Workaround : USE YOUR OWN THIRD PARTY ROUTER

[barryflood22]

Hi everyone,

I have noticed alot of people complaining that they wanted to use their own router and not the Vodafone router which is supplied. We all know this is not possible due to terms and conditions, however - there is a work around which in a way will make the vodafone router function more like a modem and not a router, this will free up your third party router for use.  

Here is how to do it:

1) connect ethernet cable from vodafone router to internet port of your desired router

2) connect to the vodafone router by ethernet or wifi. Now connect to its admin panel using the default ip (192.168.1.1) or by using http://vodafone.connect. The default password is 'vodafone'

3) click on "advanced" followed by "additional settings"

4) scroll to private network settings, change the ip address to "192.168.3.0" do not change subnet mask, change vodafone connect router ip address to "192.168.3.1"

and hit apply

5) disconnect your wifi/ethernet from the router, now connect to your desired router via wifi or ethernet, in this instance for myself it is an asus rt-n66i

in your settings, when connecting to the internet, select "static ip"

not pppoe, pppoa or anything else, ensure it is static ip

6) under ip address insert 192.168.3.100 (100 doesnt have to be exacty, but ensure it is unused by the vodafone router and it between 2 and 250)

7) do not touch subnet mask, set the default gateway to 192.168.3.1 and set the dns server 1 and dns server 2 to 192.168.3.1

😎 apply settings, reboot and bobs your uncle

[coder-r]

Thanks for this.

Would this not cause issues with 2 DHCP's on one network?

Slightly confused.

[barryflood22]

No because you are essentially setting up two seperate networks and linking them together. I've been running for 24 hours so far and there have been no conflicts.

[1604]

Thanks for your reply.

I'm not a computer techie and just needed confirmation that the Vodafone router is locked down. I would prefer to continue to use a third party DNS server and will attempt your suggested workaround when my tech support friend visits me next. I will need the moral support to mess with settings.

I am pleased with the cost savings by changing ISP and have not experienced any problems with the service since changing over last week.

[coder-r]

How are you getting on?

Come across any issues?

[barryflood22]

Zero issues. Running smooth

[coder-r]

Cool. Will look into this.

[bobpullen]

How is the router locked down? Is there some sort of MAC address authentication or is it similar to Sky where it's just the PPP login credentials being obscured?

[barryflood22]

Login credentials are unobtainable and vodafone wont share it due to "security risks"

[bobpullen]

If it's just the login details, you can probably extract them using a packet capturing utility like Wireshark. Plenty of guides for doing so with Sky routers.

Of course, if you do decide to give this a bash, you'd need to accept that you're potentially breaching the terms of service by using a third party router :smileywink: