Replacement Modem for Sky Ultrafast - Ireland

[RH1011]

Hi,

We switched broadband and telephone from Virgin Media Ireland to Sky Ireland about 4 months ago and have been experiencing nothing but problems with inconsistent speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 400Mbps (500mb FTTH connection) and constant glitching on our 2 sky mini boxes. All of these issues have only occured since switching to Sky for broadband and being forced to use Sky's rubbish router (which doesn't even have a guest option to keep visitors off of your internal network!). On my previous Virgin set up I was able to use my own mesh router (Tao Tronic) by just putting the VM router into modem mode, this can't be done with Sky so now I'm looking for an alternative solution. I've browsed the messageboard but can't seem to find a solution that would work in Ireland that would also allow VOIP calls to remain in place. Would anyone have any suggestions that would allow me to (i) use my Tao Tronic mesh system (which was really good) with my existing Sky hub for VOIP calls, or (ii) an alternative router that would do both (I'd need a step by step process I'm afraid)? Can anyone also advise when using your own router and setting up Sky Q, do you say your broadband is with Sky or an alternative provider? I know when you select Sky you have to connect the Sky Q box using WPS but my Tao Tronic mesh system doesn't support WPS (only real downside to it) so I'd need to enter password manually (which I think you can only do if you say your broandband provider isn't Sky). Would this create any other issues or would I need to take any additional steps?

Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[TimmyBGood]

@RH1011 

There is no known method of using Sky Talk on VOIP without a Sky Broadband Hub being in place: the authentication method and software configuration required is baked into the Hub and otherwise undocumented.

[RH1011]

@TimmyBGood 

Thanks for the help.

Just to make sure I'm not misunderstanding you, this cannot be configured in a way that the Hub just does VOIP and a third party router takes care of general broadband traffic? If so then it looks like my only options are to leave Sky once the contract is up (or sooner if I can) or get rid of VOIP services (why Sky can't just have a modem mode is beyond me).

[cookiemonsteruk]

@RH1011 

If the Tao Tronic has an access point mode then you can switch 2.4ghz and 5ghz off on the sky hub. The sky hub will retain dhcp, nat and voip internet calls whilst the Tao Tronic takes over wifi on the lan

[Skull+Treaty]

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@RH1011 wrote:

@TimmyBGood 

Thanks for the help.

Just to make sure I'm not misunderstanding you, this cannot be configured in a way that the Hub just does VOIP and a third party router takes care of general broadband traffic? If so then it looks like my only options are to leave Sky once the contract is up (or sooner if I can) or get rid of VOIP services (why Sky can't just have a modem mode is beyond me).

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@RH1011 

As a middle ground, you could use the Sky Hub for the 'routing' and VoIP calls then turn the wifi off and use some Access Points to handle the wifi.

[TimmyBGood]

@RH1011 

In theory there can be a Sky Broadband Hub connected behind the ONT for VOIP with DHCP switched off, and another router behind this providing services to the LAN/WLAN: this is generally regarded as somewhat undesirable and requires a bit of furtling in the Hub administration settings, but can be achieved.

'Modem mode' is more usually found with something like Virgin because that's a cable service: the ISPs using Openreach/SIRO are much less likely to offer it in one of their routers.

[RH1011]

@cookiemonsteruk 

Thanks, just had a look at the Tao Tronics router (TT-ND001 - https://mightygadget.co.uk/taotronics-tri-band-ac3000-mesh-wifi-router-review-tt-nd001/) and it looks like it can be set to bridge mode, below from a review:

"Access Point Mode = Bridge

At first, I thought there was no option to switch off the router settings and use this strictly for WiFi only. However, if you go to network settings then switch it from DHCP to bridge, this will allow it to function on your existing network without creating double NAT."

So if I set up like this is it just a matter of:

• Turning 2.4ghz and 5Ghz radio off on the Sky Hub; and
• Attaching the Tao Tronics to lan port number 1 of the Sky Hub (at which point the Tao Tronics will take over the wifi broadcast duties).

In terms of how this then interacts with my Sky Q, will I need to set this up again or will it automatically connect (assuming the SSID will be the same as that currently being transmitted by the Sky Hub)? If I do have to set this up again is there any problem with setting this up as if Sky isn't my broadband provider (again this is simply due to the the Tao Tronics not having a WPS button so I have to manually enter the password).

Thanks again for the help.

[moloneyr]

Hi there, I have recently disabled dchp on the sky Hub, assigned my Asus Rog in to the DMZ and have the third party router assigning all IP addresses. The only issue is with VoIP I get a diall tone the phoen calls out but it has no incoming traffic. Is there anything I can do t ok resolve this? New router has changed the entire houses quality of signal but no VoIP. 

[Chrisee]

@moloneyr the Sky hub is still acting as a router so you have system with double network address translation which can cause issues with some apps and services like VOIP. Not sure if there is workround.

[TimmyBGood]

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@moloneyr wrote:

 New router has changed the entire houses quality of signal but no VoIP. 

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As I posted in the other thread, there's no known way of using Sky Talk Internet Calls without a Sky Broadband Hub.

You could, of course, subscribe to a 'real' VOIP provider and get a voice call service over ethernet or WiFi.

[moloneyr]

It's such a shame as there is a diall tone it calls out it joins calls I can hear the other person on the line but they can't her me. I am going to look at a VoIP service to replace it. Will be hard to find one at 5euro pm (what I'm paying sky ATM) thanks for your help

[jamesn123]

@moloneyr 

The setup you have should work fine for VOIP because you are still running the Sky router as the primary device. To me it sounds like the issues you are having with calls are either down the handset you are using or Sky voip itself. 

[moloneyr]

The shy router has DCHP turned off and wifif off so the sky box is not fully functional 

[moloneyr]

Question again of you don't mind, can I remove the sky box totally if I'm not using the phone? Will a third-party device work direct?

[moloneyr]

That's very strange, the phone worked perfectly before when I had no third party router attached.