Following the success of Virgin Media’s initial rollout of smart support to existing customers earlier this year – which has benefited over 50,000 users so far – the second phase focuses on supporting new customers during the first few weeks of their service.

Smart support will monitor the customer’s broadband performance and aim to optimise their connection through proactive troubleshooting. Should smart support detect any potential connection issues to the WiFi Hub, Virgin Media will reach out to the customer offering them guidance and simple fixes.

The roll out of phase two arrives as research from Virgin Media indicates Brits prioritise their WiFi working (55%) over arranging their furniture (23%) and even unpacking (31%) when settling into a new home. With summer months typically the most popular time to move house*, the expansion of smart support is perfectly timed for home movers looking to get their connectivity up and running as smoothly as possible.

Through background assessments of a customer’s connection and automatic identification of issues such as speed drops and disconnections, smart support will help to build a full picture of a customer’s broadband performance. This will help Virgin Media get ahead of any potential issues before they impact a customers’ service, ensuring a seamless and smooth connection.

Virgin Media is the first major telecoms provider to proactively reach out to customers to improve their broadband experience, which has seen positive results to date with smart support resulting in a more reliable connection and less time offline for customers currently receiving the service.

Virgin Media O2’s Director of Connectivity, Gareth Lister, provides some top tips to help ensure a stress-free broadband installation:

Placement: Keep your WiFi Hub up high and out in the open, don’t hide it away (for example, place it next to the telly and not behind it). This allows sufficient space for the Hub to send signal around your home with less likelihood of interference.

Cables and connections: Ensure all the cables from the wall to the Hub are plugged in or screwed in securely and aren’t twisted.

WiFi coverage: Check your broadband speed around the home using Virgin Media’s free Connect App. If you benefit from a WiFi Guarantee like Virgin Media’s and you get download speeds of less than 30Mbps in any room, you can request up to three WiFi Pods to help improve your WiFi signal – and if that doesn’t do the trick, you’ll get £100 credit.

Phone calls: If you struggle with mobile phone reception at home, use WiFi Calling to experience clear, seamless calls when connected to WiFi.

Know what’s realistic: Maximum WiFi speed varies by device and distance from the WiFi Hub. If you’re unsure about your WiFi speed, you can use Virgin Media’s Connect App to test the speeds you’re getting to your WiFi Hub and your device.