Virgin Media Community

[Kei_M]

Back in October we announced the launch of the new Hub 5 and we’ll be offering this to customers at no extra cost as part of a phased rollout.

Our next-generation Hub works alongside Virgin Media’s ultrafast broadband network to deliver peak WiFi performance, thanks to WiFi 6.

This latest future-proof WiFi standard, which will work with Virgin Media’s existing DOCSIS 3.1 technology, is designed to power the next-generation of connected devices – including modern smartphones, laptops, tablets and next-gen games consoles.

With this latest technology and even more WiFi antennae than its predecessor, the Hub 5 will be able to support more devices, connecting at the same time, while expanding coverage and stability which improves WiFi performance.

It means the new Hub 5 boasts increased WiFi speeds, lower latency and can help reduce interference from neighbouring hubs and devices.

The Hub 5 has been designed to support multi-gigabit speeds and comes with a 2.5Gbps ethernet port alongside three additional 1Gbps ports.

FAQ

How can I get a Hub 5? / I’m on Gig1 Fibre and need the Hub 5 to maximise my service

We've started to offer the Hub 5 as standard to new Gig1 customers as well as existing customers without a Hub 4 who upgrade to Gig1. Currently there is no other way to get a Hub 5.

Temporarily, due to stock levels at the end of last year and the start of this year. Some Gig1 customers expecting a Hub 5 may have received a Hub 4 instead. We'll be contacting these Gig1 customers to offer them a Hub 5 via email.

What are the specs?

-Broadband – DOCSIS3.1/3.0 Broadcom 3390S

-WiFi:

• 5xAntennae
• 4x4 MiMo 5Ghz Broadcom 6715
• 3x3 MiMo 2.4Ghz Broadcom 6710
• WiFi 6 (802.11ax)

-Ethernet:

• 1x2.5Gbps Broadcom 54991EL
• 3x1Gbps Broadcom 3390S

[marekthomasx1]

okay i totally understand the people with frustrations. now as a company, they need to comply with certain regulations. 

it is on trial for a reason, as stated by previous users above. now VM go by very strict regulation by Ofcom under Ofcom’s broadband speed code. for G1, VM’s script is something along this line (please forgive me as i am reciting this from memory, so bare with me, but this is also public knowledge available to all on the link below.) 

“we estimate at peak times the download speed to your VM router will range between 1086 and 1140MBPS, and your upload speed will range between 51 and 52MBPS. actual speeds can vary, and may be due to a number of factors including your use of wifi, your equipment, internal wiring, and the number of users accessing a particular website. 

the minimum download speed to your VM router should not fall below 565MBPS. if this happens for 3 consecutive days or more and we’re unable to fix the problem within 30d of you reporting the problem to virgin media , you may be entitled to leave your contract without penalty. if you do receive a speed which is below the minimum download speed, please contact us. 

for more info on estimated speeds, how speeds may be affected by policies such as traffic management and fair usage, our commitment to ofcom’s broadband speed code and what to do if you experience speed problems head to virginmedia.com/ourspeeds”

TL;DR. they’re not gunna ship out a router on a Non-Compatible product, it will cause so many issues. they want to make it work. i’ve said in previous posts (which you are more than welcome to read) that this is the case.

*************

I do work for Virgin Media, But all Opinions expressed here are my own.

Current setup:

Ultimate Bundle

2X360 Boxes, 1 Mini 1 Standalone, Gig1 Router in Modem Mode w/ Plume Mesh AX, Talk Anytime pack.

[jamilayz]

Can someone explain, if the ethernet port on VM Hub 4 supports speeds up to 1000 Mbps, how can we achieve advertised speeds between 1086 and 1140 Mbps on a Gig 1 fibre package?

Don't tell me that WIFI is faster than ethernet .

[marekthomasx1]

@jamilayz, in this case, yes. pretty much due to hardware limitation, i mean i’ve found in some cases with my xbox i get over that threshold for downloads of near 1140, so it doesn’t surprise me

*************

I do work for Virgin Media, But all Opinions expressed here are my own.

Current setup:

Ultimate Bundle

2X360 Boxes, 1 Mini 1 Standalone, Gig1 Router in Modem Mode w/ Plume Mesh AX, Talk Anytime pack.

[jamilayz]

@ marekthomasx1

That's why we need Hub 5 ASAP.

VM, speed up the process.

[josh94]

1G ports are max 940mbps

to get the full 1140 you can balance the ports in modem mode to a 2.5g/10g router 

[jamilayz]

@josh94

How do we balance ports in Hub 4 modem mode to a 2.5g/10g router as there are no options?

