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.

[drmeister]

Ok ... so the EE Smart Hub is a necessity and I agree it does the job - provides stable internet and does the DV as well. It's App management and lack of advanced Parental Controls  (available on the Hub Plus) make me want something for that part better, plus due to the bad location of my master socket,  the WiFi signal in the opposite parts of the house are very weak.

I think what you are saying is that all I need is to hard wire the Asus (or similar) from Hub LAN to Asus WAN  and place this Asus centrally so it can provide satisfactory wireless ... have I understood this right? Apologies if I haven't!

Reason I want to have a mesh is to avoid trailing wires across the room and landing hence Asus plugged to the Hub in the same room and the other Mesh'ed sitting in the landing. Let me know if I misunderstood this as well. Many, many thanks for your help!

[Mustrum]

@drmeister  so keep it simple, top priority short as possible DSL cable to the master socket, then a combination of ethernet connections where possible and more if needed Asus mesh devices.

Did I mention, short DSL cable, gives the best WAN speed, how you then distribute it will vary where you can get ethernet - best - or WiFi via mesh node.

[JimM11]

@drmeister You are somewhat correct, if the cabling is the issue, then 2 XT8's in AI mesh, wireless connected would be better wired but then as you say you cannot have everything you wish, then your solution that you propose is 100% correct, the Asus is NOT superior at putting the wireless signal any further is just not magic that way, if you are going any further away than the second central then you may have a slight connection issue, Asus is not cheap but it is very very good.

You will also see in the post i linked you the pictures, that is exactly how it is connected, and do use the EE Smarthub+ in full operational mode, but then now empty nester and although the app controls all appear fully functional do just not need to use apart when someone ask's is the app working then quick check for them.

[JimM11]

@drmeister If you are looking to  reduce you possible cost's you will manage to get away with a single xt8 and use an RP-AX58 placed central for your extended wifi signal, be careful with the xt8's they are in two hardware versions, V1 and V2 so you have to watch the correct FW if you are doing it yourself, and the RP's are not tri band devices, so not full wireless backhaul but they are way up there and you will not notice speed with your current fttc package currently anyway. Cost no option then 2 xt8's if you can find them, you may have to settle on xt9's as becoming scarce for the older xt8's...👍

[Timbo45]

I ran about 40ft of CW1308 rated RJ11/RJ11 cabling with no loss of speeds. I think it's the quality of the cable that's important.

I have an Asus RT-Ax5400 which is a mid-range Asus device and the power of the wifi is pretty damn good reaching places that my previous DSL-AC68U didn't so I think you might be surprised what a good router would do for you.

So I'd suggest something like mine and if that's not sufficient then it can be meshed with another similar spec Asus as these devices operate in router mode,access point mode or mesh mode so expanding the mesh should be quite straightforward.

[drmeister]

Oh wow that's useful to know. Not a bad time to get a router with Black Friday around! One thing many of you agree upon and that is Asus seems to be the routers to go for at least for home use - albeit they are not the cheapest options! But you get what you pay for ... thank you for your help.

[drmeister]

Got my Asus mesh - worked like a dream - did not have to do anything ... it picked the ip range itself, and it's wifi is much stable - mind you the config page has so many options it'll keep me busy this weekend!

Thanks @Mustrum , @JimM11 , @XRaySpeX and all others here for giving me advice.

[JimM11]

@drmeister Have fun but be careful when adjusting the Asus router, very powerful device, what did you settle on with your Good Friday purchase?