Virgin Media Discussion Thread

[RJC]

The mark of a good ISP is not having to deal or interact with them post install. VM aren’t renowned for the best network or lowest latency, but honestly other than renewal negotiations, I never had to contact them and it more or less just worked as expected. Of course fibre is lower latency, symmetrical and cheaper, but I wouldn’t have an issue going back to VM for similar money.

I only really left them in 2019 due to cost and went with BT as I had FTTP run in the street.

Once the 18 months is up - as opposed to 2 years with everyone else I can see what deals are about.

Sadly I only get the usual FTTP by Openeach - with limited upload speeds.

 

[Nasher]

Can’t get 5G in my area. What are your upload speeds like and what’s your ping time.

Upload load around 400. The speeds to fluctuate quite a bit depending on traffic but lowest download I've seen is about 300. Pings are about 20 ish, so a bit higher but not noticeable.

 

[kona786]

Shhh! Mentioning Asus routers here is a bit like criticising Putin while standing on a street in Moscow.

Putting my fear to one side I will say that mine has been great for over a year. I've been running the Merlin firmware which thankfully gives you an option of two versions of the same firmware; the new slightly garish menu system or the old familiar Asus one.

The Wi-fi range is amongst the best routers I've tested and owned, easily covering all 3 storeys of my home and all the way to the back of the garden.
I also set up a VPN server on it which works great. I'm out of the country quite often (like now while typing this) and it makes it easy to watch Virgin TV, BTSport etc and also watch stuff I put on the 2 x 4TB SSD's I've plugged into the router.

It is highly recommend from me but if @Rainmaker comes looking for me you haven't seen me!

Just installed my AX6000. Compared to my old AC86U I get an extra 120Mb in the weakest of areas. The old router had great range as is so I'm impressed.

It's a big mofo though haha.

 

[MartinPrince]

Just installed my AX6000. Compared to my old AC86U I get an extra 120Mb in the weakest of areas. The old router had great range as is so I'm impressed.

It's a big mofo though haha.

That was pretty much my experience also coming from the AC86U, which was no slouch either with Wi-Fi range. I also has the same reaction taking it out of the box as the pictures don't really convey the size and most previous 4 port Asus routers are around the same size.

At this rate of take up we're going to have to start a [secret] owners thread.

 

[WJA96]

That was pretty much my experience also coming from the AC86U, which was no slouch either with Wi-Fi range. I also has the same reaction taking it out of the box as the pictures don't really convey the size and most previous 4 port Asus routers are around the same size.

At this rate of take up we're going to have to start a [secret] owners thread.

ASUS routers are like cheap plastic chairs. Marketed as Herman Miller. They do the job but there is better out there for much less money. If your lived experience says ASUS are OK, I’m happy for you. Please bear in mind that no-one woke up one morning and thought “I know, I’ll start a hate campaign against ASUS”. People who use this stuff day-in, day-out do not recommend ASUS networking equipment because they have had a poor experience. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but almost no-one recommends MikroTik WiFi either. Everything else they make, no problem, just not the WiFi gear. That not because we’re haters, it’s because it’s not very good. And you can be all “ASUS are fine” etc. but you need to own it when it goes sideways.

 

[GregI]

ASUS routers are like cheap plastic chairs.

How dare you!

They are expensive plastic door stoppers, get it right buddy.

 

[WJA96]

How dare you!

They are expensive plastic door stoppers, get it right buddy.

I’m going to have very kindly disagree because a door stop still works when it falls over. And I REALLY don’t want to derail this thread.

 

[MartinPrince]

ASUS routers are like cheap plastic chairs. Marketed as Herman Miller. They do the job but there is better out there for much less money. If your lived experience says ASUS are OK, I’m happy for you. Please bear in mind that no-one woke up one morning and thought “I know, I’ll start a hate campaign against ASUS”. People who use this stuff day-in, day-out do not recommend ASUS networking equipment because they have had a poor experience. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but almost no-one recommends MikroTik WiFi either. Everything else they make, no problem, just not the WiFi gear. That not because we’re haters, it’s because it’s not very good. And you can be all “ASUS are fine” etc. but you need to own it when it goes sideways.

I would not deign to defend Asus (routers) but I'm sure you understand folks are going to take their own personal experience also into consideration when making an informed cost/usage/risk analysis.

I adore folks like Rainmaker who give of their time to share their greater experience and knowledge so others are better informed.

I've used a variety of routers over the years since my beloved Linksys WRT54G and after over a decade of using Asus routers I've never had an issue with them nor actually met or know anybody who has. This is not to say there is no risk or there are people that haven't but it is like many things in life, individuals have to make their own cost/usage risk analysis and taking one's own experience into account will be part of that.

