Need help with Modem and fibre optic

Phaydze · Jan 13, 2014

Hello,
I recently purchased BT Fibre Optic (BT Infinity) and I also brought the Asus N56U Wireless Router. After trying and trying to plug it in with an ADSL cable, I did some research, and realized that can only support WAN (or something like that) and I can't use my ADSL cable without a modem, correct my if I'm wrong. As I already have a router, I need a cheap modem that doesn't bottleneck my speeds, which are about 40 mbps. So, correct me if I'm wrong on this:
ADSL Cable -> Modem -> WAN Cable -> Router -> Ethernet Cable -> PC

bill001g · Jan 13, 2014

Yes that is the solution but are you sure they did not provide a modem, they come close to forcing you to take their equipment. Most the BT infinity stuff uses VDSL which is not as common so you have fewer choices. Best bet on this one may be to ask BT what exact kind of modem you need to buy for your connection.

Phaydze · Jan 13, 2014

Yes, we got their Home Hub, can I use that as a modem?

bill001g · Jan 13, 2014

Yes. The device is actually a router and a modem in the same box. I have not used it but I suspect you can run it in bridge mode which should disable the routing features and make it act as only a modem.

You could also use it as your router and user your Asus as a AP if you wanted to use its wireless. It all depends how good the home hub box is. I have no knowledge on that devices.

Phaydze · Jan 13, 2014

bill001g :

The Asus router has much better range, so I'd use the Home Hub as a modem. How do I set up a bridge?

bill001g · Jan 13, 2014

I would have to read the manual...maybe someone else knows... there appear to be multiple versions of that box also.

If all else fails turn the radio off on the BT box and user your ASUS as a AP that way you get the benefit of the asus radios.

Phaydze · Jan 14, 2014

Uh, silly question?
What's a radio (in terms of routers)

bill001g · Jan 14, 2014

The chips that actually provide the wireless function. All this part does is allow the transmission of data between the PC and the router. Everything after this point is the same as a connection made with a ethernet cable...ie the router and modem function.

If you were to run the ASUS as a AP it is the reverse you are in effect disabling the router chips and leaving the wireless chips active.

To a point I suspect you may be better off just using the BT provided device and see how well it works before you start using a second device. If you are getting their latest version of the device (i think it is 5) it has similar features as your asus device at least on paper. You can never really tell how well things work and I had thought you already had tried it and found it inferior to your asus

Phaydze · Jan 14, 2014

The range on the Asus router is much better, or so I've heard. Also, can you recommend a cheap modem for this setup. Hows about the BT Openreach one?

bill001g · Jan 14, 2014

This is a hard question since BT is using a very special form of DSL that runs on 4 wires rather than 2. What you are looking for is called VDSL and there are a number on the market. Problem appears just being VDSL may not be enough there are a number of posts saying certain brands don't work on some providers.

The BT openreach you at least know will work. I would ask BT why they have gone to the home hub 5. I have seen some people say the modem in the homehub 5 is faster. That may be all misinformation though so your best bet is to ask BT if either is really any faster.

Saga Lout · Jan 14, 2014

As this is a fibre installation, you could eliminate the hub completely and take your other router straight from the BT Openreach box. Unlike Sky, BT doesn't insist on the use of their routers.

Phaydze · Jan 15, 2014

If I call BT, will they supply a BT Openreach box? Also, it won't limit my speeds, will it?

Saga Lout · Jan 15, 2014

If you have a fibre installation, you should already have an small, off-white Openreach box fixed to the wall in the house somewhere - follow the cable starting from where it enters the building from the outside. That then cables to the dreaded HomeHub which is then the router that serves the network.

Phaydze · Jan 15, 2014

I don't appear to have an Openreach box. At the front door, I have a box that says BT Openreach, with a couple of cables hanging out. One of these cables leads upstairs to another box, which gives me ADSL and phone line out.

Saga Lout · Jan 16, 2014

I definitely have one and so do all my customers who have fibre so although I can't be certain it's a necessity, I'm fairly sure it goes with the territory with a fibe optic ADSL connection. Be that as it may, you can still replace the HomeHub with router of your choice. The box I have here, and all the others I've seen, is about six inches by four and replaces the small, square box we always had even before Broadband came along.

Phaydze · Jan 16, 2014

Perhaps I could ring BT and ask them about it, or perhaps I could just buy one off Ebay. It won't limit my speeds at all, will it?

Saga Lout · Jan 16, 2014

I doubt ringing them will help - it must be me but I can't understand why you don't have one. Have you run a speed test since it was installed? Try www.speedtest.net then choose your nearest server and see what speeds you're getting.

SamirD · Jan 16, 2014

Why are you trying to use the Asus router when you have one built-in to the BT service? Unless you have a problem with the provided equipment, I wouldn't try to mess with it.

Phaydze · Jan 17, 2014

Because the BT router doesn't have great signal, and the ASUS one does. We really want strong signal strength all through the house, and the BT router isn't great at doing that.

Phaydze · Jan 17, 2014

Also, Saga, my speeds are:
15ms ping
34Mbps Download
17Mbps Upload

Saga Lout · Jan 17, 2014

So it's definitely Fibre - no copper could carry that in this country. I'm mystified as to why you don't have that box but if you copy the ISP login details in the Hub and duplicate them in the Asus you should be able to swap over seamlessly.

Phaydze · Jan 18, 2014

Alright, I think this answers most of my questions, thanks for everyone for contribution!

darkccolord · Apr 16, 2014

Phaydze :

Actually the 'WAN Cable' is the same cable as an Ethernet Cable. It is both a Cat5/5e/6 cable with a RJ45 connector. The term WAN is used to distinct your Local Area Network (the network after your modem/router) from your Wide Area Network (the network before the modem).

When using ADSL cable, you always need a compatible modem to convert the WAN to your LAN. Thus, the setup will be like this:
ADSL Cable -> Modem -> Ethernet Cable -> Router -> Ethernet Cable -> PC. You were (almost

) correct on that part.

The only thing I don't understand is why you are still using ADSL when you purchased BT Infinity. BT Infinity should be delivered to you trough an optic fibre which is a different connection than ADSL...

Saga Lout · Apr 16, 2014

Three months down the line and he's probably sorted it by now.

Need help with Modem and fibre optic

Honorable

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Retired Mod

Honorable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Retired Mod

Judicious

Honorable

Honorable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Reputable

Retired Mod

Share this page