ISP provided router

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Tomresearch

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#281551 24-Feb-2021 22:58

Hi,

Is the general opinion (on these forums) that ISP provided routers are no good, and its best to get your own one?

Are they relatively easy to configure and do the local ISP's allow this?

I'm looking to supply wifi to a single storey building, around 300 sq metres (hence mesh?).

What would be some of your recommendations?

Thank you,

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Webhead
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#2662400 24-Feb-2021 23:48

If you search the forum you will find a lot of discussions on this subject.

Personally I think the Fritzbox router that 2degrees provides is a good one.

@michaelmurfy have made a nice router guide that is probably the best resource here for what to look at when you are choosing a router.

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#2662401 24-Feb-2021 23:49

No, ISP provided routers are totally fine. The fact is your provided router from them can route Gigabit internet (via Ethernet only) no worries and yet many routers from stores still struggle with Gigabit internet.

There's a router guide in my signature and also as a sticky in this topic. Yes, your ISP will allow you to change your router.

But as per your other (recent) thread here: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=66&topicid=281311 it appears you already have a mesh system in place. You have rather high expectations on how fast your wireless should be given you were unhappy with 500Mbit over it.

So, based off all that what are you actually wanting to achieve? I can tell you now you're not going to achieve Gigabit via a mesh system and most other solutions won't be better than the current solution provided via Orcon. I seriously have the feeling no matter what you do, you'll be wasting your money if you were to go mesh. It sounds like your best solution is seriously to run Ethernet to locations around your house and install dedicated wired access points however doing this comes with a cost.

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lucky015

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#2662402 24-Feb-2021 23:56

Think of it this way... Most ISP supplied routers are are selected after reviewing a few units and picking the best price/performance within the $30-60 price range.

You don't really get anything decent quality at that price point with the requirements that most providers place on the feature set they are looking for (WIFI, DSL, ATA, Etc) so corners will almost definitely be cut to achieve it usually leading to issues such as poorly designed software, poorly implemented features, under spec'd hardware, etc.

Linux

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#2662423 25-Feb-2021 06:45

ISP provides a perfectly good router and as seen many many times on Geekzone customer goes out and buys a new router and then complains of speed. Plugs ISP provided router speeds back to what they should be!

Seen it time and time again

Jase2985

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#2662424 25-Feb-2021 06:48

lucky015:

Think of it this way... Most ISP supplied routers are are selected after reviewing a few units and picking the best price/performance within the $30-60 price range.

You don't really get anything decent quality at that price point with the requirements that most providers place on the feature set they are looking for (WIFI, DSL, ATA, Etc) so corners will almost definitely be cut to achieve it usually leading to issues such as poorly designed software, poorly implemented features, under spec'd hardware, etc.

yet they all can supply a Gigabit internet connection via ethernet.

relying on a ISP supplied router for more than just the routing side of things is a bit naive. there are some exceptions, the 2D supplied one is pretty good.

If you want decent wifi you are going to have to invest in something to provide that over what the ISP provides.

Dynamic

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#2662427 25-Feb-2021 07:02

IMHO the ISP-supplied routers are good at the basics, plus there is a massive advantage that if your broadband requires any troubleshooting, the equipment is all theirs to support. Yes, I've had all sorts of hassles with port forwards on the ISP routers and limitations with the configuration options, but this is in complex commercial environments the ISP routers were not really spec'd for.

If you want decent mesh wifi, sure go ahead. Plug it in to the ethernet port of your ISP's router and you should be good to go. Optionally, disable wifi on the ISP router.

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#2662441 25-Feb-2021 08:16

Dynamic:

IMHO the ISP-supplied routers are good at the basics, plus there is a massive advantage that if your broadband requires any troubleshooting, the equipment is all theirs to support. Yes, I've had all sorts of hassles with port forwards on the ISP routers

This.

I avoid Huawei units because I've always had issues getting them to hold port forward rules etc but as a general connectivity unit, they're fine.

I've been using a Zyxel unit for the last few years, has an issue with keeping my VoIP running 24/7 (seems to drop out after a week or so) but otherwise does everything else I want.

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nztim

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#2662553 25-Feb-2021 09:27

my 2c I am not a fan of mesh networks (unless they use 802.11ad back haul) as each device will repeat resulting in loss of speed

if you budget allows for 300sqm house I would recommend 3 dedicated, ceiling mounted Access points from the likes of Aruba or Unifi cabled back to your router (and disable wifi on your router)

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bignose

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#2662633 25-Feb-2021 12:53

nztim:

my 2c I am not a fan of mesh networks (unless they use 802.11ad back haul) as each device will repeat resulting in loss of speed

I'm guessing that's a typo as 11ad/60ghz would be the most useless thing possible for a mesh backhaul (60ghz == zero penetration)

Mesh with dedicated ac/ax backhaul radios can be ok but that means either a 'dual band' mesh where clients only get to use the 2.4ghz like Orbi units, or a tri-band unit.

1101

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#2662649 25-Feb-2021 13:56

for BASIC HOME USE , ISP's router are usually more than good enough.

For Business use, or if you need to port forward , then a better router may be needed (Ive seen weird issues with port forwards/DMZ on some ISP's routers)

If you have wifi range issues, changing (just) the router isnt a fix .

allan

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#2662728 25-Feb-2021 17:19

bignose:

nztim:

my 2c I am not a fan of mesh networks (unless they use 802.11ad back haul) as each device will repeat resulting in loss of speed

I'm guessing that's a typo as 11ad/60ghz would be the most useless thing possible for a mesh backhaul (60ghz == zero penetration)

Mesh with dedicated ac/ax backhaul radios can be ok but that means either a 'dual band' mesh where clients only get to use the 2.4ghz like Orbi units, or a tri-band unit.

Not true of all Orbis. Some are tri-band - e.g. the AC3000 series.

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#2662924 26-Feb-2021 08:47

allan:

Not true of all Orbis. Some are tri-band - e.g. the AC3000 series.

Its still no replacement for a properly cabled house with dedicated access points

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xpd

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#2662985 26-Feb-2021 09:25

nztim:

allan:

Not true of all Orbis. Some are tri-band - e.g. the AC3000 series.

Its still no replacement for a properly cabled house with dedicated access points

*cough*

You don't want to see my cabling ;)

Lets just say standard CAT6 cable from PBtech out in the elements for 3+ years does bloody well :D

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Tomresearch

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#2667375 3-Mar-2021 14:58

Quick update - the ISP is sending me a new modem, as the current one may be faulty.

Spyware

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#2667376 3-Mar-2021 15:01

The likelihood that it is faulty would be near to zero.

After your complaint about 500 Mbps down I ran speedtest cli on an Ubuntu box and got over 900 Mbps down, then via firefox on W10 and got 550 and then via the W10 app and got even less. Means absolutely nothing as many variables from the server itself to the network driver and tcp tuning.

Note: My Mikrotik isn't faulty.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

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