500mb Question
 

When VM finally release 500mb will it be on a new hub?

Re: 500mb Question
 

I think the current trial is still using the Hub3.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I've got 350mb and can't see any reason for 500mb I don't really see the reason for 350 at the moment

Re: 500mb Question
 

It isn't about the faster the download speed the more you can download, it is all about not sitting around waiting. I still download the same amount I did years ago, it just gets done faster. I remember everything used to be queued and my connection was in use pretty much 24/7 and I knew at certain points during the day I would hit stm and then my download speed would be halved which would make it even worse.
These days instead of downloads taking minutes or hours they now take seconds. As an example, I got a notification yesterday evening that an update was available for GeForce Experience and a driver update as well so the two of them combined would have been 600mb+ for something which is really quite inconsequential to me and isn't going to make a huge difference to my life so why would I want to sit there for minutes when I can do it in seconds?
I haven't worked it out but my connection (downstream) probably sits idle 99% of the day because once my downloads are done that is it. 500mbits would obviously see an improvement in the time it takes to download stuff but the biggy for me is going to be the 50% increase in the upstream speed which is going to make a big difference.

In multi user households it is the way to go; you have got people using youtube, playing games, streaming Netflix, social media stuff using wifi on their phone etc and it is nice to know there is enough juice to go around for everyone if you have got a proper router which can handle the traffic properly. I remember years ago when the tiers were 50/70/100 etc that the forum was flooded with posts, especially from students, complaining that the speeds were rubbish because their flatmate was always on the xbox or downloading something and it just ground the connection to a halt for everyone else. These days there is more than enough to go around and bandwidth usage is going to scale with technology as consumer services scale to technology and provide a richer user experience.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Nope it'll be on the current hub

Re: 500mb Question
 

I just wish they would go ahead and release a date of activation.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Dont waste your time. Any date they give will be an initial rollout date for a handful of areas and it will be well over a year before it is available to most of the country. I would love to have but i am not expecting to be able to get it until q4 of 2020.

Re: 500mb Question
 

When they do roll it out Expect a rise of another £4 or more..

Re: 500mb Question
 

The price usually goes up yearly anyway just like everything else.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Any news on a release date as of yet?

Re: 500mb Question
 

No it is far too early for that and it will likely be a slow rollout or free upgrade like all the other times, my guess is sometime in 2020 before it is wide spread.

General has already said the same a few posts up.

Re: 500mb Question
 

It definately will NOT be a free upgrade with the ammount of cash they have spent on the network.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I don't think it will be either but it is a possibility as they haven't given us a speed bump in a while.

When the trial emails went out they called it a new speed tier though.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Has to be a free upgrade, vodafone fibre has undercut virgin in my area

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/web-shop/...deals/gigafast

Re: 500mb Question
 

Thats not going to apply to most people though.

Re: 500mb Question
 

It makes no sense having

50
100
200
350
500

Too many tiers

Re: 500mb Question
 

Ah Well--I been with Virgin for 25 years since it was ntlworld...If and when we do have a price rice I shall be leaving. Will be a sad day for me..

Re: 500mb Question
 

Kind of a silly statement, where ever you go for your internet there will always be regular price rises.

Re: 500mb Question
 

yeah, 100, 300 and 500 sound better

Re: 500mb Question
 

If 200 tier gets a free upgrade to 300/350 then they'll have the 350 tier customers complaining, so if they do that they might upgrade those to 500.

Although I still can't see Virgin giving customers a free 200meg speed bump (15meg upload)

Re: 500mb Question
 

It's not that unthinkable, while we're starting to get into silly numbers in terms of sheer speeds, the uplifts in question as a percentage aren't anything unusual. 50 got doubled to 100, 100 eventually got doubled to 200. Not unthinkable for 350 to go to 500 or 200 to go to 300.

Re: 500mb Question
 

If you reboot your Hub3 you may have an upload boost to 38.5 as this has been reported today on our Upgrade thread and here.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/show...php?t=33707623

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.ph...ps-launch.html

Re: 500mb Question
 

Re: 500mb Question
 

But VM are taking the urine now. If you don't need all these 'free' speed increases, there are much cheaper deals out there. After these 'free' upgrades, the price always seems to go up by more than inflation.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Feel free to leave, I am sure the prices of competitors also goes up, but if speed increases across the other tiers as it usually does then people can downgrade without losing much.