[donmaca]

@josh94

What does "balance the ports" mean? Even in modem mode the SuperHub 4 is restricted due to 1Gbps ethernet ports only

[marekthomasx1]

my internet speeds on home mesh systems are near 1140, dont see where this restriction is coming from. it's almost like the 2ac, where only the top port could be used for modem mode. 

[josh94]

If you put it in modem mode and have 2 or more plugged into a compatible router with balance-rr mode then the undocumented in functionality will work.

I have a mikrotek router which then comes out at 10gb in SFP into a 5g switch. I speed test 1150 down and 53 up any time of the day 👍

[jamilayz]

@josh94

I have CAT6a ethernet cable running from my Virgin Media Hub 4 to the back of my Netgear Router RAX120 Multi-Gig 5G/2.5G/1G port.

Whenever doing a speed test through the Netgear App or by using a Cat6a cable with my PC which has got a 2.5G port as well; the maximum download speeds obtained are never above 965 MBPS.

So I am not sure that how you managed to get more than that from a 1G ethernet port of VM Hub 4 which is limited below 1000 MBPS speed.

[marekthomasx1]

no, it isn’t “limited”, there’s a lot of factors, your internal wiring is definitely sounding like one of them. you have to think there’s TOO many factors to go into it. if you go into your wifi settings at 192.168.0.1 you’ll probably find near 1g in your router’s speeds. mines always at 1140

[jamilayz]

@ marekthomasx1

So can you guide me how to fix it or make it work ?

Thanks.

[josh94]

You have no idea what you are talking about, jamila is on the right track, each port can handle 940mbps of throughout you will not get more out of it. You can ‘bond’ them together using balance-rr, google it, it’s a undocumented feature thanks to their provider of the software.

when I Speedtest it balances 580 odd via each port which allows me full speed over 1 cable after it’s bonded.

I also use cat5e in most places which is fine at short length.

I do networking and server management as a job believe me you can’t get more than that, your just seeing an inflated figure 

[andrewmm]

does the 2.5 Gb Ethernet port work on the Hub 5 in Modem Mode ?

[josh94]

Yeah

[jamilayz]

@josh94

Thanks I will give balance r-r  a go.

Really need is a VM Hub 5 with 2.5G ethernet port.

[marekthomasx1]

i’m not saying you’re wrong @josh94 , and i’m not disputing that. what i’m saying to you is the fact that  the direct Docsis connection to the router obviously can provide speeds of 1140. you have to think, in the ofcom statement i posted earlier, the first line said “we estimate at peak times the download speed TO your virgin media router” . i’m not disputing your “prowess” either. on a local connection, i have found that speeds to devices whether on wifi-ethernet found in the hub’s settings range from 525/1140. there are numerous factors including device limitation, but the hub is able to give a signal, send it and no one said the hub 4 was guaranteed to give the same as it sends. 

[Alan_B]

I've had a Hub5 since December and it has been an absolute nightmare, wifi signal strength is appalling, and it often drops out altogether with some weird behaviours giving errors like access denied. This seems to happen every three hours or so.There are a lot of people on the community saying the same as me, so surely you cannot be continuing to roll out this router to people. It got so bad that I have had to connect a separate router just for wifi for things to work. Even then though whilst the wifi doesn't drop out the internet connection to the router I have put in seems to drop out every 3 hours or so for a couple of seconds. 

[josh94]

How are you getting above 940 if the maximum limit the standard can transfer is 940? Magic?

I don't get above 940 from one cable, thus you have to balance-rr the connection so that the traffic is put over 2 links, there is no possible way you were getting 1140 to a single device over ethernet, only pulling it from multiple sources at once. Here is an example of what my router sees and how the traffic is going down 2 lines although the first isnt capped.  This is the only solution right now to get more than 940 at one point.

I get 1140+ any time of the day every day with this bonding setup at any computer/laptop with a 2.5/5gbe network card/adaptor, here is an example from a few days ago.

I would like the Hub 5 specifically for the 2.5gbe port, but this works perfectly for me so I am not in a desperate rush for it anymore. I am much more interested in when they roll it out hopefully they will be bringing Gig2 along with it thus the need for the 2.5gbe port (to actually be able to offer it). I hope this is the next thing as I will certainly be staying with VM as the FTTP providers are all 900 or 1000 at the minute.

[auroraonline]

dont bother, had one, it was more than useless.

regular drop out on lan and wifi

gone back to a hub4, no issues what so ever