All the things to do if your TV, internet and phone break in Virgin Media outage

Following the news that Virgin’s TV services are down, users are looking for ways they can solve connection issues themselves – follow these step by step trouble shooters

As news breaks that thousands of homes in the UK have been left without TV following an IT failure at Virgin, people have been left stranded and wondering what they can do to fix the issue themselves.

18,000 people are known to have been affected as of 11.45am today, with the hot spots being reported as London, Birmingham and Glasgow.

18% of customers have reported issues with their streaming services and 63% with their TV.

In the work from home era, a good connection to your internet services is vital and so too is a good connection to your home entertainment system.

Luckily if the former goes down there are things you can do to tackle the problem.

What Virgin Media customers can do if TV, broadband and phone aren’t working

If your connection goes down, follow these five easy to do trouble shooting steps.

1. Check all your wires are connected properly and are secure in the fittings

This check has been around for as long as wires themselves and it is still always the first place to start.

Start where your internet wire enters your house, this could be a line drop or satellite dish.

Follow the line in, checking the wire and every connection as you go.

2. Restarting your router and TV box

Turn your modem and TV box off and then leave it for a few seconds before turning it back on again. A good 10 second count is recommended.

This solution will be effective regardless of your connection type, and is most easily done by disconnecting the power cord where it plugs into your modem.

Yet, if this doesn’t do the trick, you’ll need to try shutting off every device on your network from the mains. When you come to turning it all back on again turn on your modem first.

3. Check your satellite

While not appropriate for everyone, make sure your dish is clear of debris and has a clear line of sight to the satellite.

If it has been windy, make sure nothing has blown onto the dish, because anything obstructing this line of sight can cause significant problems for your connection.

There is also the chance that your dish is misaligned, in which case you should probably call your internet provider as opposed to having a crack at fixing it your self.

4. Wireless router outage

If your router is wireless, which many peoples’ are, then there could be an issue with the connection. This usually stems from either configuration problems or security problems.

In the short term you may want to switch to a wired connection with a cable, but in the longer term this will likely involve a call to your service provider.

The manual of your modem will have instructions on how to access the security settings and configuration settings

5. More cable and configuration checks

If you’re using the wrong kind of cable it could be causing problems for your connection. If you’re connecting your computer to a modem make sure you’re using a straight-through cable and not a crossover cable.

There could also be a problem with the computer you’re trying to connect to the internet. Check your computer’s network icon and network settings, and look for anything that might suggest your have a connection issue.

If everything appears to be working, there the problem might be stemming from something known as an ISP. In which case, call your service provider.

What has Virgin Media said about the service outage?

Virgin Media tweeted: “We’re aware of an issue currently affecting TV services and are working hard to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

They are currently letting customers who tweet them with complaints about TV errors about the outage.

However, Virgin Media has not outlined a time that this would be resolved by yet.

How to check your Virgin Media service status

The firm provide a service status page that can help customers by running a test to check their connection.

They say to follow these steps:

• Run tests on your services and kit
• Check your area for network outages
• Book an engineer appointment
• Manage devices on your network
• Sign up for updates via text or email
• Replace your old or faulty kit

To run a test they, say:

1. Go to Service status and select Sign in or enter your postcode and select ‘Continue’

2. Select the service you wish test

3. Follow the steps on screen to run your test

4. Once you’re test is complete we’ll provide you with further help or put you in touch with the right team.”