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Post by nrg on Jun 11, 2018 22:03:53 GMT
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Post by stanleyb on Jun 12, 2018 19:07:30 GMT
Like Martin, I can't get a high quality wireless connection to an important part of my house. The main reason for that is that the electrical wiring and noise in my office makes wireless connection to the dining room next to impossible. Running wires is not an option. So I couldn't get my TV and SB Touch to connect to the internet. But those troubles are now all behind me. My solution was to think outside the box and to use a different networking setup after coming across the Netgear EX7300 wireless extender. It's already highly rated for its range, but a recent FW update caused me to wonder if some of the added features would solve my problem. The strange thing is that the FW does not get flagged up when you do an update from within the extender. It is available separately from their website. There are several things that interest me with the new FW. But the one to solve my immediate problem is called Same Name by Netgear. It's Mesh compatible, and able to duplicate the SSID and login password of the main router. Connect it to an AC router and it can do even more.
Because it duplicates the main router, it is possible to program in some repeaters or extenders via WPS by using the main router. The repeaters will then use the main router or the Netgear to access the net, depending on the signal strength of the signal that they "see".
My TV is connected via a RJ45 lead to one of those repeaters, and the repeater locks on to the Netgear as if it was the main router that it was programmed to. My SB Touch is now also finally playing music from the internet. I can now also get a signal from my garden to the net. And that's another 1st. So the Netgear EX7300 with updated FW gets my vote as a solution.
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Post by MartinT on Jun 12, 2018 20:20:33 GMT
Nice find, Stan. Glad you've got networking sorted. I know what a pain it is trying different solutions and always finding it falling short.
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Post by stanleyb on Jun 13, 2018 7:31:04 GMT
It's a brilliant piece of kit that is worth every penny. I bought mine off ebay since some sellers are offering it there far cheaper than the regular online price. I tested the download speed on my Windows phone from the garden with one of the online speed test. Got 33.6MB which is just amazing to me.
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Post by MartinT on Oct 31, 2018 9:04:09 GMT
I finally cracked and nearly threw the BT Smart Hub out the window. The problem is that you cannot disable IPv6 no matter what you try. It's the same with wanting to use your own DNS instead of the pants BT ones. You can't. The outcome is that if I restart the Hub then Netflix is perfect for a while, after which it starts to reduce quality until it becomes highly pixelated. Programmes also take a minute or so to start. There is nothing wrong with our bandwidth, it's a known problem with the Hub and IPv6 causing problems with Android systems like our LG TV. Restarting the hub gives us excellent quality back, followed by a gradual deterioration.
The outcome is that I've ordered a Draytek 2762 VDSL router to replace it. This has no wi-fi which is perfect for our BT Whole Home mesh wi-fi (which is truly excellent).
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 31, 2018 10:10:13 GMT
A reminder for me if I am persuaded to move house I must check out the broadband and speak to you !
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Post by MartinT on Oct 31, 2018 11:08:42 GMT
if I am persuaded to move house Surely not!  |
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 31, 2018 14:08:02 GMT
if I am persuaded to move house Surely not! Fighting it ! |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 2, 2018 20:24:20 GMT
The Draytek VDSL router is in place, replacing the BT Smart Hub on Infinity. Thank goodness, proper settings flexibility and lights on the front telling you what the actual f*ck is going on! It's working well, still re-training for the best connection speed.
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Post by Slinger on Nov 2, 2018 22:59:14 GMT
The Draytek VDSL router is in place, replacing the BT Smart Hub on Infinity. Thank goodness, proper settings flexibility and lights on the front telling you what the actual f*ck is going on! It's working well, still re-training for the best connection speed. Keep us apprised of the performance, Martin. I've got no problems with the Smart Hub 6 but it's always good to know about a decent backup just in case... |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 2, 2018 23:23:44 GMT
So far, so good. It's gradually getting faster. It reboots quicker than a Smart Hub, too. You can go to the Admin GUI and it replicates the front panel lights in the interface, which is handy if I'm upstairs. You can also add a 4G USB modem to the back and it'll do failover from VDSL to 4G automatically. Nice.
The best thing is being able to disable IPv6. Netflix now starts instantly and gives us full resolution. That was the thing that set me off in the first place.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 15, 2018 10:42:38 GMT
I have the feeling that the Draytek router doesn't attempt to get to the bleeding edge of performance like the BT Smart Hub did. Consequently I'm getting a continuous 20Mbps compared with the Hub at around 23-24Mbps. The difference is there has not been a single drop-out or lock-up since installing it. This is far preferable, I'll take a solid 20Mbps any day.
A very nice bit of kit.
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 15, 2018 11:04:54 GMT
Well thought out Knows it's limitations  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2018 11:08:53 GMT
I have the feeling that the Draytek router doesn't attempt to get to the bleeding edge of performance like the BT Smart Hub did. Consequently I'm getting a continuous 20Mbps compared with the Hub at around 23-24Mbps. The difference is there has not been a single drop-out or lock-up since installing it. This is far preferable, I'll take a solid 20Mbps any day. A very nice bit of kit. I had thought about changing my router, but I am with Sky and they get extremely jumpy if you chose to use an after market router, to the point that is apparently forbidden, which I didn't know they could do. The Sky Q router is much better than its predecessor, but it's WiFi component is still appallingly bad. |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 15, 2018 11:47:39 GMT
I specifically wanted a non-wireless router, Paul, as I have the BT Wholehome wi-fi system with 5 discs which makes a superb meshed network.
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Post by pre65 on Nov 15, 2018 12:39:53 GMT
I currently get approx 11 mbps from BT.
The local cabinet has just been upgraded to fibre, so I can now get faster speeds from BT.
And at this very moment the John Henry Group (Gigaclear) are digging trenches all round my village to lay fibre cables, with each house having an access point. Fastest speed they offer is 900 mbps (at a price).
When the dust has settled I'll see how much it will cost me to upgrade to 30 mbps, should do me OK.
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Post by petea on Nov 15, 2018 13:30:31 GMT
I have two connections at home in the UK, one with Demon (Vodafone - dreadful) and another with Zen (superb). The latter achieves about 70 Mbit/s (fibre to the cabinet) and uses a Fritz!Box 7560 VDSL router from AVM (the other connection runs in bridged mode using a Draytek modem directly to the firewall appliance). I am very impressed with the Fritz!Box (we used to use AVM ISDN modems at work and they were great also) and its diagnostics are superb. It is WiFi enabled but I have disabled that as I want all my internal connectivity to be on my side of the firewall appliance (which also manages the VPNs). I would have preferred to bypass its internal firewall as well as it feeds into the same firewall appliance as the Draytek, but that is not possible it seems and I can see no significant overhead from it anyway. Most of the network is wired in the house although there is a wireless access point for laptops and iPads. The audio system is cabled though.
Zen have been as impressive as I'd heard them to be and the service is rock steady and more than fast enough.
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Post by pre65 on Nov 15, 2018 13:58:36 GMT
Has anyone here any personal experiences with Gigaclear ?
I've read some customer reviews and (in general) they seem to be very poor in regard to customer service and the range of their wireless routers.
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 15, 2018 14:36:43 GMT
I have two connections at home in the UK, one with Demon (Vodafone - dreadful) and another with Zen (superb). The latter achieves about 70 Mbit/s (fibre to the cabinet) and uses a Fritz!Box 7560 VDSL router from AVM (the other connection runs in bridged mode using a Draytek modem directly to the firewall appliance). I am very impressed with the Fritz!Box (we used to use AVM ISDN modems at work and they were great also) and its diagnostics are superb. It is WiFi enabled but I have disabled that as I want all my internal connectivity to be on my side of the firewall appliance (which also manages the VPNs). I would have preferred to bypass its internal firewall as well as it feeds into the same firewall appliance as the Draytek, but that is not possible it seems and I can see no significant overhead from it anyway. Most of the network is wired in the house although there is a wireless access point for laptops and iPads. The audio system is cabled though. Zen have been as impressive as I'd heard them to be and the service is rock steady and more than fast enough. Complicated - at least for me Zen still the choice for best of or close to. All these magic boxes and software and real skill still needed |
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Post by petea on Nov 15, 2018 14:51:16 GMT
Actually the Zen connection could have been simple plug-n-play and the connection came up instantly. It is only made complicated due to the connections between the house, works and the German studio otherwise the router was set for DHCP and secure WiFi as received.
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