Virgin Media Community

[JillH1]

I just got Virgin installed today but there's no signal in my office and the app is telling me I need a booster.  Virgin is out of stock and there's a waiting list.  Will a generic wifi booster do the same job?

[jbrennand · Accepted solution]

Assuming your wired connections are all ok (are they?) then as VM don’t “guarantee” speeds over wifi (only ethernet cables) they now only supply “wifi pods” (not “boosters”). These are free to customers on the 1GB or Ultimate Oomph packages, and so are worth trying if you are on one of those.

Otherwise, you will be charged £5/month - and at that level of investment you would soon pay off that cost by buying your own wireless equipment which will solve any wifi issues permanently, and will be transferable to other BB suppliers kit should you move supplier.

Get either a…
(1) Mesh System, (2) Wireless router, (3) Wireless access point or (4) A combination of (2) & (3).

[JillH1]

Thanks very much, John - really helpful

[ukdavej]

I have in a reasonably sized house and my router is sited in an upstairs bedroom/office. After putting up with terrible Wi-Fi from my VM hub 3 for years, I took the plunge and bought a MESH system. There are several on the market from about £130 upwards. I bought the Netgear Orbi RBK50 mainly because it's Tri-band and it has dedicated Wi-Fi backhaul (which means one channel is dedicated to connecting the base unit to the satellite unit leaving the other two free for all your devices) and it has three LAN ports on the satellite so I can plug my wired devices downstairs.

Pro's:

1) It's lightening fast - I'm getting 200mbs all over the house via Wi-Fi (even getting 150 down the bottom of the garden)

2) It appears to be very stable so far - no drop outs in 2 weeks whatsoever

3) It's very easy to set up - took me 10 minutes from start to finish

Con's

1) It's a bit expensive - £225 from Amazon

2) It's not the best looking piece of kit but I can live with it (and hide the downstairs unit behind the telly)

Another alternative if you don't need LAN ports is the Netgear Nighthawk MK62 - my friend (also on VM) bought this a month ago, same price but has WiFi 6 (which if you have any Wi-Fi 6 devices e.g. latest Samsung or Apple phones will blow your socks off and is much better looking)

[JillH1]

Thanks so much for your advice. How I know how go sort it.