Super hub 3 solid red light, warm to touch

[Helpless]

Why is it such a pain to try and get a replacement? It’s from 2016, it’s obviously a common fault as of late by reading these threads- yet I’m struggling to get anywhere.

[Vikki_M]

Hi @Helpless

Thank you for your post and welcome to our community.

I am sorry to hear about the issues you are having with the Hub 3. 

The red light indicates that either the router is overheating, or there's an issue with the connection to the LED. 
Please try the following :

• Turn the power switch off on the back of the Hub. 

• Ensure the Hub is upright, in a well-ventilated location, and, if at all possible, out of direct sunlight. 

• Then use the power switch to turn the unit back on. The Hub should now operate normally. 
 

If after following the above steps the router doesn't boot back up after a few minutes, or the red light returns when it does, then the router will need replacing.

Please let us know if this resolves the issue for you and if not, we can assist in replacing the hub for you here. 

[Helpless]

I tried that myself a few times, and carried that out on a call earlier when I spoke to a VM member on the phone 😞

Any chance you can help me please?

The LED turns green when it reboots so I assume not an LED issue, as it can go green when it wants too.

It’s behind the TV with the light visible at all times, well ventilated and out of direct sunlight. As I say, I’ve had it since 2016 without issue. I assume it’s just reaching the end of its lifespan.

Its been red for about a week or two, but everything’s been working fine until the last week. Only checked it’s temperature when reading up on this since the WiFi kept dropping when I’m working from home recently.

[Adri_G · Accepted solution]

Hey Helpless, thanks for getting back to us with this reply.

Could you please confirm if the light has turned back to red after you followed the advice from Vikki above just to have this clear please?
I'm eager to assist further once you advise this, cheers

[Helpless]

Hi there, I thought I’d managed to get the issue sorted, but I’m back here again, desperate for someone to listen and help.

I managed to speak to someone on the phone a few days ago who listened to the fact the hub was very hot to the touch, and that the constant red/orange light was on. He arranged a replacement hub, which I received today.

I’ve set it up, and I have the exact same issue- permanent orange/red light, and the damned thing is hot to the touch, after less than an hour of being on. It’s supposedly a brand new replacement hub, but judging by how it looks I’m guessing it’s a refurb, frankly.

So here I am, back in exactly the same place, afraid to leave the thing powered on when I’m out or overnight.

the massive thread here seems to show it’s an equipment issue: https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Networking-and-WiFi/Orange-Light/td-p/4423222/page/8

So I rung faults, and spoke to an overseas guy who told me to “wait 2-3 days” … for what? A fire?

He said something about it being “an issue in the area” and I’m saying how can a connection issue in the area cause the equipment to overheat…? He said the “issue would be causing more voltage”…what…? 

Judging by the other thread, it’s a common issue, so I just need someone sensible to sort something for me 😞

[Kath_F]

Hi Helpless, 

Thanks for coming back to us on this. 

We're sorry that a replacement hub hasn't helped. I think the best thing to do here is to book an engineer to come out and check things over. 

I just need to confirm the address to ensure we are booking the visit on the correct account. I have sent you a private message regarding this. Just click on the little plum envelope at the top right-hand side of the page to access your inbox.

Thanks,

[Kath_F]

Hi Helpless,

Thanks for coming back to me via private message. 

I have booked you in for the next available appointment. To view this please sign in to My Virgin Media here: My VM. Once logged in, scroll down to Orders & appointments then click on View your orders. You can also view this in the My VM app. If you have any issues with accessing your account or unable to see your visit, please do let us know and we’ll pop you another message to pass data protection and then confirm the appointment details.

Please ensure that someone over the age of 18 is at the property for the time the engineer is there. If the appointment is unsuitable or if anyone living at your property has tested positive for Coronavirus, has been asked to self-isolate or has flu-like symptoms then please reschedule the appointment on the same link. If you do miss the appointment for any reason, a £25 missed appointment charge will be applied to your account on the day of the appointment so it is important to reschedule if needed. 

Lets us know how the appointment goes. 

Take care.

[Miggle]

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@Vikki_M wrote:

Hi @Helpless

Thank you for your post and welcome to our community.

I am sorry to hear about the issues you are having with the Hub 3. 

The red light indicates that either the router is overheating, or there's an issue with the connection to the LED. 
Please try the following :

• Turn the power switch off on the back of the Hub. 

• Ensure the Hub is upright, in a well-ventilated location, and, if at all possible, out of direct sunlight. 

• Then use the power switch to turn the unit back on. The Hub should now operate normally. 
 

If after following the above steps the router doesn't boot back up after a few minutes, or the red light returns when it does, then the router will need replacing.

Please let us know if this resolves the issue for you and if not, we can assist in replacing the hub for you here. 

---

Hi Vikki_M,

I have a whole private conversation thread with Adri_G where they insist the red light is completely normal - despite me saying the modem only mode light was always magenta on my HUB3 and never solid red. I also pointed out a Virgin Media web page where it says red means overheating and even has a picture.

I got asked "Have I seen smoke from it" - to which I replied I hope I wouldn't as VM would be proactive and swap it out. Mine gets hot on the F connector and warm at the top of the case, but I have no idea about the main cpu inside and whether that is too hot or not.

Anyway, I am finding this really odd that most customers are getting their hubs swapped out yet Adri_G refused to do mine unless I raised a complaint about it. Its not about getting a new hub for sake of it, as its a like for like replacement. I just want to know the thing IS safe!

[Kath_F]

Hi Miggle, 

Thanks for coming back to us on this one. 

The red light on the hub can indeed mean that it is overheating however it's also usual for a hub is modem mode to display a magenta colour light. Sometimes the LED develops a fault which then makes the light red when in modem mode. 

I've taken a look at the conversation with Adri and I can see you've mentioned in there that when the hub is in router mode, the LED is white so this suggests the hub is fine. If there was an issue with it overheating then the Hub light would remain red. As it's turning white, there is nothing wrong with the hub you have. 

Some of the components on the Hub can get a little warmer at times but this is normal. 

If you see the red light on the Hub whilst in router mode then please come back to us and I'll happily get an engineer booked out for you to test things out but currently, based on what you've said, the hub is acting as it should be. 

Many thanks, 

[Miggle]

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@Kath_F wrote:

Hi Miggle, 

Thanks for coming back to us on this one. 

The red light on the hub can indeed mean that it is overheating however it's also usual for a hub is modem mode to display a magenta colour light. Sometimes the LED develops a fault which then makes the light red when in modem mode. 

I've taken a look at the conversation with Adri and I can see you've mentioned in there that when the hub is in router mode, the LED is white so this suggests the hub is fine. If there was an issue with it overheating then the Hub light would remain red. As it's turning white, there is nothing wrong with the hub you have. 

Some of the components on the Hub can get a little warmer at times but this is normal. 

If you see the red light on the Hub whilst in router mode then please come back to us and I'll happily get an engineer booked out for you to test things out but currently, based on what you've said, the hub is acting as it should be. 

Many thanks, 

---

Hi Kath_F

I haven't done a router mode test, as I've always used modem mode where it was a magenta light. The router was pin hole reset twice though some weeks ago and the red light came back on after reboot. I'll put it into router mode, although as I said to Adri_G, it would make no sense if red was "normal" in modem mode as there would now be no way of knowing if its overheating, yet you would when in router mode? That just seems to defy logic.