Your own analogy of MikroTik WiFi also serves my point in that it is because of people's actual experience that they know that MikroTik Wifi is bad. The converse is also true; if people have a good experience of using an item then it seems logical that they would continue using it after any highlighted potential risks are assessed.

Should the day come when I am left homeless and destitute because of my Asus router then I will prostrate myself before Rainmaker and penitently seek his forgiveness.

 

[WJA96]

I would not deign to defend Asus (routers) but I'm sure you understand folks are going to take their own personal experience also into consideration when making an informed cost/usage/risk analysis.

I adore folks like Rainmaker who give of their time to share their greater experience and knowledge so others are better informed.

I've used a variety of routers over the years since my beloved Linksys WRT54G and after over a decade of using Asus routers I've never had an issue with them nor actually met or know anybody who has. This is not to say there is no risk or there are people that haven't but it is like many things in life, individuals have to make their own cost/usage risk analysis and taking one's own experience into account will be part of that.

Your own analogy of MikroTik WiFi also serves my point in that it is because of people's actual experience that they know that MikroTik Wifi is bad. The converse is also true; if people have a good experience of using an item then it seems logical that they would continue using it after any highlighted potential risks are assessed.

Should the day come when I am left homeless and destitute because of my Asus router then I will prostrate myself before Rainmaker and penitently seek his forgiveness.

Yes, and when you recommend something online you have to be ready to support that recommendation. When someone buys £500 worth of gear they don’t expect the firmware updates to stop as soon as that product stops being sold. Or for the manufacturer to be aware of security flaws and not fix them.

You’re recommending bad gear and you’re being condescending while doing so. Not only are you deigning to recommend ASUS you’re making out you’re the one who somehow has the inside knowledge and it’s the people selling and working with networking gear who have somehow been brainwashed into ignoring the joys of ASUS. Why would the same people not recommending MikroTik also not recommend ASUS? Same reasons I suspect. It’s not good kit.

 

[MartinPrince]

Yes, and when you recommend something online you have to be ready to support that recommendation. When someone buys £500 worth of gear they don’t expect the firmware updates to stop as soon as that product stops being sold. Or for the manufacturer to be aware of security flaws and not fix them.

You’re recommending bad gear and you’re being condescending while doing so. Not only are you deigning to recommend ASUS you’re making out you’re the one who somehow has the inside knowledge and it’s the people selling and working with networking gear who have somehow been brainwashed into ignoring the joys of ASUS. Why would the same people not recommending MikroTik also not recommend ASUS? Same reasons I suspect. It’s not good kit.

I suggest you read my posts over the last few pages and you will see that your statement I've highlighted is obviously false. Please also don't conflate my levity with condescenion.

Now you may resort to ad hominem comments but I've clearly aluded to the fact that the good folks like Rainmaker and ChrisD et al are way more knowledgeable than I on networking (hence the running joke I have with Rainmaker) and that they're issues with and reasons not to use Asus routers.

I was asked for my experience and I've shared it with the obvious caveat that it is my limited experience. It is for others to assess all the information to hand and make an informed choice.

That being said I would rather get back on topic and not get into a diatribe on of all things Asus routers so I will take my leave and wish you sir or madam, a good day.

 

[NeoVo]

Update: first retention call today, offered me £42 a month to stay.
Told them to stick it (albeit politely).

Was told they'd remove me from their call list; I fully expect a call later this week.

To my surprise, didn't receive a follow up retention call after the first one; they must have changed their retention process in the last 18 months.

In the end; the wife has signed up in her name; current contract ends on the 10thth April with new contract in hers starting on the 11th.

There was a £61 cashback offer with £50 bill credit via a comparison sight.

Ordered the M500 package, volted to 1gig @ £33 a month, which works out just under £26 a month with the cash back & bill credit.
What is ridiculous is that i will have to return my current router whilst they dispatch a new one..

Unsure how seamless the switch will be but i will be sure to let those interested know!
I could be without internet for a day but thankfully able to tether on 5G for a while if push comes to shove.

 

[Dangerous]

Your services were disconnected on the 3rd April. If you haven’t recycled or returned our kit yet, please head to the kit page for help.

I'm out of here, I really had enough of the 18 month dance with VM. I'm happy with Starlink while FTTP roll out in my street, still might sign back up to VM in 6 months if needed though!

 

[kona786]

ASUS routers are like cheap plastic chairs. Marketed as Herman Miller. They do the job but there is better out there for much less money.

What would you recommend over an ASUS ROG GT-AX6000 for £175.

I couldn't find anything close to its specs for that money.

 

[WJA96]

What would you recommend over an ASUS ROG GT-AX6000 for £175.

