Buying a new Cable modem

[J@ffa]

Hey all. I'm having some slightly rubbish speeds with my XL broadband and an ntl:home 200 modem. I can see some modems on eBay (the virgin 255) for about £20~ inc. delivery. If I buy one of these, will I be able to call up and get it registered MAC address-wise, or can I/should I buy one from Virgin direct? Also, if I'm buying one myself, would anyone recommend a specific modem or a better third party alternative?

[fatassmichael]

jaffa, short answer is no, if there is a problem with your modem, you will have to call faults and have a tech sent out to you.

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Dont buy one. Its not theirs to sell, it wont make any difference and VM wont register it for you.

If your getting poor speeds speak to VM, you dont need to buy anything.

What do you mean by "SLIGHTLY" rubbish speeds?

[Halcyon]

Acquiring a modem through any means is of no use.
They will not work and you may be involved in handling stolen goods as modems remain the property of VirginMedia.

If you are having problems with your connection, phone them on 150 and if there are problems they will give you a new modem.

VirginMedia Internet will only work with modems supplied by them and registered to that property.

[J@ffa]

Dont buy one. Its not theirs to sell, it wont make any difference and VM wont register it for you.

If your getting poor speeds speak to VM, you dont need to buy anything.

What do you mean by "SLIGHTLY" rubbish speeds?

Thanks for the advice all. I just figured eBay was the quickest place, I forgot that VM claim ownership of the modem.

By slightly rubbish speeds, I mean that I rarely top 10-12MB though I'm supposed to get 20MB. I spoke to a lady on the phone and they told me that a fault has been recorded in my area as part of the more general problems with the 20MB switchover (I'm in bromley btw) and they're working on it at the moment. I can live with it, I guess, I'm just holding out hope I can have the magical solution of a shiny new modem. Haha. Theoretically though, if you offered to purchase a new modem from VM they'd say yes, or would they be stubborn for the sake of it? Regardless of cost or whatnot.

[MovedGoalPosts]

Bottom line you cannot purchase modems from Virgin Media, they are rented to you as part of your service. Attempting to connect any other modem, not directly provided to you by Virgin Media, is against their terms of service, and as such will not be discussed on this forum.

A few years ago some customers did own their cable modems, but this is very much historic. Such modems are not transferrable between customers and still useable on cable.

If you have a fault with your service, and that includes a modem fault, then Virgin Media are responsible for repair or replacement of whatever is required - you should not have to buy anything, or part with cash to make sure it is fixed.

There are many threads on this board regarding problems with customers generally not getting the 20meg speeds due to general faults.

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

As youve been told its an area problem how do you think a different modem is going to fix the area problem for you ;)

[Arthurgray50@blu]

I have had total rubbish service from bb, l had no choice but to reduce my package due to employment problem,and although VM were kind enough to reduce the speed, but it is so slow, and yet l read in the newpapers, that VM were proud to supply a powerful speed that beats everyone else,so l called VM and they told me that they have a new number for bb, BUT it costs £1.00 connection and 50p per minute to call them, when l asked about the 150 number, they told me that you will get transferred to this new number .

I have a motorola sb5101E modem.:(

[alferret]

I have had total rubbish service from bb, l had no choice but to reduce my package due to employment problem,and although VM were kind enough to reduce the speed, but it is so slow, and yet l read in the newpapers, that VM were proud to supply a powerful speed that beats everyone else,so l called VM and they told me that they have a new number for bb, BUT it costs £1.00 connection and 50p per minute to call them, when l asked about the 150 number, they told me that you will get transferred to this new number .

I have a motorola sb5101E modem.:(

Its a 10p connection fee and 25p per min there after, these prices have been mentioned many times in the miriad of threads\posts on this subject. If the fault is found to be a problem with VM then aparently you'll get your call charges refunded.

I assume they (VM) are doing this because there are so many people with poorly perfoming PC's and equipment that does not belong to VM but are blaming VM for their problems when its down to their machine etc....