1. I connect to the Internet using my set top box. Can I get a faster speed than 1Mb/s?
2. How can I test that I am downloading at my correct speed?
3. What if I am not downloading at my correct speed?
4. I've checked my speeds and set up, and I'm still not getting my full download speed. What should I do now?
5. How do I do a netstat -a?
6. How do I do a traceroute or a ping?
7. Where do I find my modem logs and signal levels?
8. Why can't I download at full speed from a specific site?
9. Which modems cannot provide the full Broadband service speed?
10. How can I find which region I am in or what UBR I'm on?
11. My modem log shows an upgrade failed error, what does this mean?
12. How can I make the most of my bandwidth whilst downloading?
13. I've upgraded my speed in selfcare but after 24hrs/48hrs I still see no difference, what can I do?
14. Will Virgin Media be introducing usage caps?
15. How can I download more than two files at a time in Internet Explorer?
16. I have an 802.11b (11Mb/s) wireless router/NIC, will I get my full bandwidth?
17. Can ALL broadband routers be used with the XL service?
18. How do I connect the Virgin Media broadband modem to a new computer?
19. How do I downgrade or upgrade my connection speed?
20. Do I need to register my MAC address?
21. What is the standby button for on my broadband cable modem?
22. How can I get my Modem to start after a power failure or network outage?
23. When canceling my broadband what happens to the modem?
24. Why does my network card (local Area Connection) shows 100.0 Mb/s or 1000.0 Mb/s as its speed?
25. Does Virgin Media provide web hosting?
26. Why is my Internet speed much more than I subscribe to?
27. Does Virgin Media supply access to newsgroups (Usenet)?
28. My connection speed drops mysteriously, what's going on?
29. Can I have a binary newsgroup added to the Usenet server?
30. Will the blueyonder, ntl & Virgin email addresses be removed when the Virgin Media rebranding has been completed?
31. When I PING blueyonder.co.uk why does it just timeout?
32. I lose my connection frequently, and I have to reboot my computer to get it back?
33. I've set up a new router correctly, but I still can't connect to the Internet?
34. My free PWP webspace allocation is now showing 55MB/200MB is this an error?
35. Why do my modem LED's all go off even after a reboot?
36. What are the current maximum speeds for each broadband service?
37. Are Virgin Media blocking any TCP/UDP ports?
38. My email alias has disappeared, where has it gone?
39. What hours do Technical Support cover the news groups?
40. Is Windows Vista supported?
41. What are the supported operating system?
42. If I cancel all my Virgin Media services/account can I keep my email addresses or have them redirected for a couple of months?
43. I've seen FU being used on Usenet, what does it mean?
44. Can I get a fixed IP address?
45. Why does the address http://192.168.100.1 not work in my browser?
46. Why do I have problems after my IP address has changed?
47. Does Virgin media sell your web browsing usage patterns to any 3rd party?
48. What are the usual trial areas?

• 0800 561 0061 - Virgin Media Service status
• 150 or 151 - Virgin Media Customer services/Faults via a Virgin Media land line.
• 0845 454 1111 - Virgin Media Customer services/Faults via another provider. (i.e. BT)
• 0906 212 1111 - Broadband help line (25p per min and 10p connection charge) - Line closes 1st June
• Broadband helpline number has changed
• Broadband Support Premium Rate Line - FAQs
• Other Virgin Media contact details
• Find cheaper direct numbers for most special rate telephone numbers

• More useful Links at abcde.co.uk
• Subscriber Traffic Management (STM) - A bit clearer than the official Virgin Media link below
• Broadband speed test - Recommended by support
• Networking advice
• General broadband information and tweaking advice
• Help with windows - From 9x to Vista
• Stop Phishing and Email Scams
• Using .htaccess to password protect directories on your Virgin Media WebSpace (PWP)
• byuser - blueryonder users group
• Don't let Phorm/Webwise force you to opt in by default. Add on for Firefox users.
• Inside...Virgin Media (blog).

• Subscriber Traffic Management (Why your Broadband may be MUCH slower than expected)
• Even faster - Major service upgrade schedule/information
• Official FAQ
• Home page
• Status page
• Self Care
• eBilling
• Acceptable Use Policy
• Terms and conditions
• Repository for games demos and game patches
• General Internet tools

Please note that if you choose to install any of the above software you do so at your own risk.

