Virgin Media Community

[Orac68]

Hi,

I currently have a Hub 3 and the 500Mbps service.  I have to decided to upgrade to the 1Gbps service which now only costs an extra £6.40 per month.

I would like to ask for some confirmation that if I upgrade will I get the newer Hub 5 by default, or are Virgin Media still sending out Hub 4's ?

[carl_pearce]

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@Orac68 wrote:

Hi,

I currently have a Hub 3 and the 500Mbps service.  I have to decided to upgrade to the 1Gbps service which now only costs an extra £6.40 per month.

I would like to ask for some confirmation that if I upgrade will I get the newer Hub 5 by default, or are Virgin Media still sending out Hub 4's ?

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There appears to be a stock shortage of HUB 5s so it's possible you'll get a HUB 4.

[Orac68]

Thank you for confirming that.  I think I'll hold off for the moment then, as it the hub 4 seems to have a bit of a bad reputation i.e. problems/failures.

[carl_pearce]

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@Orac68 wrote:

Thank you for confirming that.  I think I'll hold off for the moment then, as it the hub 4 seems to have a bit of a bad reputation i.e. problems/failures.

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Ironic really as the HUB 5 has its fair share of issues.

[NinjaMeerkat]

The hub4 worked well for me on the 1gb service.

[jem101]

Every single VM hub has had reported issues, there are more than a few reports on here of people getting a Hub5 and then demanding to be sent a 4 instead! Some on a 4 because of an upgrade, willing to drop to a lower speed to get their 3 back.

Basically it’s a case of ‘your milage may vary’

[Orac68]

Is it reliable in modem only mode.  I only use my hub 3 in modem only mode.  My main concerns with the hub 4 would be (1) is it free of any notable issue when used in modem only mode, (2) is it fan free/silent running ?  The hub 3 is silent in operation and this minor detail is important to me.   It's also proven to be completely problem free & reliable for me.  I'm sure I've read some comments somewhere of people complaining that the hub 4 gets hot and suffers from issues such as connection drop outs!

[jem101]

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@Orac68 wrote:

Is it reliable in modem only mode.  I only use my hub 3 in modem only mode.  My main concerns with the hub 4 would be (1) is it free of any notable issue when used in modem only mode, (2) is it fan free/silent running ?  The hub 3 is silent in operation and this minor detail is important to me.   It's also proven to be completely problem free & reliable for me.  I'm sure I've read some comments somewhere of people complaining that the hub 4 gets hot and suffers from issues such as connection drop outs!

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The Hub 4 is the only model which does have a fan, it is located at the bottom of the ‘tower’, which might not be the best location really. Yes, there have indeed been posts on here saying that it gets hot and/or noisy at times.  Do suspect that some, at least of these issues are down to poor build quality, partially detached heat sinks and/or failing bearings in, what are probably, the cheapest and shoddiest fans on the market!

[Orac68]

Thankyou to all of you for your helpful comments.  Much appreciated.  If the hub 4 has fan noise issue etc. then I'll have to hold out until the hub 5 becomes the default modem supplied.

[jpeg1]

If you already have the Hub 4, when you upgrade to the 1gig service it's only necessary for someone in VM to press a few buttons. So there's no incentive for them to go to the trouble and expense of sending you a new Hub.

It's unfortunate that your Hub 4 has a noisy fan. My Hub 4 is in a bedroom and it's virtually silent. It might be worth trying for a replacement Hub 4 on the basis that your present one is faulty, rather than paying extra for a faster connection that you don't need.  Unless you have a large family of extremely heavy users you won't notice any difference. 

Bear in mind that any upgrade price offer is a special deal to get you to sign up. After 18 months you may get an unpleasant surprise at the normal price.