Virgin Media starts free Wi-Fi upgrade that boosts broadband speeds without customers needing to do a thing
VIRGIN Media is expanding a special Wi-Fi service designed to help households receive even better broadband speeds.
The free “smart service” cleverly detects any issues with the connection and actively reaches out to customers providing ways to fix it.
It could be that your router is in a bad place or an object near it is disrupting the signal.
Virgin Media does this by assessing the customer’s connection and automatically identifies issues such as speed drops and disconnections.
The operator already started offering the service to existing customers earlier this year.
More than 50,000 users have benefited so far.
Now the firm is rolling out the option to new customers in their first few weeks of joining.
This will help Virgin Media get ahead of any potential issues before they impact a customers’ service, ensuring a seamless and smooth connection, the company said.
It comes as research reveals that Brits prioritise their Wi-Fi working (55 per cent) over arranging their furniture (23 per cent) and even unpacking (31 per cent) when settling into their new home.
To mark the launch of the smart service’s phase two roll out, Virgin Media O2’s Director of Connectivity, Gareth Lister, has shared some top tips to improve Wi-Fi connections and connections.
Placement
Your Wi-Fi router should be kept up high and out in the open for the best possible signal.
Hiding it away in a cupboard or behind the TV won’t do it any favours.
This allows sufficient space for the Hub to send signal around your home with less likelihood of interference.
Cables
Make sure all the cables from the wall to the Hub are plugged in or screwed in securely and aren’t twisted.
Hunt down Wi-Fi not-spots
Virgin Media customers can use the Connect App to test their broadband speed in various rooms around the home.
Those who benefit from a Wi-Fi Guarantee like Virgin Media’s who notice they’re getting download speeds of less than 30Mbps in any room can request up to three Wi-Fi Pods to help improve your WiFi signal.
Time to change your router password
In 2019, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) compiled 20 of the most common passwords around.
Common passwords mean they’re easy for cyber thieves to guess – so if you’re using one of these on your router you might want to change it right now.
- 123456
- 123456789
- qwerty
- password
- 1111111
- 12345678
- abc123
- 1234567
- password1
- 12345
- 1234567890
- 123123
- 000000
- Iloveyou
- 1234
- 1q2w3e4r5t
- Qwertyuiop
- 123
- Monkey
- Dragon
Names, favourite football teams, musicians and fictional characters are also very popular and therefore easy to guess.
The best sort of password is long and easy to remember – so the NCSC suggests using three random words strung together.
Of course, you shouldn’t recycle passwords on various platforms either. Should a hacker gain access to one they could then go onto access your other accounts.
So use a password manager to securely keep track of them all – Google Chrome and Safari can store these for you.