Most customers who connect to the broadband service through a set top box can only connect at a maximum download speed of 1Mb/s. If you wish to change to a cable modem and take advantage of the higher speeds, please contact Customer Services (Contact numbers).

Note: It has been reported that some samsung set-top-boxes can handle speeds up to 5Mb/s and some pace boxes may reach up to 2Mb/s. Please contact Virgin Media customer services (Contact numbers) for clarification.

There are many speed tests, of varying accuracy, available on the Internet. However, a simple way to test your connection is to download four or more files simultaneously (one file downloaded will not usually use the full bandwidth you have available) from a UK mirror of such sites as: http://gamefiles.virginmedia.com/blueyondergames/demos/, http://www.tucows.com or http://fuller.zen.co.uk/test/ and then adding up the average transfer speed for each individual file. For example, if you are currently connected to the  XL  service, this equates to up to 20480Kb/s (kilobits per second) or 2560KB/s (kilobytes per second) for downloading, and the upload speed is "up to" 768Kb/s or 96KB/s. On top of this, you should deduct around 10% for overhead data transfer. Internet Explorer normally reports transfer rates in KB (kilobytes per second). Please remember also, that the Internet is only as fast as its slowest link. This means that, if you are on the Virgin Media  XL  service and you are trying to download a file from the USA, you are then reliant on the ISP's network in the region of the service you have connected with, and that their servers are able to supply you with the full  XL  speeds.

If Windows XP will not allow you to download more than two files at once, go to the Microsoft Knowledge base for instructions of how to overcome this limitation or you could use two separate browsers i.e. Internet Explorer & Firefox or you could download XP-Antispy that can change the limit to 10 by ticking a box.

The typical speeds (not under traffic management) you should look for are:

Note: If you have a wireless network please see Q16 below. Also Traffic Management might cause your speed to drop, see Q28 below for more details.

If, after completing the speed test example above, you are still not receiving your full download speed, then there are a few more checks you can complete. Please check your Network Interface Card (NIC or Ethernet card) or, if you have one, any home network equipment, making sure it has a fully rated 10/100baseT port available to the Internet. Some older network cards and routers only have a 10Mb/s port, and these are not fast enough to transfer the data that is being downloaded. This gives the appearance that you are not connecting at the correct speed. You may also see this issue if you connect the modem to your computer using the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection. Please try connecting your modem to your computer using a Broadband Network Interface Card, using a CAT5 (RJ45) cable, and after confirming that your network card and any other equipment does have the 10/100baseT standards outlined above. This should greatly improve your download speed.

It might be helpful to try disabling your firewall and running the speed tests from Q02 again. This will see if your firewall settings are causing the speed issues.

In addition if you currently have a modem that is not capable of providing the  XL  service at full speed you might need to change it, please see Q9 below for further details.

You may also be able to improve your speed by changing your MTU settings, take a look at http://www.speedguide.net/ for instructions.

Check for service problems at http://status2.virginmedia.com/ if nothing is reported, technical support will be able to investigate your issue further for you. If you contact technical support using the newsgroups or by email, the following list of information will help Virgin Media to diagnose your issue promptly. Please close as many applications on your machine as possible before completing these tests, as this helps to give the most accurate results. Virgin Media would also ask that you disconnect any home networking equipment you have and only connect directly to the cable modem with a single computer before continuing these tests.

Please post the details of:

• Your netstat -a (see Q05 below)
• Your total download speed from 4 simultaneous file downloads (as outlined above in Q02)
• Ping to www.bbc.co.uk (see Q06 below)
• Two trace routes to www.bbc.co.uk (see Q06 below)
• Your modem logs and signal levels (see Q07 below)
• And a good description of your exact issue
• Your alias - The part of your email address before the @ symbol, this is so support can identify your account details on their system. ie. if your email is fredbloggs@blueyonder.co.uk or fredbloggs@ntlworld.com then fredbloggs is what is required

Open your web browser and type http://192.168.100.1 (see Q45 if you encounter problems displaying this page) into the address bar and click the Go button or press the Enter key on your keyboard. This will bring up your modem configuration pages where you can find your modem logs and signal levels. You will need to switch OFF any proxy you may have set in your web browser, or this may cause these pages not to be displayed properly.

