How can I get my faulty Hub 3 replaced?

[jolyoncox]

Got back from holiday to find that all the wired Ethernet ports on my Hub 3 have stopped working, which is catastrophic as I normally run in modem-only mode with a better router and separate Wi-Fi access point. Reported the fault but got fobbed off because VM diagnostics report the hub as working - they cannot detect this fault. I cannot find any way of getting past this and obtaining a replacement hub. Currently limping along in hub mode with my wired home network non-functional and just the utterly inadequate Hub Wi-Fi which has a range of about 20 ft and doesn't reach most of the house. Has a one found a way of getting past the bot and talking to someone technically compete? 

[jolyoncox]

That should of course be "technically competent" - blame the spill-chucker! 

[Sabrina_B]

HI @jolyoncox 👋.

Thanks for reaching out to us. Apologies for the issues that you are having with your service. It is not advisable to unplug your hub to claim that it is faulty as this can incur a £25 charge should an engineer be called out and there is no fault found. We n=must first diagnose correctly to ensure that you are in receipt of the correct remedy for any issues found.

Should you be using third party equipment order to boost your signal range, you will need to ensure that the equipment is compatible with your current equipment as this can hinder the issue further rather than aide it. Should you be having signal issues there are solutions around them that can assist you further. 

 If you wish for further assistance, we will need to do this via a private message. Please look out for the envelope on the top right of your web browser or if you are using a mobile device, it will be located under your profile icon.
 

Thanks.
 

Sabrina

[jolyoncox]

Thanks - I have finally managed to get an engineer to come and replace the faulty Hub, and everything is now working. I just wish I could have persuaded someone a week ago that this was necessary. 

[FlockWallpaper]

It’s odd that Sabrina_B made a post advising that you don’t disconnect the hub and then claim it wasn’t working, when I can’t see anyone suggesting such a thing - unless, of course someone did and the mods simply censored it by removing it!

VM’s remote diagnostic systems simply monitor and check the connection to the hub from their end, it can’t check or diagnose ethernet (LAN-side) issues, from their perspective, you are getting a connection to the hub, that’s fine, so no problem, go away!

Glad to see that you managed to get someone out who did the obvious thing which was to swop to hub out. Remember that the Hub 3s are all quite old now and no longer being made, they will all be second-hand now and will all start suffering from aging and failing hardware - if you were given another ‘3’, it may not last too long.

[jolyoncox]

Exactly. The real problem was that the automated systems did not allow for the possibility of a LAN-side failure. It was immediately obvious (and easily confirmed) that all the LAN ports were dead, but there was no way of persuading anyone that this was the case - instead I got a series of insultingly patronising messages (bot-generated?) telling me to try rebooting the defunct hub, checking the mains power (!) etc. 

Anyway, it's all working now. I think the replacement Hub 3 is brand-new, and if that needs replacing it will be Virgin's problem, not mine! 

[Tom_W1]

Hi @jolyoncox thanks for your reply here - we're sorry for the confusion.

Despite this, we're pleased to hear that this is now all resolved for you!
If you need us for anything else, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Many thanks