How to Set up a third party router with vodafone

[gipjon]

IF YOU ARE USING A THIRD-PARTY ROUTER THAT WORKS 100% WITHOUT BUGS.PLEASE PM ME THE MAKE AND MODEL SO I CAN UPDATE THE LIST

The first thing you need to do is ask Vodafone for your username and password. live chat with Vodafone is best because you can copy and paste the name and password into the router. ( some users did write it down wrong. password is lower and upper case. username watch out for zero and o )

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/contact-us/index.htm

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/bbservcd/

FTTC SETTING         ( FTTP is below FTTC)

The setting is the same for all the routers it's down to the isp (the setting page will be laid out differently but the setting are still the same, eg

Vodafone setting are

Vlan ID - 101

enable 802.1q (not on every router)

Username  - ******@broadband.vodafone.co.uk

Username - ******@businessbroadband.vodafone.co.uk  ( for business customers )

Password - ********

PPPoE

MTU Size : 1492

rest of the setting auto detect when the router and the dslam are negotiating with each other

List of third party router that work well with vodafone will update as more router are confirmed working 100%

asus ac68u                              ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + dual band Wifi 

ASUS DSL-AC55U                   ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + dual-band Wifi 

DrayTek Vigor 130:                 ADSL and VDSL modem with Ethernet ( UK model )

Draytek 2762 VDSL

Draytek 2862 Series

Fritzbox 3490

technicolor tg589vac :             ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + dual-band Wifi 

Netgear D6400-100UKS         ADSL & VDSL router with Ethernet + dual-band AC1600 Wifi  + beamforming

Netgear rbk40  :                       ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + Tri-Band technology

Netgear D6220                        ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + dual band Wifi 

Netgear Nighthawk D7800    ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + dual band Wifi 

Technicolor DGA4231/DGA2231 is actually the Vodafone THC3000/THC3000g

TP-Link Archer VR2800

TP-Link AC 1600                      ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + dual-band Wifi 

TP-Link TL-Link Archer VR400 V3 AC1200 Wireless MU-MIMO Dual Band

TP-Link VR600                        ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + dual-band Wifi 

TP-Link W9970                        ADSL and VDSL router with Ethernet + dual-band Wifi 

Zyxel VMG3925-B10B

List of routers with WIFI 6 that works well  

None listed as yet 

IF YOU ARE USING A THIRD-PARTY ROUTER THAT WORKS 100% WITHOUT BUGS.PLEASE PM ME THE MAKE AND MODEL SO I CAN UPDATE THE LIST

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Gigafast 

Openreach the VLAN will be 101 or not required

CityFibre, the VLAN will be 911 or possibly not used.

Mtu 1492

PPPoE 

Username - *******

Password - ********

List of routers that works well with Gigafast

Asus RT-AC86U 

Cisco 5506-X

Linksys EA9500

netgear nighthawk ar500

FRITZ!Box 7530

TP-link M4 deco system

TP-Link Archer AC2300 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Gigabit Router (Plug ONT cable into Internet port, run Autodetect > PPPoE > add username/pass = connected at full speed), no need for VLAN IDs

TP-Link Archer VR400 V3 AC1200 Wireless MU-MIMO Dual Band (1st Advanced tab, change the Operation Mode to Wireless Router Mode (the ONT is acting as a modem, hence it will not work if you are in DLS Modem Router Mode). 2nd  Do not enable VLAN ID or it will not work! Vodafone will tell you to set it to 101, if you do this it will not work! Keep the default MTU size (1480), do not change it to 1492, as suggested in several posts in this thread, or it will not work!. 

Synolgy RT2600ac ( https://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Broadband-connection/Synology-RT2600ac-Vodafone-Router-CityFibre-PPP... )

List of routers with WIFI 6  that works well 

RT-AX86U ?

(from user) I managed to connect Asus DSL-AX82U modem/router and use it without Vodafone Wi-Fi hub finally. When use Asus router tutorial choose network provider as BT - Infinity. VLAN ID come up automatically as 101 then just copy your Vodafone username and password

[Serjoga]

Apparently I got it working, but in settings it is still showing disconnected but I can access internet. That is very  strange 

[Jayach]

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@jasonmark39 wrote:

From what I have read Asus are not compatible with Vodafone and don’t work well anyway. 

