Compatible WiFi 6 Router for Fibre Max

[RichardB76]

Hello Two days ago I had Fibre Max 500 installed. Installation was a good experience from Open Reach..issue I am trying to overcome is to find a compatible third party router to replace the supplied Smart Hub.

Cut a long story short, I have a complex set up which includes a Netgear unmanaged switch hard wired to 2x Wax 610 Access Points. Prior to the move to FTTP I was achieving the same speed from the APs as router itself..now I am seeing a 50% drop. Even though I have Fibre Max 500, Smart hub is reaching just 300Mbps.

For years I was using Netgear D7800 which was excellent..however this is seemingly incompatible with FTTP even in WAN only mode.

I have searched high and low for compatible third party modem routers with WiFi 6 and stumped.

Some vendors claim ONT is the modem yet open reach engineer told me all the account settings are stored in Smart Hub..so how would any third party router work?

Another vendor stated that most routers do not have fast enough WAN port to accommodate high speed FTTP.

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks

R

[XRaySpeX]

Practicably any router will work with FTTP. In Home Broadband settings you'll find everything you need to set up your own router.

The Netgear D7800 is suitable for FTTP in WAN/Ethernet mode thereby switching out its unnecessary DSL modem. The ONT is the modem.

[Mustrum]

@RichardB76   you also need your EE username and password with the D7800 set to use PPOE.

You can copy the username from the Smart Hub, and you can find details of how to get the password in this link https://ee.co.uk/help/help-new/broadband-and-landline/home-broadband/what-are-my-home-broadband-inte... 

[RichardB76]

Many thanks for prompt reply. With regard to my D7800 I changed WAN to be over Ethernet and sadly had no connection.I can revisit again this evening to double check.

My understanding was that the ONT was the modem, but Open Reach engineer said I had to have account credentials to work. Equally, a company suggested the D7800 didn't have fast enough WAN port and was pushing towards a Draytek.

If there is a recommended and compatible device known to support WiFi 6, has 4 gigabit LAN ports..certainly happy to invest.

Thanks again.

[XRaySpeX]

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@RichardB76 wrote:

Open Reach engineer said I had to have account credentials to work.

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That's right, you do. You read your BB Username out of the EE router, under Advanced > BB > Internet, & use the link I gave you to work out the BB pwd from it.

If you never did this with the Netgear D7800. that would be the reason the Netgear D7800 won't connect to the Net.

[RichardB76]

Thanks.

I have been using my D7800 for 5+ years and it does have my stored credentials for EE.

This was with ADSL.

When Fibre was installed, I changed WAN mode to Must Use DSL WAN. I plugged the cable from ONT to D7800's WAN port, then had no internet connection.

If FTTP should work with any router and this is not playing ball, I am happy to invest in a new device (which supports WiFi 6) and happy to take recommends from anyone with Fibre max + a good third party router. As mentioned in original comment, one vedor suggested that most branded routers' WAN ports do not support high speed - hence trying to push towards Draytek.

thanks

[XRaySpeX]

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@RichardB76 wrote:

When Fibre was installed, I changed WAN mode to Must Use DSL WAN.

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That should be "Don't Use DSL WAN" or "Must Use Ethernet WAN"

• DSL WAN is for ADSL, VDSL & G.Fast when you are connecting it to the phone socket & making use of its in-built modem.
• Ethernet WAN is for FTTP when you are connecting it to the ONT & by-passing its in-built modem. The ONT now constitutes the modem.

[RichardB76]

Apologies. That was a typo. Long day.

I mean to write Must Use Ethernet WAN.

This is what was configured, saved settings and restarted.

Still no internet.

After 5 years with D7800 happy to upgrade to new device and one with WiFi 6 -just after recommendeds.

Thanks

[Mustrum]

@RichardB76   did you remember to remove the VLAN101 setting - the ONT will handle that setting.

Alas I do not have FTTP, but until recently did use a D7000, alas a nearby lightning strike meant I had to look for a new one.

The following Draytek comparison table may help, the ax models are the WiFi6 ones - not cheap, but very powerful and all the control you would ever need.

https://www.draytek.co.uk/products/comparison/router-comparison 

I also came across this one, I used a similar artical to come up with the TP Link router I now have.

ttps://www.expertreviews.co.uk/wireless-routers/1413942/best-wireless-routers 

[RichardB76]

Many thanks. Much appreciated. What a bummer to hear about your D7000.

Thanks for advice RE VLAN101 - I will check out this evening.

I was checking out the Netgear RAX 43 and RAX 50 and both seemed pretty reasonable providing they work with FTTP / ONT. Documentation and resources are rarer than hen's teeth when trying to confirm compatibility. In contrast compatibility info for Virgin Fibre is much easier to find.