If you are asked to enter a userid and password, try root for both or admin for both.

Note: If you have a Webstar modem and do not use Internet Explorer you may not be able to display http://192.168.100.1 as there is a bug in the web code that may stop the page being displayed. No specific model of Webstar has been identified as having this problem, newer models might be OK.

At this time, many websites are not built to cope with multiple connections from high-speed broadband users, and they frequently limit the speed of information that they are sending out. Until this level of high-speed broadband is more commonplace, you may see what looks like a slow connection when downloading from many websites. This is not an issue with your Virgin Media service, which does fully support its advertised speeds.

Please visit here to determine if your current modem is able to provide you with the full broadband service speed you subscribe to.

Note: For some reason Virgin Media have removed the link to check the modems. This question will remain in case Virgin Media reinstate the link.

If you go to the Virgin Media General Internet Tools page, you can find the information at the bottom of the page directly after Client Host Name: A description of the information shown can be found here.

Ex-ntl customers might want to take a look here

The failures are software upgrades to the modem. These upgrades are made available to all modems, but your modem make and/or model does not need it.

Example:

2005-10-11 20:50:01 4-Error 0x041D050C SW upgrade Failed after download - Incompatible SW file

The use of a download manager such as Free Download Manager, GetRight, FreshDownload, DAP etc... will manage your download by opening more than one connection to a server thus maximizing your download speed. Using a download manager will also help when performing speed tests as it will automatically combine the speeds of several connections. Check here for information on download managers.

First make sure you have power cycled your modem (turn it off at the mains then back on again). If you have and still the speed stays the same, you can phone Customer Services (Contact numbers). They should be able to push the upgrade through for you whilst you're on the phone to them.

At this time Virgin Media do not have any plans to introduce usage caps, though they have implemented Traffic Management across the entire network, see Q28 below for more details.

This only works for Windows XP.

First download XP-Antispy from www.softpedia.com

Using XP-Antispy, in the "Special" menu at the top, choose "Connection limit..." then patch to at least 50 connections, then go to the "Internet explorer 6" section and make sure that "Increase MaxConnectionsPerServer to 10" is ticked. Re-boot your computer and you should hopefully now be able to download more files at a time.

Note: The above changes can easily be reversed if they cause you any problems.

An 802.11b NIC/Router is not fast enough to drive a WiFi 10Mb/s+ connection to its full speed, you will get well under 7Mb/s. If you want to get the full  XL  service speeds (see Q36 for current speeds) you will have to ensure that your wireless NIC's and/or wireless router are capable of at least 54Mb/s (802.11g).

Note: Any device connected to a wireless routers wired 10/100baseT LAN ports will be able to utilize the full  XL  service speeds as long as the device itself is capable of said speeds and the router has a 10/100baseT WAN port. Some modems are not capable of  XL  speeds, see Q9 for more details.

Some older routers only have a 10BaseT WAN port (the port that you plug your broadband modem in to) these routers will not be able to pass the full bandwidth to the LAN ports. You will need a router that has a 100BaseT or better WAN port.

Please check with your routers documentation or manufacturers website for confirmation of the WAN port speed.

Note: It has been identified that some routers do not have fast enough processors to allow the full  XL  service speeds even though their WAN port is rated as 10/100baseT.

A list of some routers and their speeds can be found here: Router Charts

Transferring your connection is dependant upon how you connect the cable modem to the computer.

Requests via selfcare can take up to 48 hours to action and you should be notified by email when the change has been done. Once notified you should power cycle your modem (switch it off then back on) to pick up the new configuration file. You can then test your speed using methods mentioned elsewhere in this FAQ.

No. The requirement to register your MAC address of your Network card (NIC) and/or Broadband router was dropped some time ago. The MAC address of the modem is now used and this is done automatically.

The standby button is used to stop the network traffic from the modem to the computer it has the same result as physically removing the CAT5 or USB cable from the computer. Also the LED's on the front of the modem are switched off.

Note: Not all modems supplied by Virgin Media have this button.

If after a power cut the send and receive lights are flashing on your modem you might find that the modem had lost the downstream frequency value from its configuration. Follow the procedure below:

1. Enter this address into you browser http://192.168.100.1/config.html to access the modems configuration page.
2. Enter 331000000 (exBlueyonder) , 339000000 (exBlueyonder), 402750000 (exNTL), 586750000 (exNTL) into the 'Favorite Frequency (Hz)' box.
3. Click on the 'Save changes' button.
4. Click on the 'Restart Cable modem' button.

