NexFibre is building their FTTP network in my street

alex24 said:
The VM sales rep told me (after I asked the previous day) that modem mode was now available on the Hub 5x. But I'm pretty sceptical about that, especially since sales reps tend to be economical with the truth if it means they can get a sale and commission. Perhaps I'm being unfair. We'll find out in a week or so.

There is also this - https://fttppro.co.uk/replacing-the...fp-module-on-virgin-medias-xgs-pon-broadband/

Obviously you'd need the right kit to make use of it, it's pretty expensive and a risk one day it may just stop working...
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I'm not holding my breath TBH - there seems to have been a "it's coming..." message for long time. If it appears or the 'hack' works long-term then it will be a bonus.
The VM rep I spoke with didn't know that the 5X doesn't do modem mode - he seemed genuine and I'd rather give him the benefit of the doubt. Don't forget that there's a 14 day cool-off period if you need it.
 
alex24 said:
It was a couple of weeks after that they blew the fibre through, and a sales rep came round the same day to sign us up. Check the website to see what it says for your address.
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Good to know, thanks. The website so far just says they can't offer their service yet for my address.

There's supposed to be some distribution points (grey cabs) from what I've heard as well, for Virgin FTTP. Although, these could be on another nearby street I suppose?
 
g67575 said:
Good to know, thanks. The website so far just says they can't offer their service yet for my address.

There's supposed to be some distribution points (grey cabs) from what I've heard as well, for Virgin FTTP. Although, these could be on another nearby street I suppose?
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Yes, they could be a little further away. They are grey and installed onto the pavement here, about 0.9m tall. There are none on my street but maybe one on the next about 100m away.
 
Turns out the newly installed grey cab can be seen from the bottom of our driveway - it’s fairly small.
 
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Is signing up for an O2 sim the best way to get a decent price on a virgin media internet package (with decent speed)?

Or does Virgin Media have better seasonal offers?

Do they offer cash back sometimes?

Edit:
I also found this on Reddit from a Virgin customer, which is interesting:
 
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If you need the SIM it can save a little, few pounds a month. I think they are also giving £50 credit at the moment as I was able to get that via the sales rep.

Moved my install forward to tomorrow, so will find out if a new Hub 5x has modem mode or not by tomorrow evening. Just have to now convince the engineer that the XGS-PON install makes more sense to go into my roof/attic to the comms cabinet upstairs rather than under my TV in the lounge, which is where they seem to be gravitating to with the external work. Old habits perhaps for VM.
 
g67575 said:
Is signing up for an O2 sim the best way to get a decent price on a virgin media internet package (with decent speed)?

Or does Virgin Media have better seasonal offers?

Do they offer cash back sometimes?

Edit:
I also found this on Reddit from a Virgin customer, which is interesting:
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I went for an O2 sim for a few months until the system picked it up when they launched Volt a couple of years ago and then changed to EE and its stuck since :)
 
Duke said:
I went for an O2 sim for a few months until the system picked it up when they launched Volt a couple of years ago and then changed to EE and its stuck since :)
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Interesting, I was thinking of trying this on a O2 monthly contract sim.

Do you claim the Volt bonus through the O2 web portal, after creating an account for the sim?

I guess it would be fine to set the Virgin connection up first, then signup for an O2 sim and claim the Volt bonus?
 
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g67575 said:
Interesting, I was thinking of trying this on a O2 monthly contract sim.

Do you claim the Volt bonus through the 02 web portal, after creating an account for the sim?

I guess it would be fine to set the Virgin connection up first, then signup for an 02 sim and claim the Volt bonus?
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As long as they both have the same address registered to them it should pick it up automagically, at least I'm sure it did for me. I don't think you need to apply or activate it :)

edit: Although reading https://www.virginmedia.com/virgin-media-o2 it says "Once you're a customer of both O2 and Virgin Media, or once your household becomes eligible to receive Volt benefits, you can check your eligibility in the My O2 app and opt in to get Volt benefits." <shrug>
 
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Installed, the engineer was good and got fibre run where it was needed. BUT -

No modem mode on Hub 5x, despite being told on signup!

I know VM Support is a lost cause from past experience. Unfortunately I now need a better connection than what is on VDSL2 here so as much as I want to cancel, it's not an option.

The Hub 5x router firmware is seriously limited in functionality, too, just to rub it in a bit. Not sure what I'll do next.
 
You can ‘double NAT’ - not sure what problems that might cause. Maybe issues connecting sometimes?

I imagine modem mode will be added at some point.
 
Now that a grey cab has been installed in my street, how can I check if Virgin’s FTTP network is live in my town?

According to Thinkbroadband’s FTTP map, there’s no properties live yet in my town for Nexfibre.

Could the connection going live still be months away?
 
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What's the best way to get bill credit on a Virgin Media order for new customers?

I notice that Money Saving Expert's offer is applied automatically to the order itself (tested on a Nexfibre FTTP postcode):
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/compare-broadband-deals/virgin-broadband/

You can get ~£80 bill credit on the M500 package at the moment.

On the other hand, I don't see bill credit being applied to orders through the main website, which is odd (or at least, not visibly).
 
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Apparently, contract workers are doing some final testing over next the week, in my street.

Fingers crossed, that we’ll be able to put in an order soon with Virgin!

The fibre is blown to an individual property only after an order with Virgin has been made, apparently.
 
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Just another warning - no modem mode on the Virgin Media Hub 5x yet. Possibly never. The Hub 5x lacks basic features and doesn't perform well, at least for me.

I'm hoping that another provider gets access to the network or open reach fix the issues on my street so I can get FTTP and back to another router. VDSL was just too slow at 20 meg.

Did I mention Virgin Media's terrible customer service as well? Go in eyes open...
 
Maybe that will be a thing when they release a Hub v6 router, with WIFI 7? I’d guess in 2025.

More ISPs are releasing WIFI 7 routers now, but its technically still in the draft phase.

Regarding customer service, Im not expecting miracles… Hopefully won’t need to use it. Lots of queries are about WIFI quality for ISPs, which we’ll make limited use of.

The reliablity of Virgin’s network is supposed to be pretty decent, and I imagine NexFibre’s will be better.
 
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alex24 said:
Just another warning - no modem mode on the Virgin Media Hub 5x yet. Possibly never. The Hub 5x lacks basic features and doesn't perform well, at least for me.
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Couldn’t you try a double NAT? then put the 2nd router in a DMZ?

Would that work?
 
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