Virgin Media M350 Review
The Goldilocks Solution
M350 delivers 362Mbps downloads for £28.99/month - fast enough for 4-6 people streaming 4K, gaming, and working from home simultaneously. It's Virgin's sweet spot: cheaper than BT and Sky equivalents, but without paying for gigabit speeds you probably don't need. The catch? 36Mbps uploads (half what competitors offer), a router lottery (you might get flawed hardware), and you need to renegotiate after 18 months or your price doubles. If you're an O2 customer, this changes everything - Volt boosts you to M500 speeds for free.
M350 Reality Check
362Mbps average download,36Mbps upload via DOCSIS 3.0/3.1 over Virgin's HFC network. Upload speed frozen at 36Mbps while M500 (52Mbps) and Gig1 (104Mbps) were upgraded in 2024. 10:1 download-to-upload ratio is a legacy of DOCSIS spectrum allocation.
From £27.99/month on18-month contracts. Priced below M250 despite higher speeds in current promotions. Out-of-contract jumps to £66+/month. Fixed £3.50/month rises every April (new 2025 policy) - regressive burden on mid-tier customers.
Hub 3/4/5 hardwarelottery: Hub 3 (Intel Puma 6 chipset) suffers from latency spikes & packet loss - catastrophic for gaming. Hub 4 (Broadcom) resolved this. Hub 5 (WiFi 6) prioritized for Gig1/Gig2. Most M350 customers still get Hub 3 unless in DOCSIS 3.1 zones.
Volt bundle transformsvalue: M250 customers get free boost to M350. M350 customers get boosted to M500. This renders standalone M350 pricing largely irrelevant for O2 subscribers. Optimal strategy: buy M250 + use O2 SIM to trigger M350 boost.
Latency: 15-25ms typical(HFC architecture) vs 8-12ms on BT/Sky FTTP. The coaxial bottleneck + DOCSIS request-grant mechanism introduces variance. Jitter susceptibility during local node congestion affects real-time gaming/VoIP.
Coverage: ~60% ofUK homes via Virgin's proprietary cable network. Project Mustang (XGS-PON upgrade to full FTTP) targeting 2028 completion will solve upload asymmetry & latency issues for future M350 customers.
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What is Virgin Media M350?
M350 is Virgin Media's mid-tier broadband package delivering 362Mbps downloads for around £28/month. It's designed for busy households (4-6 people) who need serious speed but don't want to pay for gigabit packages they won't fully use.
What you can do: Stream 4K on multiple TVs simultaneously, download a 50GB game in ~20 minutes, handle video calls while the kids are gaming, and run a smart home without buffering. It's about 5x faster than the UK average and sits in that sweet spot where you're not paying for overkill, but you're not compromising either.
What makes it different: Unlike BT, Sky, and TalkTalk who rent Openreach's network, Virgin owns its own cable infrastructure. This means they can offer these speeds in areas where others can't, and usually at a lower price. The trade-off is slower uploads (36Mbps vs 70+Mbps from competitors) and some hardware quirks we'll cover below.
Virgin Media M350 Packages
M250 Fibre Broadband
Average 264 Mbps
264 Mbps
24 Mbps
18 month contract
M350 Fibre Broadband
Average 362 Mbps
362 Mbps
36 Mbps
18 month contract
M500 Fibre Broadband
Average 516 Mbps
516 Mbps
52 Mbps
18 month contract
Who Is M350 For?
M350 Works Well For
- Households of 4-6 people with heavy streaming & gaming
- Families wanting multiple simultaneous 4K streams without buffering
- O2 mobile customers (Volt boost to M500 for free)
- Areas without BT/Sky FTTP alternatives
- Budget-conscious power users wanting raw download horsepower
Skip M350 If
- You're a competitive gamer sensitive to latency jitter (get FTTP)
- You need fast uploads for content creation (36Mbps is limiting)
- You can't tolerate potential Hub 3 Puma 6 hardware issues
- Customer service quality is your top priority (Virgin ranks poorly)
Alternatives: BT Full Fibre 500 (500Mbps/73Mbps up, lower latency), Sky Ultrafast Plus (500Mbps, best customer service), or wait for Virgin's Project Mustang XGS-PON upgrade.