If you have a "Webstar" modem, enter http://192.168.100.1/gscan.htm or http://192.168.100.1/gscan.asp

Some modem use http://192.168.100.1/P_setfreq.asp

The modem should now connect correctly. If the value was already set to 331000000, 339000000, 402750000, 586750000 or the above links do not work for your modem, then you will need to contact Customer Services (Contact numbers).

Note: Changing the frequency yourself might only be a temporary fix as it may revert back to the wrong value if the modem is re-booted, if the frequency keeps changing contact support and they can change the value on the network for a more permanent change.

If you are canceling just the broadband and NOT the TV service, you can dispose of the modem yourself, the modem DOES NOT have to be returned to Virgin Media.

However, if you are canceling TV and broadband and engineer will be dispatched to disconnect the services and reclaim the TV set-top-box he will also take the modem at this time.

Note: Virgin Media no longer send out jiffy bags for customers to return their modems because a high volume of modems returned in this fashion were damaged in transit.

This is the speed your Network card (NIC) is talking to your modem/router. This is not the speed your modem talks to the Internet at.

Your modem speed to the Internet will still be 512Kb/s,2Mb/s,4Mb/s,20Mb/s depending on the service you subscribe to.

No, and currently there are no plans to provide this service.

You can use domain forwarding to point to your PWP webspace, if your domain provider has this feature.

From time to time Virgin Media do trials of new Internet speeds without informing its users. These trial last from a few minutes to a few days.

Also there are rare times when the modems configuration gets corrupted and unlocks the speed limit of the modem, these errors are usually corrected by Virgin Media automatically.

Just enjoy the speed increase whilst is lasts.

Yes they have newsgroup servers available to ALL their broadband users, though their website only confirms access for their higher speed services, just ignore this as support have confirmed that ALL users have access.

If you only need text groups and not binaries then you should use text.news.virginmedia.com as the server, this server is available to all Virgin Media customers.

If you require binaries and text the server is news.virginmedia.co.uk (ex-blueyonder), news.cable.ntlworld.com (ex-ntl), news.ntlworld.com (ex-freedom / off net).

If you are a cable internet user, please visit http://www.virginmedia.com/help/traffic-management.php or http://stm.broadband-faq.brion.me.uk (no longer maintained) for help with this issue.

ADSL users should check out: Virgin Media ADSL FAQ

No new binary groups are being added to the server at this time.

This is because, like most other ISP's Virgin Media have storage issues and its not in their best interest to keep forking out for new hardware that never pays for itself.

Attempting to add new binary groups without the storage space to cope will have a negative impact on Virgin Media's 3 day retention period and high completion ratio.

The server also slows down dramatically during busy posting periods. delays can sometimes be as much as 6-12 hours. adding more binary groups to the feed will just make this situation far worse.

Usenet is very low down on the priority list so I do not see this situation changing any time soon.

The @blueyonder.co.uk, @ntlworld.com & @virgin.net email addresses will be available after the rebranding. There are no plans to remove them in the foreseeable future.

Before Virgin Media makes @virginmedia.com email addresses available, they'll send you an email giving you all the information you need, and letting you know if there's anything you need to do. You'll still be able to keep the old addresses you've been using, or get a Virgin Media address, or both - the choice is yours!

When issuing the command: PING blueyonder.co.uk the response you will get will look like this:

Pinging www.blueyonder.co.uk [62.30.31.86] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

The reason this happens is because the blueyonder servers are set to ignore ICMP requests. Try pinging www.bbc.co.uk. At the moment it also looks like you can also PING virginmedia.com

When you boot your computer the network adapter will pick up an IP address from Virgin Media's DHCP server. You will normally get a short lease (an hour?). At the end of the lease you get another lease, this time much longer (a day?) However sometimes if you have a firewall in place, or there is some other problem, you don't get the lease renewed.

You should copy the output from both and send to Virgin Media support. They may ask for the output from the cable modem logs etc... as mentioned elsewhere in this FAQ.

