Sky Fibre Broadband (FTTP) with Ubiquity USG (i.e. 3rd party router)

[Mr+Slant]

This is what I used on FTTC with a Draytek modem on a USG Pro. Anyone using a USG3 would need to change eth2 to whatever it is on the USG3 for the WAN :

{
"interfaces": {
              "ethernet": {
                          "eth2": {
                                  "dhcp-options": {
                                                  "client-option": [
                                                                   "retry 60;",
                                                                   "send dhcp-client-identifier "user@skydsl|mypass";"
                                                                   ]
                                                  },
                                  "dhcpv6-pd":    {

                                                  "prefix-only": "''"

                                                  }
                                  }
                          },
              "pseudo-ethernet": {
                                 "peth2": {
                                          "address": [
                                                     "192.168.2.100/24"
                                                     ],
                                                     "description": "Access to Modem",
                                                     "link": "eth2"
                                          }
                                 }
              },
"service": {
           "nat": {
                  "rule": {
                          "5000": {
                                  "destination": {
                                                 "address": [
                                                            "192.168.2.1"
                                                            ]
                                                 },
                                  "outbound-interface": [
                                                        "peth2"
                                                        ],
                                                        "type": "masquerade"
                                  }
                          }
                  }
           }
}

[MarkJ911]

Hi all,  

having an ongoing issue with Sky not sending my replacement router. Can i buy a specific router to use in its place? (and then to be a backup router in case of any future skyhub failures). Just read through lots of pages on here but still a little unsure. As my current router was zapped by lightning i cant connect anything new to handshake with it. I need something to just plug into the wall socket and provide wifi through house and one direct ethernet cable that goes up to a pc used for gaming and work. Am reasonably techie but still a bit clueless when it comes to online protocols etc. so more straightforward setup the better.

Currently have Sky Superfast 35 and not likely to get full fibre in medium term as i am fairly rural. Would i just need a TP Link TDW9970 ? or do i need that and then a snazzy router like the Asus AX82 ? Never had any issues gaming etc with just the standard sky hub so assume i dont need anything special as it runs from the ethernet cable to hub.

Thanks for any help in advance

[cookiemonsteruk]

@MarkJ911 

If you are on an fttc dsl connection the the tp link can be used as a modem bridge with any asus rt ax router doing the authentication with sky servers

Please note there are 2 variations of the ax82u

The asus rt ax82u which will work with the tp link td w9970

And the asus dsl-ax82u which has it own internal dsl modem negating the need of an seperate modem

[jamesn123]

@MarkJ911 

If you are wanting a router to just tie you over without any special features then you could just use the TP-Link TDW9970 as is without the need for another router ontop. 

[cookiemonsteruk]

@MarkJ911 

The tp link has only a 2.4ghz wifi band along with ethernet. 

The asus dsl ax82 might overkill for your connection . You could look at the asus dsl ac range. I started off with the very capable asus dsl ac55u if its a back up you're looking for

[MarkJ911]

thanks for replies gents. How would i find out what type of connection it is? ie the DSL etc ( as i cant get router stats with it semi-fried). All i know is its Superfast 35 and wired (not fibre) connected to a pole.

@jamesn123  great, thats the answer i was after really. Assume its an equal spec as the normal sky hub? ie i wont get a drop off in wifi/speeds etc ?

I can get one of them express delivered unlike Sky who seem to have trouble pressing the 'send' button for endless days.

Would it be a false economy and better off getting that all inclusive Asus that Cookie monster mentions? (guess its a better spec router than a sky hub full stop?) - but TP is much cheaper for a stop gap.

[MarkJ911]

Thanks Cookie, that Asus ac55 seems to be an end of life product now from the few suppliers i searched. do you know what its replacement model is?

[MarkJ911]

James, is the TP link just plug and play or do i need to configure it to use my sky service?

[cookiemonsteruk]

@MarkJ911 

To get the tp link working as both modem and router :-

• Input your location and time zone. Click Next.
• Select Sky(MER)_VDSL from the ISP list. Make sure it’s this one, as this is Sky fibre. The other Sky option in the list is for Sky Broadband and will not work for fibre connections.
• In the username field, enter abcdefgh@skydsl
• In the password field, enter 1234567890abcdef
• Click Next, then set up your wireless network how you see fit.
• The TP-Link will then test the Internet connection and you should see a success message. If you do not, wait for the DSL light to stop flashing and try again – it should work just fine.

[cookiemonsteruk]

@MarkJ911 

Also during the set up make sure you tick enable vlan id and in the vid field enter 101 if you're in the uk

[MarkJ911]

Top man, thanks for the input info Cookiemonster. Will order one and give it a whirl.

[MarkJ911]

oh one other thing, where do i enter all this info? do i need to hook up a laptop to the TP Link via an ethernet cable ? or should i be able to do that from the pc as soon as i connect the ethernet cable to both? ie via 192.page.....

[jamesn123]

---

@jamesn123  great, thats the answer i was after really. Assume its an equal spec as the normal sky hub? ie i wont get a drop off in wifi/speeds etc ?

---

No, the TP-Link TDW9970 is a single band WiFi router so only offers connection over the slower 2.4ghz band therefore you may experience slower speeds than the Sky hub depending on the WiFi environment around you. This is why the TP-Link TDW9970 is only usually recommended to be used as a modem for a higher end router to connect to.

---

@MarkJ911 wrote:

Would it be a false economy and better off getting that all inclusive Asus that Cookie monster mentions? (guess its a better spec router than a sky hub full stop?) - but TP is much cheaper for a stop gap.

---

Depends on your future plans with connectivity. Getting a Router + Modem combo to eliminate the need for the TDW9970 may work out cheaper/easier right now, however if you get FTTP in the near future the modem part of the Asus becomes redundant and may not be the cost save you initially thought. 

[MarkJ911]

from the TP setup page:-

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/faq/905/

which of these is it under connection type? (step 😎

ppoe

dynamic IP

Static IP

Bridge

[jamesn123]

@MarkJ911 

Would be dynamic IP if using it on its own or bridge if you are connecting a router to it.