Is M350 Worth It?
Quick answer: If you need fast internet and want to save money, yes. M350 costs £8-17 less every month than similar packages from BT or Sky. Over 18 months, that's £144-306 in your pocket. For most families - streaming shows, playing games, working from home - 362Mbps is way more than you need.
The downsides: Upload speed is only 36Mbps (BT and Sky give you about 73Mbps). If you upload big files for work or stream on Twitch/YouTube, this matters. There's also a router problem - most M350 customers get the older Hub 3, which causes lag in online gaming. And Virgin's customer service has more complaints than Sky or Plusnet.
The game-changer: If you have O2 for your mobile phone, everything changes. Virgin and O2 have this thing called "Volt" - if you have both services, they automatically upgrade your M350 to M500 speeds (516Mbps download, 52Mbps upload) for free. Plus they double your mobile data. So M350 becomes a backdoor to premium speeds at normal prices.
£27.99
Current Price
Often cheaper than M250!
36 Mbps
Upload Speed
Bypassed in 2024 upgrades
Watch Out: Out-of-Contract Pricing
M350 jumps to £66+/month when your 18-month contract ends - a 136% markup. Set a reminder for month 16 and call retentions. Most customers secure renewal rates of £24-28/month. Never stay on out-of-contract pricing.
How Much Does M350 Really Cost?
The starting price: £27.99 per month for 18 months. Sometimes it's even cheaper than the slower M250 package - Virgin's pricing doesn't always make sense, so always check what's on offer.
Annual price rises: Every April, your bill goes up by £3.50. So if you start at £27.99, after one year it becomes £31.49. It used to be worse - the old system could jump your bill up 13% or more in one go. This new way is more predictable, but it's still about a 12% increase each year.
What happens after 18 months: Your monthly price more than doubles to £66+ if you don't do anything. This is a trap. Set a reminder on your phone for month 16. Call their retentions team (the people who try to keep customers from leaving) and negotiate a new deal. Most people end up paying £24-28/month - basically the same as new customers. Don't ever let it automatically renew at the high price.
The O2 trick: Here's where it gets clever. Virgin merged with O2 mobile in 2021. If you have Virgin broadband and an O2 phone contract, something called "Volt" kicks in automatically. It boosts your M350 to M500 speeds (516Mbps instead of 362Mbps) for free. This is why smart shoppers buy the cheaper M250 package, add a basic O2 SIM card, and get M350 speeds for less money than M350 actually costs.
The Volt Strategy: How to Get M500 for M350 Prices
Volt is Virgin Media O2's convergence play. If you have Virgin broadband and an eligible O2 Pay Monthly SIM (in your name or a household member's), you automatically qualify for Volt benefits:
- Free speed boost: M250 → M350. M350 → M500 (516Mbps/52Mbps up)
- Double O2 mobile data: 5GB becomes 10GB, etc.
- WiFi Max & Pods: Free (normally £8/month). 30Mbps in every room guarantee.
- Enhanced roaming: O2 Travel inclusive in 75 destinations
Optimal Strategy: Buy M250 (£24.99) + cheap O2 SIM (£6-8/month). Volt triggers auto-boost to M350 speeds. Total cost: ~£31-33/month for 362Mbps. Or buy M350 to get M500 (516Mbps) speeds. This effectively makes M350 a gateway tier for savvy buyers.
How M350's Network Actually Works
The simple version: Virgin uses its own cable network (the old TV cables) instead of renting Openreach's phone lines like BT and Sky do. Fibre runs to a street cabinet, then coaxial cable (the same type used for cable TV) runs the final stretch to your house.
