3 x Echo show Alexa devices , 1x tablet, and 1x phone,

So as I am typing this, both hubs are active. The Three hub for the ethernet (tv and pc), and the VM hub for the (wifi ) devices.

That`s the background, this is the question... Rather than disconnecting each individual wifi device and go through all the hassle of setting each device back up again from scratch using the Three hub, Would it be possible to just change the Three hub`s SSID and Password names to the SAME SSID and SAME password that the VM is currently using, in the hope that once the VM is turned off, then the wifi devices will just connect themsleves ` automatically ` to the Three hub ??. Is that possible ?? or am I expecting too much ?.

Thanks in anticipation. John

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

Geluk — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:30:16 GMT

Yes should work when I upgraded my 3 supplied Huawei router to latest TP Link.

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:59:18 GMT

I was hoping it would. Thank you

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 17:16:59 GMT

It should be possible, but I have seen a few exceptions to that. The exception was caused by password strength detection built into the new router interface, so it literally would not let me set the passwords the same, saying that the password was too weak. It wanted me to add upper and lower case characters and use numbers as well as being longer. Not saying this will be the case on your new router, but just wanted to point it out.

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 08:31:14 GMT

Thank you Clive, I``ll bear that in mind. I haven`t tried it yet, been busy. still only ethernet connected, but will be trying in the next few days, so I will update, success or failure.

Thanks again. John

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 13:16:09 GMT

No problem will cross my fingers for you!

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:03:05 GMT

Looks like I won`t be here for long. Absolutely disgusted.

I have had the hub for 10 days,, On day 2, I decided to try wifi, using my tablet and my phone.

Hub situated in window... app states " excellent" and all 6 lights on hub are white. But,,, I connected via wifi and both devices within 4 metres of hub, and in direct sight of the hub. did speedtests,, and got average of 45mbps on both devices. Obviously no good.

So,, contacted technical help... eventually got an agent to call back,, agent said all looked okay, and to wait 10 days for hub to ` stabilize` itself. said speeds would improve to 100mbps + maybe 150. so... waited 10 days. Tried again,,, still 6 white lights,,,,still " excellent " signal on app. but,,,, speeds worse than day 2.

So,, back to the chat. eventually got an agent in technical who said,, " everything is normal ". No ISSUES. After asking agent 12 times what he meant by " normal " ? He eventually said.. " Normal, is what you expect " . What a ridiculous effing answer. I EXPECT more than 45mbps 4 metres away from, and in direct line of sight of the hub., So,,, Obviously there IS an issue. But All he could say was,,,,, " I can pass you through to returns dept. " " There is no issue " and " everything is .... normal. He also said " my allowances were fine ". I asked him 8 times what he means by " allowances ?? what allowances are you talking about ?. He refused to answer the question. I am not impressed. At all.

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:09:01 GMT

I don't think it's the "hub", more likely the cellular signal, using 4G & 5G bands linking the local Three mast to the router (hub). Have you tried the router in different positions in your home?

Personally I use tools like cellmapper.net to find the local mast and try and position the router as high up and in the direction of the local mast.

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:52:27 GMT

Hi Clive..Sorry for my ignorance, but I`m a little confused still. When hub first arrived, I fired it up in 3 places... 1st position got 5 white lights, and a blue network light. So,, I move it to a another position near to front door and got all 6 white,,,. Then realised my ethernet cables weren`t quite long enough at that position, so moved again to final position 3. ( on window cill and facing mast direction) so that, in my mind, was perfect. and.. still all 6 white lights. ( and the first agent I spoke to last week, confirmed it was facing the direction of the mast ) so, that`s where it has stayed for about the last 8 days. and all lights have always stayed white. no blue. As far as I understand,,, if all lights are white, then that is as good as it gets, as far as ` mast to hub signal ` is concerened. Now... regarding the `hub to device` signal, I assume ( but probably wrong) I assume that is what the Poor / fair / good/ excellent statuses means in the app, the signal from hub to the device . which is also confusing me,,as the device app has been checked at various times,, sometimes it states `Poor`, and sometimes it states `Excellent,` even though the hub nor device have moved, and all 6 ights on hub remain white. see app pics

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:09:52 GMT

It can be very confusing and the LED lights don't give you a full picture of what is actually going on. Can be very trial and error, bearing in mind that evenings and weekends have lower speeds due to congestion on the network. Try it in different positions for at least a day, if not a few days! How long is your cooling off period?

