Where is PlusNet ‘Help & Support’?

[#1]

@TonyN 

Will this be practical? Or, given that I will have both the TP Link VR2100 I’m using at the moment and a new Hub2 from PlusNet, is there a better way?

You could reconfigure the VR2100 as an access point https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/faq/2655/ 

It would then serve the purpose of both the switch & wireless access point. You would have 3 lan ports available for wired connections.

[#2]

@ExForce9

Thanks! Have now read up the definitions of a router, a modem and an access point. Hope I will never encounter a 'splitter' or 'extender' again, but will be cautious if I do.

[#3]

@MisterW

So, as I understand it, the final answer based on all the help I’ve received on this thread is:

TO PRESERVE A LANDLINE NUMBER, FULL FIBRE MUST BE INSTALLED AND CONFIRMED BEFORE STARTING TO PORT THE NUMBER

Ensure there is no ‘line of sight’ problem between the BT pole and the house.

Finalise arranges for FF installation with the engineer when he arrives on 11^th Aug.

Use the free Hub2 from PlusNet for the OpenReach engineer to confirm successful FF installation.

Then immediately after – but NOT before – start the procedure for porting our landline number to A&A. There’s a 30 day time limit for this.

Replace the Hub2 with my TP Link VR2100 which has more advanced capabilities than the PlusNet offering.

Run a 20m Ethernet cable through to the office.

Install the Hub 2 at the office and make the necessary changes to settings for it to function as an access point only.

Connect the office desktops to the Hub 2 with Ethernet cables.

Wi-fi will then also be available at the office.

Change the TP Link and Hub 2 SSID’s to be the same.

Have a large whiskey.

While landline porting is in progress – probable 5-day downtime on the line – connect our existing cordless phone base unit to an ATA (Coldstream HT802 on order) and the ATA to the LAN/WAN port on the TP LINK.

ASAP: open an account at Mythic-Beasts and migrate the blogs I have on the PlusNet ccgi server to a new home. All being well, change the domain forwarding I have in place to reference the new location.

All the above – other than the whiskey – comes from what I have learned on this thread. That has gone a long way towards restoring my rather battered faith in PlusNet when I originally posted. Finally, I’ll read through the thread again an see what tweaks I have missed.

Very many thanks to all.

[#4]

@TonyN 

One thing you missed ...

Over on the ThinkBroadband forum where many current and ex Openreach installers and engineers offer advice

they have often suggested having tea or coffee and a good selection of biscuits available for the installation engineer

often sighting "Hobnobs" and "Fig Rolls" (or "Fig Newtons") as engineer's favourites.

This might make the difference if they need to go above and beyond with some aspect of your full fibre installation.

[#5]

My only comments would be:-

Replace the Hub2 with my TP Link VR2100 which has more advanced capabilities than the PlusNet offering.

Install the Hub 2 at the office and make the necessary changes to settings for it to function as an access point only.

Unless you actually need the advanced facilities of the VR2100 as a router, I would suggest using the Hub 2 as the router and the VR2100 as the access point.

Whilst what you are suggesting will work, there are a couple of issues with using the Hub 2 as an access point. #

One, it only has 3 LAN ports and so when used as an AP only 2 will be available to connect wired devices.

Two, it's LED will constantly flash orange as it will not have an internet connection. 

Change the TP Link and Hub 2 SSID’s to be the same.

TBH I'm never sure whether the same or different SSIDs is better, probably suck it and see...

[#6]

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@MisterW wrote:

Change the TP Link and Hub 2 SSID’s to be the same.

TBH I'm never sure whether the same or different SSIDs is better, probably suck it and see...

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I've agonised over that in the past,  but after much testing with my five WAPs, I now set them differently - each with an SSID that describes the room in which the WAP is located.  I then get the devices that normally reside in each room to associate with their local SSID.  If the device moves outside it's primary SSID wireless range, then the device's OS will detect the loss of WiFI signal and reconnect to the strongest signal SSID in the new location. 

I found that setting them all to the same SSID which is normal for device 'roaming', that devices held on to weak signals from the devices previous location too long, when the stronger nearer signal would have given better performance, but the 'roaming' algorithms seem to prioritise holding on to a connection to minimise momentary WAP switching, rather than optimising for available WiFi bandwidth.

