What’s happening?
We’ll be supplying our home phone service through our broadband network, meaning your phone will need to be plugged directly into the WiFi Hub.
We’re on our way to switching all our customers over to our fibre phone network and hope to have everyone using it soon.
When you move to our fibre phone service, you won’t need to pay any more for it and you’ll be able to keep your phone number. If you only have our home phone service, you won’t need to take our broadband service either. We’ll simply install the Hub without changing the services you get with us – you’ll just need to book an engineer.
When it’s time to switch, we’ll get in touch to let you know. We’ll ask you to follow step-by-step instructions to get things started and get set up.
It’s important to let us know as soon as possible if any of the following apply to you:
You have a telehealth device (like a care alarm, fall alarm or fall pendant) connected to your copper home phone line
You live in an area without a mobile signal
You don’t have access to a mobile phone
Anyone in your household is disabled, has an impairment, or has other accessibility needs
We can then make sure you get extra support – like sending an engineer if you need one to help switch over your phone line.
Have any questions? You're in the right place. And if you can't find the answer here, check out our Community.
What you need to know before you switch over
Our home phone switchover is happening gradually – so don’t worry if you’ve not been contacted yet. We’ll reach out to you when the time is right for you to switch over.
If you have telehealth devices connected to your home phone (like a fall pendant or care alarm), and don’t have access to a mobile phone, or live in an area without a signal, let us know as soon as possible and we’ll give you extra support during the switchover.
Everyone will have to switch at some stage – we won’t be able to keep the old network running.
Some older devices might not be compatible with the new network, so you must contact your device provider ahead of time to check.
Getting set up with your fibre phone service
If we send you an adapter to manage the digital home phone switchover yourself, this contains all the information you’ll need to swap your services.
You must read it properly before you get started and remember – you can only make the switch on the day specified in the text message, letter or email we’ve sent you. If you have any problems with installing the adaptor, please contact us for more help.
Detailed instructions
On the day of your switchover, unplug the phone line cable of your main home phone (or base station if it’s a cordless phone) from the wall socket. If you have any other devices connected to this socket, or you use internal phone sockets around your home, please call us so we can ensure these remain connected.
Grab the adaptor we provided and plug it into the top grey port (see image), Port 1, on the back of our Hub.
Now, plug the end of your home phone cable you unplugged from the wall socket into the adaptor.
Wait a couple of minutes for a dial tone, then make a test call. Your new fibre home phone service will be set up and ready to use.
Important: If you have home phone features activated such as call divert, reminder call, call waiting, anonymous caller rejection, 3-way calling or quick-dial – you’ll need to reset these up once you’ve switched – see how to do this below.
![](https://a.storyblok.com/f/253875/698x1102/8374065666/fibre-setup-dvsot.png)
Reactivating, or adding new home phone features
24 hours following your digital phone switchover, you’ll be able to get the following features for no extra cost (or if you’ve switched on a Friday, these will become available from the following Monday):
Call Divert: Divert incoming calls to another phone number (you’ll only get this if your phone doesn’t have a voicemail service)
Reminder Call: Set up an automatic call to ring you at a specified time
Call Waiting: Queue incoming calls if you’re currently taking another call
You’ll also now be able to access Anonymous Caller Rejection to block withheld numbers from calling you – just give us a call to set this up.
Additional features include our 3-Way Calling (chat to two callers at once) or Quick Dial features (save numbers to dial with a few taps), depending on availability, these can also be added by the team at no extra cost.
Already have these features? The settings for these will reset when the switch happens and you’ll need to set them up again. Don’t worry if you currently pay for any of these features, the cost will be removed from your account when you switch. Unfortunately, the service Ring Back When Free will no longer be available once you switch.
The kit you’ll need
When it’s time to move over to our new fibre home phone service, you’ll need to change the way it’s plugged in. You’ll need an adaptor to connect your home phone to our WiFi Hub (Hub 3, Hub 4 or Hub 5) – we’ll send this to you at no extra cost in the post ahead of your switchover. If you have an older version of our Hub, you don’t currently take broadband services from us, or need more support to switch, contact us so we can book an engineer visit in order to complete change seamlessly for you.
If you have a telehealth device (like a care alarm, fall alarm or fall pendant) connected to your copper home phone line, live in an area without a mobile signal or anyone in your household is disabled and/or has accessibility needs or don’t have access to a mobile phone, it’s important to let us know as soon as possible – we can give you extra support such as an engineer visit to help with your switchover.
It'll come with simple step-by-step instructions to help you get set up. Can’t find the instructions? No problem – just follow the detailed instructions in the Getting set up with your fibre phone service section on this page.
If we haven’t already, we’ll send you a text message on how to reorder an adaptor. If you haven’t received the text, contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone, or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone.