Re: 500mb Question
 

VM are always worth the increase :-) sky and the rest of bt branch companies also up prices just we usually get something for the increase :-)

Re: 500mb Question
 

500 tier launch announced.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.ph...d-tv-plan.html

Re: 500mb Question
 

So is this going to be a new tier or a free upgrade for 350Mb?

Re: 500mb Question
 

I still really don't think it'll be a free boost

Re: 500mb Question
 

l doubt whether its going to be a free boost.

Re: 500mb Question
 

As I already have everything in the new VVIP tier in my current package - apart from the 500 Mb broadband speed - as well as 4G mobile, I wonder whether I'll be bumped up to the new tier and broadband speed automatically or if I'll have to wait until I renew. Anyone know?

Re: 500mb Question
 

Very annoying that it's not available standalone.

I have no interest in any of their services, other than Broadband.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Your upload has probably gone up to 35, if not reboot modem.

Re: 500mb Question
 

So now we wait to see if all of us on 300-350 will be upped to 500 as we have the same upload

Re: 500mb Question
 

it will be an automatic upgrade which you will receive when new tier is available in your area. The other way to go about it is to keep checking the website for what is available in your area and as soon as they say you can receive the speed/that package ring them up and tell them you want it pushing through because you are already paying for it.

we'll get it eventually, they are going to ponse around for a few months trying to make as much money as possible and tell everyone that if you want 500mbits the only way you are going to get it is if you sign up to xxx package at £150/month or whatever it is. It is isn't just VM customers they are thinking about, as a flagship tier which knocks the socks off the competition they'll be thinking about how many people they can pull away from BT etc. As they have chosen to go down this route I imagine there will be an appearance of exclusivity for that tier (6 months) and we won't see 500mbits being made available to lower packages or as a standalone product until Q1 of 2020.

Re: 500mb Question
 

After a hub re-boot I am now getting 35 Mb upload speed - actually a speed check showed 40 Mb - and more than 350Mb (388 Mb) download. Is there a web page where I can check if 500 Mb is available yet in my area?

Re: 500mb Question
 

I doubt you'll be bumped up as VIP costs £129 and V.VIP costs £139.

---------- Post added at 12:25 ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 ----------

It's a new tier with new pricing so I doubt it will be an automatic upgrade.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I see this when i check services in my area.

https://www.cableforum.uk/images/local/2019/04/9.jpg

Chatted with online sales agent and got this:

"As for the moment, the availability of the 500mbps speed is for the bundle which is VVIP. But do not worry, once this package will stabilize with, surely you can get it even if you have broadband only with us. "

Re: 500mb Question
 

I get the same for my area. I see that new customers get Full House TV including 2 V6 boxes, 500Mb, a limitless SIM and Talk More Anytime. The first 12 months is for £99, after that it is a 12-month contract for £139. Given that I currently pay £180 monthly for a 350Mb package, it makes sense to end my current contract and get Vivid 500 as a V.VIP customer. Needless-to-say I am now calling customer services.

https://www.virginmedia.com/shop/bundles

EDIT: I got a result! In 9 days time after they have made adjustments to my account and some technical bits and bobs, VM sales say that all I need do is call them and they will set up V.VIP Vivid 500 for me. This will be as if I was a new customer on £99 a month for 12 months. All this has been promised after I pointed out how unethical it was to offer new customers a much better package for much less than than an an existing customer is getting for an inferior package. At first, when I pointed out that I could end the contract and start a new one, CS insisted that I would have to be without a service for 90 days to achieve that. So, I suggested that I would approach the ombudsman and demanded to speak to a manager. After 10 minutes awaiting an answer I was promised the lot. It pays to moan!

Re: 500mb Question
 

If you select the V.VIP bundle, then personalise it and remove everything but the broadband, it allows you to order broadband only.

When you remove the SIM it warns you that you'll "lose your speed boost" but nothing changes.

However, it is £62.80 a month, with no discounts.

https://imgur.com/djgoGvS

Re: 500mb Question
 

In 9 days time I have a feeling you might be disappointed. Could be wrong but they have a track record on not delivering on prices like that.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Ditto, I wont be paying for a VIP package I dont want or need.

