topic Re: Annex A or B in My Router

Annex A or B

Madhatter007 — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 15:20:27 GMT

Hi,

My FRITZbox has option for Annex A or B which one do I need to select for Plusnet?

Re: Annex A or B

RichardB — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 15:27:27 GMT

Hi @Madhatter07
The last two posts on:
https://community.plus.net/t5/ADSL-Broadband/FTTC-annex-A-or-B/td-p/1104890
Come from very knowlegable people on the Kitz forum and indicate Annex B should be used.
Regards
Richard

Re: Annex A or B

starfry — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 18:39:06 GMT

For VDSL (fibre) it is Annex B. For ADSL it is Annex A.

I have in my configuration (different device running OpenWRT):

config dsl 'dsl' option xfer_mode 'ptm' option annex 'b' option tone 'a' config interface 'wan' option proto 'pppoe' option ifname 'ptm0.101' option username '.....' option password '.....' config device 'wan_dev' option name 'ptm0'

Just in case you need any other values, the above may be of help to you.

Re: Annex A or B

Edinburgh_wg — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 22:25:08 GMT

You should choose Annex A.

Annex B is an option for ADSL/VDSL to be used in Germany and Poland (ISDN).

Nothing to do with VDSL Annex B (profile) in the UK, I'm afraid, as some people on here wrongly think it is because they see 'Annex B' next to VDSL2 descriptions.

Re: Annex A or B

starfry — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 10:25:31 GMT

@Edinburgh_wg wrote:

You should choose Annex A.

Annex B is an option for ADSL/VDSL to be used in Germany and Poland (ISDN).

Nothing to do with VDSL Annex B (profile) in the UK, I'm afraid, as some people on here wrongly think it is because they see 'Annex B' next to VDSL2 descriptions.

Could you provide more clarity on your answer please, perhaps linking to some documentation? I have been running with the settings that I posted for over two years without issue, and many openwrt users posting in this community also use the same values. Perhaps it's a naming disparity of openwrt, I don't know, but Annex B is what works for me (yes, on PlusNet in the UK).

I did some quick searching and can see the term "Annex" applied to two things so perhaps there is some cross-talk occurring.

Re: Annex A or B

Edinburgh_wg — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 10:49:45 GMT

Plenty information, for example on Wikipedia, and so you should make an effort to educate yourself.

Annex B with reference to profiles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDSL

Or in relation to hardware in modems: https://www.draytek.com/support/knowledge-base/5002

I'm also talking from experience: Annex A modems (not dual) won't work on Annex B lines in Germany or Poland, and vice versa. Even if you upload the other firmware type.

Fritz is a German company: https://en.avm.de/service/knowledgebase/dok/FRITZ-Box-7590/37_Supported-DSL-lines/

If you're looking at DSL standard in the UK (ADSL/FTTC), it's Annex A (POTS).

I don't know much about OpenWrt, but since it's custom firmware that can be uploaded to different supported devices, there should be an option to change types of annex. So, effectively, you're still running an Annex A modem (hardware), so choosing Annex B in OpenWrt won't have an effect. Fritz is different - from the description, it looks like it's a universal modem that can work on both Annex A and Annex B lines. But, for the lines in the UK (DSL), you should always buy Annex A hardware-based modems, as simply Annex B won't work.

Overall, therefore, my Draytek router is Annex A, and so is your modem, even if you're on FTTC.

Hope the above clarifies everything.

Re: Annex A or B

Madhatter007 — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 11:02:20 GMT

It's a ex ZEN modem and been using for a couple of days and not had any issues other than the WiFi ones I was experiencing before but actually worse. - SSID disappears.

Re: Annex A or B

Edinburgh_wg — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 11:07:43 GMT

WiFi is a separate issue. If you have a sync with the exchange, then you should look into WiFi separately.

The problem with using a modem/router from another provider is that firmware could have been customised and you won't change some settings.

Re: Annex A or B

Madhatter007 — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 11:10:15 GMT

Luckily no customisation and it did online SW update.

WiFi moved cordless etc further apart.

Just wanted to make sure right Annex and not introduced another variable into the issue.

Re: Annex A or B

Edinburgh_wg — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 23:46:32 GMT

This *very knowledgeable* in relation to Kitz forum gurus etc should now be read *not so knowledgeable*, I'm afraid.

Re: Annex A or B

Madhatter007 — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 08:23:56 GMT

Hopefully can help others in the future.

In the end called Zen, With so much conflicting advice and spoke to CS and they advised it's Annex A.

Sadly PN were gormless and could not help

Re: Annex A or B

Edinburgh_wg — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 19:09:29 GMT

But I provided you with information that was accurate - it's Annex A.

You should have phoned Zen in the first place then, rather than bother people on this forum, especially that you didn't even bother thanking any contributors on here.

In the future, also be mindful that there are differences between providers and the settings (a good example is plusnet Vs Talk talk). Therefore, using another provider's settings (Zen's) can potentially lead to confusion and problems.

Re: Annex A or B

dvorak — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 05:48:13 GMT

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Fibre to My Router

Re: Annex A or B

Madhatter007 — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 08:11:18 GMT

This is the reply from AVM, apparantly makes no difference.
"If you have to select, I would always recommend to select Annex A in the UK (as Annex B was used in the UK with ISDN landlines only).
When using VDSL, the Annex type does not matter anyway (only with ADSL profiles the Annex type matters)."

Re: Annex A or B

Edinburgh_wg — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 22:35:31 GMT

That's a very interesting response from AVM: if it doesn't matter, why are they recommending that you still use Annex A?

Re: Annex A or B

Madhatter007 — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 11:54:08 GMT

This is a community so that's why I posed. I doubt if the vast majority of people thought I was bothering them as forums are for exchange of views and queries?

As for not taking your advice, there is so much conflicting information out there, it is a prudent step to get the correct information rather than taking one view on a forum. If everyone had leaned one way that would be different.

So sorry I didn't thank you personally but you will see I have thanked others and we all have life rather than leaving thanks on a forum.

The limited knowledge I share on forums, I do to help others not for meaningless clicking of "thank" icons or show I opiniated I am!

Re: Annex A or B

Edinburgh_wg — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 12:57:23 GMT

So, I've done some more research into whether it should be Annex A or Annex B. For all exchanges (Broadcom and Infineon), it should be Annex A. The only time when you should choose Annex B is when your exchange has the Ikanos chipset.

However, if you choose Annex B for Broadcom/Infineon, Fritz!box will ignore this setting and treat it as if it was Annex A, which is why probably some have been successful with running their connection with Annex B setting.