Swap Your ISP's 'Router'. NOW.

Hey guys! Here's my piece of networking advice to you! BT router login details are as follows:

Password: BT

[JackFromMorley]

About 5 or 6 years ago, our sky 'hub' malfunctioned, but since they were so crappy we decided to buy a proper branded one to hopefully expand the range, speed and reliability. We got it home from Currys, plugged it in and then went to set it up- only to find that Sky purposefully block 3rd party routers from using their services and according to forums if they find out that you had done something to get it working, they would cut off your broadband entirely. Since then I think they have gotten rid of this policy, however I'm not sure if all providers did, always worth checking they do allow it before buying the gear (luckily at the time we were able to return it :) )

[hussainiqbal]

really really needed this, i showed THIS to my dad and after having our virgin media router replaced 6 times in the last year, were getting a new type. THANKS!

[Cleisthenes]

It's 2021 and WAP means something else now.

[BBs-edin]

Great video man. Taught me more than school has in 8mins

[warwickmark]

Could you do a video on doing the settings?

[Ihaveausernametoo]

This is a good video. I've noticed (first time by accident) that many ISP routers can be replaced without any configuring at all.
I'm sticking to a cable though. Never WIFI again if I can avoid it. Biggest problem for me with WIFI is when multiple devices are connected. The total available speed becomes irrelevant because the device closest to the router will just hog the bandwidth (when streaming or dl'ing) and make it almost completely unusable for the rest of the devices. Even on gigabit connections this occurs. The whole thing is a facepalm. There are ways to try and limit bandwidth with QoS but that requires a manual input of IP and MAC addresses which can change very quickly, not to mention if there are a lot of random users. I've seen some very costly routers that have more options but most consumers never get anywhere near those. I thought 20 years of WIFI development might have gotten around this but it seems it hasn't.

[JohnSAitken]

Net gear is my first choice. I’m running a D600, had it for years and it’s never dropped out once. Its a wee bit expensive but worth the money. The GUI is well easy to navigate and setup. Most settings right out of the box works. Just need you ISP log in details and off you go.

[pineappleroad]

Ive got 2 Asus network boxes, which have the WiFi set up to act as a Mesh network
The main Asus network box (which is upstairs) connects over an ethernet cable to the BT thing in the kitchen (which is needed because of the digital voice service, and also because its easier than me getting a modem and trying to configure the Asus box correctly)

[Timalay]

I had Linksys ADSL wireless modem router that was great for years. Then I switched to Fibre and supplied single band (2.4ghz only) router was ok (it did the job). I then bought a TP-Link fibre dual-band router that cost around £90 at the time and the internet was awful (both wired and wireless).

[theglesga-gunner]

at last, someone who agrees with me. ISP "routers" are fcuking crap.

[muwuny]

Do I need a router or a modem? If I buy a router how do I connect it to my broadband? Through the original BT hub?

[williamwilbur]

If you use BT's Digital Voice, then you have to use the BT Smart Hub 2, who knows when third-party routers will be able to support it!

[birthingblokes]

This is great thank you. We have a copper supply to our house, will a third-party router back a difference? We use talk talkfor our isp?

[jokerzz]

1:24 - via mac addresses not ip addresses, a switch is layer 2

[hamzamo]

If I bought that special router from amazon, would I just connect it normally to the wall?

[nickloss]

higgildy piggildy...?? HA. lol! You're my new favorite British person

[ionutk]

Hello your provider its Bt?, I wanna change from smart hub to my own router but how ?

[camycamy]

Great video bud. Came so close to answering what I've been trying to work out for ages....do you not still need a modem for your Linksys router to connect to? I'm which case, did you not have bridging problems with the home hub? Or is the Linksys a combined modem and router? Would very much appreciate any help on this one as I've been going nuts trying to work all this out!

[teamholmez]

We had loads of trouble with the older BT home hubs (slow and dropping internet connection quite often) but I will say since getting the Smart Hub 2 most of the problems has gone away so it seems to be a good WiFi hub but do you think we could still get faster speeds exc if we upgraded to a 3rd party one.

[callmeJAF]

If your house is small why don't you just route ethernet cables around the walls?