Forum Discussion

JOM41's avatar
JOM41
Joining in
11 months ago

Same old VM with promises

Had V250 installed and was told by the sales advisor that this would be more than enough for gaming, streaming, cameras etc. previously had Sky which was 79mb at best so 250 would be ample. A couple of issues since January when installed but for the past 2 weeks had little wifi and nothing if not in the same room. VM can’t see this but I can.  Was on a WhatsApp chat yesterday from 10:27 until 5pm. Was told that I needed v350 and 3 x pods. I was first told that this would be £60 then was told £39. I have this in writing and is legally binding even though the advisor when processing said that he’d have to put me through to retentions as the price wouldn’t go through. I remembered now how poor VM is as I had it 4 years ago and when you get an issue they say tough and want to sell you an upgrade. How did Sky with 79mb have no issues. The VM router is inferior at sending the WiFi. Just need Sky to install their cable which is due in the next 18months. As VM can’t provide what they’ve agreed I’ll be coming out of the contract and going back to Sky. 

  • jbrennand's avatar
    jbrennand
    Very Insightful Person

    The agent was correct - 250 Mbps is way more bandwidth than you need for your modest activities - the issue isnt the bandwidth but the poor connection/wifi in your location.

    What VM package are you on ?  See this...

    ________________________________

    Do you know if its a wifi only issue (are ethernet connected devices ok?), if it is - then On a Hub3/4/5, you could first try separating the SSID's of the 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi bands by renaming them in the settings At the same time switch off "channel optimisation/Smart wifi” and “ apply and save the settings. All wifi devices will now need reconnecting to the best SSID at each location. Also use a wifi scanning App or Apple Airport Utility) to find the best wifi channels to use (just select and use channels 1,6,11 on 2.4GHz) - this often helps Hub users get better wifi performance - so its worth trying - but its still no substitute for getting better kit 🙂

    To address the wifi issues, VM now supply “wifi Pods” (no longer doing cheap and cheerless and poor value “boosters”). However, their Pods are only free to customers on the 1GB, Volt (or old Ultimate Oomph) packages - is that you? If so they are worth trying - they should work for you. VM Wifi is now “guaranteed” to 30 Mbps/room it’s now called… Wifi Max
    See if anything in here helps….

    https://www.virginmedia.com/wifi-max

    You call 0800 064 3850 to order the first one after scanning for blackspots using the connect App.- or just wait here for a VM person to respond in a day or two and they will sort the first one for you. If you do call dont get fobbed off by the offshore CS agents' saying you aren’t eligible - if you are - it is clearly stated on the webpage.

    If not free to you… you will be charged £8/month for up to 3 pods (note - BT charge £10/mo for their whole home wifi solution). It’s a simple solution and should work for you. However, you would soon pay off that cost by buying your own wireless solution that will be yours to own and use forever, although the VM Pods should be a simpler option.

    If you do want to invest in better equipment, you would need to get either a… (1) Mesh System, (2) Wireless router, (3) Wireless access point(s), (4) a pair of good quality Wifi Powerline Adaptors, or a combination of (2&3).

    £40-100 (that’s ~4->12 months of Max Pod rental) should sort it for most customers with an average property and usage. Spend more for additional advanced“features” - if required.

     

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta

    Try the test below.

    Often the VM Service to the Hub is very good and the grips are caused by Wi-Fi coverage issues that are easy to fix.

    https://www.samknows.com/realspeed/

    Once the test begins click on: Run full test to see all the stats.

    We should see the advertised M250 speeds at the Hub.

  • Hello JOM41.

    Thanks for your first post and welcome to our community.

    Sorry yo hear about the issues you are having with our service.

    Looking at the hub from here the signal strength is in the range we require.

    We also noticed you have an open complaint logged regarding the upgrade to 350mb and Pods.

    As jbrennand has advised 250mb should be sufficient for connecting a multitude of devices.

    There are 2 ways we can go about the pods .

    You can wait for the complaint to be investigated and see what the outcome is.

    Or I can take a look at ordering pods for you, But there will be a cost of £8 a month as you are not on a Volt bundle.

    Unless anyone in the property is with O2.

    Look forward to your reply.

    Gareth_L

     

    • JOM41's avatar
      JOM41
      Joining in

      Hi Gareth, thanks for your reply, however little or no WiFi since I started with VM is unacceptable. I did not purchase or have pods with the little Sky router but now I need them with the super duper VM 250 - wow. I’m not prepared to spend £96 on something that I shouldn’t need. I’ll wait for the complaint to be looked at - must have loads as I still haven’t been contacted. Would rather go back to Sky and pay them for a service that works for the price stated. Thanks 

      • Daniel_Et's avatar
        Daniel_Et
        Forum Team

        Hi JOM41, thank you for your response.

        We're sorry to hear you feel this way 😔

        I can see you've spoken to the team since you posted. Has your complaint now been resolved?

        Please pop back to us at your earliest convenience.

        Regards,
        Daniel