Why is my Virgin Media internet so slow?

[mikey0118]

I have been having problems with my Virgin Media broadband lately and wondered if anybody can help resolve my problem.

About three weeks ago, my internet suddenly stopped working whilst I was using it. I switched off my router and my modem and that seemed to sort the problem, but my once super-fast internet is now probably not even as fast as dialup! Even loading this website took approximately 30 seconds.

I do use a Belkin router and read that this has been known to slow internet connection speeds, but even connecting my modem straight to my PC fails to sort the problem.

I'm really getting frustrated now. I had hoped that this might be a problem at Virgin Media's end and that it would eventually be sorted, but having waited so long, I am guessing it has nothing to do with them.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Hymie]

Use this link to the BBC website to test your internet speed to/from their site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7416471. stm

Bear in mind that many factors can influence the result, from other applications you are running, to how well their server is working.

[Ethel]

Have you checked Virgin's status page to see if there are any known issues in your area?

Have you spoken to Virgin?

[mikey0118]

Hymie, following the test, the results look a little disappointing...

"Your connection to bbc.co.uk is working at 0.3 Mbps.

At this speed it would take you about 2 minutes to download a 4 minute song and over 2 hours to download a half hour TV programme."

Ethel, I have spoken to Virgin but they keep blaming it on my router. Even if I do away with the router and plug the modem straight into my PC, it makes no difference whatsoever. As for Virgin's status pages, it says that there are no known issues in my area.

[MrBen5]

Hmmm, i just did a check, mine 1.8 mbps, i am in lancashire though. Everything seems to be better here...

[Bathsheba]

Mine's 2 mbps. I'm in Lancashire.
Thanks for link Hymie xx

[BillyBB]

M-I-L is on Virgin and when we go online at her's it is very slow and frustrating. Then try again at unsociable hours and the speeds improve. I think they have a lousy contention ratio.

[Ethel]

0.3 is shockingly bad - you should be getting 2 mb at the very least.

I'm on the cheapest (2mb) and always get 2.4 whatever time of day or night.

Do the test a few times over the next couple of days and telephone them again - make a note of times and speed,and make sure you are connected directly to the modem so they don't have a cop out.

[Ethel]

By the way, are you on Virgin cable, or Virgin down the BT phone line?

[Hymie]

Despite having up to date anti-virus, fire wall etc, about a year or so back, my PC got taken over as part of a botnet system. Besides my slow internet connection, my cable modem activity LEDs flashed virtually continuously. Eventually my whole PC slowed to a crawl � even if I disconnected the internet connection. The only way to get my PC working at normal speed was to boot up without the modem plugged in.

Since my anti-virus software could not detect the virus (it reported that my PC was protected and free from viruses) � I shredded (not deleted) everything on my PC (even the operating system, as far as the system would allow). I then formatted the drives and reinstalled the operating system.

This cured the problem.

[mikey0118]

Thanks all for your helpful replies.

Just to confirm I am using the internet through cable and not through the phone line.

When I tried to use the internet this morning, it was dead. The lights on the modem were flashing (as they often do) and the connection was only restored when I switched it off for about 10 minutes. The 30 second power off/power on that Virgin recommends did nothing. And when it was up and running again, it was still unbearably slow.

I telephoned Virgin Media three times this morning and was getting extremely frustrated with their support line. All calls were routed to India and none of the three people offered a great deal of support. The first man told me to go to a speed testing website and took the download (about 250kb) and upload (about 400kb) speeds. He then went on to say that there was a lot of traffic and they were trying to offer a fair speed to all of their customers. He estimated that within a week, my connection should be back to normal.

I must admit, I am sceptical. As mentioned previously, this problem has been going on now for about 3 weeks and it feels like I am using dialup. Surely, Virgin Media would not slow everybody's internet down for a whole month whilst they try to work out a solution.

For now, I'm going to give up with this. I'll wait a week and if there is no change, I'll be switching to a more reliable ISP.

Thanks again all.