How to set up and troubleshoot Virgin Media Intelligent WiFi
Here’s everything you need to know about Intelligent WiFi and how to get yours set up.
In this article
What’s Intelligent WiFi?
Intelligent WiFi is a smart system designed to automatically sort WiFi issues in your home. Take a look at our Intelligent WiFi broadband deals.
Our Intelligent WiFi technology adapts and learns to help deliver WiFi all around your home.
Thanks to new technology in the Hub 3, you can now create a smart WiFi network that continually optimises itself. It automatically selects the best connection for your device, based on distance from the Hub. The smart system regularly checks if your WiFi is congested and switches to the quietest channel for even faster speeds – sharing it evenly around your home.
With the Connect app, you can see how many devices are connected to your WiFi, and pause the internet connection to some devices too. Plus, you can connect to over 3.5 million WiFi hotspots in the UK, thanks to Virgin Media WiFi. Download the Virgin Media Connect app and set up on a compatible iOS or Android device. When you link it with the Hub 3, it’ll help you set up your home WiFi and the WiFi signal from room to room.
What’s Intelligent WiFi Plus?
This is our new service, which includes all of the benefits of Intelligent WiFi, as well as up to three of the all-new Intelligent WiFi Pods. The Pods improve home WiFi coverage and help to eliminate blackspots.
How do Virgin Media WiFi Pods and Hubs work together?
Intelligent WiFi Pods work together with our Virgin Media Hub 3 and 4 to create a mesh WiFi bubble that covers your entire home.
The clever technology learns how you use WiFi – where you use it, what devices you connect with, and the time you use them. They constantly update to create the best conditions for the network your household needs. Just plug in the WiFi Pods to link them to the Hub.
Differences between Virgin Media WiFi Pods Vs WiFi Boosters?
Our old WiFi Boosters can help you tackle WiFi blackspots. They use your home’s electrical wiring to boost the WiFi signal in the room.
Our new Intelligent WiFi Pods plug into any normal three-pin socket in your house. They’ll team up with your Virgin Media Hub to supercharge your WiFi coverage – eliminating blackspots to give you WiFi all around your home.
How to install your first Intelligent WiFi Pod
If you need help to install your WiFi Pod, follow these steps.
Installing an additional Intelligent WiFi Pod
To install another WiFi Pod, follow the same steps as above. And plug in your additional WiFi Pod halfway between the existing WiFi Pod(s) and where you’re experiencing poor WiFi.
Why is the Virgin Intelligent WiFi Pods not working?
There could be a few reasons why your WiFi Pods aren’t working. First, unplug and check WiFi Pods are on. If the Pod still isn’t working, check the following:
• Relocate WiFi Pod
• Check WiFi Pods are paired
• Check the Ethernet cable
• Check your WiFi setting
Slow speed checks
If your connection is still slow, here’s what you can do to try to speed it up:
• Turn WiFi on and off
• Move closer to WiFi Pod
• Relocate WiFi Pod
Intelligent WiFi FAQs
If you’re wanting more information, here are the most common questions about Intelligent WiFi.
WiFi Pod basics
Most people find that one WiFi Pod working with the Hub 3 or 4 gives great WiFi coverage throughout a typical three-bed home.
If you still have blackspots, have a larger property or unusual building layout, you might find you need one or two additional WiFi Pods.
If you’ve got a WiFi Pod but are still experiencing blackspots, call 0345 454 1111 or 150 from a Virgin Media phone or mobile.
You can take your kit with you to your new home. If you’re using the Hub 3, you’ll be able to use the Connect app to check for any blackspots – showing you where best to position the WiFi Pod in your new house.
Your bill will show ‘Intelligent WiFi Plus’ as a service, along with any charges you agreed to when you signed up.
For customers on packages of M50 or above, the Intelligent WiFi Plus service will cost £5 a month – on top of your usual bill. If you’re an Ultimate Oomph or Gig1 customer, it’s included in your package.
The WiFi Pod needs up to 24 hours to get settled in to its new home, so try not to move it before then.
You still need the Hub. If you have the Hub 3 or Hub 4, they’ll work in harmony with your WiFi Pod.
The WiFi Pods will only work with the Virgin Media Hub. Make sure this is your primary router by enabling Router Mode
If you have WiFi Boosters, you’ll need to disconnect them before you use the new WiFi Pods. This’ll make sure your devices can find and connect to the WiFi Pods – as well as reduce the WiFi traffic in your home.
If you have Virgin Media WiFi Boosters, please return them when you get your new WiFi Pods. We’ll send you the returns pack with your new Pods.