If you've spoken to one of our agents and arranged for an adaptor to be sent, but it hasn’t arrived after 10 days, contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone, and we’ll send one to you. Or, if you’ve not got an adaptor but have received an ‘adaptor sent’ confirmation text, follow the instructions in the text to order another one.
Your home phone won’t work until you connect the adaptor to your phone and Hub. You need to do this on the date we confirmed to you by text message.
If you plug your adapter in before the switchover, you might temporarily lose your phone service until your switchover date. Only plug in your adaptor on the fibre phone switchover date we’ve confirmed by text message.
Your new service won’t work until your switchover date – so you’ll need to check the date shown in the letter we're sending you. Make sure the phone cable and adaptor are all connected securely.
Here are a few easy fixes:
Your new phone service won’t work until the day of your switchover – so don't plug in the adaptor until the date we confirmed by text message.
Make sure the phone cable and adaptor are all connected securely.
Hub 3: If you’ve got a Hub 3, a green phone icon should flash showing the phone’s all setup. If the light’s red or not showing, check the connections to the Hub, reboot by turning off then on at the back and try again.
Hub 4 or 5: If you’ve got a Hub 4 or Hub 5 and the Hub’s light ring flashes red for a couple of minutes, check the connections to the Hub, reboot by turning off then on at the back and try again.
Contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone, 0345 454 1111 from any other phone.
Booking an engineer visit
You might need an engineer to visit your home to switch over your phone because:
You don't currently have a Virgin Media broadband service and need a WiFi Hub for the fibre phone line to work.
You have a disability, long-term illness or accessibility needs that mean you rely on your home phone, or you don’t have a mobile to make emergency calls. Find out more about the additional support we have available below.
Your home phone isn’t next to your Hub, and you need cabling to be extended to your phone line.
You have other phones connected to extension sockets.
You’ve got connected devices like a healthcare alarm/telecare device, e.g. a personal alarm or a burglar alarm. You’ll need to contact your device provider to make sure they’re compatible with our new fibre phone line.
Devices connected to your home phone
The fibre phone line works a little differently from the copper line. So, it might not have the same compatibility as older copper phone services.
If you have a telehealth device (like a care alarm, fall alarm or fall pendant) connected to your copper home phone line, live in an area without a mobile signal or anyone in your household is disabled and/or has accessibility needs or don’t have access to a mobile phone, it’s important to let us know as soon as possible. We can then give you extra support, like sending an engineer if you need one, to switch over your phone line.
In the event of a power cut or fibre network disruption, devices that are connected to the fibre home phone service won’t work unless they have their own dedicated network and battery backup.
Let us know about any devices you have as soon as possible so we can offer additional support when the time is right to switch over.
Check with your device provider as soon as possible (which could be your local council, a private telecare supplier or another organisation), to see if your device is compatible with our fibre home phone service. Your device provider might know this as ‘digital voice’.
If your device isn’t compatible and/or doesn’t have its own backup, contact your device provider about upgrading your services.
Basic phone handsets (either corded phones or cordless DECT phones) are expected to work with the new fibre phone line. However, some customers have more complex connected devices, such as telehealth devices (like a care alarm, fall alarm or fall pendant).
While most devices will be compatible, some older systems might only work over copper phone lines. If so, you might need to update your equipment. It’s best to check with your device provider to make sure.
Just so you know, your device provider may call the new phone line ‘fibre phone line’, ‘IP voice' or 'digital voice'.
Let us know about any devices you’ve got attached to your phone and we’ll help as much as we can to reconnect them. Your device provider can confirm whether your device has reconnected and is working correctly. You must check with them if you're unsure.
Before connecting any new device, we recommend you contact the provider to make sure the service is compatible with the new phone line (the provider may call the new phone line ‘fibre phone line’, ‘IP voice’ or ‘digital voice’). If your new device connects to your phone line, then you'll need to make sure it has its own power backup and network backup (like a SIM card) to work in a power cut. If you’re buying a connected device because your circumstances have changed (e.g. you now need a care alarm), let us know so we can provide the best support possible. You might also be able to get an Emergency Backup Line – to ensure you’re still able to make voice calls in the event of a power or network outage. More information about our Emergency Backup Lines is available here.
Yes, but let us know as you’ll need an engineer to visit. When our engineer pops around to do the switchover they'll make sure all your phones work too.
Emergency Backup Line
The Emergency Backup Line is a small box that connects the fibre phone line from the WiFi Hub to your home phone handset. As our fibre phone line runs over our broadband network, if there’s a local power cut or network outage, the home phone line will stop working and you won’t be able to make calls.
