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All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

irritablegit
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All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

I’ve had Plusnet fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) for years and it’s worked very smoothly.  Now
I’m looking to replace my Netgear router and the Openreach modem with an all in one VDSL2 router.
I want to hear from people who have actually replaced their separates with a VDSL2 all in one router modem, to learn from their experience.
To keep this simple (hopefully), I’m starting two threads … Recommended (The Good) and Not Recommended (The Bad).  Please post to the appropriate thread … and stick to the headings below …
Brand
Model
Why ?
15 REPLIES 15
irritablegit
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users


Brand    TP-Link
Model    Archer VR900
Why ?  It drops the line multiple times each day, even with the beta firmware supplied by TP-Link.  I want it on smoothly 24/7.  Not only is it hassle, it is a huge waste of time.  And the Plusnet Dynamic Line Management (DLM) appears to have cut my line speed in half, presumably because of so many reboots of the router.  (This is new to me.  I can still send it back and revert to my old kit)
Mustrum
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

Much will depend on your budget and other factors, but have a look here for more information.
irritablegit
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

@Mustrum
a) I'm not particularly interested in the budget, and
b) I specifically said I'm not interested in a list of kit
7up
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

If you want something reliable, I would personally build up a mini or nano ITX system running WinXP and nat32 software router (as a service).
Wiuth nat32 you can support multiple modems / gateways and it will switch over automatically if one fails. Plus being a windows machine (meaning you have full usb or PCI) you can change the hardware to suit differeing requirements over time (eg house moves, 3G dongles, fibre modems etc).
I ran a WinXP machine for years (using MS's Internet Connection Sharing) and that was using a 56k dialup modem as backup and a usb ADSL modem as the main connection. The only snag was it was a bit noisy being a full size ATX system but if you purchased a fanless system... I'd say you'd be reasonably well prepared  Smiley
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irritablegit
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

@7up
Intriguing ... not something that had occurred to me.  I'll investigate out of interest, but as I'd like to simplify things I suspect that's as far as it will go.  Of course, you have posted in the "NOT Recommended" thread ...  Thanks for the pointer anyway
w23
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

Bad (currently on UK FTTC - was OK for years prior to end of October):
Brand. AVM
Model. Fritz!Box 7390
Why?  Was fine until something changed in the cabinet and lost  early 90% of upstream sync speed.  Other users (at least on Huawei cabinets) reported the same issue around the end of October.  Probably OK for anyone on a FTTC service with 2Mbit/s upload limit.
Call me 'w23'
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Oldjim
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

Billion 8800NL
So that I can monitor what is happening
The good - it just works
The bad - the ARP table and associated DHCP seem a bit temperamental
ajbrown1965
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Registered: ‎27-02-2009

Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

Agree with OldJim. I set up a Billion 8000NL to replace an older Billion and the BT cable modem. No problems in over 8 months.
rongtw
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

ASUS DSL AC 68U  Cool
been using this for last 6month with no problems  Wink
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Haybasha
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

Brand. ZyXEL
Model. SBG 3300-N
Why?  Syncs higher than any other unit I've tried on my line (ECI cab) and works fine. Works well with DSLStats and has lots of options. No 5GHz wifi though but 2.4GHz seems to work well.
Edit: Ah just noticed the title of this thread, this works well on PlusNet so not really applicable.
RJM
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

Thomson TG589vn v3
Not one drop-out in nearly nine months.
As, I live in a small property I really can't comment on the WiFi performance as it is adequate for me.
I am not technically minded and just wanted "plug & go" and this was a doddle to set-up.
Riscy
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

Quote from: w23
Bad (currently on UK FTTC - was OK for years prior to end of October):
Brand. AVM
Model. Fritz!Box 7390
Why?  Was fine until something changed in the cabinet and lost  early 90% of upstream sync speed.  Other users (at least on Huawei cabinets) reported the same issue around the end of October.

Thanks to PlusNet users on here, including the quoted w23 and elfish who diligently filed support tickets with AVM, it looks as if this problem will soon be fixed... New firmware is on the way which will solve the upstream problem. I'm running their Beta firmware now and am happy to report it's gone away. Respect to AVM too, for managing to rush out a firmware fix in a relatively (for the software industry!) short period of time.
See this thread  http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,145977.16.html
So set against the soon-to-be-fixed 7390 upload problem: to the OP, I'd actually add a recommendation in favour of the FRITZ!Box... Because:

  • All-in-one integration between DECT phones, IP telephony, VDSL2, dual-band WiFi, DLNA Server, DLNA Control, NAS

  • AVM's professional approach to problem resolution, witness this firmware fix

  • Some PABX functionality, routing landline calls back out via IP telephony and vice-versa

  • Reasonable filter controls for whitelist/blacklist, access times, shared online time budget across common devices... (only full filtering on https isn't supported; with only a blanket allow/deny for all https, albeit on a per device profile)

  • Acts as a DLNA Control Point via the (FRITZ) DECT phones... I.e. you can control your DLNA media streaming via the landline phone

  • VPN works out of the box even with Android (4+) devices, no client software required

  • NAS function, via attached USB storage, which can be (a) accessible from Internet, and (b) used to serve DLNA content

  • 5GHz WiFi in addition to 2.4GHz. In our new-build house, i.e. plasterboard-in-metal-frame construction, the 5GHz signal reaches from approx 11m radius through 3 plasterboard partitions and one floor/ceiling. No external antenna connections though unfortunately

  • DSL performance - recent case excepted - is excellent and the line remains up for weeks at a time

  • General device is robust, never needed a reset other than for firmware installs

  • LAN performance is reliable: can saturate the LAN for 48hrs running backups of a few TB, with no disconnections


The 7390 has now been replaced by the 7490, but firmware functions are apparently common across FRITZ!Box so these functions will still apply.
I get the impression that it's not the ultimate in flexibility, compared to combining several devices and/or using a PC/Linux box as a gateway. But in terms of an all-in-one device, the breadth and depth of functions seems to be at the forefront of the market - assuming you do want that breadth, like having DECT and IP telephony.
w23
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

I may have to retract the 'Bad' for the 7390, thanks to AVM acting on support requests and other users, as seen above, submitting reports.
Call me 'w23'
At any given moment in the universe many things happen. Coincidence is a matter of how close these events are in space, time and relationship.
Opinions expressed in forum posts are those of the poster, others may have different views.
7up
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Re: All in one routers … The Bad – NOT Recommended by Plusnet users

Quote from: irritablegit
@7up
Intriguing ...

Of course it is... because it came from me and thats how my mind works  Cheesy
Quote from: irritablegit
not something that had occurred to me.

Or many others... but i've always had to come up with some unique ideas to get around problems. That was one of them many moons ago when i had wanted to have a reasonably disaster proof way of staying online.
Quote from: irritablegit
Of course, you have posted in the "NOT Recommended" thread ...  Thanks for the pointer anyway

Thats because I'm not recommending anything else - which might suit one particular connection (eg fibre) but nothing else (eg adsl). Plus being a functional PC it would also be able to do other things such as host a web server, ftp server, download files overnight while your main pc is off etc...
I'm a (twisted) genius really.. I just never had enough money to make a difference to the world  Cry
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