I couldn't find anything close to its specs for that money.

No, well, you wouldn’t. It’s clearly an incredible device. Let’s look at the specs;

GT-AX6000 Dual-Band WiFi 6 (802.11ax) Gaming Router, Dual 2.5G ports, enhanced hardware, WAN aggregation, VPN Fusion, Triple-Level Game Acceleration, free network security and AiMesh support

It has dual 2.5G ports so it weighs a lot. Is it the 2.5GbE WAN port or the 2.5GbE LAN port that is important to you? That’s about the only interesting thing at this price point.

It’s difficult to state how incredible the enhanced hardware is. Enhanced over what exactly?

It has WAN aggregation - do you have multiple WANs to aggregate?

VPN Fusion is hard to find elsewhere because no-one is quite sure what it is.

Triple level game acceleration - is that important to you? Could you possibly manage without that?

Free network security is, well, free and get what you pay for in network security.

And who could forget the importance of AIMesh support because your AIMesh needs all the support it can get.

It’s a triumph of marketing copywriting.

What about a GL.iNet GL-MT6000? https://www.amazon.co.uk/GL-iNet-GL...mzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f

2.5GbE in and out, WiFi6, runs OpenWRT, adguard, WireGuard with the capability to run very high speed encrypted tunnels. OK, it doesn’t have fusion VPN or triple game acceleration, but it’s also not £175.

 

[kona786]

Interesting. Never heard of that brand before but it looks like it has what I wanted which is basically 2.5Gb in and out, wifi 6. Not sure what it's performance over WiFi is though. Went with the Asus as it's reviewed and tested well.

Other than your condescending nature, your post was helpful.

 

[WJA96]

Interesting. Never heard of that brand before but it looks like it has what I wanted which is basically 2.5Gb in and out, wifi 6. Not sure what it's performance over WiFi is though. Went with the Asus as it's reviewed and tested well.

Other than your condescending nature, your post was helpful.

GL.Inet is not really a brand, it’s more of an OpenWRT cult. If you know, you know, if you know what I mean. You don’t need a marketing department when the product is good. And the product IS good.

WiFi is 4x4 on both 5GHz and 2.4GHz. As I’m sure you’re aware, WiFi is WiFi is WiFi. Even the good stuff is limited by legal restrictions so despite what they all say, they all work pretty much the same in terms of coverage and speed on a single client.

And it’s hard not to be sarcastic when you read the **** on ASUS’ website. Do you see much benefit from the Gaming Triple Acceleration? Or the Fusion VPN? It’s marketing and you fell for it. Even the reviews are generally done on freebie gear and the reviewers need to keep ASUS on side or their supply of freebies ceases and their advertising and streaming revenue vanishes. No more gravy train. So they say nice things about ASUS gear. It’s marketing.

 

[ChrisD.]

it's reviewed and tested well.

There's a lot of marketing nonsense and paid for reviews when it comes to Asus.

 

[RobTi]

GL.Inet is not really a brand, it’s more of an OpenWRT cult. If you know, you know, if you know what I mean. You don’t need a marketing department when the product is good. And the product IS good.

WiFi is 4x4 on both 5GHz and 2.4GHz. As I’m sure you’re aware, WiFi is WiFi is WiFi. Even the good stuff is limited by legal restrictions so despite what they all say, they all work pretty much the same in terms of coverage and speed on a single client.

And it’s hard not to be sarcastic when you read the **** on ASUS’ website. Do you see much benefit from the Gaming Triple Acceleration? Or the Fusion VPN? It’s marketing and you fell for it. Even the reviews are generally done on freebie gear and the reviewers need to keep ASUS on side or their supply of freebies ceases and their advertising and streaming revenue vanishes. No more gravy train. So they say nice things about ASUS gear. It’s marketing.

okay this looks like what i need to finally put my hub5 into modem mode, as a complete novice on networking all i am looking for is a couple of 2.5 ports and wifi 6, would this be okay ?
Thanks

 

[WJA96]

okay this looks like what i need to finally put my hub5 into modem mode, as a complete novice on networking all i am looking for is a couple of 2.5 ports and wifi 6, would this be okay ?
Thanks

Yes. But you only get 1 incoming 2.5GbE port and one outgoing 2.5GbE port, so if you needed more than one 2.5GbE port you would need a cheap 2.5GbE switch as well.

 

[RobTi]

Yes. But you only get 1 incoming 2.5GbE port and one outgoing 2.5GbE port, so if you needed more than one 2.5GbE port you would need a cheap 2.5GbE switch as well.

Thanks was ready to order from the link and seen a few negative reviews, would this concern you or just buy