You would think VM would want to get customers, not put them off.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I hope you are wrong, but I asked for assurances that their commitment is recorded in my notes. I would be surprised to get the £99, but would be very happy with the £139.

Re: 500mb Question
 

How come you are paying £180?

Re: 500mb Question
 

i'm also a Homeworks customer.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Isn't that only £10? Do you have extras on top of the VIP package to make it £180?

Re: 500mb Question
 

Nice try but it won't work! Message say sorry u can't have 500Mbps on it standalone as it only for VVIP TV Bundles package but can choose other broadnand standalone are 350/21 (but we know it will be 350/35)

Re: 500mb Question
 

HI Lincoln showing 500 Mbs available guess I might call retentions tomorrow as price is less than I am currently paying and due to renegotiate anyway, have you tried yet?

Re: 500mb Question
 

let me know how things go. It says I can have it but only with the v.vip package

Re: 500mb Question
 

I assume you were talking to the foreign call centre with grammar like that!

---------- Post added at 20:36 ---------- Previous post was at 20:35 ----------

What's Homeworks? I've not heard of that before.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Re: 500mb Question
 

This is rubbish. I have a TV + V6 + Phone + Broadband package, but because I don't want two TiVos, all the channels, a mobile SIM, and full landline calls package, that makes me ineligible for 500Mb? Wtf Virgin. Do you want my money or not?

Re: 500mb Question
 

I'm sure it will change, do you need the extra download though or just want it as upload has been increased and is the same?

Re: 500mb Question
 

Personally I don't see the need for 500 now that 350 has the extra upload, unless you're in say a student household with a lot of heavy streamers / downloaders.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Until such a time as all downloads happen instantaneously, faster speeds will always be desirable.

Re: 500mb Question
 

TBH if folks are crazy enough to hand Virgin £135 a month then they deserve the extra 150Mbps! ☺️ ... personally 350/35 will do us mere mortals... hell I've a Netgear R8000P and a A7000 AC1900 laptop dongle and I struggle to hit 300+ via WiFi! :rolleyes: .... I’d imagine 500 is Ethernet only territory! :angel:

Re: 500mb Question
 

Its £139. Those on the VIP package would pay £10pm more to get an extra 150Mb and an unlimited sim card.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Many thanks, i'd never heard of this service up until now. It looks like the main selling point is that those working from home get next day fault repairs, but I get that anyway due to being disabled.

Do you find it worth payjng for?

Re: 500mb Question
 

No. Not really. I initiated it because before the 350Mb tier was rolled out to regular residential customers. it was a way of getting the upgrade early. Having said that, I am sure that if I wasn't using modem-only mode and my own router, I will have used the service more to achieve what I needed in my home network.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Tried to get on the new deal and they cant do it for a month or something? Is this something any one else experienced?

Re: 500mb Question
 

That is fair enough in principle because they have said it is coming without mentioning a specific date but it doesnt make sense because they are advertising left, right and center on their site and saying it is available to order.

Complain complain complain.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I think they said something about only a certain "team" can do it or something.

Re: 500mb Question
 

They've probably not updated their systems to do it properly yet, I remember being told this when I first tried to get 300, they had to call through to some other team which sounds like what Mike's saying.

Re: 500mb Question
 

yeah I had that with 350, it took several phone calls

Re: 500mb Question
 

From what I gather it has to be added "manually", IE overridden and only certain teams have the access to do that.

The "Normal" teams only have access to add the VVIP package which 500 comes as part of.

Could also be completely wrong :)

Re: 500mb Question
 

You can only get 500Mb as part of VVIP. There is no way to get it without VVIP.

The only exception would be if your area doesn't yet support 500Mb for whatever reason, you'd get VVIP with the fastest tier available in your area.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Did you put your post code in to see if it's available in your area?

Re: 500mb Question
 

I certainly did. CS have now said I can have V.VIP Vivid 500 on 8th May.

Re: 500mb Question
 

ive just come out of hospital and found my upload increased to 36mb but still on 350mb download.

logged into my account and no mention of 500mb being available but surely the area must be if they increased upload?

Re: 500mb Question
 

no, the upload speed increase is independent of the 500mbit tier and something they have probably been working on for a long time because it is the one area where VM have lagged behind the competition. It wouldn't surprise if towards the end of this year they increased the lower tiers as well and made everyone 10:1.

