Keep Virgin Media O2 Routers Out Of Direct Sunlight

Virgin Media O2 has warned its home broadband customers to take precautions to ensure their broadband routers don’t overheat.

The UK Internet Service Provider (ISP) updated its Tips and Tricks web page in light of the summer heatwave that the UK is currently sweltering under.

Virgin Media O2 warned customers to avoid placing their home broadband routers in direct sunlight, as it can cause it to overheat, and if that happens “it can slow down your connection or even grind to a halt all together.”

Direct sunlight

The advice came in an updated web page, under the heading “how safe is it to keep a router in direct sunlight?”

“Nobody wants hot Hub summer!” said the ISP. “It’s important to keep your router somewhere out of direct sunlight as it can overheat, just like your phone or laptop. But that doesn’t mean you should stick your router in a cupboard or hidden behind your TV either.”

It said that the Wi-Fi spread can be limited by large electrical appliances and even big bodies of water.

“And if it gets too hot, it can slow down your connection or even grind to a halt all together,” said the ISP. “Good placement of the Hub router can also mean greater reach, so you could get Wi-Fi in the back garden if your home layout allows.”

It advised customers to not hide their router away, but “place it somewhere it can breathe.”

It said the best placement was a cool place out of direct sunlight.

Routers of course are designed pretty much like most electronic equipment. PCs or laptops often contain cooling fans or heatsinks, but if they start to overheat, the temperature rise is detected and the CPU will throttle down performance.

In severe overheating causes, malfunctions can result.

Joint venture

Virgin Media O2 was formed in June this year, as 50:50 joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica through the merger of their respective Virgin Media and O2 UK businesses.

That came after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in May gave its official go ahead for the 50-50 joint venture between Virgin Media and O2 to proceed.

The merger, which had been proposed back in May 2020, combines Virgin Media’s broadband, TV, mobile and landline services with the mobile operations of O2.

The joint venture is expected to present BT (which owns EE) with a greater challenge going forward.

There continues to be speculation as to what the joint venture will do with its branding – whether it will drop the Virgin Media brand, and use the O2 name going forward for example.