Potential Fibre Router Problem?

[#1]

I switched to Plusnet Fibre in August 2014 and received a complimentary Technicolor 582n router which the BT engineer hooked up to the Openreach Modem at initial installation. Then in August of this year I contracted for a further two years, upgrading to the up to 76mbps product, but kept the same router/modem set up.

Just lately, and, irritatingly mainly at night, the router stops working completely, at random, and even powering it off and on doesn't always seem to make any difference. In desperation this evening I even powered down the Openreach Modem in case that was the issue but having seen a similar situation reported by another member I wonder if maybe it is the router that is at fault.

See : https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/Plusnet-Router-quot-Just-Stops-quot/m-p/1378205#U1378205

Also I have noticed that both the router and the Openreach modem seem to be getting very hot to the touch. Could this be the issue? That said both modem and router are usually left on 24/7 as is recommended. During the day I tend to dip in and out of the Internet via my iPad and tend not to suffer outages on the tablet at all, yet when I put the PC on in the evening that is when the problem sometimes occurs.

I remember reading somewhere of late that BT intend to withdraw support for Openreach modems in 2017 and wonder if now might be the time to opt for a combined modem/router?

I have heard of the Hub One from Plusnet but wonder if instead I should have a third party device as it would be very nice to have wider signal range in the garden for the tablet. At present it will hold a signal within around five yards of the house wall which is a little limiting, especially given that the landline cordless phone signal reaches all the way to the bottom of the garden! The iPad supports wireless ac standard so a wireless ac router would seem to be the best option.

[#2]

It's certainly possible that it's the router at fault and while you're more than welcome to purchase a third party router, it may still be worth getting a Hub One if nothing else but for a back up.

As you re-contracted within the last 3 months, you're still eligible for a Hub One at just the P&P cost of £6.99.

It's also worth noting that the Hub One does support ac wireless

[#3]

Thanks Harry, I didn't realise that I was still eligible for a Hub One.

Yes a back up router certainly makes a lot of sense as I am so tied up with the Internet these days that being without it (perhaps due to router failure) for even a short time would be very inconvenient. 

[#4]

I've mounted my OpenReach modem and TG582 vertically and they don't get very hot at all.

Which OR modem do you have? If it's the HG612 that's a pretty good modem. An option that has been suggested to me is to get an all one but use it just as a router. Then if the OpenReach modem goes pop I have an instant fallback.

[#5 · Accepted solution]

Apologies @Spruance I just realised I forgot to mention in my previous post, but you would need to call us to request the router so we can take the £6.99 P&P charge.

[#6]

Yes Thanks @HarryB I realised that and actually called last Friday to request my £6.99 Hub One. I'm told to expect it on Tuesday (tomorrow). 

Since the existing combo of TG582N and Openreach Modem (not sure of model no. but says underneath made by ECI Telecom in August 2013), haven't gone out completely I will likely keep them in reserve but it will be nice to have a fully reliable connection once again.

[#7]

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@Spruance wrote:

Openreach Modem (not sure of model no. but says underneath made by ECI Telecom

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That's the poorer of the two versions they supplied. The good one is the Huawei EchoLife HG612 Modem

[#8]

Well, the Plusnet Hub One duly arrived on time this morning as promised and I set it up this afternoon and it has now been running for around three hours Set up was a breeze and I didn't even need to look at the manual.. All connected devices report improved signal strength and I am even seeing close to my stated maximum download of 54Mbps....

With the old set up 48Mbps was a seldom seen maximum so I am very impressed. Thanks again to @HarryB for the heads up.

[#9]

Which OR modem do you have? If it's the HG612 that's a pretty good modem. An option that has been suggested to me is to get an all one but use it just as a router. Then if the OpenReach modem goes pop I have an instant fallback.

You might want to look at this http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/cat-15_TD-W9970.html , they're currently on offer in Argos at £29.99. According to Kitz the modem is a broadcom chipset and comparable to the HG612 in performance. I've just bought one with the intention of using it purely as a modem ( bridge mode ) in front of my Draytek 2830 when my FTTC is activated. Tested it yesterday on the office FTTC connection, replacing a Zen supplied TG589 in bridge mode to our firewall and it worked fine, so I reserved another one for an office backup!.

It is though, a fully fledged modem router, with even IPSec VPN tunnel support. There is however no Wifi AC or gigabit ethernet but then again at that price, as a back up or as just a modem it seems ideal.

[#10]

Glad to hear you've seen some improvements already since connecting the Hub One @Spruance

Thanks for letting us know

[#11]

Thanks for the info @MisterW.

My old OR modem is (on closer scrutiny) an ECI model no b focus v 2fub r. There seem to be several on a certain well known internet auction site at this very moment in fact!