To benefit from Intelligent WiFi, you’ll need either a Hub 3 or Hub 4. If you have a Super Hub, you can do a free Hub swap.
You can experience slightly faster speeds on your devices if you plug them into a WiFi Pod using an Ethernet cable. You can also connect multiple WiFi Pods to each other via Ethernet. The WiFi Pods will then use this to talk to each other, rather than WiFi.
You might need to turn the WiFi Pod that’s connected to your device off and on again for it to be recognised and added to your network.
To order a WiFi Pod, call 0800 064 3836 or buy WiFi Pods online.
This will depend on a number of things, such as:
• Your main broadband speed coming into the Hub.
• Overall network traffic.
• Type of network application.
• The distance of your device from the WiFi Pod.
• Signal strength – if anything’s blocking the signal between the Hub and the Pod, or the Pod and your device.
• Disruption – electrical equipment or other wireless devices like microwaves or baby monitors can interfere with your connection if they’re too close.
• The WiFi capabilities of the device – older devices don’t work as well as newer ones.
As the mesh WiFi network will be using one network name (SSID) you’ll be unable to tell which access point your device is connected to.
You can plug the WiFi Pods into any powered plug socket. Just make sure they’re out in the open and not tucked behind anything.
WiFi Pod perfomance
When you first get the WiFi Pod, you might need to try it in a few places to see where will give you the best WiFi coverage throughout your home. Once you’ve found it, leave it be.
This is normal – the WiFi Pods have an in-built fan to cool them down.
When you first plug a WiFi Pod into a socket, the light should turn solid for a moment. Then it’ll slowly pulse as it’s trying to connect to the Hub.
The slow pulsing should only last up to 10 minutes. Once connected, the light will turn off.
If the WiFi Pod’s light has quick, repeating double blinks, it’s in the process of improving your WiFi. This usually takes 2-3 minutes – depending on how many WiFi Pods are connected.
The above process can start again, if there’s lots of interference, but will also happen overnight and immediately after the initial setup.
When you first plug the WiFi Pod into a socket, the light should flash for up to 10 minutes before switching off – this means it is connected. If there are no lights at all when you first plug it into a socket, your WiFi Pod could be faulty.
The best thing to do is contact us about your WiFi Pod.
If the lights pulse (go on and off) for longer than 10 minutes, there could be a problem with the WiFi Pod setup. Take a look at our WiFi Pods Troubleshooting Guide for help.
It’s important that you have the correct WiFi settings enabled to allow the WiFi Pod and the Hub to work together. This includes making sure you don’t have split network names (SSIDs) and channel optimisation switched on.
Newer devices can handle faster speeds over WiFi than older ones, but few devices can go over 500Mbps. Background apps on your mobile and programmes on your computer can slow down the speed too. Here’s what to expect from the type of device you’re using:
WiFi Pods with other devices
Sky Q uses its own hidden WiFi network to link between the main Sky Q box and Sky Q mini boxes. This means our Intelligent WiFi Pods can’t help extend the Sky Q network or provide connectivity between the Sky Q box and the Sky Q mini boxes.
If you only have one main Sky Q box:
You can connect your Sky Q box to the Hub or any of your WiFi Pods using an Ethernet cable or WiFi. You can then set up your Sky Q box as the ‘master hub’ of your Sky network.
If you’re still having problems with your main Sky Q box:
• Press the Home button on your Sky remote control.
• Scroll down to Settings – but don’t press the enter/select button just yet.
• Enter the sequence 001, then press the enter/select button.
• Select the Network menu and you’ll see the options to separately turn 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless on or off
• Turn off 2.4GHz
• Reconnect to WiFi network
If you have Sky Q mini box(es):
You can only connect your Sky Q mini boxes using WPS, according to the Sky setup instructions. We don’t recommend connecting Sky Q mini boxes to any Virgin Media kit as they’re not designed to connect to each other.
If your Sky Q mini boxes can’t connect to your main Sky Q box or other mini boxes, please reach out to Sky.
• To avoid interference issues, try to keep your Sonos speakers 3ft away from the WiFi Pod or other devices.
• Make sure your Sonos speakers have the latest firmware installed (check for any recent updates).
• Only connect one Sonos device (Sonos speaker, Sonos Connect or Sonos Boost) using the Ethernet connected to one of the WiFi Pods. The rest should connect using WiFi to your home network. This will help them to form their own network and avoid any issues
Ring doorbells have a known issue that causes them to disconnect intermittently, and they’ll sometimes never connect back to the network, until you reset them manually.
All WiFi and Ethernet capable devices should work fine with our WiFi Pods.