The interesting information is:

ip address
subnet mask
dhcp enabled
default gateway
lease obtained
lease expires

If you add a new router you have to reset the cable modem. The best way to do this is to power off all equipment wait for 2 minutes them power on again as follows - cable modem, router, computer, waiting for 2 minutes after each one.

The size of your basic webspace allocation has increased from 30MB to 55MB but there was no announcement for this change. Also it has been discovered that the advanced webspace is also being increased from 100MB to 200MB.

The 2 tier system that was operated prior to the rebranding has been abandoned though those paying the extra £4.00 per month will still be provided with the extra features and still. be charge the monthly amount. Customers will no longer be able to sign up to tier 2.

If your modem has one, you may have accidentally pressed the standby button on the front of the modem.

When the modem is in standby the LED's will light up briefly the all switch off, even when you first power the modem on.

The current maximum speeds for the Virgin Media broadband services are:

The incoming ports that are being blocked are as follows:

Also during large scale virus attacks that are targeting specific ports, these ports may also be temporarily blocked until the attacks subside.

If any mailbox is not logged into by a customer for 90 days, the mailbox will be reduced from its 30MB to 2MB in size and any emails cleared out.  The account is emailed at this first 90 day mark advising that the mailbox will be resized and cleared.

If the mailbox is not logged into for a further 90 days, the mailbox will be closed, and any aliases will be returned to the pool. The main mailbox, e.g. abcd12345 or ab123c4567, will not be deleted, but the aliases would be removed.  This gives a total of 180 days before the aliases are deleted.

An email alias that is assigned to your PWP will not be affected by the above.

Virgin Media Technical Support work from 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week.

If you require support out side these hours then phone Customer Services (Contact numbers).

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32bit), Basic (32bit) and Ultimate (32bit) are supported by the technical support teams.

Click here for the Virgin Media information on Microsoft Windows Vista.

For fully supported operating systems please see Q41.

The supported operating systems are:

• Windows 2000
• Windows XP
• Mac OS 9.0+ (including OSX)
• Windows Vista Home Premium (32bit)
• Windows Vista Basic (32bit)
• Windows Vista Ultimate (32bit)

Take a look here for more details.

Note: If you want to use a computer with an unsupported operating system this should work fine but you may find it difficult to get support to help you if your broadband connection has a problem. You may like to refer to Q18 for set up suggestions.

Once you have cancelled all of your Virgin Media services and your account is closed, all of your mailboxes will be deleted along with your PWP.

Though it looks rude, it is not. FU actually stands for follow-up. A follow-up is set when a thread goes off-topic and the rest of the discussion is sent to another more relevant newsgroup. Please consult your news client for instructions on how to set follow-ups (followup-to).

You will usually see something like the examples below placed at the bottom of a post that has follow-up set.

FU set: virginmedia.discussion.general

FU: virginmedia.discussion.general

Fixed IP addresses are not available to Virgin Media residential customers. All IP addresses are dynamically allocated.

You can get some of the features of a fixed IP address by using a Dynamic Hosting service such as: dyndns or no-ip

Sometimes when you enter http://192.168.100.1 into your web browser the page is not displayed. You may be able to get the page to work again by doing one or more of the tasks below:

• Power cycling the modem, You may need to do this a couple of times.
• Use a different web browser.
• Make sure the Ethernet cable is plugged into the modem.
• Make sure the Ethernet cable is plugged into the PC.
• Make sure the modem is powered on.
• If you have a router, make sure it is connected to the modem via the WAN socket with Ethernet cable.
• Make sure you do not have a proxy set in your browser. Browser proxy setting instuctions can be found here.

Note: If you have a Webstar modem and do not use Internet Explorer you may not be able to display http://192.168.100.1 as there is a bug in the web code that may stop the page being displayed. No specific model of Webstar has been identified as having this problem, newer models might be OK.

If your IP address changes, and you then have problems accessing a Web site, it may be a known issue.

Sometimes when Virgin Media are issued with a new range of IP addresses they may get a range that are flagged as unused, these addresses are put into a special filter list on some servers so that you cannot connect to them. Look here for more information.

If you are affected by this then you will need to contact support to have the IP address range removed from the filter lists.

At the moment Virgin Media do not, but watch this space.

Preston, Blackpool and Wigan, are usually used for trials. Ashford, Dover and Folkestone have been used in the past for the 50MB service trial.