Virgin Media Hub 5 vs Hub 5x: Key Differences (2026)

Short version: the Hub 5 and the Hub 5x are both current 2026 hubs running the same WiFi 6. The Hub 5 sits on Virgin's cable (DOCSIS) network with a 2.5G wired port and a reliable modem mode; the Hub 5x is the full-fibre unit with a 10G wired port but no dependable modem mode yet. You do not choose between them; your address and package decide which one arrives.

If you have heard there are two current Virgin Media hubs and you are trying to work out which one you will end up with, you are in the right place. The names look almost identical, the boxes look almost identical, and the marketing does not do much to clear it up. Let's cut through it: there are three differences that actually matter, and one of them decides whether you can run your own router at all.

Hub 5 vs Hub 5x: the three differences that actually matter

First, a myth worth killing. The Hub 5 and the Hub 5x are both Virgin's current-generation hubs in 2026. This is not an old hub versus a new hub; it is not a case of deciding whether to upgrade. They are two flavours of the same generation, sent to different customers depending on how their line is wired.

On the wireless side, the two are near twins. Both run WiFi 6, dual-band, and neither one is WiFi 6E or WiFi 7. Both ship with the same locked-down hub firmware and the same Connect app for managing them. So the over-the-air experience you get sitting on the sofa with your phone is broadly the same on either unit.

What genuinely separates them comes down to three things: the network type each hub plugs into, the speed of its single fast wired port, and whether modem mode is available. Hold onto that last one; it is the one that changes your options if you want your own kit doing the work.

The Hub 5 is the cable and DOCSIS unit with a proven modem mode

The Hub 5 is the one most existing Virgin customers already have. It ships on Virgin's DOCSIS 3.1 cable network, the familiar coax-fed setup, and it also turns up on some of Virgin's own full-fibre and RFoG areas.

For ports, you get one 2.5Gbps Ethernet socket plus three 1Gbps sockets. Wireless is WiFi 6, dual-band. None of that is exciting, but it is all proven.

The reason the Hub 5 is the quiet hero here is modem mode. It has had a long-standing, reliable modem mode for years, which means putting your own router behind it is genuinely straightforward. Flip the hub into modem mode, connect your own router to the hub's fast LAN port, and the hub steps back to being a plain modem. One honest caveat: getting a full 2.5G handshake on that port is not always automatic, and some setups need Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE) disabled on the router or switch end before the link will hold. We have a full walkthrough on how to put the Hub 5 into modem mode and run your own router if that is your plan.

You will typically receive the Hub 5 if you are on the M-series tiers or Gig1 in a cable area.

The Hub 5x is the nexfibre full-fibre unit with a 10G port but no dependable modem mode

The Hub 5x is the full-fibre sibling. It is the XGS-PON unit used on nexfibre and on Virgin's newest full-fibre installs, so it takes an optical connection with no coax in sight. If your street was dug up recently for fibre, this is likely the hub heading your way.

Ports are where it looks impressive on paper: one 10Gbps Ethernet socket plus three 1Gbps sockets. Worth being clear about what that 10G port is for, though. Think of it as wired-only headroom for the multi-gig plans, somewhere to plug a single very fast device or switch. That headroom is not a WiFi improvement, because the wireless on the Hub 5x is the same WiFi 6, dual-band spec as the Hub 5. A faster cable socket does not make the air around your house any quicker.

Now the catch. As of 2026, modem mode on the Hub 5x is still unavailable or unreliable across much of Virgin's full-fibre footprint. In plenty of areas the option simply is not there in the app; where it does appear at all, customers report dropouts and instability. Part of the reason is that on the nexfibre build, Virgin does not own the optical line terminal, so a clean bridged mode is more awkward for them to deliver. The upshot for you is the same either way: do not assume the Hub 5x will let you bridge to your own router.

The Hub 5x ships with Gig2 and the newer full-fibre packages. If you are weighing up that top tier, our take on whether Gig2 is worth paying for goes deeper on the speed side of the decision.

Which hub you get is decided by your address, not by you

Here is the part that trips people up. You do not get to pick. There is no menu, no upgrade button, no phone call that swaps a Hub 5 for a Hub 5x. Virgin sends whichever hub matches the line at your premises, and that is the end of it.

The choice is set by three factors working together: your area, the network type running to your home (DOCSIS cable or Virgin's own fibre versus nexfibre full fibre), and the package you are on. Cable customers and those on M-series or Gig1 land on the Hub 5. Gig2 and the newest full-fibre installs land on the Hub 5x.

So if you are unsure which one will turn up before it arrives, the tell is simple. Look at your package, and look at whether your street is served by cable or by the newer full fibre. That combination is what decides it.

If you want to run your own router, the hub you get changes everything

This is where the two hubs really part ways, and it is the bit worth reading twice if you are planning to escape the hub's WiFi.

On the Hub 5, modem mode is easy and reliable, so swapping in your own router is the clean answer. The hub becomes a modem, your router takes over routing and WiFi, and you get a single device running the show the way you want. If you are looking at what to buy, our roundup of the best routers and mesh systems to replace the Virgin hub covers the field.

For a Hub 5 specifically, a single capable router is the tidy pick, and the ASUS RT-AX86U pairs especially well here. It is WiFi 6, it has AiMesh so you can expand later, and its true 2.5G WAN matches the Hub 5's fast port, so you have the headroom for the full link once both ends negotiate cleanly.

Check the ASUS RT-AX86U on Amazon →

The Hub 5x is the awkward one. Because modem mode often is not there yet, a proper single-router bridge setup may simply not be possible on your line. That does not leave you stuck, but it does change the shape of the fix. The realistic answer is to leave the Hub 5x as the gateway and run a mesh in access-point mode behind it. The hub keeps doing the routing it insists on doing, and the mesh handles coverage across the house. For more options here, our best WiFi mesh systems ranked by real user reviews digs into the wider field.

For the easiest version of that, the Amazon eero Pro 6E is hard to beat on simplicity; it sets up in minutes and drops into access-point mode without fuss. If you want better value for a bigger home, the TP-Link Deco X60 does the same job and stretches further across the floors.

See the eero Pro 6E on Amazon →

One last bit of advice before you spend anything. Whichever hub you have, open the Connect app and confirm whether modem mode actually exists on your line first. On a Hub 5 it almost certainly will; on a Hub 5x it may not, and there is no sense buying a router for a bridged setup that your hub will not let you build. Our modem-mode guide walks through exactly where to look.

The short version, then: the Hub 5 makes running your own router simple, while the Hub 5x usually does not yet. The WiFi is much the same on both, the 10G port is wired headroom rather than a wireless win, and your address picks the hub for you.