Re: 500mb Question
 

They really don't need 5 tiers it is crazy.

Re: 500mb Question
 

This is what ive been told by a Yank customer service agent from Virgin...

Im now paying £60.00 for 350mb Broadband and Home phone + all inc calls.

I will have to take out the VIP Package costing £99 a month + I will be charged and this is the honest truth i will need 2 TV Boxes, why i have to have two is beyond me + i will need to stump up a one time charge for activation.

I told him honestly and "Once again Virgin are Cr**ping over their long term members and just wanting new ones" and i hung up the phone.

Re: 500mb Question
 

It was only announced on Monday, give things time to settle and see what happens as it is likely things will change.

Do you need the extra download or just want it? I mean you have a huge upload increase which is what most people on the top 350 tier have been complaining about.

Re: 500mb Question
 

They told me i had to have a tivo box when i got 350mbits so i let them send it to me. It has never left the box.

It is as you said though, a carefully planned long term screw over by VM. They are hedging their bets that for every 4 people who put the phone down 1 person will cave in. They are trying to make a massive revenue jump as fast as possible. Eventually when they think they have reached saturation point they'll make it available to other packages and when people ring up say i didnt want tivo bla bla bla and i just want 500mbit bb you'll get "sorry, you signed a 12 month contract".

Re: 500mb Question
 

Im complaining because as a company ANY company should be looking out for their long term revenue as much as any new and they dont seem to ever do this.

Re: 500mb Question
 

And what about their highest paying customers? Isn't it fair they get the new product first? Some people can't even get 500Mb on the VVIP package due to the area not being ready.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Yes this is what im on about when i say their long standing customers.

If the area hasnt been upgraded yet then its unavoidable but i think Virgin really need a rethink with their approach to sales.

Ive been with Virgin now between their NTL names and Rebrands etc etc here 12 years and 7 years when i was married at my old place and would have liked the option as an almost 20 year customer to have had the option to upgrade for a reasonable price.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I don't really believe in loyalty when it comes to business. A business isn't there to offer long standing customers first choice, it's to make as much money as possible.

Re: 500mb Question
 

said it b4 they deserve the 500Mbps .... £140 is allot of green! :shocked:

I’ve been thinking wouldn’t it be wise to keep vivid500 until the hub4 makes an appearance? .... picture the scenario :angel: ..... average Joe is sitting on his laptop trying to get 500Mbps outta the hub3 WiFi :p:

Selling a product when the hardware ain’t upto the task is abit risky don’t u think? :angel:

I know there’s ethernet but folks want speed via wireless! :angel:

Re: 500mb Question
 

I can get 500Mb out of it on wifi. I've had 480 out of it sat in the next room.

Re: 500mb Question
 

🤯 seriously???? 👍🏻 I’ve had pretty much every Linksys and Netgear router going and never had more then 380Mbps MAX, it’s usually between 200 & 300Mbps mark! :erm: maybe my area is oversubscribed! :rolleyes:

Re: 500mb Question
 

The Hub3 is fine it'll be the other devices that limit it.

Re: 500mb Question
 

i understand that! 👍🏻 but I’m using a AC1900 USB3 dongle mate 🍻 .... it’s link rate is 1.3GB and it’s pretty close to the router .... if the hub3 is capable of 500Mbps via WiFi then surely a supposedly gigabit ready R8000P should aswell! :erm: my area is obviously oversubscribed! 😔

Re: 500mb Question
 

Test it wired to be sure.

Re: 500mb Question
 

will do mate! 👍🏻 been educated today! ☺️ genuinely never knew the hub3 was capable of 500Mb via WiFi! 🤓

I’ll do afew tests tomorrow via Ethernet and see what’s going on with my speeds! 👍🏻 been getting between 200//300 (via WiFi) for months! 🤔

thanks! 🍻

Re: 500mb Question
 

that's got nothing to do with it, you need to do a wired test first to ascertain what your maximum achievable speed is and then you should be able to get that over wireless as well. If you can get full speed (350mbit tier) of around 378mbits then you will be looking to get that over wireless as well (I can) and similarly if there is a congestion issue on VM's network and you can only get 200mbits wired for example, then that is all you are going to get wireless as well.
You have got to remember that the wireless connection is only from the device to the router and from the router it is a wired/cabled connection all across VM's network and beyond. Your wireless may be top notch but if you are doing a speed test or establishing any kind of connection outside of your lan the transfer speed will be as fast as the weakest link. As an example, if you tried to download something from me I can upload at 3MB/sec so that is all you are going to get. This is why you always need to do a wired test when diagnosing connection problems.

