Why can it take so long to fix a Virgin Media outage?

We’re sorry to hear you’re experiencing problems with your broadband, we know how frustrating this can be. Here you’ll find information on what might be going on and actions you can take.

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Check the status of your Virgin Media services

The easiest way to see what might be causing your broadband outage is to run a status check. This is a faults survey that scans for any connection issues affecting your broadband status, Virgin TV performance and landline service.

Go to service status check

Can I claim compensation if my internet is down?

We know how important it is for you to stay connected. Whether you experience delays with your broadband installation or repairs, or we miss your engineer appointment, we offer Automatic Compensation to all our customers – no matter if you’re new or existing.*

Why can it take so long to fix a Virgin Media outage?

Repair times for your service issues will vary depending on the type of fault and whether we require a permit or access permission to conduct our work. Here you’ll find a bit more information on the types of scenarios that can occur and why these take a little longer to fix.

For some issues, the diagnosis itself can take time because our team needs to physically visit each street cabinet linked to our network – open it up and inspect them. Sometimes this can involve inspecting over 20 cabinets.

If the issue requires new equipment from us, this could delay the restoration of your services, as we need to source the replacement, order the kit and wait for delivery. Only then can we get you back up and running.

In other circumstances, the fault is not always ours to fix. Power issues, for example, may require the involvement of the National Grid.

*To find out if you’re eligible for compensation and how much you’ll be credited, check out our Automatic Compensation Policy. 

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With the help of our expert engineers and advanced technology, we’ll always try to get to the bottom of any issues affecting Virgin Media services as quickly as possible. Some more stubborn issues, however, may require a process of elimination to find the source of the problem.

This refers to when there’s a break in the fibre optic cables that provide your broadband.

On average, fibre cable breaks take approximately 14 hours to fix, although this can vary depending on the severity of the break and time of day.

At times, entire road closures are needed for our field engineers to undertake service maintenance. This involves getting in touch with the local council to make the area safe for them to work.

As with all customer service teams, some periods are busier than others, which can make getting the right person with the right skillset to the right location more of a challenge. During these busy periods, our team works tirelessly to get things back on track. If you’re experiencing delays, we thank you for your patience whilst we find the right specialist to deal with the issue.

The Virgin Media network serves a wide variety of properties. This can make site access tricky at times, especially when it comes to cabinets on top of flats and on private land. This means things like obtaining permission, contacting landlords and getting hold of keys can impact repair times.  

Similarly with site access, some issues require external permissions to get a fix in place. For example, when fitting a new street cabinet, we first need the local council's permission before any development takes place. The same goes for National Heritage sites or historic buildings – these may require planning permission or consent from a relevant authority.  

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