I honestly don't know why you would say that. Lots of people are using Asus routers and they are very popular.

[jasonmark39]

Asus is not a make on the Openreach approved list of routers, nor on the list of routers approved by Vodafone. They also have extremely bad reviews on Amazon. They are not a good router. I have read a lot of problems on this forum about people not being able to get Asus routers working. This shouldn't be the case. Makes like Netgear and Zyxel work easily on Vodafone once you've entered your username, password and the VLAN ID. 

[Anonymous]

Openreach used to approve modems through their MCT process, not routers.  If anyone wants the referenced SIN498 documents...

I say used to approve because it's getting on for 3 years since any updates were made to the list of approved devices.

As for Asus routers, they have a reasonably defined target audience.  If you are one of those customers they are targeted at, they are generally at least as good as the competition.

I don't know if there has been a revision of the Asus DSL-AC88U, but go back far enough in these forums and you'll find that I had my own issues with this particular model (the RT variant is fine).  Those issues were to do with WiFi sync speeds (couldn't get anything to sync faster than 115Mbps from memory).  As far as setting up the connection to Vodafone - that was a complete doddle, definitely easier than the separate modem and router I currently use.

*Please let me know if the links fail to work - I may be able to find an alternative link if needs be!

**I had previously posted a screenshot of the router settings for the separate modem and router set up, but it appears to have been removed (probably because rather than blanking the fields I faked the SSIDs, IP addresses, and password in the image and some idiot was too stupid to read the disclaimer that I'd faked those details: I would have thought an SSID of ThisIsNotMySSID would have given the game away).

[jasonmark39]

The Openreach approved list is for routers. For example the Zyxel VMG3925-B10B and VMG3925-B10C are routers. Routers generally contain modems, and all the models approved by Openreach do. It isn’t just about getting it working with Vodafone, but I’ve seen plenty of problems with getting Asus routers connected. It’s also about it working as intended afterwards, including good Wi-Fi speeds. The Asus DSL-AC88U has bad reviews on Amazon for all ISPs. No Asus router was ever on the Openreach approved list, and Asus is not a brand recommended by Vodafone. The following is copied and pasted from Vodafone live chat in June 2021:- 

"We do not recommend third party routers. However, I have got some Openreach approved routers. Some of the routers are Netgear, TP-link, D-link, Cisco, Zyxel and Draytek. You can get the latest router of these brands." Asus isn't on the list for a reason. Let's concentrate on routers that work on Vodafone, and not routers that don't.

[Jayach]

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@jasonmark39 wrote:

Asus is not a brand recommended by Vodafone.

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I really wouldn't pay any attention to what Vodafone recommend, they haven't a clue when it comes to broadband.

[jasonmark39]

I would and yes they do. Asus isn’t recommended by Vodafone nor Openreach. Read the negative reviews on Amazon. Their routers are rubbish, especially the model mentioned. Users should stick to the recommended brands I have already mentioned. Deviate from these and you will have problems.

[Jayach]

I really don't understand your anti-Asus stance. They make very reasonable routers, although as with every company, some models are better than others. Still we are all entitled to our own opinions.

[jasonmark39]

Because Asus are not recommended by Openreach nor Vodafone. They have bad reviews on Amazon. It's the most problematic router to connect to Vodafone according to this forum. Maybe their Mesh Wi-Fi systems are okay, but I would definitely use a different brand of modem/router.

[Anonymous]

Currently in the UK routers outsell modem+routers!  Openreach MCT/SIN498 looks to be dead!  Vodafone as a company does not recommend any third-party routers, and their first level tech support couldn't tell the difference between a router and a toaster!  Openreach, other than the apparently dead MCT/SIN498 does not publish recommendations of one brand over another.

Most of the setup issues that we see here are down to basic settings and issues such as wrong/incomplete usernames/passwords and VLAN ID tags.  On a per-user basis I would have said that the most problematic devices were pfsense, Draytek and Ubiquity - not because there is anything wrong with these devices, simply because of the added complexity arising from their open and flexible nature.

If you want to learn more, I'd suggest looking at:

www.kitz.co.uk

www.snbforums.com

- FIN!