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Bought a incompatible router now what?

Eatpower
Grafter
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Registered: ‎18-08-2014

Bought a incompatible router now what?

Hi, I'm on the highest fibre package with Plusnet and last year we were having problems with the hub one router so they sent us out a ZyXel router which worked really well except it had poor wireless range, other than that it was okay. 

 

It's starting to show that the router is on it's last legs as it keeps restarting on it's own and keeps dropping out so Plusnet told me to buy my own one (Not telling me what kind of router I needed) So I did not know which one to buy so I just bought a Belkin AC1000 Dual Band Wireless ADSL Modem Router on eBay. So now I've been told it's the wrong kind of router.. What should I do? Does anyone believe this may still work regardless of Plusnets advice or could this work with the Openreach VDSL modems? 

 

 

12 REPLIES 12
mikelahey
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

It's only ADSL, not VDSL for fibre
If I were you I'd email the seller and see if they'll take it back or just list it on eBay and hope you get somewhere near what you paid for it.

TBH it's not a fantastic ADSL router either. You can pick up a second hand BT hh5b or hh6 on eBay for a reasonable price if you look around
There is a guide on here for how to set them up on Plusnet
Eatpower
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Registered: ‎18-08-2014

Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

I'm happy with the ZyXel router as we are receiving excellent speeds. It just had bad wifi range. Screen Shot 2017-07-13 at 16.39.25.png

 

Plus I've heard bad things about BT routers.

mikelahey
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

The billion bipac 8800nl gets reasonable reviews and won't break the bank. Although some reviews criticise the wifi, particularly as it's wireless n.

If you want to spend a bit more and want the faster wireless ac, then the tp-link Vr900 ac1900 is a good bet.
markhawkin
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

@Eatpower

 

"It's starting to show that the router is on it's last legs"

 

I'm a bit puzzled by this.

 

I wouldn't expect an ADSL or VDSL router to fail in this way after a year.

 

Perhaps after 5 years or 10 you might find the PSU brick goes (I've found after the power was turned off typically).

 

I would look for a different fault (perhaps the house phone wiring).

 

I am the satisfied customer....
Eatpower
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Registered: ‎18-08-2014

Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

Unfortunately, my sibilings have a tendency to turn the router off quiet a lot when the router doesn't perform in a acceptable way.. I.E the believe it's slow or the signal is poor. I have told them nurmerous times not to do this but ignorances is bliss I suppose.

So now I've noticed the signal drops and sometimes it takes along time for a video to load so you get a lot of buffering.
Eatpower
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

Okay, cool, I'll have a look. 

markhawkin
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

If the problem is WiFi range then thre are various repeaters available that may be what you want. They can make the WiFi slower but it will be more reliable. Typically a "fibre" router should be plugged in to the master phone socket (which may not be in a great location for WiFi coverage). A repeater more centrally (say upstairs) may make the coverage better.

Putting the router somewhere other than than on the master socket may well make the line drop. I also recommend a "V plate" or similar on the master socket. This sorted out an unstable line for a relative.

Once you have the repeater you could consider reinstalling the Hub One.
I am the satisfied customer....
Eatpower
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

I will try those methods, thanks. The reason plusnet sent us out a third party router was because we weren't getting very stable speeds or connection with the hub one as it was very naff.
markhawkin
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

@Eatpower

Without knowing the model of the Zyxel router I can't speculate why Plusnet sent it to you although it is possible that it is known to be better on poor quality lines.

Having spent some time getting "fibre" broadband stable on a difficult line, I'm not convinced that the router is the way to fix it. From my experience making the internal house wiring better (or invisible to the router by a filtered master socket face plate) is the way to go.

At the location in question, the exchange line was long and the house phone wire had loads of extra sockets, phones and splits as over the years extra sockets had been added and the phones moved around.

ADSL was always a bit poor there and prone to disconnections, thus the speed was poor even for the line length. A fibre upgrade made the initial speed better (although not good by fibre standards) but progressively that got worse.

A day of running a new wire directly to the Hub One and installing a filter plate at the BT master socket improved matters and now the fibre broadband is stable.

 

I am the satisfied customer....
Gandalf
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

Eatpower

Have you considered powerline adapters to extend the range of your WiFi?

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
jaread83
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Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

There is a post on the kitz forum for VDSL routers if you are unsure which one to buy that would be compatible:

http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php/topic,14436.0.html

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Eatpower
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Registered: ‎18-08-2014

Re: Bought a incompatible router now what?

Hi, no I haven't. I must point out to the users on the thread it appears I'm not the only one who is suffering poor range and sudden rests with this router.. after looking at some reviews on Amazon, it appears two reviewers are having the same issues as me.

One users goes on to say his router lasted only 5 months!