Need some advice on a modem/router for my old BT SmartHub 2?
Need some advice on a modem/router for my old BT SmartHub 2?
Hi everyone, always had great success here. I am currently in the UK and stuck with the BT SmartHub 2. I bought a VR2100 from TP Link, but after trying to get it working over several RMA's, these units just wouldn't connect properly to my network. My connection works perfectly with the SmartHub 2, but obviously I'd prefer to split the WiFi bands and have QoS available, yet this BT hub doesn't support that. After all that TP Link trouble, I'm looking for some recommendations like ASUS or Draytek. My max FTTC speeds are 71 down and 19 up. I connect wirelessly to my router because my PC is too far away from it, but I use an Archer T9UH WiFi Adapter and get really amazing low latency connections normally, so gaming works fine for me. Thanks in advance.
Does the smart hub stop you from setting different SSIDs for the 2.4 and 5GHz bands? Most routers with Wi-Fi actually allow that, so it feels weird when your smart hub doesn't. QoS is basically useless on most devices because ISPs decide which traffic gets sent to your internet connection; they don't care about what's coming in from you. By the time your router sees a request, that data has already been used up and can't just "undo" something an ISP dropped or make it appear as new traffic. Most people call QoS on downloads because they think it helps, but that is mostly a trick to get smaller clients to send less data than they actually use. You *can* limit certain types of traffic leaving your network so other apps get more bandwidth, but setting that up takes a lot of effort and usually doesn't work well. A better modern way to treat everyone fairly is using something called "cake," which gives equal priority to small streams like video calls even if big ones need more space. This mostly helps online games rather than heavy data users. To get the best results, try getting an Asus router that runs Merlin firmware instead of other settings. I would avoid trying QoS unless you really have a specific problem. If possible, use your download client to set rate limits for large downloads so they don't steal bandwidth from normal apps. That is simpler than messing with router settings. QoS makes the router work harder and forces you to artificially slow down your connection by about 10% just to stop big data spikes from happening. This only helps if your internet is already very slow, but it doesn't work well for people who have a fast connection like over 200 Mbps; the extra speed gets wasted quickly on top of that. Also, constantly trying to overload a strong connection can cause bigger problems down the road.
Draytek routers are good for small office use, especially the 28xx and 29xx models. They aren't perfect, but they are very solid and can handle many VPN connections even if there is no internet connection. However, they cost a lot of money to buy just for home use. If you don't know how to set things up properly, it can be tricky.
In my experience with Drayteks, the Wi-Fi signal often fails or acts like noise. That being said, I never tried using their bigger AP-900 models and they seem better than that old 700-series version. If you buy the wireless version of a specific model without it, connect it to a decent Mesh system, and you will be fine.
Now that I have moved from Draytek routers to an Ubiquiti system because their ecosystem is better for my needs, here is where I am: I use Plusnet with speeds similar to what I get over FTTC using a rebadged BT Hub. I bought a TP-Link AC2800 router for less than £50 off eBay because I didn't want to spend as much money as the Draytek and also because I don't need all that QoS function or quality-of-life features from the Hub. I went with the middle ground rather than buying more expensive gear.
What was your problem with the TP-Link?