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:43:26 GMT

I believe it`s 30 days. I will check and confirm. Was I correct in saying the status on the app ( pics) is the signal strength between hub and the device ?.

None of it makes any sense to me. lol. I can check it one minute and it states " poor" ,,, then check again without even moving the device,,, and 10 seconds later it`ll state " Excellent" ,, then when I run speedtest,,, there doesn`t seem to be any difference in speeds, whether it is in a ` poor` or an `excellent` state . So really, the app signal status tells me nothing, and the 6 white lights on the hub tell me nothing. also,,, ( lol ) the upload speed is nearly as `fast` as the download. latest example was... 55 up ... 49 down.

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:45:32 GMT

P.S. also.... is there any truth in what the agent said last week ,,, that the hub needs 7 to 10 days to ` stabilize ` ??

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

MymsMan — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 22:08:25 GMT

When running speedtests are you using a hub based or pc based speed tester and with wifi or ethernet connection.

When I first got my external hub I was experiencing very variable speeds and it wasn't until I connected a PC via ethernet that I realised there were problems with my laptops wifi adapter settings! Even now the speed reported by my PC is less than that reported by the hub but since I average around 450Mbps at the PC I am not too worried 😀

We can't see the pictures you posted yet - images have to be approved by staff before becoming visible

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 09:43:16 GMT

Re Wifi... I ran the wifi speedtests within the Three app on phone and on tablet. ( Ookla ) .. but I also have the Ookla app as a stand alone app on both devices. And used that too. I Also have Ookla app on PC, so all tests were done using Ookla. All via wifi,,on all 3 devices, all were between 50 to 60mbps. If I then disconnect from Three and reconnect to my VM wifi,,, All 3 devices jump to about 180 mbps. ( My VM Normal )

Re Ethernet.... On PC, even using ethernet, It was only about 70.to 75 using the Three hub, so not really THAT much more than the THree wifi numbers, and again, if i disconnect ethernet from Three and reconnect to VM ethernet... I then get approx 270 mpbs, ( which is my normal for VM ethernet).

So baically, With my existing VM, I am used to getting approx 180 on wifi ( phone and tablet ) and approx 270 on ethernet ( PC ) .

Also... Re ethernet to Samsung TV .. I get about the same speeds whether it is the new Three, or the existing VM,, ( approx 60mbps ) But I believe that may be due to the adapter in the TV being somehow "limited". ( I previously read about it somewhere )

Sorry to burdon you with my probs. It`s just that I daren`t cancel my VM until I know Three is going to work for me. And time is now running out on my " returns " period. But so far, with only 50 to 60 on wifi, and 60 to 70 on ethernet, I`m not impressed. Also not impressed with The Three technical agents I chatted to, It was like talking to a piece of 3 x 2. very frustrating.

10 days to " stabilize ?? any truth ? Thanks Clive..

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 21:49:10 GMT

No, I think that is bit ridiculous. But I have found that leaving router on 24hours is better for speeds in the long run. I've had neighbours complaining about speeds, but they were turning it on and off based on small windows of use. I'd reckon after a day of usage, it should be pretty stable, but does depend on local network conditions.

The app screenshots look to be indicating the cellular signal, but the fact you are seeing it switch between different signal levels in the same physical position is a bit strange, it looks like it is flicking between different bands. Does the speeds fluctuate as well? Maybe try downloading a large file and monitor the speed over a period of time. The router might be switching bands based on through-put. Some speed tests download and upload very small files, so the router doesn't get time to "rev" up and connect to additional bands in time.

