Homehub Replacement Advice

DiscoDave

DiscoDave

DiscoDave

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Joined
6 Jun 2005
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1,856
Location
Cambridge
Hi all,

Despite many replacements the BT HomeHub is still not doing so well at home.

I'd like to replace it, and looking for some recommendations as to what to replace it with. As for requirements:

- AC Wireless
- VPN
- Guest Network

Cheers
 
Not doing well?

Do you mean you get poor wireless reception or that the homehub is bad when wired?
If it's the wireless I'd look at a decent wireless router to go behind your homehub. I'm still using an old asus RT-N66U which has pretty good wireless connectivity.
 
HazardO said:
Not doing well?

Do you mean you get poor wireless reception or that the homehub is bad when wired?
If it's the wireless I'd look at a decent wireless router to go behind your homehub. I'm still using an old asus RT-N66U which has pretty good wireless connectivity.
Click to expand...

Wireless performance is poor, wired is OK. No VPN, no guest network. I actually had to go back to a HH5 because HH6's seem to just have a limited lifespan before just completely giving up.
 
If you are happy to go with a separate modem + router configuration, you can't do much better than a HG612 (if on a Huawei cabinet) and an ASUS AC router. For 'consumer' level kit you will struggle to do better, but if you may want enterprise level kit or a custom setup if you want to run openvpn at high speed as that takes a bit of processing power on the router
 
DiscoDave said:
Despite many replacements the BT HomeHub is still not doing so well at home.

I'd like to replace it, and looking for some recommendations as to what to replace it with.
Click to expand...

I think you should fully detail your requirements.

For network support, I suggest four separate VLANS:

Adult family wired network, adult family wireless.
Children wired and wireless.
Guest wired and wireless
IoT wired and wireless.
Plus a DMZ.

Then you have your VPN. You should also have some sort of bandwidth restrictions for everything other than the adult family wired network, especially if you are on ADSL and not fibre.

With regard to poor wireless performance, take a look at access points (NOT repeaters). These have a wired connection to the main router.

I have a Draytek 2860 router and am very happy with it.
 
Quartz said:
I think you should fully detail your requirements.

For network support, I suggest four separate VLANS:

Adult family wired network, adult family wireless.
Children wired and wireless.
Guest wired and wireless
IoT wired and wireless.
Plus a DMZ.

Then you have your VPN. You should also have some sort of bandwidth restrictions for everything other than the adult family wired network, especially if you are on ADSL and not fibre.

With regard to poor wireless performance, take a look at access points (NOT repeaters). These have a wired connection to the main router.

I have a Draytek 2860 router and am very happy with it.
Click to expand...

I'm on BT Fibre. I have looked at the Draytek 2860ac, do you have the ac variant or leveraging an external AP? The 2860 looks nice but a bit pricey.

I hear the 2860 doesn't support IKEV2 which is a little odd considering it's a Dreytek. Can you confirm? The VPN functionality would be really helpful as I have a homelab I sometimes connect to when I'm travelling for work.
 
What is IKEV2? I have the 2860n plus and my flat is small enough that WAPs are not necessary, though 5 GHz gets blocked by the walls.
 
Quartz said:
What is IKEV2? I have the 2860n plus and my flat is small enough that WAPs are not necessary, though 5 GHz gets blocked by the walls.
Click to expand...

Just a new protocol standard for VPN negotiations. Doing more research I don't think I really need to make it a priority come to think of it.

Some reviews have stated the Draytek Wireless isn't too great, but the feature set is really nice.
 
I have to agree with the OP, the Homehub 6 is a useless piece of. I have 5 of them here and I am using my 3rd one. Don't know why but they start of great but suddenly they go down hill. Not sure if a software update causes all the problems.

What do you guys use as a separate modem? The old BT white one that came with the earlier HomeHubs?
 
Scream said:
What do you guys use as a separate modem? The old BT white one that came with the earlier HomeHubs?
Click to expand...

The best modem to use is still the old Openreach HG612. There are modern alternatives like the Draytek Vigor 130, but they cost significantly more and may not offer any real benefits.
 
Yup, the HG612 3B is the go to modem and probably always will be for VDSL2 (unless you get G.Fast in a few years). They are sold all the time at auction - just check the model number and don't pay more than a few quid extra for an unlocked version. If you have problems that require accessing the line stats in the modem, you can easily unlock it yourself later.
 
ECI or HG612 depending on your cabinet type and an ARM based Asus router such as the AC56u, AC68u or AC88 etc. running Merlin for me. Personally I prefer to move the wifi away from the router using a Unifi AP, it supports seamless handoff, better coverage etc.
 
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