Smart Hub(FTTC) with DV for primary hub; can I use 3rd party as secondary hub?

[drmeister]

Hi,

I have Fibre 67 Essentials with Digital Voice package. My connection is FTTC, so my grey  broadband cable is connected to the EE Smart Hub (2023) for internet and my DECT phone into the green DV socket. I want to set up my network as:

1. EE Smart Hub to provide incoming internet and digital voice as Primary Router;
2. EE smart hub to connect to a third party router via LAN (or WAN) to act as Secondary Router;
3. EE Smart Hub to NOT provide any other ethernet or wireless connectivity to any other device;
4. Secondary Router to provide all network connectivity to devices within the home and all Parental Controls, Security etc. as well as extension of wireless via mesh;

Is this technically possible - is it even right? Likely to purchase an Asus ZenWifi AIMesh router set but want to know this will work.

Reason: The EE App and Router config, especially segregated Parental Controls are quite limited plus the Smart Hub's wireless reach is short (not sure if EE Smart Hub Plus with WiFi 6 would be any better if EE could be persuaded to provide that).

Any help will be highly appreciated and I apologise if this has already been explained elsewhere already.

Thank you.

[XRaySpeX]

Yes, this is possible. Connect the WAN port of the Secondary Router to a LAN port of the SH (2023). Disable the Wireless of the SH (2023).

[Mustrum]

Actually, the other way round, connect the WAN port of the Secondary Router, to a LAN port of the EE router. 

Make sure the DHCP address range on your secondary router is different to the EE one. Many routers will do this automatically - but not all. 

Switch off WiFi on the EE royter.

[drmeister]

Thank you @XRaySpeX  and @Mustrum  for your responses. I have not bought the Asus router yet until I know this can be done so that is very helpful to know.

So I assume I do the following:

1. Leave EE Smart Hub as is except switch off it's both wireless channels;
2. Leave DHCP on EE Smart Hub alone - or should I switch that off as well?
3. Connect LAN of EE Smart Hub to WAN of the Secondary Hub;
4. Change the normal DHCP address range of 192.168.1.64 to 192.168.1.254 to say 192.168.2.64 to 192.168.2.254?
5. Lastly, do I need to do anything about Subnet settings?

I do have a spare EE Smart Hub which I can experiment with this setup? Or will the EE Smart Hub be restrictive for this sort of setup?

Thank you for your help.

[XRaySpeX]

Thanks, @Mustrum . Sorry, got it wrong way round 😞 .

[XRaySpeX]

In this sorta config. subnet mask is always 255.255.255.0.

I'd leave the DHCPs alone to start with & then maybe play around with them.

You could experiment with a spare EE SH.

[Mustrum · Accepted solution]

@XRaySpeX   you were close though!

@drmeister 

2. Leave DHCP on the EE router as it is.

4. You may find a pre-set range to just pick from on the ASUS.

5. Leave as default.

Your spare router will want to also use the EE or BT username and password, and likley to cause more problems than it will help you with. 

[drmeister]

Thank you both, @XRaySpeX and @Mustrum  ... I will try this later when I get a chance. However I made an error above, I have a spare EE Smart Hub PLUS which I acquired from a colleague at work who doesn't use it (he has FTTP and no DV so connects his 3rd Party Hub - an Asus GT-AXE11000 - directly to the ONT).

To add more context, perhaps helpful for others as well, my house is an L-shape 8m by 11m; see diagram below with my hub located upstairs - room in red is where wireless signal is virtually nil and all walls are brick - I wonder if the Smart Hub PLUS would give a more powerful wireless signal to reach that room?

[Mustrum]

@drmeister  the Smart Hub Plus has WiFi6, so you will potentially get faster speeds close to the router, but it won't be any better firther away, unless it also comes with the appropriate extenders.

[drmeister]

Ok ... so time to invest in mesh setup ... but at least I can practice this network setup! I would use EE stuff but I find it hard to use the EE app plus it is a tad limited. I shall let you know how I get on later today!

Thank you all for your help.