Virgin Media Internet - Considering Switching to them

thecrater

Hello,
I'm considering switching to VM Internet. I use my own router (OpenWRT) and PiHole with 1.1.1.1 as my primary DNS servers using DoT (DNS-over-TLS). I also use VPN connections for work. In addition I run my own VPN on my router (OpenVPN and Wireguard) as well as my own small web server with port-forwarding on the router to my server The server is used for personal stuff and I'm the only one who accesses it.
I remember reading quite sometime ago that VM run a more restrictive network blocking certain things.
Is this still the case? Are there any issues I should consider apart from potentially paying an activation fee when switching from VM at the end of the contract if I choose to?

Thank you in advance

SharonIsabel

Sorry I can't answer your technical questions but I would strongly advise against going with Virgin Media - my neighbours and I have had appalling experiences with them. Service outages for days on end last year and the rudest, least helpful customer service you'll encounter. 

Elmer_BeFuddled

In 3 words. DON'T DO IT!!!

hermante

Well I used Virgin media in 2010, and I couldn't find any reliable way to access a home server from externally.

unixpro

In 4 words. Absolutely DON'T DO IT!!
You are clearly a "pro-sumer" talking about pi's and DNS over TLS / DNS over HTTP, and VPNs etc.  I'm a Linux sysadmin / Infrastructure Engineer of over 20 years experience, so here's some honest advice.
Virgin Media UK no longer offer an "Internet Connection". All they now offer is a (partial at best) "Web Connection".

I'm sure you know that the Internet is a whole lot more than the World Wide Web, yet Virgin Media see fit to block arbitrary (and ever increasing) parts of the Internet. Protocols, IP CIDRs, HTTP(S) downloads of .torrent files (linux .iso?), VPNs - IPsec, L2TP, PPTP and now even wireguard.  It is fraud to call such a service and "Internet" service.  Oh and did I mention the firmware on the CrappyHub? 
Join Virgin Media and you will have your prices hiked up and up for remaining a loyal customer despite having numerous outages regularly.

I joined Zen a couple of years back. Never looked back. No blocking. No censorship, No marketing BS, no price hikes, no extortionate line rental (£10 pcm for infrastructure is fair IMHO), no downtime, static IP, IPv6, decent equipment if you choose it, no assuming you're a moron on the phone, oh and did I mention totally no BS.
 

[Deleted User]

Looks like I have an unpopular opinion here but I absolutely love Virgin Broadband 350, have no problems whatsoever but I only use their kit as a modem and have an Asus ROG GT-AC5300 router. I think a lot of problems stem from their sub standard router and by taking that out of the equation you can avoid the typical issues.

I use my own router (OpenWRT) and PiHole with 1.1.1.1 as my primary DNS servers using DoT (DNS-over-TLS).
Own router ok. OpenWRT works also ok (my previous router). I also use 1.1.1.1 (actually 1.1.1.2 for filtering) as primary DNS - I haven't tested secure DNS though but appears to work according to VM forums - make sure you set advanced network error search off on your VM profile and any childsafe settings as I believe this is where most issues stem from.

I also use VPN connections for work. In addition I run my own VPN on my router (OpenVPN and Wireguard) as well as my own
I've used a work VPN, OpenVPN and other VPN's running on my PC or the router itself and all work ok with Virgin Broadband.

Small web server with port-forwarding on the router to my server
Not sure about webserver but I use a NAS with port forwarding working ok. Virgin don't have static IP address so you will need a 3rd party solution unless you buy a Virgin Business Broadband - having said that my IP address hasn't changed for over 6 months.

And above all else, have 380mbps on tap when needed really does make light work of downloading big files - I don't think I could bear going back to VDSL snail paced speeds.

anotheruser

unixpro said:

yet Virgin Media see fit to block HTTP(S) downloads of .torrent files

I joined Zen a couple of years back. Never looked back. No blocking. No censorship

I can download .torrent files...
Yes, they block access to some websites that distribute torrent files for movies games and whatever but there are fairly simple ways around that. And that's a government thing... if Zen Internet allow you to visit The Pirate Bay for example, I'm fairly certain they're not compliant with what has been mandated by the government.

OP: I have been with Virgin for the best part of 10 years. While their service is okay, that's as far as I'd go. We've only recently started having trouble with out router but unless there's a major outage, we've never been without Internet for more than a few hours and most of the time it's less than 20 minutes and that's only once every few months if that.

If you want to mess about with their router settings you can but it seems the more restarts of it you make, the more unsteady the connection becomes.
If you plug it in and leave it, it's fine.

