Hello VM Forum Team.
I understand from a recent VM press release that VM has begun to upgrade those of us with Hub 3s and 4s to the Hub 5 without charge.
Assuming there are no additional contractual complications please can my Hub 3 be upgraded to the Hub 5 accordingly?
I would be very grateful and am happy to provide early feedback on the process.
Cheers.
You can order one in your MVM account, go to Service status and select "Still having issues?", after running the tests the broadband gets flagged and gives you the option to order a new hub.
Just done that and it's showing in My Orders for delivery on Wednesday.
Just tried that twice and with a Hub 3 in Router mode got :
"We can’t connect to the broadband kit in your home"
Shall have another go later / tomorrow.
My Hub 3 is also in Router mode, the Status showed 3 green ✅ then I ran the tests and the broadband came up with yellow ticks and the option to order a new hub.
Nice spot. I'm in modem mode so might have a fiddle in router mode later and update the thread.
I very much doubt that VM staff on the board have the ability to order this for you.
Using Service Status does feel like it might be the back door to the soft launch of the hub upgrade programme.
I did try it in router mode (and modem mode) but I think I might be being blocked from progressing due to an announced intermittent signal in my area. I will try again later in the week.
I'd be interested in hearing from others with hub 3s or 4s as to whether you get offered a Hub 5 when running a service status check at https://www.virginmedia.com/help/check/status
No, I didn't get an offer of an upgrade. However, I did discover that the problems I thought I was having with my own kit were in fact a VM street issue in Brighton. Should have checked that earlier. :-( Last time I asked for a hub 4, they wanted me to pay.
I called them yesterday and was told that I wouldnt get a hub 5. They said would send replacement hub 3 . To be able to get hub 5 I was told I needed to upgrade package to get it. Its a joke. So many people having issues and they expect us to still use hub 3 even though its no longer getting security or firmware updates. They apparently know nothing about the swap and said its not true!! So I'm stuck with this hub 3 constantly having issues.
I'm also seeing the "Intermittent signal in your area" message. I wonder if that's a coincidence, or VM have seen a spike in requests for a replacement Hub?
Haha it's a dark world indeed Darkman.
Completed the test this morning, no Hub 5 offer. A claim to offer a lower price and then a list of offers everyone an upgrade at more cost than the current rate. No option to renew the current service, no offer to reduce the price.
On the upside is it 3 months since Openreach surveyed our front grass bankings for OR FTTP and last week OR marked out the positions for new telegraph poles to deliver FTTP along the lane behind us, competition is in preparation.
Just tried the test to see what it would do today and get the screen below, it does say my new hub is on it's way.
Let us know how you get on with your Hub 5 delivery Roy. It seems the roll out is phased which is expected. I tried and got nowhere. For a laugh I tried offshore live chat and was immediately offered a 24m Gig1 contract. I then asked the agent to actually read the press release and they first of all said the link was broken (it wasn't) and then said the hub 5 offer would be emailed to me in a week or two. I won't be holding my breath.
I will update you on the Hub 5, I will do some speed tests before and after the swap of hubs. Just hope I will be around tomorrow to accept delivery, had a message tonight saying it needs a signature but don't know yet on the time slot. I will be out with the dogs most of the morning and have to drop the OH off in the afternoon and then go and pick her up.
Quick update on the Hub 5, it's not turned up, got a 2 hour time slot this morning, out for delivery between 17:29 and 19:29. Around 6:30 I looked at the tracking and it didn't say out for delivery with a time it had gone back to "We have it". See what tomorrow brings if anything as it's now gone 8.
Forum TeamHi roy247,
Thanks for the update on your hub, we're sorry there's been some delays.
Please let us know if you're still waiting for it to arrive, and if you still need help with this.
Alex_Rm
Had to go on the Yodel chat this morning because they needed more information about my address, not had a problem before with Yodel or any other couriers and yes they did have the correct address (maybe it's the driver), I said after 3 pm would be good and she said she would pass that on to the driver. Got a message when I was out saying it would be delivered between 18:12 and 20:12, it was actually delivered just before 12 and left in the porch when I was out, so much for needing to deliver to a person and can't be left in a safe place.
Anyway some test results, I haven't split the wi-fi network on the hub 5 but the hub 3 was. The results are an average of 3 Speedtests. M600 broadband.
PC hard wired, hub 3 639 mbps download and 43 mbps upload, hub 5 641 mbps download and 42 mbps upload. Didn't expect any change there.
My mobile upstairs using the hub 3 5g band, 242 mbps download and 42 mbps upload, the hub 5 530 mbps download and 42 mbps download. Big improvement there.
My mobile downstairs where I am watching the football, hub 3 5g band 568 mbps download and 39 mbps upload, hub 5 637 mbps download and 42 mbps upload. So an improvement there.
My tablet which I am using now, hub 3 5g band 396 mbps download and 42 mbps upload, hub 5 619 mbps download and 41 mbps upload.
Certainly an improvement, mainly on the signal all around the house and even the connect app has started working again after about 2 years of not being able to find the hub. 🙂
Thanks for the update Roy. What could possibly go wrong entrusting the logistics of such a massive hub upgrade project to Yodel?
Very encouraging speed tests. I am considering getting a wifi 6/7 router to succeed my trusty but ageing Asus RT-AC86U but if I am getting a Hub 5 at some vague point in the next year or so (strangely enough I haven't had any DMs from the VM forum team offering me one yet) then I might give that a go first.
What more does a Hub 5 give you? I pay for 250MB and get slightly more than that on my hub3. No wifi issues.
If it aint broke dont fix it? I'm always wary of VM 'upgrades' !
From Roy's testimony (and I take everything Roy says as gospel) the Hub 5 is the bee's knees.
What wi-fi speed results do you get around your house compared to your ethernet connection to your hub 3.
It might not be broke but can improve, mine wasn't broken but improved.
In total fairness, I've had both Hub 3 and 5. Both used in modem mode btw. However, the BQM's for both show the Hub 5 has less average latency than the Hub 3. Apart from that, they both do the intended job. Again, as much as I criticise VM at times, my actual broadband circuit is really good, so the Hub performance has a good platform to work off.
As for Wifi, I can only go on reading these forums, and the Hub 5 has problems with older IoT. That's not the fault of the Hub 5, but the fact of older tech being left behind ...
roy247's experience is in line with what I expect, and thanks to roy247 for sharing his data.
Wired speeds won't change as the hub 3 is good for M600, but the major improvement is with Wi-Fi. The hub 5 supports Wi-Fi 6 which provides a significant speed boost compared with the hub 3's Wi-Fi 5 due to a great extent by Wi-Fi 6's 1024-QAM modulation which packs more data into each signal burst — 25% more throughput than 256-QAM in Wi-Fi 5. There are other reasons why Wi-Fi 6 is better than Wi-Fi 5, but suffice to say that the hub 5 is better in most ways than the hub 3.
