Configuring Sky Broadband on a 3rd Party Mesh - My story

[Jonster789]

Thanks for the info.  Going to leave the mini's off for a couple of days prove it's stable without them.  Then build back up - I.e invest in more TP Links, they seem to do the job (I just think each box needs its own).  The whole thing is making me question how much we actually need the minis with the TVs now connected to the super fast Orbi network.  The main box seems to be playing very nicely on its own. 

[Ian2087]

Just wanted to add my thanks to DigitalElypsium for the fantastic write up. 

Helped me no end in dumping the limited Sky hardware once and for all and couldn't be happier as I now have a WiFi that actually works with the 50+ devices we have!

I bought the DrayTek modem and the Orbi RBK53S pack which includes the RBR50 router and can confirm following these great instructions, I'm able to use the modem, router and 2 satellites perfectly on Sky. 

I did have to update the factory firmware to version 2.7 something, but that was automatic once I plugged the router into my existing network which also automatically configured itself with a new IP range when I plugged it in so I'd didnt have to turn other devices off. 

I also had the sky box and mini box issue and fixed that with a hardwired connection from the router to the Sky Q box which was wireless before. The mini box was already hard wired in. 

Just done a speed test which the wife is watching Netflix, my eldest is updating his PC and both kids are playing the Xbox online and got a full 74mps. Very impressive!

Have also noticed YouTube, Netflix, Amazon price etc no longer buffer before they stream and even the menu system on my Sony TV to even responds quicker!

As I write, everything has been stable for 6 hours now with now slow down or drops outs. 

before I had the Sky Q router and 3 Sky EE120 boosters. Willl be selling them now on EBay.

Couldn't be happier. Thanks again!

If it's of interest, found this page on the netgear website which highlights all there devices that support option 61. https://kb.netgear.com/000062426/Which-NETGEAR-routers-support-DHCP-option-60-and-61

[LlionE]

I'm thinking about copying this setup (thanks for the brilliantly detailed instructions). I have devices on my network that only work on the 2.4Ghz band, because of this I have to use two separate ssid to differentiate. I'm assuming that the orbi can do this but wanted to check before forking out for all the kit. thanks in advance for your input. 

[DigitalElysium]

@LlionE - I have security cameras that only run on 2.4Ghz. I haven't tried splitting the network into two SSIDs because there was no need; the Orbi supports both frequencies simultaneously on the same SSID and everything connected the first time.

[cookiemonsteruk]

@DigitalElysium 

I have read about the telnet <lan ip> and scripting in nvram client id and vendor id . Is this viable, safe and would it delete on factory reset for people who have bought router and mesh systems that don't support dhcp option 61 and have spent good money on 3rd party set ups.  By the way brilliant article was wondering how to update firmware to present option 61

[DigitalElysium]

@cookiemonsteruk - no idea, sorry. I was fortunate to be in a position where I bought the kit because it supported DHCP option 61 so I didn't need to go down the telnet route. If you find a viable workaround, I know quite a few people who bought Amazon Eeros and Google Nests but had to send them back because they couldn't get it working. So this information would definitely be valuable.

[cookiemonsteruk]

@DigitalElysium 

I have it on my template

nvram set wan_clientid_type="0"
nvram set wan0_clientid_type="0"
nvram set wan_clientid_type="abcdefgh@skydsl|1234567890abcdef"
nvram set wan0_clientid_type="abcdefgh@skydsl|1234567890abcdef"
nvram set wan_vendroid="2.91.2110.R|001|SR102|A5001000000000"
nvram set wan0_vendroid="2.91.2110.R|001|SR102|A5001000000000"
nvram commit

Reboot router

[LlionE]

If I remember correctly it was actually the Nest Protects that I was having an issue setting up until I thought about separating out the two bands with different ssid. Although I was setting up a number of 'smart' devices at the same time, so it could have been one of the others.

What was the issue you were raising about compatibility with nest cameras? I have some of these, do they not play nicely with the orbi? 

[DigitalElysium]

@LlionE - Don't think that was me. I have a few different cameras, but no Nest ones. The only minor issue I had was with a Ring doorbell, which didn't like when I manually forced 2.4Ghz to use channel 1. But I think that's an issue with Ring rather than Orbi, and it was a quick fix.

[LlionE]

it was the sentence below I was referring to. I didn't understand what you meant by it.

I know quite a few people who bought Amazon Eeros and Google Nests but had to send them back because they couldn't get it working.

[DigitalElysium]

@LlionE - Ah, I was talking about the Google Nest mesh WiFi system, not the Nest cameras. I know people who bought the Nest WiFi as an alternative to Orbi, but couldn't get it working due to the lack of DHCP 61. Same with the Amazon Eero.

[LlionE]

Ahhhhhh, I getcha. Thanks for clarifying. 

[LlionE]

So I finally bit the bullet and went ahead to try and set this up as I was fed up of devices dropping off our network left, right and centre. The sky router just can't cope with a smart home.

I wasn't able to get hold of the Orbi you mentioned, so ended up getting the RBK35S which includes the RBR50.

I followed your insctructions, which were amazingly helpful. Two little extra things that might help someone else.

1. After I reset the router and was going through its setup the second time, it was asking me for a PPoE username and password. Although I knew I wasn't going to be setting it up like this I couldn't skip this step. I was able to enter any username and leave the password blank. It obviously failed to connect, but it did let me carry on with the setup.

2. When it came to selection option 61, I couldn't see it anywhere. The reason for this is that on the top of that page is an option "Does your Internet connection require a login?", you must select 'No' before Option 61 shows up.

After that everything seemed to be ok.

HOWEVER, if anyone needs to have separate SSIDs for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands beware. The Orbi is a bit rubbish for this. Unfortunately, if you're setting up a smart home, it's extremely likely that you're going to need to do this. A lot of the devices only work with 2.4GHz, and theoretically this shouldn't be a problem with a router using the same SSID for both, for some reason it is. And this is a common problem with lots of devices.

There is no setting to change this with the Orbi on the mobile app or the web interface. You have to log into it with a telnet terminal and run some commands. I'm comfortable doing this, but it might be too much of an ask for some. Additionally, even after doing this the satellites REALLY don't like it. It took me hours of playing around before they finally behaved. Everything has been stable-ish for about 12 hrs now, coverage is better and we seem to be getting less drop outs. The main thing is sometimes a device drops connection while it doesn't know which satellite/router to connect to. We'll see how it goes.

Instructions here on how to split the SSIDs.

https://www.tech21century.com/separate-ssid-for-2-4-and-5-ghz-on-orbi/

Thanks again for the original post. It saved me days of homework by highlighting the issues I needed to look out for.

[MikeRN]

This is a great writeup and read. I am looking into options like this and this seems to be perfect from the feedback and what the comments say.

i am sick of connections dropping etc, even with the latest hub, what really annoys me is the outlay in costs we need to make, just to get a stable connection.

[MikeRN]

Also, can you add an unmanaged switch into this network? I ask as I have 5 ethernet connections next to the router which will need to remain. I am wondering if I could add this to the back of the router, then connect them through that as the Orbi router only has one output ethernet.