Thinking about 1.6gbps but don't want all the extras

[claytom3214]

I'm on 900mbps EE broadband at the moment. I'm really interested in the 1.6gbps broadband offering but I don't want the WiFi Extenders, Smart Hub and other extras. I already have a decent Unifi WiFi system including a multi-gigabit router and switch.  Is there any offering to just have the faster line without all the add-ons? I'm sure I can't be the first customer to want this. 

[XRaySpeX]

That's the way EE has configured its packages. Didn't the EE 900 Meg FF come with the Smart Hub Plus as well?

[bobpullen]

@claytom3214 - I'm not sure there's an upgrade path even if you didn't mind all the extras. I think it's a 'new customer only' thing for the time being (although fairly certain it won't be that way for too long).

[garywood84]

@claytom3214 The 1.6Gbps services is fairly pointless, unless you plan to run everything over WiFi. The Smart Hub Plus router that EE supplies has only one 2.5Gbps ethernet port, and that's used to connect it to the Openreach ONT. The other ethernet ports on the rourter are 1Gbps, and so any devices that you connect using those ports are limited to 1Gbps anyway. EE really needs to supply better hardware before increasing speeds beyond 1Gbps.

[claytom3214]

This is a major design fault by EE. Why would they supply a router with a multi gigabit WAN port and then restrict the LAN ports to 1Gb. That's ridiculous.

The only way to get speeds above 1Gb is to mesh the WAPs together on WiFi 6. What if you don't want to do that and already have a wired backhaul?

Therefore, the only way to use 1.6Gb on a network is to connect the EE broadband to a multigigabit (2.5Gb) WAN port on another router and then either SFP+ or CAT6A to a multigigabit switch  and/or CAT6A to a multigigabit compatible WAP but seriously, the average user is not going to do that. 

[garywood84]

@claytom3214 The average user won't do that, but then, I suspect, you and I are not the average user. EE is clearly a consumer-grade service with consumer-grade hardware, and the vast majority of users will only want WiFi anyway, and not wired connections. And I suspect it's fine, by EE's business model, if it means it loses customers like us: the relatively higher cost of a more powerful router, with a full set of 2.5Gbps ports, DDNS, etc., just won't be worth it to retain the relatively small number of customers who need those features.

[gerdon]

Hi both,

Do you have a guide for this and what hardware you used. I have a linksy mesh system and just realised even that is limited to 1gig port. If I use a new mesh eg ereo 7 max that is still going to be limited to the 1 gig lan port. Unless I can connect that router directly to 2.5gig port or I need a gigabit router to sit between the EE router and my ereo7 mesh ?

[claytom3214]

This is where EE have screwed up. The 1.6gbps is clearly for consumers and not professionals or business. Due to the 1gigabit ports on the EE router, it's not physically possible to achieve 1.6gbp using ethernet. To achieve 1.6gbps is by connecting a device with a WiFi6 chipset to the EE router. Very poor design.

If you are relying on ethernet (wired) with a 1.6gbps router, I would do this...

The devices you want to use 1.6gbps must have wired multi-gigabit ports or use Wifi 6.

You'll need a multi-gigabit router for all ports (WAN and LAN). You'll also need CAT6 ethernet cable (common but just in case). Connect the ONT to the WAN port on the router. Then connect your CAT6 ethernet cable from the router to the device you want to push 1.6gbps to (this must also have a mutli-gigabit port). You could connect a WiFi6 or WiFi 7 Wireless Access Point to the router if the WAP supports multi-gigabit and then you really are cooking.

I have a Unifi Dream Machine Pro SE that has a multi gigabit WAN port then connected to a 10Gb switch using SFP+ (fibre connection). My main lab machine has a 10Gb port then connected to the 10Gb switch and it's seriously fast. There are more multi-gigabit routers here: https://dongknows.com/multi-gigabit-wi-fi-6-routers-to-bring-home-today/

Hope that helps.

[GosforthUK]

@gerdon my set up is 

TP-Link ER707-M2 (have 2.5 Gbps WAN & 1 (one) 2.5 GBPS LAN as router, followed by "semi-smart"  2.5 Gbps switch, behind witch it's purery TP-Link OMADA setup (EAP670 only for 5 GHz band & for 2.5 Gbps backhaul - and therefore 1,6 Gbps Wifi), EAP615-Wall for 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz low demand services (plus all IOT like LED strips, heating etc etc etc, where I do not have control over upgrades, bugs, etc) + EAP655-Wall with only 5 Ghz and somehow  middle demand devices which are ok on max 1 Gbps...

Wired devices to switch are all on 2.5 Gbps CAT6A

unfortunately, I can't find decent-priced M2 switch under Omada, that's why it's (for now) the only semi-smart switch used.

[gerdon]

@GosforthUK and @claytom3214 thanks for your replies.

Re multi-gigabit router, can I just use the following WiFi 7 mesh system

TP-Link Deco BE85 BE19000 Tri-Band Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System,

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/deco/deco-be85/

Or, I still need a mutigig router from your list, then connect the mesh system via 2.5gb port on router.

Thanks again for your help

G