However, because of the more very recent problems I had, I'll be leaving my £24 a month for 100Mb deal (it should have been closer to £30 over the years) for TalkTalk.
It gets tiring having a letter once every 12-18 months saying our bill is going up, then calling them threatening to leave for them to back down.

Strange that the sys admin of Linux (quoted above) has only made one post and much of that info is simply wrong. If they think Virgin Media don't provide a "normal" Internet connection and it's all fraud, take them to court and then tell us all how it went. That's right, they won't because what they wrote is a load of stupid hooey.

prowla

I've been with Virgin got quite a few years now, but the service has deteriorated lately and I have spent hours on the phone to them; I can't honestly recommend them as they stand.

JasperAlex

I too cannot recommend them. Have been with them for over 10 years and if there was FTTP in my area I would have been out the door a long time ago. 

The actual connection is fine; reliable and pretty much always get the top speeds. Outages are few and far between.

The customer service leaves a lot to be desired for especially of late. The phone lines are constantly engaged lately and cannot get hold of them on online chat/text either. If you have technical issues don't expect them to sort it out. I had a whole host of issues with my router a couple of years ago and they were completely incompetent, just reading off a script. Pretty much every year when I renegotiate a new deal, they send me a completely different contract by e-mail and then refuse to honour the deal when I call them up later. Getting them to correct billing errors are a complete nightmare as well and extremely time consuming. If you can get decent speeds elsewhere, I would not recommend joining!

prowla

I've just given Virgin my cancellation notice; I've been on the phone to them for hours over the past month to try and get a decent service and the last person I spoke with apologised that I had been lied to (yes, he used the word "lied").

They seem to be falling apart; every person I've spoken to has said something different:

1. I've called about a service performance issue and had an engineer visit, I've still had the issue and been told there is no fault, I've called again and they've sent a 2nd engineer out who said the 1st one's fix wasn't right and replaced my wires and my connection at their roadside box.
   
2. I've been told I would get a partial rebate by one person and when I called back because it hadn't been credited to my bill was told they had no record and I wasn't eligible for any.
3. I've called about WiFi and they've said not their problem. I've then found out about their WiFi Pods and arranged to get two sent; I called on the day to confirm they were due, because I didn't see an order on my account info, and the person assured me they would be delivered that day. They didn't arrive so I called back and the first person said they didn't know and put me through to someone else who said I can order them for £5/month + £5 delivery charge, so I've escalated and the 3rd person said he could see that the order stalled due a stock issue so they'd send another two which would be FOC for 18 months and I'd get a notification from Yodel when they'd got the item for delivery. I've called back when there was no delivery and been told by the retentions team there's no record of that order, nor the 18 months FOC agreement; when I asked to escalate, they said that their managers weren't responding and apologised to me that I had been lied to (yes, they used the word "lied").

Based on that, I can't really trust the company; I think they are in a total state of disarray: the call-centre & faults people will say anything they feel like to fob you off and the retentions people will make arrangements with you which do not exist and/or miraculously "disappear".

In all honesty, I simply cannot recommend them at this point in time.

sundawg

[Deleted User] said:

Looks like I have an unpopular opinion here but I absolutely love Virgin Broadband 350, have no problems whatsoever but I only use their kit as a modem and have an Asus ROG GT-AC5300 router. I think a lot of problems stem from their sub standard router and by taking that out of the equation you can avoid the typical issues.

I use my own router (OpenWRT) and PiHole with 1.1.1.1 as my primary DNS servers using DoT (DNS-over-TLS).
Own router ok. OpenWRT works also ok (my previous router). I also use 1.1.1.1 (actually 1.1.1.2 for filtering) as primary DNS - I haven't tested secure DNS though but appears to work according to VM forums - make sure you set advanced network error search off on your VM profile and any childsafe settings as I believe this is where most issues stem from.

I also use VPN connections for work. In addition I run my own VPN on my router (OpenVPN and Wireguard) as well as my own
I've used a work VPN, OpenVPN and other VPN's running on my PC or the router itself and all work ok with Virgin Broadband.

Small web server with port-forwarding on the router to my server
Not sure about webserver but I use a NAS with port forwarding working ok. Virgin don't have static IP address so you will need a 3rd party solution unless you buy a Virgin Business Broadband - having said that my IP address hasn't changed for over 6 months.

And above all else, have 380mbps on tap when needed really does make light work of downloading big files - I don't think I could bear going back to VDSL snail paced speeds.

I agree with you. I’ve been with VM since I switched from NTL so over 15 years now. Last 6-7 years I have had hardly any issues other than rubbish WIFI which is common on all standard ISP routers. Switched to a mesh system 4 years ago and its been perfect since. Was on the 350 but moved up to the 500 recently.