Replacement Router for Hyperoptic

jinxpad · 2 Jul 2024 at 15:36

I'm looking to replace the Nokia router which came with my hyperoptic package. But would also like advice on what would be the ideal setup for my situation. I Live in a two-floor building, and currently have the hyperoptic router upstairs which is at ground level, this is where the router has to be because it's where the connection to the fibre comes into the wall. I currently have all of my main equipment such as my pc and everything else in the basement floor of the House and I currently run a long Ethernet cable from the router to an Asus TUF 54000, Which is currently set up as an access point and this provides Ethernet connection to my pc and other devices as well as providing Wi-Fi coverage downstairs.

The thing is I've been starting to notice problems with my Asus router and have pretty much decided that if I'm going to replace the Hyperoptic route upstairs, I might as well get a replacement for everything so that it all works seamlessly. I was looking into the ubiquity stuff, but it looks kind of pricey once adding everything up together and to be honest I'm not quite sure what components I need.

So, I'm hoping that someone with a bit more experience could suggest the equipment I need that could replace my current setup. I don't need anything extravagant as my primary devices are all connected by Ethernet which I would like to be the case, but I will still need Wi-Fi downstairs as well as upstairs where Their replacement router for the hyperoptic router will be.

Much appreciated for the help!!

Caged · 2 Jul 2024 at 15:53

If you don't really have any requirements then get two TP Link Deco units of whatever spec takes your fancy, and optionally a basic Netgear unmanaged gigabit switch to sit by the downstairs unit to give you additional wired ports. The Deco works fine over a wired backhaul - I have a set of three X20s on a wired network and they're fine.

jinxpad · 2 Jul 2024 at 16:28

Caged said:
If you don't really have any requirements then get two TP Link Deco units of whatever spec takes your fancy, and optionally a basic Netgear unmanaged gigabit switch to sit by the downstairs unit to give you additional wired ports. The Deco works fine over a wired backhaul - I have a set of three X20s on a wired network and they're fine.

I'm a complete network newbie and have pretty much always just used Ethernet and whatever is in the box I've never bothered with mesh networking but it does seem to be becoming the norm now. I am curious though when you say if I don't have any requirements, What kind of requirements might you be referring to?

$anch3z · 2 Jul 2024 at 17:07

For something simple, another vote for the Deco's - I have a couple of x90's linked by ethernet for the backhaul, they have been faultless

TheVoice · 2 Jul 2024 at 17:10

Have you considered ordering a MiniHub extender from Hyperoptic? The Nokia router isn't WiFi 6 so they'll probably send you one of their new Zyxel routers and MiniHubs.

I posted on the Hyperoptic Reddit about the new kit the other week:

https://www.reddit.com/r/hyperoptic/comments/1diwm8h/new_hyperoptic_zyxel_routers/

I've got their slightly older ZTE H3600 and the ZTE MiniHub over a wired backhaul and it all works very well. Nothing fancy in terms of features or UI but I can't fault the reliability. I did briefly try a TP Link router when I still had the Hyperoptic Nokia router but wasn't impressed with it considering it cost about £90.

jinxpad · 2 Jul 2024 at 17:38

TheVoice said:
Have you considered ordering a MiniHub extender from Hyperoptic? The Nokia router isn't WiFi 6 so they'll probably send you one of their new Zyxel routers and MiniHubs.

I posted on the Hyperoptic Reddit about the new kit the other week:

https://www.reddit.com/r/hyperoptic/comments/1diwm8h/new_hyperoptic_zyxel_routers/

I've got their slightly older ZTE H3600 and the ZTE MiniHub over a wired backhaul and it all works very well. Nothing fancy in terms of features or UI but I can't fault the reliability. I did briefly try a TP Link router when I still had the Hyperoptic Nokia router but wasn't impressed with it considering it cost about £90.