Why uploads are slower: Think of the cable like a pipe - there's only so much room inside. Virgin gives most of that space to downloads (because that's what you use most - watching Netflix, downloading games). Uploads get less space. That's why you get 362Mbps down but only 36Mbps up - the cable is physically split that way.
Why response times are slightly slower: When data travels from pure fibre to the old coaxial cable, it has to pause and convert formats. This adds a tiny delay - like 15-25 milliseconds (ms) instead of 8-12ms on full fibre. For watching TV or browsing websites, you won't notice this at all. For super-competitive online gaming where every millisecond counts, it might matter.
Tech term explained: This network type is called "HFC" (Hybrid Fibre-Coax) - hybrid means "mixed", so it's fibre mixed with coax cable. It uses DOCSIS 3.0/3.1 standards (just technical specifications for how data travels over cable TV wires). You share this with 200-500 neighbors, but Virgin has upgraded the network so you won't notice slowdowns.
Why Are Upload Speeds So Slow on M350?
Here's the problem: M350 gives you 36Mbps upload speed. BT and Sky give you about 73Mbps on similar packages - that's twice as fast. In 2024, Virgin upgraded their faster packages (M500 got 52Mbps uploads, Gig1 got 104Mbps), but they left M350 stuck at 36Mbps. This wasn't an accident - they want you to pay more for M500 if you need better uploads.
Does this matter for you? Depends on what you do online. For most things - watching Netflix, scrolling social media, downloading files - uploads barely matter. But uploads do matter if you:
- On video calls all day (one HD Zoom call uses 3-4Mbps)
- Uploading large work files or backing up to the cloud
- Streaming on Twitch or YouTube
- Running a household where multiple people do the above simultaneously
...then 36Mbps starts to feel tight. Two video calls plus background cloud syncing can max it out.
Quick Comparison
M350: 36Mbps | M500: 52Mbps | BT/Sky: ~73Mbps | Hyperoptic: 500Mbps
The Router Problem You Need to Know About
Here's the bad news: Most M350 customers get the Hub 3 router, which has a well-documented hardware flaw that causes lag spikes in online gaming and video calls. Virgin knows about it, but keeps issuing them because they have stock to clear.
Hub 3 (Most Common)
The Problem: The chipset inside has a flaw that causes brief interruptions every few seconds. For Netflix and browsing, you won't notice (buffering hides it). For gaming or Zoom calls, you'll get random lag spikes and dropouts.
Gamers call this "rubber-banding" - your character freezes, then jumps forward. It's been a problem since 2016 and firmware updates haven't fully fixed it.
Hub 4 (Better, But Rare for M350)
This is the fixed version - different chipset, no lag issues. But Virgin mostly gives these to M500 and Gig1 customers. You might get one if you're in a newly upgraded area, but don't count on it.
Hub 5 (WiFi 6, Reserved for Premium Customers)
The newest router with WiFi 6. Virgin saves these for Gig1/Gig2 customers. If you're on M350 and ask for an upgrade, they'll usually say no unless you agree to pay for a faster package.
What You Can Do
If you get Hub 3 and game or do lots of video calls: (1) Buy your own router and put the Hub 3 in "modem mode" to bypass some issues, or (2) Call Virgin and push for Hub 4/5, or (3) If you're a serious gamer, honestly consider BT or Sky instead - their routers don't have this problem.
Is M350 Good for Gaming?
For downloading games: Brilliant. An 80GB Call of Duty update? About 30 minutes. A 20GB update? 7-8 minutes. You're not sitting around waiting.
For playing games online: Depends what kind of gamer you are.
- Casual player (FIFA, Fortnite, co-op with mates): You'll be absolutely fine. The connection delay (15-25 milliseconds) won't bother you.
- Competitive/ranked player (CS:GO, Valorant, high-level League): You'll be at a slight disadvantage. BT and Sky's full fibre has 5-10ms delay instead of 15-25ms. When you're competing at high levels, every millisecond matters. Plus, if you get the Hub 3 router (most M350 customers do), the random lag spikes will frustrate you.
