Users in Modem mode - What router are you using instead?

[vikingbeard]

I am currently on the Gig1 service and although I don't have any issues with speed, I do have a fair few issues with stability. This has been true with all the Virgin modems. I was previously using an Eero deivce, but decided to give the hub 4 a chance once I upgraded. Alas it's the same old story, it's had a fair crack of the whip, but too many drop outs and other issues.

I had been thinking about Gaming Routers as they tend to be better spec and I currently have 3 xboxes in the house and around 25-30 connected devices in total.

So I was just wondering what equipment people are using with the Hub in modem mode? Especially if you also subscribe to the Gig1 service. 

[legacy1]

One I use for QoS/BWM is a Zyxel VPN300

[Flying_Kiwi]

Yes I also found my VM Hub 4 to be far to unreliable to use for WiFi (as well as only supporting WiFi 5). I bought an Asus AX6600 model Zen XT8 Router. I chose this model because it supported WiFi 6, was available in my preferred colour of black (or white - if you like that sort of thing), normally ran with just one horizontal white led being visible (rather than looking like a Christmas tree's lights) and had internal antennas rather than an assortment of ugly strips sticking out the top. In short, in terms of aesthetics, it fitted in perfectly with my Hub 4 and TV 360 box.

Recently it appeared that VM updated the firmware in the Hub 4 overnight (the same day they updated my TV360 box firmware). This initially threw a spanner in the works as the next morning my routers LED was red instead of the normal white and I had no Internet from it at all.

It's now working again but it was a bit of a pain to sort out - this is what I did to get it working again.

1. I disconnected all the ethernet cables and factory reset both the Hub 4 and the Asus XT8.
2. Turned on the VM Hub 4 and waited long enough for it to stabilise with a DIM white led (initially its bright white and it takes a long time to finish booting and go dim - give it 10 mins if unsure).
3. Connected my laptop by ethernet cable to the Hub 4 and went into its configuration web page (192.168.0.1 at this stage) and configured it to work in modem mode (note by default its set to router mode).
4. Waited another 10 mins for the Hub 4 to finish resting itself and booting into modem mode.
5. Powered off the Hub 4 using its switch on the back and unplugged the ethernet cable to my laptop.
6. Connected the Cat 6 Ethernet cable between Lan1 on the Hub 4 and the Wan port on the Asus router.
7. Switched on the Asus XT8 and waited a few mins until the led had stabilised at a constant blue colour.
8. Switched on the Hub 4 and waited for its led to stabilise at a constant dim white (again about 10 mins)
9. Loaded up the Asus Router setup app on my phone and opened it, using it to configure the XT8. During this time the led on the XT8 went through a long period of the led flashing blue before it finally stabilised on steady white.
10. Plugged the broadband ethernet cable from the splitter into my Asus XT8 Lan1 port (extinguishing the small red LED on the left of the TV360 box) and giving it back Internet connectivity in the process.

HTH anyone else with setting up a new router or needing to reset it after a Hub 4 firmware update.

[Timwilky]

I personally do not like the term router, having cut my netwirking teeth in the late 70s developing LAN technologies for file sharing. Then implementing WANs on SMDS for domestic,  X25 and VSAT for international on ACC and Cisco routers, global Checkpoint FW-1, and even gated for lan partition etc.

Yes there is a difference between professional routers, firewalls and multi function domestic appliance. So I always refer to my lan wan interconnect as a gateway.

So my interconnect is pfsense. Definitely multifunctional. I use it for.

NAT provision

Firewall with a decent  rule set

Open VPN server

IPSEC tunnel end point

HE IPV6 endpoint

Certificate management, servers, user etc.

DHCP server

Haproxy

Balanced LAG to provide full 1.15GB connection  to hub4.

I dont think I can get all the above from a domestic router

My WiFi is from 3 RT-AX89X configured ad access points. All 10Gb connected 2 by DAC and one by 6a.

[vikingbeard]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

After reading on a lot of VM users setups both on here and other forums, it's the Asus brand that pops up most often.

I have done a bit of reading up on the various models and should be taking delivery of a new device tomorrow.

[Flying_Kiwi]

Great to know! Users shouldn't need to use third party routers to get basic reliable WiFi and with other ISPs I've never had to do so but the Hub 4 really is a nightmare - I don't know if the Hub 5 is any better.

My Asus ZenWiFi XT8 has been great by comparison and as I got it on a discount as an opened box Amazon Warehouse product (it just needed factory resetting when I got it to work), I've not looked back.

Let us know if you have any questions when you're setting it all up.

[Tudor]

“I personally do not like the term router,” I totally agree, I always refer to this type of equipment as a ‘retail router’ or ‘retail router/network switch/wireless access point’.

Dictionary definition of a router, ‘A device on a network used for communication between two networks that can operate on different protocols’.

To answer the OPs question, I use a Ubiquiti router, which is just a router.