In @TonyN 's case, most of the wireless devices in the office will stay in the office, and most of the wireless devices in the rest of the house will stay in the vicinity of the WiFi router,  so they might as will stick to their dedicated areas using SSID's such as "TonyN-Office" and "TonyN-Home" and setup the nearby devices accordingly, with perhaps mobile phones using both.

[#7]

@TonyN  From my own experience ( after a frustrating 100 day delay because Openreach repeatedly failed to repair a damaged duct in the pavement ) I would be cautious about starting the number port immediately, although my FTTP was working after installation the speeds were all over the place and it turned out that the order had not been completed on BT Wholesale systems and it was a few days later that I got the email from Plusnet saying "My product change was complete".

Probably a good idea to wait for this confirmation to arrive, it should normally be soon after your FTTP installation.

[#8]

@MisterW 

I no longer use the Hub2 but can you not turn the lights off. My grey matter suggests this is what I did.

Brian

[#9]

@MisterW 

Change the TP Link and Hub 2 SSID’s to be the same.

TBH I'm never sure whether the same or different SSIDs is better, probably suck it and see...

I use the same SSID for the WAPs I have, rather than using auto channel select I have set them up do use different channels, 1 6 and 11. Roaming works well, but I don't use apple products.

The thinking for this strategy is down to the CCTV system I use, as they only support a single Wireless name, I have to be sure they switch to an adjacent WAP in the even of a failure.

Another thing to avoid is increasing the bandwidth of the 2.4GHz signal from 20 (the default) to 40MHz, as this will result in co channels interference channel 1 with a 40MHz bandwidth channel boundary being 1 through to 7.

@bmc 

Yes the lights can be turned off, BUT they turn on for a fault condition, having no DSL/WAN connection would be a fault

[#10]

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@bmc wrote:

I no longer use the Hub2 but can you not turn the lights off. My grey matter suggests this is what I did.

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@bmc 

I have never used a Plusnet Hub Two, but Grok has an answer for what you are partially remembering -

There is no configuration option to permanently switch off (or override) the front-panel light on a Plusnet Hub Two when it is used as a wireless access point without a direct broadband/internet connection.

The Hub Two has a “Hub light control” page in the web interface (log in at the hub’s IP address—normally 192.168.1.254, or whatever static address you assigned it—and select Hub light control). This lets you turn the light off completely, adjust brightness, or set a schedule. However, any perceived error condition (including the lack of a broadband/WAN connection that occurs in AP mode) overrides those settings, so the light continues to flash orange.

This behaviour is confirmed by Plusnet staff and users on the official community forums:

• When the hub has no internet connection it treats this as an error state and forces the flashing orange status light regardless of the light-control preferences.
• The same limitation is noted in guides for configuring the Hub Two as an AP: the LED “will likely flash orange” and “you cannot disable the LEDs … when it thinks there is an error condition.”

Community suggestions are limited to physical covering (electrical/black tape, white tape to match the case, or commercial light-dimming stickers such as LightDims). No firmware workaround, advanced setting, or bridge-mode trick that keeps the light off while the unit functions as an AP has been documented.

In short, the light-control feature works only when the hub believes it has a normal broadband connection; in pure AP mode the error override cannot be disabled via software.

[#11]

@Dan_the_Van  @ExForce9 

Thanks for the information.

Brian

[#12]

@MisterW

Those issue noted as a problem in some instances, but with an office little larger than a shoe-box, the likelihood of my needing more than 2 wired connections is very slight. And the modem location is outside the office door, high on a wall in a dark corridor.

I think I may give it a try anyway with a fold or two co muslin over the lights. At least I’m familiar with the interface of the TP Link.

Strange that one has to resort to string in order to wall-mount a Hub 2 though!

and 

And having read the comments about alighning the SSIDs, I've gone off the idea.

[#13]

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@TonyN wrote:

Strange that one has to resort to string in order to wall-mount a Hub 2 though!

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@TonyN 

It's funny you mention that, yesterday I saw this on eBay and ignored it - Plusnet Hub Two Wall Mount Bracket 

[#14]

@RealAleMadrid

Thanks for the warning. I'll bear it in mind when the time comes.

[#15]

@ExForce9

Given the location, I think I'll stick with the string. Looks to me like the sort of thing that a supplier should include in the box.