With Virgin for less than a day - No Modem mode on Hub 5x

Had Virgin Media (Nexfibre) installed this morning, the install team were brilliant - did a great job getting the fibre through our underground, indoor feed, despite some pretty tough blockages and bends over the 70M run.

Installed the modem and were done within 2 hours - I thought wow, this looks promising.

We then went to switch the hub 5x into modem mode, to get our home networking kit all going through the Virgin pipes - Then it struck the installer, there is no modem mode on the Hub 5x

Left the standard set-up, though if I can't connect the mesh, fibre extension, home automation & cameras, then its not much use.

Spent a couple of hours on the phone with tech support and it looks like the only option is to cancel - No sign of modem mode coming after 18 months, no ONT only option. Couldn't really trust a double natted or unsupported weekly re-boot set-up that we saw online.

Though I did think the getting through to actual people and the overall customer service outside of the install team was pretty tricky too.

Real shame, will keep an eye out to see what options come up in the future, luckily, I hadn't cancelled our Zen install...

That's an issue in Nexfibre areas. The 5x not having modem mode would stop me signing up as well. I'm in a legacy coax area. Perhaps Giffgaff broadband will be the answer for you, unless you have any other FTTP networks in your street.

I read (maybe on ISPreview) that Giffgaff used a standard ethernet ONT on the nexfibre fibre, unlike Virgin who use this combined-all-in-one 5x ONT & router.

https://www.giffgaff.com/blog/giffgaff-news/giffgaff...

https://www.nexfibre.co.uk/giffgaff-broadband-launch...

No modem mode or ability to easily use own equipment would be a no go for me but in case I ever get desperate I have this bookmarked on the off chance Nexfibre is ever an option for me.

Certainly not for the inexperienced but it may be useful for you.

https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/general/t/4761860-...

It might be an option to use the AAISP L2TP service. It has limited bandwidth and monthly usage, but if you were to use this for all your home automation stuff behind its router, and then point the main network's default route at the Virgin box for general browsing traffic, it might be OK.

I had same issue, have worked around it with this:-

https://fttppro.co.uk/replacing-the-hub-5x-with-a-wa...

You can buy the module fully configured and ready to go now, which is what I did (make sure you use some active cooling on it).

You can plug it into a basic switch and use your own kit (or if your current kit has an SFP WAN port, you can use that).

I've got mine direct into a Ubiquiti Unifi Cloud Gateway Fiber product, which is an excellent bit of kit, highly recommend it.

There doesn't seem to be any plan to introduce modem mode in the 5x, I double NATed the router for a while, the obtained a SFP+ module from

https://store.betterinternet.ltd/product/x-onu-sfpp/

If you have a router that supports SFP+ modules then this slots straight in and works out of the box, you just supply your 5x serial number when you order. It's pre-configured with the 8311 project firmware.

It also can run at the full XGS-PON full 10Gbs speed too, if this ever becomes an option. I am running synchronous 1Gbs service on it.

It comes with a 5m fibre patch lead and a LC/APC to SC/APC converter for your existing connection.

I have been using this for sometime and can recommend it - runs rather hot, so a fan may be in order!

In reply to a post by JTC652:

I have been using this for sometime and can recommend it - runs rather hot, so a fan may be in order!

Yes, I have seen a couple of nifty 3D printed fan holders for the module

Giffgaff does indeed come with a normal ONT and so can be used with your own router. I’m currently using a UniFi dream router 7.

In reply to a post by Kr1s69:

Giffgaff does indeed come with a normal ONT and so can be used with your own router. I’m currently using a UniFi dream router 7.

Good news, maybe Virgin Media will one day see sense!

It'd be amazing if VM followed suit but I've been on the 2Gig service for quite a few months now and I'm double-nat'ing the setup. I've just set the main hub to have a single IP as the dmz and dump everything to that. I then use my other network gear to keep it working how I want.

I honestly thought it'd stop stuff from working but I host a few services from home and they all work flawlessly. I've not had to reboot my hub or anything since having it installed and I'm getting my expected speed around the clock:

https://www.speedtest.net/result/d/7ef37338-b585-485...

Post deleted by think26872

Edited by think26872 (Thu 20-Nov-25 19:30:10)