Backed into a corner with Virgin media and desperate to leave

MattMattMattUK

CharlotteElizabeth92 said:

zx81 - unfortunately it can take hours to get it back up and running so very annoying when working (I'm a student nurse and my husband is a teacher) or we settle down to watch tv and can't. I'm think I'm just finding it hard to pay a company a monthly direct debit and not want to be with them or receive the service I think I should. 

MattMattMattUK - No I haven't I called them around a year ago and if I remember right they said within the next 5 years. Is there somewhere online I can check this? or contact them to ask if they can hurry it up ... they would get a lot of new providers signing up as everyone in my area is fed up with Virgin   

This link shows you what is available and seems to show for some areas an install date of FTTC or FTTP if there is an install date pencilled in.
https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband

You can also look at Community Fibre Partnerships which in some areas are installing fibre far quicker than OpenReach. Not all are listed on there.
https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/community-fibre-partnerships

This company seem to be rolling out fibre in Poole so you can check with your postcode on there as well.
https://www.cityfibre.com/residential/

Johnyharris

I think virgin media are too expensive.  New customers get better deals than existing customers so im thinking of leaving.

JJ_Egan

See the VM threads .

[Deleted User]

Some great suggestion above, if you are prepared to roll your sleeves up and spend a bit of time pinning down where the problem lies you can get much better help from Virgin Media, like most companies the helpdesk just follow a script and end the call when it appears to be working fine now without getting to the root cause.

1. Virgin Media Community forums are a lot more helpful with any such issues but be prepared to provide a lot more information than "it goes off 3 times a week" to get somebody to help you.
https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/custom/page/page-id/CommunityHubForums

2. Gather some more information for the forum before you post. 

• Which hub / router version are you on and if it is the hub 3, which colour, apparently the white ones are refurbs and can be unreliable. 
• What speed package you are on and what the speed test results are via ethernet connection
• When you say the internet disconnects - is it just the wifi or do wired devices via ethernet also lose internet access?
• What lights and colour come on the hub when it disconnects?
• Go into the hub admin page on 192.168.0.1 and click check router status, take copies of all the data in those screens in there (Status / Downstream / Upstream / Network Log - there is a lot of useful info in there and the guys on the VM forum can spot problems from the data - eg the quality / power / noise ratios of the broadband connection.

3. Do some basic checks at home - are the cable wires from outside wall unit to your Hub / Tivo box all in good condition and tightly connected, remove and refit all connectors to be sure. Is the router / hub in a nice open position away from interference from other appliance and got good ventilation? Have you done a full factory reset on the hub (pinhole button 10 seconds)?

4. Consider using the online Think Broadband quality monitor which can show some aspects of the quality of your connection which is useful leverage when contacting virgin media on the forums. Keeps a log of your disconnects for you.
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality

Eg this below - yellow spikes showing when the connection is less responsive and you may feel lagging, red lines when disconnected:

[Deleted User]

CharlotteElizabeth92 said:

we are defiantly paying for more service than we receive.

CharlotteElizabeth92 said:

this is defiantly helpful 

I think 'definitely' may be the word you're looking for.  I wondered why you were defiantly paying more if you didn't need to!

illiad

tallmansix: good to see someone using the great tools at ThinkBroadband

Another thing to check is the quality of your RJ45 cables - if they are less than cat6 then get some good quality cat6e at least

https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/network-wifi/best-ethernet-cables-3671060/

another good utility is 'Netmeter' that will show your 'actual' speed over time, not just vaguely..

http://metal-machine.de/readerror/netmeter-evo

ThinkBroadband also does some large files to download to check

kazwookie

Which supplier do your neighbours / other teachers / students / college / business in your area;use?

onomatopoeia99

illiad said:

Another thing to check is the quality of your RJ45 cables - if they are less than cat6 then get some good quality cat6e at least  

Given that cat5e is good for gigabit in the lengths encountered in a domestic setting, I'm not convinced of the necessity of cat6/6e.
My whole house is wired using cat5e with multiple sockets in every room routing back to patch panels in a data cabinet in the boiler cupboard.  I di all the work myself and it all runs a 1Gbps, no problem.

illiad

and WHO said 'cat5e is good for gigabit' ?? people who want to sell their 'back stock'?? Its only a few £..

show me your speedtest and I'll believe..

unforeseen

The Cat5e spec says it good enough for gigabits