The router problem: This is the big issue for serious gamers. The Hub 3 has a hardware fault that causes random lag spikes - your character will freeze for a split second, then jump forward. If you get the newer Hub 4 or Hub 5, you're fine. But if you get Hub 3, you'll need to either buy your own router or accept the lag.
Bottom line: M350 is great for 95% of gamers. If you're trying to climb competitive ranked ladders, you're better off with BT or Sky's full fibre.
How Does M350 Compare to BT, Sky, and Others?
| Feature | Virgin M350 | BT Full Fibre 500 | Sky Ultrafast Plus | Hyperoptic 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Download Speed | 362 Mbps | 500 Mbps | 500 Mbps | 500 Mbps |
| Upload Speed | 36 Mbps | ~73 Mbps | ~73 Mbps | 500 Mbps (sym) |
| Monthly Price | £27.99 | ~£39.99 | ~£35-40 | ~£25-30 |
| Contract | 18 months | 24 months | 18 months | 12 months |
| Network Type | HFC (DOCSIS) | FTTP | FTTP | FTTP |
| Latency | 15-25ms | 8-12ms | 8-12ms | 2-4ms |
| Availability | ~60% UK homes | ~50-60% | ~50-60% | Limited (MDUs) |
The Bottom Line
Virgin M350 wins on price and availability. It's typically £8-17 cheaper per month than BT/Sky, with wider coverage than Hyperoptic. Best for budget-conscious buyers in areas without FTTP alternatives.
FTTP providers win on technical superiority. BT/Sky offer double the upload speed, lower latency, and better router hardware (Smart Hub 2 vs Hub 3 Puma 6 risk). Worth the premium if uploads matter or you're a competitive gamer.
Hyperoptic wins on symmetry. 500Mbps uploads for £25-30/month is unbeatable - but coverage is limited to apartment buildings in major cities. If available, it's the best technical choice.
Will M350 Get Better in the Future?
Yes - eventually: Virgin is replacing all the old cable TV wires with modern full fibre by 2028. This upgrade is called "Project Mustang". When your street gets upgraded, M350 will automatically get much faster upload speeds and quicker response times (lower latency). This will fix the two main weaknesses.
Should this affect what you buy today? Probably not. If you sign up for M350 on an 18-month contract right now, you'll most likely finish your contract before Virgin upgrades your specific street. It's a nice future bonus, but don't sign up expecting to get the upgrade during your 18 months.
When Will It Happen?
The upgrade is rolling out gradually between 2026 and 2028. Some streets will get it early, others late. You can't choose when - Virgin decides which areas to upgrade first based on their plans. You'll just wake up one day and have full fibre.
Virgin Media M350 FAQs
Should You Buy Virgin Media M350?
M350 is the "just right" option for most UK families: fast enough for pretty much everyone, available in more places than BT or Sky's full fibre, and £8-17 cheaper per month.
But it comes with trade-offs. Upload speeds are half what competitors offer. The router (Hub 3) has a known fault that affects gaming. And Virgin's customer service gets more complaints than Sky or Plusnet.
Summary: BUY M350 IF
- You're an O2 customer (buy M250, get M350 free via Volt)
- You need raw download horsepower for 4K streaming & large downloads
- FTTP isn't available in your area
- Price is your top priority (£8-17/month cheaper than BT/Sky)
Summary: SKIP M350 IF
- You're a competitive gamer (get BT/Sky FTTP for lower latency)
- You need fast uploads for work/content creation (36Mbps is limiting)
- Customer service quality matters (Virgin ranks poorly vs Sky)
- You can't risk Hub 3 Puma 6 hardware issues
The Bottom Line: M350 gives you serious speed for less money, but comes with some issues (slow uploads, router problems, customer service). If you have O2 mobile, it's a no-brainer - you get M500 speeds for M350 prices.
Ready to Get M350?
Check availability in your area. Remember: if you're an O2 customer, you'll automatically get boosted to M500 speeds with Volt.
Check M350 Availability