Router Advice - Modem Mode?

I would be reluctant to say one Router will work.  Personally I would suggest two or three WIFI access points set around the property to distribute the signal.  I use a non wifi router and 3 PoE ceiling mounted AP’s for WIFI.

Is your Virgin router the Hub 5 or Hub 5x? If it's the 5x, it doesn't have a working modem only mode but there are workarounds. 

I use a similar setup and I’m very reluctant to advise people on network equipment unless I’ve tested it out myself. That said, I run business class equipment that is probably too expensive for most users. I have 2 ISP connections, VM 1G plan and 1G symmetrical fibre from Open Infra.

Hard-core gamers will always get better performance with ethernet connections.  Can you run ethernet cables for them? 

Stick to a full network cable solution for Gamesters. 
Wi-Fi is always the source of endless Gamester grips about latency & for good reasons.

Many options to go with I use Zyxel firewall but your likely only needing a simple home router maybe some AP.

So on the low end your looking at something like this.

TP-Link Archer BE230 Dual-Band WiFi 7 Router, 3600Mbps Lightning-Fast Speeds, 2x 2.5G WAN/LAN and 3x 1Gbps LAN Ports, USB 3.0 Port, VPN WiFi Router, HomeShield Security, Easy Setup, EasyMesh : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories 

Having tried many different routers and really getting into some prosumer gear i can advise on my experience only but here goes:

• TP-LINK - owned one glad i got rid of it, the support and updates are poor IMHO after a few years it will be confined to the waiting to be a security nightmare scrapheep
• Any "Gamer" routers from Acer / Asus etc- look like spiders have garish UI's but are pretty poor compared to proper router equipment.
• Netgear - Pass

So that leads me on to 2 i really enjoyed using and which receive plentiful updates:

• Synology - Not sure how upto date they are now but good traffic prioritasition

However i will now only ever use routers by Ubiquity. I am on my second UNIFI Dream machine and they are amazing pieces of kit which can be as powerful or as simple as you want, however they offer great expansion options and for the price wipe the floor with the competition.

They do many options to suit budgets from the Cloud Gateway Ultra upto Dream machine Pro.

I am currently only the Unifi Dream Router 7, which is a small pill shaped device that allows the install of the following:

1. Network App - Obvious this one controls the network
2. Protect - Use SD Card slot and it can act as a NVR for CCTV
3. Talk - Voip App
4. Access - COntrol Locks doors windows etc.

This unit for example comes in at circa £360 (not cheap compared to Currys specials but great support and lifespan) and has the following:

• 4 * 2.5G Lan Ports
• SFP Port for WAN / LAN (can use a £15 adaptor to make this sfp to RJ45 port)
• Switch WAN and LAN ports
• Inbuilt Wifi 7 Access Point
• Micro SD card for CCTV Etc (included in box)

As a rough idea My S25 Ultra can do a local lan Speedtest via wifi 7 at circa 2.4GBPS down and just a bit less up, thats twice as performant than a standard 1GB lan port.

Of course down the load you can add additional access points (from circa £90) to expand the network and the control in the device will just auto adopt the device upload the Wifi SSIDs you want to it and thats it all done.

The software however is where it excels over all the other routers, Patches features and updates added each month.

You get the following in the software:

• Inbuilt configurable firewall
• Complete control of your LAN i.e put your IOT devices on a seperate LAN and seperate SSID so they cant spy on your main devices, yet you can connect to them from the main network
• Guest portal with ability to produce vouchers / passwords time limits BW limits etc create a personal portal page unique to you
• Add Bandwidth limits to each network you setup if you want to restrict who has what or share it fairly
• Ad blocking at a router level
• Built in Network scanning to sniff out any nefarious traffic and block immediately
• Get alerts on outages (prepare for plenty of these on Virgin lol)
• Beautiful easy to use UI configure however you want (i.e i have 4 networks (Vlans) for different devices and 4 SSids broadcast
• Secure DNS now built in with support for all major players (block virgin from seeing the DNS requests)
• Built in VPN Server (wireguard or teleport) allowing you to easily connect to your home network with just 1 click
• Built in VPN Client - If you have a VPN provider i.e surfshark or Nordvpn etc, you can add as many vpn connections as you want, then you can apply to all traffic or specific devices only, that way you do not have to install the apps on each device.

But thats just a small percentage of what they can do.

They do do cheaper versions i.e unifi express 7 which also gets good views and does most of the above for circa £200 add in a unifi flex switch for circa £20-30 to increase the lans ports by 5 and thats quite a potent device also.

Sorry for the long post im waiting for virgin service to be resumed so i have time on my hands and may as well use the hotspot lol. And no i dont work for Ubiquity i have just been using them for 7 or so years now and for the price the other cannot compete imho