Replace mr Plusnet Hub 2 modem/router

[#1]

Thank you so much MisterW,

It was worth waiting a few days for the Amazon Prime sale to begin - I have just ordered a set of 3 Mercusys Mesh boxes for just £68, which that nice Mr Bezos will have delivered to my house tomorrow. I hope I have ordered the right equipment:

… but with Amazon I can always return if it is incorrect.

Now I will need some help in configuring the first box so I can replace the Plusnet Hub 2 and attach the Openreach wire directly to it.

Alan 😎

[#2]

@spile 

Your last negative post is uncalled for. Yes, the best result will be achieved by installing Ehernet cabling, using this a a backbone for mesh units, (not wirelss access points as you suggest or Powerline). However wirelessly connected mesh satellites as recommended are by far the best solution where there is no desire to cable a property. 

Agreed, this is not an ISP issue, however you may have noticed that advice is coming from fellow customers, who have a much wider experience then is required to answer ISP related questions.

[#3]

If you don’t mind me saying Spile, that is a somewhat unhelpful attitude for you to take. As you may note from the other (rather more helpful) responses, there are other options that do not require drilling holes in walls to lay hard wires. I’m certainly not ignoring the other advice, indeed as you may see I have today purchased a Mesh system that I hope will solve my problem, I’m just ignoring your advice because I don’t think it is what I’m looking for.

😎

[#4]

Thank you for that advice Baldrick 1,

You may have noticed from a post above that I’ve gove ahead and purchased a Mercursys Mesh kit with 3 boxes that MisterW kindly recommend a few days ago. This was only £68 in Amazon’s Prime sale, so it is almost no risk at all. It should be here tomorrow, so I will today start researching what I will need to do to configure the first box such that it replaces the Hub 2 router.

I suspect what I will need is some help with ‘configure the primary Mesh unit to make a PPPoE connection with your Plusnet credentials and connect it directly to the ONT ( the Openreach fibre box )’ - to quote a contributor above. I’m guessing I will need to connect my laptop to one of the first Mesh box’s Ethernet port and type in my Plusnet credentials - what information will I need, and where might I find it (I’m guessing somewhere on my Plusnet contract?).

I’m looking forward to this little project.

Alan 😎

[#5]

@alanothen According to googles AI bot 

Steps to Set Up PPPoE

1. Download and Open the MERCUSYS App: Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your Halo network. 

• Connect to Your Main Halo Unit: Connect your Halo unit to your modem or the internet source. 
• Access WAN Settings: Within the app, navigate to the network settings or WAN settings section. 
• Select PPPoE: Choose "PPPoE" as your connection type. 
• Enter Your Credentials: Input the PPPoE username and password provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). 
• Save Settings: Save your changes, and the Halo system will connect to the internet. 

I've no reason to believe its not correct.

As to the required PPPoE credentials, the username is <youraccountname>@plusdsl.net and the password is the one you use to login to the member centre ( https://www.plus.net/member-centre/login )

You might also want to change the Halo wireless settings Network name(SSID) and password to be the same as those on the Hub 2. Thay way you won't have to go round and change the wireless settings on all your devices.

[#6]

Thank you so much MisterW,

I suppose I could have easily googled the first bit myself if I’d thought about it, but thank you for taking the time to do that - it sounds very simple indeed.

Thank you so much for the detail about PPPoE credentials - I’ll look that up today. The point about changing the Halo network name and password to the same as the Hub 2 box is an excellent one - there are numerous bits of home automation and devices around the house that would otherwise take an age to re-configure.

Many thanks for your help and patience throughout, I have learned a lot already and am looking forward to this little project. I’ll report back on whether it has achieved the aim at its conclusion.

Alan 😎

[#7]

I tried to edit my post to better and more constructively convey what I was saying but the forum doesn’t allow that. So please remove that post. My point was that when strict conditions are given, it places limitations on what is the best/most effective option. Fundamentally I believe a wired back haul is the most effective and cost effective way to add wireless connectivity.

While mesh systems are designed to connect wirelessly, hardwiring through Ethernet ports on the nodes provides a faster and more reliable connection, especially for applications like gaming which of course may not be relevant in this case.

[#8]

@spile Unless it has changed, there is a 20? minute edit window from posting.

[#9]

Apologies if it came across that way but the forum doesn’t allow me to correct my post. However I would argue that you reconsider your position regarding hardwiring. For example is running a cable outside your house to an upstairs room viable? It could be a very neat solution. If it’s really not an option, I will get my coat.

[#10]

Thank you for that @spile ,

I’m sure you mean well, and you may well be right from a technical perspective, but in my house the cost of drilling holes through brick and block internal walls and then re-decorating would far outweigh any advantages. I did make that really clear from early on in this thread.

The Hub 2 supplied by Plusnet does work fairly well, most of the time, all I’m doing is trying to improve it ‘a bit’ at quite a low cost. It may well be that the wirelessly connected Mesh boxes that I’ve gone for won’t be the optimal solution, but it will almost certainly be better than I have now. Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the perfectly good.

The new kit should arrive from that nice Mr Bezos today, so I’ll try to get it installed this week and report back.

😎

PS. I’ve learned something new this morning: how to insert forum user names into posts by adding a ‘@‘ sign in front. How cool is that 😀

[#11]

---

@alanothen wrote:

... nice Mr Bezos ...

---

Maybe OT, but here's  the conclusion of an AI overview of the words quoted;

Conclusion

Whether Jeff Bezos is considered "nice" is subjective and can be interpreted differently based on his public actions and the impact of his business practices. He is a complex figure whose business success is admired by some, while his humanitarian actions and the alleged negative impacts of his companies are questioned by others. 

[#12]

To conclude then chaps:

I opened the box for the Mercusys system this morning, 10 minutes later I had the excellent app downloaded on an iPad, the first box plugged in vice the Plusnet unit and followed the on-screen instructions. It was trivially simple to type in the Plusnet credentials and allocate the same WiFi network name and password - a few minutes later the first box was set up and working. It took a little bit of experimentation to get the other two Halo boxes onto good places - the study and kitchen turned out to work well, but the app was easy to use and it took no time to add the additional boxes.

The results have been very good. I used the fast.com program to measure speeds with the Hub 2 box and got:

Sitting room: 310 Mb/s

Kitchen: 130 Mb/s

Garage: 38 Mb/

… after installing the 3 Mesh units I get:

Sitting room: 310 Mb/s

Kitchen: 270 Mb/s

Garage: 130 Mb/s

I think the thick brick and block internal and external walls of my house were causing the attenuation when using a single router, the Mesh system has got around this quite nicely, and at very small cost (£68).

Many thanks for the help and advice, in particular to @Baldrick1  and @MisterW .

Alan 😎

[#13]

@alanothen 

A very pleasing result.

[#14]

@alanothen Yes, glad it worked out for you. Its always tricky recommending wifi solutions as everyones environment is different.

[#15]

@alanothen when you stated plugged into the Plusnet unit, I assume that you meant the ONT and that you have removed the Plusnat router from your system.
Well done on the next setup and greatly improved speed.