Re: 500mb Question
 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🍻 - good advice as usual GM! 🤓

---------- Post added at 13:23 ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 ----------

just did an Ethernet speedtest via Edinburgh and got 250 / 36 😑 .... so looks like it’s my connection rather then WiFi 🧐 .... should have thought summit was up cause my NAS WiFi file transfers are about 800Mbps! ☺️

oh well lol! 😂

Re: 500mb Question
 

What a carry on
I was on the phone to them about V.VIP and just as it was being completed she put me on hold 'for a moment' and then I got cut off. So I went on web chat and someone else took over.

Then,the original advisor phoned me back on my mobile and told me that someone will ring me back next Thursday because as we are Virgin Mobile customers 'we have too many sims'
Also,I wouldnt get an extra V6 as I have to pay extra for it. (We have a V6 and a Tivo)
2x V6 are for new customers only.

Re: 500mb Question
 

If you are on a package that has two V6s as part of that package then you are already paying for it. I'd request the TiVo is replaced to a V6 if you go onto the VVIP bundle.

Re: 500mb Question
 

ive just upgraded to the v.vip and i had a tivo and a v6 and now have 2 v6 boxs and im not a new customer

Re: 500mb Question
 

yeah all they should be doing is sending you the right number of V6's to replace any existing Tivo's

Re: 500mb Question
 

I've just been hanging about on webchat and CS for an hour to be told that I have to wait for a call next week because it's a different department that's handling V.VIP and they don't have access to it. So I will have to wait until next week.

So far I've had 2 different people on webchat that have told me that I WILL get a V6 on V.VIP to replace my slow Tivo.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I've been on hold with VM for over two HOURS getting bounced around departments. They finally got the right person, put the order on the system and said because we already have a VM unlimited SIM we need to call VM Mobile (on the same phone number!), get a PAC and then call back to put through the VVIP order that's now parked. Still on hold.. Wish I'd never bothered now and I'm presuming the UK team has now gone home so I'll eventually have someone offshore answer and tell me to call next week. Two hours wasted. Joy.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Always best to phone in the morning! and wait a few weeks for things to get quicker.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Did have a bit of bouncing around and waiting but I’ll be on v.vip from 28th may :)
Could have had it sooner( as soon as Tuesday) but would rather wait til my sky tv service finished.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I wont be going anywhere near the 500mb till u can get on its own.

Phaps Virgins greed will die a death by then.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Finally got through, the poor guy sounded frazzled and called me the wrong (two different) names on several occasions between spells on hold. I get the impression they're literally juggling calls. All sorted now anyway, and as we already had VIP + an unlimited SIM it's actually saving us money (89 + 25 monthly vs 99 for VVIP). My modem just rebooted and peak speeds are currently 250Mbps out of 500 thanks to congestion. I can use the fault code for a tenner off, judging by experience and end up with 500Mbps off peak for cheaper than I was paying for the package below before. :p

Re: 500mb Question
 

Finally got chance to sit down and play properly with the new speed. Here's a speed test over VPN (WireGuard protocol), via my home made Arch Linux router from a 2012 MacBook Pro client (Core i5 3210M, 16GB RAM, running Fedora 30 Linux).

The router is a re-purposed SFF Dell Optiplex 7010 (Core i7 3700, 8GB RAM, Intel Pro 1000VT quad core server NIC) and it maxed out at 20% CPU. So, in theory it's good for 2.5Gbps over VPN. Plenty of life left in it yet... :D

https://www.cableforum.uk/images/local/2019/05/2.png

Re: 500mb Question
 

Amen to that. :D

Re: 500mb Question
 

personally if vivid500 had 50up for say £55 per month I may be tempted, otherwise don’t see the point with 350 having 35! 🤔

like most folk it’s upload I want rather then down! 😇