Spec me: my first 3rd party router

NoNameNoNumber · 2 Dec 2022 at 10:46

Hi all.
I'm out in the sticks, FTTC about 1 mile away, and copper to my property.
Guaranteed speeds are ~25Mbps which I can deal with, but it drops to nothing way more than I'd like, coverage of my house is dire too with the Now TV hub.
I'm reticent to pay significantly more for BT, Sky et al when they can still only supply the same speeds.

I have power line extenders which are moot if the signal from the router drops to nothing.
This leaves alexa randomly not being able to connect to smart home features, the ring doorbell barely connects, even now sat typing this on my phone, I'm on 4g about 3m from the router!

So maybe a 3rd party WiFi 6 router is the way?

If I can spend around £100 and fix all my problems that'd be great...
I had the TP link AX5400 in my basket over BF weekend but didn't pull the trigger as I've no idea

Orcvader · 2 Dec 2022 at 10:52

Which ISP are you with and do you know the model of the router?

Where about is the router currently placed? If the router currently sits in for example the corner of your home, even a 3rd party router won't help much. If you can run a proper ethernet cable (not power line) to somewhere more central then stick an access point there, it will be much better for coverage.

As for that TP-Link, it looks like it's just the router by itself, so you will need a modem to use FTTC with it (eg Huawei HG612 can be found for cheap on the bay).

Quartz · 2 Dec 2022 at 11:24

ISTM you have two problems: basic speed between the router and the internet, and speeds between your devices and the router.

I don't think a new router is going to do any good for your basic speed problems. For that you need to look at laying a new cable to the cabinet or going an alternative route like Starlink.

However, you can do something about the latter problem. The first thing to do is lay proper ethernet cables. Not powerlink. If the device doesn't move - like your PC or TV - it should have an ethernet cable. For mobile devices you need better wifi. That means that you need wired wifi access points at multiple places in your property. The exact configuration I leave to those more knowledgeable than myself.

NoNameNoNumber · 2 Dec 2022 at 11:37

We're with Now TV and have the Now Hub two.
Our front door to the house is pretty much bang in the middle, and the master socket/router are just behind it under the coat stand.

The nearest cabinet is a good mile away, and there's only 5 houses here so I don't expect we'll be getting fibre anytime soon
I was hoping to avoid wired access points due to the house being almost completely redecorated. I was under the impression WiFi 6 was going to be everything I dreamed of

Fundamental internet speeds aren't really the problem, it's the reliability of it.
Starlink isn't in budget

Quartz · 2 Dec 2022 at 11:44

NoNameNoNumber said:
The nearest cabinet is a good mile away, and there's only 5 houses here so I don't expect we'll be getting fibre anytime soon

Divided between the five of you the cost might not be that steep, especially if there's already a pipe you can use. I'm not sure exactly how much high bandwidth internet access improves property values, but I do know that many people factor in internet access and bandwidth into their buying decisions.

NoNameNoNumber · 2 Dec 2022 at 12:00

Quartz said:
Divided between the five of you the cost might not be that steep, especially if there's already a pipe you can use. I'm not sure exactly how much high bandwidth internet access improves property values, but I do know that many people factor in internet access and bandwidth into their buying decisions.

Well that's interesting... I hadn't even considered having it done privately.

Caged · 2 Dec 2022 at 13:05

The distance that matters is from the property to the fibre node, not the cabinet. A mile of fibre is easily going to be a six-figure quote if you're looking at Openreach FTTPoD - I had a quote to run 500m to a node which was already ducted the entire way and it was £26,000.

Orcvader · 2 Dec 2022 at 13:37

Didn't even realise Now TV was an ISP, I thought it was just TV. Looking at the Now Hub 2 it doesn't look like it'll have a good antenna design.

When you say the signal drops, do you mean the hub itself loses internet connection or the WiFi signal on the hub just craps out? If possible I would hook a laptop via ethernet directly to it just so you can get a better idea if it's your internet actually dropping or the hub's WiFi just being rubbish.

Avalon · 2 Dec 2022 at 16:59

It's not unheard of for power line adapters to cause internet drop out. Eliminate the from the equation and test wifi, if it still sucks, replace the router with one that supports the usual Sky DHCP options, if it doesn't, make better networking choices. You could always buy a inexpensive AP or run an old router in AP mode.

Rainmaker · 2 Dec 2022 at 17:30

Orcvader said:
Didn't even realise Now TV was an ISP, I thought it was just TV.

NowTV is Sky... Hence the Internet and the TV service.

OP, ditch the power lines. The best advice was above; get a WiFi access point and mount it centrally, wired by Ethernet back to the router. If you want to look at something more 'all in one', then Eero are generally highly recommended. They're running cake congestion control by default and can be run as a mesh, but you unfortunately just missed good BF deals. They are also compatible with Sky (and thus, I assume, NowTV) as they support MER. Details here.

Avalon · 2 Dec 2022 at 19:40

Rainmaker said:
NowTV is Sky... Hence the Internet and the TV service.

OP, ditch the power lines. The best advice was above; get a WiFi access point and mount it centrally, wired by Ethernet back to the router. If you want to look at something more 'all in one', then Eero are generally highly recommended. They're running cake congestion control by default and can be run as a mesh, but you unfortunately just missed good BF deals. They are also compatible with Sky (and thus, I assume, NowTV) as they support MER. Details here.

This, but I believe it's DHCP60/61 rather than true MER? I haven't looked at it since the g.fast/FTTC days though.

dougie06n · 2 Dec 2022 at 20:09

I used to use homeplug system a tp link one was supposed to be about max 1gb we had 200mbs and wife was getting cut off upstairs when trying to work I then went to 600mbs and she was still getting cut off pc was reading about 20-30mbs download so I changed the virgin router to modem and bought a Asus RT- ac86u what a difference it made I also bought anther one and meshed them fantastic now, my only issue is they are not wifi 6 they do have new ones about £78 I belive that are wifi 6 but I can't comment on there performance or whither it would be worth me upgrading as I get about 500 now at both pcs upstairs in office, I know your speeds are different but I was getting less than a tenth at one point with homeplug system and I had been using it for about 10 years just seem to go down hill, I went from tp link to bt then back to tp link as I increased the speeds but they still did not perform

Rainmaker · 3 Dec 2022 at 00:00

Avalon said:
This, but I believe it's DHCP60/61 rather than true MER? I haven't looked at it since the g.fast/FTTC days though.

Happy to defer to you here. I moved into a house with Sky broadband once, many years ago. I moved to ADSL24 and later UK Online on the moving in day. My knowledge is all third hand, on the Sky front.