Router

[#1]

We changed to Fibre last week and so far its been great!  However, I do not have a backup router in case the little Sagemcom one which Plusnet supply develops a fault.
I don't need the router to do anything other than get me on the internet so don't need anything complex and I have no problem with having the separate Openreach modem, so I was thinking maybe of getting a Homehub 4 off ebay and keep the Sagemcom as a spare. 
Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
Cheers
Jon 

[#2]

If all you need is simple internet access then I have successfully used an apple airport express.  Be warned that it doesn't seem to work with vpn, or I haven't figured out how to make it work 🙂  But like I said it works well for general usage.
How do I know this, because a month after deciding to go with PN, I am still waiting for my router 😞

[#3]

Quote

I have no problem with having the separate Openreach modem, so I was thinking maybe of getting a Homehub 4 off ebay and keep the Sagemcom as a spare.

That's certainly one sensible option. A Homehub 4 or 5 would be fine, the 5 would also give the option of not using the OR modem.  I'm not sure what budget you're looking at but there are a couple of reasonably priced VDSL routers used by people on here, the TpLink td-w9980 and the Billion 8800NL , both are available around the £60 mark and can work with or without the OR modem.  Alternatively if all you want is a cheap and cheerful spare for the Sagemcom then all you need is what's usually called a 'cable router'. Pcworld have one here http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/networking/network-routers-and-switches/routers/...; for £18.99 , it's performance probably won't be fantastic but it'll do as a spare. You'll probably find cheaper on Amazon but it gives an idea of typical price.

[#4]

I have a HH 4 but can't seem to get it to work.  Admitedly it was originally on dsl rather than fibre.  Is there something other than just the username/password I need to change to make it work?  And am I right in thinking the openreach fibre modem should be pugged into the WAN socket?

[#5]

Hi softbase
Thanks for your advice re the Airport Express.  Regarding the HH4, take a look at the first item in the Fibre section of Help and Support; setting up the HH4 looks quite simple, which is one of the reasons prompting me to go down that route.
I'm currently bidding for an HH4 on ebay.  If that fails I'll follow MisterW's suggestion and look at a cable router.
Thanks for your help
Jon 

[#6]

Yep, did all that and I get an orange bar with flashing red connect symbol below it.  It must be because it was configured for dsl previously.  If I get it to work I'll post back here.  Good luck with the bidding 🙂

[#7]

Quote

It must be because it was configured for dsl previously.

Did you factory reset it before trying to configure it for PlusNet ?

[#8]

Quote from: MisterW

Quote It must be because it was configured for dsl previously. Did you factory reset it before trying to configure it for PlusNet ?

No I hadn't but now I have.  I held the reset button for 20+ seconds and everything was reset.  I still can't connect and, more crucially, can't find any way of telling the router to use the WAN port rather than dsl.  So, unless someone else has some idea on how this can work (i.e. they have actually had a HH 4 on dsl and changed it to WAN) I can only suggest that you are very careful when buying one and make sure that the seller has used it with fiber in the past.

[#9]

I don't have a HH and can't speak from personal experience I'm afraid, but I would expect the HH to auto detect whether it has a DSL connection, and if not, to try the WAN. You could possibly see how, if it was already using the DSL then it would stick with that but I would have expected a factory reset to revert back to auto-detection. I assume you've followed the instructions at the top of this thread http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,135840.0.html and have entered your username & password correctly. If so then perhaps we need to wait fro someone with actual experience of the HH4.

[#10]

A lot of users have complained that the HH is forever updating & re-booting,so maybe worth looking into that,i use the TpLink td-w9980 & it works great.

[#11]

In an emergency you can use a PPPoE Dialler connection direct to the modem from the PC with an ethernet cable. If you are using Win8, I believe he settings are much the same. If you are using a Mac, you'll need to google, but it will be similar.
(NB. At time of posting, the Library, with the PPPoE Dialler article, is down. Try it later or google.).

[#12]

Quote from: MisterW

I don't have a HH and can't speak from personal experience I'm afraid, but I would expect the HH to auto detect whether it has a DSL connection, and if not, to try the WAN. You could possibly see how, if it was already using the DSL then it would stick with that but I would have expected a factory reset to revert back to auto-detection. I assume you've followed the instructions at the top of this thread http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,135840.0.html and have entered your username & password correctly. If so then perhaps we need to wait fro someone with actual experience of the HH4.

Yep I followed the instructions and it definitely reset.  I'll give it one more go tonight, but my official PN router has finally arrived so I'll most likely be switching to that.

[#13]

It should/does auto-detect. I did note however that after holding the reset button for a factory reset, on one occasion having waited several minutes, I had to power it off and then on again before it responded properly.
I did read somewhere that some users can't get it to work with other modems other than the Openreach ones. I haven't had the opportunity to play with it extensively on a Fibre connection, but it's marginally more configurable than the 2704N and does have the dual band wireless & AFAIK doesn't have the Port Forward problems that some are seeing with the 2704N. I'd give it another try at some point. I commented about some aspects in relation to ADSL here.