I have seen a few people mention this on Reddit and I think it's an additional £5 per month in order to get the mesh router or something like that, And to be honest I kind of want something that I actually own as opposed to renting out for the duration of my contract. I was interested in the ubiquity stuff because of its kind of expandability and after just watching some videos it looks like it's got a lot of nice little extra features that seem quite useful should I end up diving more into it, But the deco products look really appealing as well.

Ev0 · 2 Jul 2024 at 19:54

Caged said:
If you don't really have any requirements then get two TP Link Deco units of whatever spec takes your fancy, and optionally a basic Netgear unmanaged gigabit switch to sit by the downstairs unit to give you additional wired ports. The Deco works fine over a wired backhaul - I have a set of three X20s on a wired network and they're fine.

Slight tangent, does the remote management aspect of the Decos put you off them at all?

I liked how they performed but having to have them managed remotely put me off a bit for some reason.

Caged · 2 Jul 2024 at 21:01

jinxpad said:
What kind of requirements might you be referring to?

If you don't know then you don't have any. It would be things like VLANs, built-in VPN, that sort of thing.

Ev0 said:
Slight tangent, does the remote management aspect of the Decos put you off them at all?

I liked how they performed but having to have them managed remotely put me off a bit for some reason.

Do you mean that it requires you to set it up with an app which means having to log into an account? I didn't really think about it that much to be honest. I should mention that I have these running purely in AP mode and not router mode, there's a Unifi Cloud Gateway Ultra (I think it's called that) doing the routing part so if the APs are trying to collect information they'll have to do it by sniffing the DNS packets passing through them.

GregI · 2 Jul 2024 at 21:10

@TheVoice Thanks for those Zyxel units. I wish they actually sold them anywhere. Insanely good specs.

Ev0 · 2 Jul 2024 at 21:21

Caged said:
If you don't know then you don't have any. It would be things like VLANs, built-in VPN, that sort of thing.

Do you mean that it requires you to set it up with an app which means having to log into an account? I didn't really think about it that much to be honest. I should mention that I have these running purely in AP mode and not router mode, there's a Unifi Cloud Gateway Ultra (I think it's called that) doing the routing part so if the APs are trying to collect information they'll have to do it by sniffing the DNS packets passing through them.

Yeah the fact that to manage and config them it’s done via remote management, and wondering what risk might be if they were breached, or are just a bit shady etc in regards to the network.

I don’t know why I’ve got a bee in my bonnet over it :cry:

I guess there’s the unknown of what could someone be doing.

Had read a few threads where once setup (in AP mode) people were firewalling them off so those devices themselves couldn’t connect to anything out of the local network.

Would also be using them in AP mode with UniFi device handling the routing.

Avalon · 2 Jul 2024 at 22:42

jinxpad said:
I'm a complete network newbie and have pretty much always just used Ethernet and whatever is in the box I've never bothered with mesh networking but it does seem to be becoming the norm now. I am curious though when you say if I don't have any requirements, What kind of requirements might you be referring to?

Examples include VPN with hardware acceleration, built in IDS, DPI, VoIP support, VLAN support, NAS/printer support, mesh compatibility, parental controls, 3rd party firmware support or anything else that your ISP supplied router may not do. It’s really one of those ‘if you have to ask’ situations.

TheVoice · 3 Jul 2024 at 12:41

jinxpad said:
I have seen a few people mention this on Reddit and I think it's an additional £5 per month in order to get the mesh router or something like that, And to be honest I kind of want something that I actually own as opposed to renting out for the duration of my contract. I was interested in the ubiquity stuff because of its kind of expandability and after just watching some videos it looks like it's got a lot of nice little extra features that seem quite useful should I end up diving more into it, But the deco products look really appealing as well.

Fair enough, I had the same idea when I bought the TP Link router but quickly realised some of the features were half-baked (renaming devices on the router doesn't change them on the app for example) and others were locked behind a subscription, and I had to disable IPv6 to get my connection performing properly. As you said you were a newbie and weren't looking for anything extravagant, the ISP-provided option is about as simple and reliable as it gets.