Virgin Media TV & broadband bundles get faster Hub 5 router

Virgin Media have confirmed all new customers signing up to one of their pre-made TV360 broadband and TV bundles will now be provided with a Hub 5 router.

The Hub 5 supports WiFi 6 and is more up to date than the Hub 3 and Hub 4 still being supplied with broadband-only plans up to M500.

New TV360 customers are also now being supplied the Stream box instead of the TV 360 box.

Hub 5 with TV bundles

New customers signing up to one of Virgin Media's pre-made TV and broadband bundles will now receive a Hub 5 on plans with M125 Fibre Broadband and upwards.

The Hub 5 router is Virgin Media's most up to date device and supports WiFi 6 and the latest WPA3 security encryption for safer browsing.

Those who've previously used the Hub 3 will benefit from a noticeable improvement in wireless coverage, with the Hub 5 housing seven internal antennae compared to just five on the Hub 3.

There is also one 2.5Gbps Ethernet LAN port for customers on the fastest Gig1 broadband plan, although, those customers are already supplied with the Hub 5 in any case.

Plans such as the Bigger Combo bundle with TV 360 and M350 Fibre Broadband, the Bigger Combo bundle + Sports, and the Biggest Combo bundle all now benefit from the upgraded router.

Customers opting for a broadband-only plan, or one bundled with Flex TV, will still only receive the Hub 5 on Gig1 plans, while those living in full fibre enabled areas are provided with the Hub 5x.

Stream box

As well as upgrading the router, TV 360 packages also now come with the Stream box as standard, replacing the more traditional TV 360 box.

Stream delivers the TV content over the broadband connection, and works for both cable and full fibre customers. While the TV 360 box is limited to those in cable areas as it uses a connection type called DOCSIS.

This limitation is why Virgin Media is phasing the TV 360 box out, as it also continues work on upgrading its existing network to full fibre by 2028.

In terms of user experience there are few differences between the Stream and TV 360 boxes, with both devices using the same TV guide and platform.

On-demand apps, personalised profiles, 4K resolution and Dolby Atmos are all available with Stream. Users can also pause and rewind live content with built-in flash storage.

Both boxes have received recent updates too, with Rakuten being added in September 2024, while Paramount+ came to both box sets in May 2023, followed by Apple TV+ in November 2023.

However, where the boxes differ is the lack of a physical recording facility on Stream, which older TV users are more likely to miss as it's no longer possible to record shows indefinitely, with users of Stream having to rely on modern catch-up services instead.

Overall, this update shouldn't be too surprising as Virgin Media aims to become the UK's second largest full fibre broadband network and this move to replace the TV 360 box will help to streamline their devices in the future.

While there may be some upset from customers who'd prefer to record to their box, this move also puts Virgin Media in line with Sky, and their move towards the Stream Puck box and away from Sky Q recording box sets.

Indeed, even BT (and EE) is losing the ability to record some channels on its BT TV Box Pro as content producers prefer to direct customers to their catch-up services instead.