Smart hub and bridge mode

[andyman]

Hi,

I've been an EE customer for many years and used my own router to connect over the DSL side (An Asus on which I use VPN host and client). The broadband speeds have always been very low (FTTC and about 34Mbits DL/9.5UL.)

I've been trying to get them to up the speeds for ages as I could see from the BT Broadband test system that the line would support  up to ~60mbits, they offered me a new plus service and asked about using my own router/VDSL and the EE unit as a slave just for digital telephony to which the answer was yes I could.

However I now have my new service configured at the DSLAM/Exchange and on plugging the delivered EE Super Hub and trying to use the advanced network pages to set it up as a simple client via the WAN port to the Asus I get no options to change anything just status reports... is this locked by them?

I simply want it to be a client on the Asus router via it's WAN interface so it can supply the digital voice telephony, even more so since I checked and my original modem trains up at 10% higher speeds than the Superhub's VDSL modem(!)

Do you know if this is possible?

Many thanks for any help you can give.

[Mustrum]

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@XRaySpeX wrote:

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That isn't the issue. Your own router can be set up in exactly the same way to handle the PPPoE & like the EE router that isn't switched  off. 

Mind you I don't know what the issue is other than what @JimM11  said ("All of the digital voip control is built into the EE router") & then I can't see why that VoIP control can't be moved 1 step down the line.

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You missed the point, and it is the issue - for Digital Voice the EE router needs to be the primary router/

Some bedtime reading for you https://ee.co.uk/help/broadband/getting-started/using-and-configuring-a-third-party-router#:~:text=U... 

In particular "If you have EE’s Digital Home Phone service, you'll need to use your EE or BT hub as your primary router."

[XRaySpeX]

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@Mustrum wrote:
You missed the point, and it is the issue - for Digital Voice the EE router needs to be the primary router/

Yes, I know that! It's a well-known stated restriction & has been for yonks but no one, including you, has not explained the technical reasoning behind it.

VoIP(rotocol) is just another TCP/IP Protocol & the Net & routers are able to handle it routinely as their day job. The SH+ does contain an integrated DECT base station but both the OP & I are questioning why the control of VoIP needs to be in the 1st router in line & can't be moved 1 or even more steps away from the ONT. Not 1 person has explained this!

[Mustrum]

And they are not likely to. The way BT has implemented it's Digital Voice is shrouded in secrecy, otherwise people would have cracked the SIP details and security protocols that they have implemented that enables them to use routers the way they do. It is not simple VOIP, there are other layers code that are used.

[andyman]

I'm not sure why you think that, VOIP uses TLS and SRTP and is encrypted with AES, there is no need for other security protocols.

[JimM11]

@andyman The main issue and you are correct is how to get the Asus to route the correct packets from it's Wan to Lan port so that the EE router connected can receive and respond on its wan port, so all the work has to be done on the Asus router.  

[andyman]

Thanks Jim

It just baffles me why they can't/won't operate in exactly the same way as Grandstream, Cisco and scores of others who make VOIP adapters for PSTN that are used all over the world privately and in corporates... they simply plug in to any LAN port, you configure it and the router routes the traffic like any other...including of course through any backup systems you may have such as 4/5G.

It looks as if with the EE equipment what you'd actually need is a separate PPoE connection as in FTTP installations  just for the Hub to operate as a PSTN adapter.. which is pretty tricky. Still I guess I can just get a Grandstream and a VOIP service at much lower call rates than EE charge... ah, there's the reason!

[JimM11]

@andyman It's also all about the features that BT DV systems have, and also EE don't do DV very good yet. I suspect that it is way easier to support the method of single router with DV capable, BT took a while to get it right. Your pretty much stuck now that the EE router is so dumbed down settings wise and has to be first up, Asus is reasonable as secondary NAT, my only issue at present is printing via it, and when fttp is ready to go then so does the EE router. Dropped the landline couple months ago for all of those reason's and if needed was prepared to go voip with someone else.