If you have a disability, long-term illness, accessibility needs or don't have a mobile phone, we’ll give you an Emergency Backup Line at no extra cost. With this, you’ll be able to call 999/112 emergency services or UK-based family and friends during a power cut or network outage. To get an Emergency Backup line, contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone.
Customers with a disability, long-term illness and accessibility needs, and customers without access to a mobile phone can get our Emergency Backup Line, at no extra cost.
When making calls to emergency services, the Emergency Backup Line connects to any available mobile network, which means the device will work wherever there’s mobile coverage when you’re calling emergency services.
However, in areas where there’s no mobile coverage, our Emergency Backup Line won’t work. We want to make sure that you’re always safe and can contact emergency services. That’s why we won’t offer our fibre phone line to customers who live in areas without mobile coverage.
If you need an Emergency Backup Line, get in touch and, when the time is right, we'll arrange a time for one of our engineers to install it for you.
Our engineer will install it for you and make sure that it’s working. You can read more about the Emergency Backup Line in our home phone guide.
Yes, so please keep the Emergency Backup Line and Hub plugged in all the time. It’s important not to turn it off at night or at any other time as it needs to be turned on to charge. If there’s ever a power cut, the Emergency Backup Line device will start charging again as soon as the power comes back on.
The Emergency Backup Line device is designed to provide around 8 hours of standby and 1 hour of talk time if it’s disconnected from the mains supply. Just make sure the Emergency Backup Line is connected to the mains supply so the battery can charge.
The Hub needs to stay plugged into the mains at all times or you won’t be able to make and receive calls. If you do switch it off, make sure you have an alternative way to make emergency calls – like a mobile phone. It takes a few minutes for the Hub to work after restarting.
In addition to emergency calls (999 or 112), subject to your location and O2 network availability, the Emergency Back Up Line will allow you to make direct-dialled calls at no extra cost during a power or network outage to:
Freephone numbers;
UK local and national geographic landline numbers starting 01, 02, 03; and
UK mobile networks starting 07 (excluding Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man mobile numbers).
For more information including fair use policy, see our call costs.
You must reach out to us as soon as possible if you have any specific needs or requirements. This will let us offer extra support, which could include installing an Emergency Backup Line when the time comes to switch over. Contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone.
No worries. Just get in touch and we can arrange a return. Contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone.
Text relay
If you have a legacy text relay service, you need to let us know as soon as possible and follow the below steps to ensure your equipment continues to work after your home phone switchover.
The majority of people who use text relay have a Next Generation Text Relay (NGTR) service, which relies on mobile phones or tablets. If these devices have their own SIM card, then their use will not be impacted by the switchover.
In the event there’s a power cut or a network disruption, you won’t be able to make or receive calls and most devices that are connected to your phone line (like some older text relay systems) won’t work.
This means you won’t be able to use your text relay service during a power or network outage.
If you rely on legacy text relay you may wish to:
Upgrade to Next Generation Text Relay – you can find out more about this here.
Get a separate phone line from another operator. We’ll help towards the cost of your installation up to £130 and will credit you £19 per month towards the cost of maintaining that line.
Contact us as soon as possible on Textphone via a text relay call on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone and we’ll discuss the next steps
Need help after switching?
If you were sent a new WiFi Hub, it should have come with a handy set of instructions which you can also find here. If an engineer visited you to install the Hub, they should’ve already connected it for you.
Check if you have Anonymous Call Reject switched on – you can find more information on this here. This might be stopping you from receiving calls from withheld numbers. If it’s still not working, please run a test on your broadband service.
Alternatively, contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone.
Your new Hub will come with a factory generated WiFi name, so you’ll have to reconnect your devices using the network name and password on the back or the bottom of the Hub. Or you can change the WiFi network name to mirror your previous name and password.
Your new WiFi Hub will come with a default factory generated WiFi name and passcode, so you’ll have to reconnect your devices. Or you can change the WiFi network name to mirror your previous name and password.
You’ll know that the switch has happened and that your phone line is working as…
There'll be a dial tone on the phone when plugged in
You’ll be able to make and receive calls
If you have a WiFi Hub 3 (you can check which Hub you have by checking the sticker on the bottom of your Hub) a green phone icon will be displayed
If your friend or relative needs support with their Virgin Media account, you can call on their behalf as a third party contact. We’d need to clear the security details on the account with you before we could help.
If you’ve been asked to swap your WiFi Hub
If you have an older version of our WiFi Hub (Super Hub 1, Super Hub 2 or Super Hub 2ac), we’ll need to replace it with a newer Hub so that you can make and receive phone calls over the new network.
Contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone, or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone to arrange for the Hub to be swapped over. You’ll need to verify your account information, so make sure you’ve got it handy.