Unfortunately there is no one provider I would recommend, but an example of such test is available here - https://www.thinkbroadband.com/download

Download a large file, ie above 1GB and monitor the speed and signal strength while doing so. This might show you if your router is managing bands based on through-put.

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 10:43:48 GMT

Thanks Clive . When you say " flicking between different bands " .. do you mean between 4g and 5g ?? I understand the ` network` led on the hub indicates when it is 4g ( blue ) and 5 g ( white, ) .. But every time I have done a speedtest, I am also viewing the hub as I do it, and all lights are always white. The only time I have ever seen blue, is when its first powered on after a reposition, and that blue only lasts for about 2 seconds, then turns white. .

After breakfast, I`ll follow your link and do more tests.

Thanks again. John

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 15:21:40 GMT

Yes, Three use Non Stand Alone (NSA) 5G. It's like a half way stop between 4G/LTE and 5G, 4.5G if you will. It therefore does all the network control via 4G bands/technology. This means that routers tend to pick a 4G anchor/primary band and only connect to 5G bands if and when needed, this might explain the signal levels jumping up and down. In reality, a router can be connected to multiple bands, all with difference + and -. The lower frequency bands 700/800Mhz tend to travel better distances, but are slower for data. The higher bands are much faster, but are open to more interference. Even the foil backing in modern insulation can block/reflect/interfere with higher frequency bands.

Because the router is using multiple bands, all with different signal levels, the LED signal doesn't really mean anything. My router shows excellent signal on Band 20, but speed is about 2-10Mbps. It shows poor signal on Band 3, but I get about 40-60Mbps over that. The router then combines these two bands to give me an average speed of 40-75Mbps, depending on time of day and network load. However, my area is congested, Three Tech call it "limited".

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 22:13:03 GMT

Thanks clive . So basically it can be on 4g and not 5g,,,but still showing a white network light ?. If so, that seems to defy the whole point of the indication to begin with. Anyway...

I did the tests at your link. I didn`t test any ethernet, All were via wifi. I did tested using devices, My PC, phone and Tablet. I only used their `standard` speedtest, as when I went to the page which allows downloads of bigger files ( 1gb, 2gb etc, ) my Norton anti Virus wouldn`t allow the download , I got error stating " Can`t be downloaded safely " . So the pics shown are for the standart test. The top 3 pics are using the Three hub, compared to the bottom 3 pics using VM hub. All via wifi. I undertsand the MBPS figures, but the rest to me is gobbledygook. I understand you won`t see pics until verified. Thanks for now. John

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:55:04 GMT

Yes, to access 5G-NSA you will be connected to a 4G band, its the way it works! So the signal level might be display the signal status of that 4G primary band. The router logic might be to change the colour of the LED's if a 5G band is detected, even if the signal is too poor to use! Those speeds look to me like 4G only, IMO

LOL yeah, I always laugh when Three Tech support want me to tell them the LED colours and signal, especially when my question has nothing to do with the cellular signal. They do love to follow their wee scripts, please turn it off and on, please reset your wifi box, please take the SIM out and try it in your phone, etc etc etc

Have you figured out how to access the router config page? Really need to see what bands your router is connected to. Those speeds don't look like 5G bands are in use.

Re: Tech advice please. New MC888 hub.

TwoShedsJohn — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:14:15 GMT

Thanks Clive. I have finally managed to log into hub manager. All wekk it has been rejecting username and password, ( which I know is correct ) ,,,, then finally this morning using same credentials,, it let me in. weird. Anyway,,, not really sure what I`m lookin for , but I took a few sceenshots of what I thought you were previously referring to. Also did a speedtest at approx 6-30am today. Not sure if I need to click that blue " apply " button or not ?. ..................