The recent launch of Virgin Media UK’s new 2Gbps full fibre (FTTP / XGS-PON) home broadband package was a welcome development (here). But one notable caveat was that it shipped with a new variant of the Hub 5 router, the Hub 5x, which lacked a functional Modem Mode, although this is planned to be introduced.
Customers of Virgin Media have long learnt to expect a Modem Mode option, which switches-off some of the bundled router’s networking features (e.g. WiFi) and makes it easier for users to essentially connect a second router to handle their local network / WiFi connectivity. Advanced users often like to do this in order to get around some of the limitations of Virgin’s own kit.
However, for reasons unknown, and despite the Hub 5x being cosmetically almost identical to the prior Hub 5, customers who received the Hub 5x soon found that it lacked Modem Mode as an option (here). Several months have now passed since we first saw people using the Hub 5x and little has changed, although the odd user of the 5x did recently claim to have seen the option appear and then disappear from the device’s menus.
The official line from Virgin Media is that they “have nothing to say on this at this stage“, which is about as informative as we’ve come to expect from the operator. Some rumours from customers have previously indicated that it might launch this spring, but we’ve never been able to confirm those.
ISPreview’s own sources have indicated that the tentative plan is to introduce Modem Mode to the Hub 5X by the end of the year, which means those taking Virgin Media’s new XGS-PON powered packages (e.g. 2Gbps) may have a bit of a wait on their hands. Clearly something about this familiar feature is proving to me more tedious than usual to implement on the 5x.