FAQs
When you switch over to our fibre phone line, you'll make your calls over the broadband network – similar to how you do on WhatsApp or Zoom. Digital calling like this has the potential to provide much clearer phone calls when compared to the copper line, especially when calling long distances.
As the fibre home phone service is provided over our broadband network, your phone will need to be plugged directly into the Hub. That means it’ll need electricity to work, unlike the copper phone line.
The industry is updating the whole home phone network to move away from old copper line cables to the fibre network. This will help us to make sure we keep a reliable connection for years to come.
The whole industry is updating to fibre networks and is aiming to move all customers over in the next few years. When it’s your time to make the switch, we’ll contact you to let you know. Don’t worry, we’ll always inform you before we make any changes to your service. That way, you’ll have time to make any necessary preparations before the move.
Once we’ve agreed the switchover with you, it's really important you follow the steps to ensure your phone services aren’t disrupted, any connected devices still work, and you can still use text relay if you rely on this. If you do nothing, your home phone service and anything connected to it will no longer work.
It won’t cost you a penny extra. Your new fibre phone line will cost the same as your current service.
No, your contract and price will remain the same.
No, your number will stay the same. A small portion of customers may need to change number and/or product in very limited circumstances – but we’ll let you know if this is the case.
No, you can keep using the same phone handset you’ve always used. The new fibre phone line is designed to work with the same phones as the old copper line.
When you switch, you’ll be provided with an adaptor, which you can use to plug your phone into the WiFi Hub – that’s all there is to it. You’ll then be able to use your same old phone to make your calls.
If you have an older version of our Hub or you don’t currently take broadband services from us, we'll install a new Hub at no extra cost.
Nothing at all – they’ll stay as they are.
Your home phone will not work if our Hub is switched off. However, if you switch the Hub to modem-only mode, your phone will work.
In the unlikely event there’s a power cut or a network disruption, you won’t be able to make or receive calls on your home phone. Most devices that are connected to your phone line (like healthcare alarms or telecare devices) will be affected until the power or network is restored, unless they have their own backup. It’s important to let us know if you have any of these devices, and you should also speak to your device provider to make sure the service is compatible with the new phone line.
If you have connected devices (including healthcare alarms or telecare devices) that use your phone line, you’ll need to check with your device provider to make sure they’re compatible with our fibre network phone line. We recommend your devices have their own battery and network backup service.
No, unfortunately not. Calls made over the fibre network need to be made over broadband through the Hub. If the Hub is unable to connect to the internet, then you won’t be able to make calls either, whether this is due to a power cut or network outage. Keep a mobile phone handy in case this happens.
After a power or network outage it can take a few minutes before the Hub’s back up and running, and everything’s back to normal. If you have any problems after a power cut or network outage, please get in touch.
If you have a call blocking device it should continue to work. If you have a separate call blocking machine connected to your home phone, simply disconnect the call blocking machine’s cable from the phone service wall socket and instead plug it in to the Hub via the adapter.
If you have a base station which controls several handsets wirelessly, only the base station needs to be connected to the Hub. The other cordless handsets should then be able to work around the home. If you have different cordless phones connected to different base stations around the home, with wiring running back from each base station to the telephone socket, you’ll need an appointment with one of our engineers.
For phone extensions to continue to work, you’ll need to book an engineer to make some changes to the Virgin Media cabling in your home.
Yes, all home phone handsets or connected devices which are currently plugged into electric sockets will need to remain connected.
If you’ve moved your main home phone handset and can plug the cable into the Hub (via the adaptor), you won’t need an engineer to visit as you’ve solved the problem yourself. Only book an engineer if you also have an additional phone line or additional handsets plugged into extension wall sockets around your home.
No – the broadband and telephone service are separate and have their own quality of service.
We take the security of your phone calls very seriously. Calls use a different part of the network to broadband traffic, so there’ll be no crossed wires. Don’t worry, we’ve rigorously tested the line to make sure your voice calls are safe and secure.
Let us know so we can arrange for an engineer to move the WiFi Hub and phone closer together. Don’t worry, this won’t cost any extra.
No, swapping the Hub (if you need one) won’t change your existing broadband package, unless you’ve requested to change your package, too.
That’s okay. You will need a Hub for your phone services to keep working, and we’ll provide you with one at no extra cost. This does not mean we are adding a broadband service to your package.
No, the Hub will only provide your home phone line. It shouldn’t interfere with any of your other services.
As the fibre phone service works a little differently from our old home phone service, we have updated our Terms & Conditions.
Not sure about switching? Let us know
We’re switching your home phone services to make sure your connection remains as future proof as possible. If you’d rather change or cancel your services, contact us on 150 from a Virgin Media home phone, or 0345 454 1111.