What do the Virgin Media Hub 3 lights mean?

The Virgin Media Hub 3 is one of the older routers in the fleet now, but there are still millions of them in people’s homes. If you’re seeing strange lights on a Virgin Media Hub 3 and don’t know what they mean, we’ll explain all. You might also want to read our piece on how you can get a much better Virgin Media Hub 5 for free.

Below are the most common lights you’ll see on a Virgin Media Hub 3 and what they’re trying to tell you.

Red Wi-Fi light on a Virgin Media Hub 3

If you’re seeing a red Wi-Fi light on the front of your Hub 3, that means there’s a problem with the Wi-Fi connection. You might find that simply powering the router on and off will solve the issue. If not, it might be worth diving into the Virgin Media router settings and checking all the Wi-Fi settings are correct. Failing that, you’re going to need to contact Virgin Media support.

Green Wi-Fi light

The green Wi-Fi light will shine on two occasions. It will stay lit for two minutes when you first power up the Hub or after a restart, just to let you know everything is OK with the Wi-Fi, before switching off. The green light will also illuminate if you’ve pressed the WPS button to connect another device to the wireless network.

Two red arrows flashing on a Virgin Media Hub 3

If you’re seeing two red flashing arrows on the front of your Hub 3 that means there’s a problem with the internet connection. The first thing to do here is to make sure all the cables are properly plugged into the router, and that the cat hasn’t yanked one out. Also check that the modem device that’s plugged into the wall still has power and is showing a green light.

If all is well, you can certainly give the old turn-it-off-and-on-again trick a go. The lights will flash for a couple of minutes after you restart the router, so don’t immediately despair if you see them again. Failing that, it’s time to call Virgin’s support team.

Two green arrows

The flashing green arrows mean the Virgin Media Hub 3 is currently getting a software update. Don’t switch the router off until they stop flashing or you’re asking for a world of pain.

Red power light on the Virgin Media Hub 3

The power light at the bottom of the device is the only light that should shine if everything is working normally. It’s white when everything is working as it should.

It might flash or change colour when you first turn the Hub on or after a restart. If you’ve got a permanent red power light, something’s not right. Again, it might be worth switching it off and on at the wall to see if that makes the problem go away. It can’t do any harm to dive into settings and check everything is as expected, either.

However, it will almost certainly need a call to Virgin Media’s support team to sort this one out. Sorry.

As reader Neil points out on comments below, the power light will also go a pink/red colour if the Virgin Media Hub 3 is in modem-only mode, which is what you put the device in when you want to use your own router equipment. Thanks, Neil.