Just ordered Gigafast Pro - Questions about the router/extenders

[thefunkygibbon]

Hi all,

I've attempted to speak to voda "wifi xpert" about this but they couldn't really help much.  which is a little disheartening, but there we are. 

Anyway,  my home network is a little more complex than the 'normal customer'  and I needed to know a few things.   Hopefully some of you can answer them?

1) the router - what is the make/model of the OEM product? (curiosity more than anything... and also good for checking out the specifications).   I was told by the support person that it model number THG3000 and it was Huawei made... but googling seems to suggest it is made by "technicolour"?!  

2) the 'super wifi' extenders  - do they have a (usable) ethernet port?  how do they backhaul to the main router? (ie are they powerline adapters?  have a dedicated wifi channel or does it go over the main wifi channel?)

3) can the router support dhcp reservation/ dhcp changes (ie ip range, dns servers it gives to clients)

4) can the router support port forwarding (so i can access various internal systems i have whilst I'm away from home?

5) worst case and the above are no's... can i change the mode to being just a modem so that I can use my existing Mesh wifi system which can handle most of what I need. 

I'm coming from Virgin media fibre and you can easily do that with their router. 

Thanks in advance everyone. 

[Jayach]

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@thefunkygibbon wrote:

1) the router - what is the make/model of the OEM product? (curiosity more than anything... and also good for checking out the specifications).   I was told by the support person that it model number THG3000 and it was Huawei made... but googling seems to suggest it is made by "technicolour"?!  

It is indeed made by Technicolor (US spelling). It has the same system board as a DGA4231 but a different case. See pic of label on the THG3000 board.

2) the 'super wifi' extenders  - do they have a (usable) ethernet port?  how do they backhaul to the main router? (ie are they powerline adapters?  have a dedicated wifi channel or does it go over the main wifi channel?)

Exactly the same questions I have and have been unable to find out. Speaks volumes that the WiFi Xperts don't know. (or won't say)

3) can the router support dhcp reservation/ dhcp changes (ie ip range, dns servers it gives to clients)

Yes of course, it wouldn't be much of a router if it couldn't.

4) can the router support port forwarding (so i can access various internal systems i have whilst I'm away from home?

Yes, but personally I haven't tried it.

5) worst case and the above are no's... can i change the mode to being just a modem so that I can use my existing Mesh wifi system which can handle most of what I need. 

It doesn't have a modem only mode, but you could use the mesh as an AP (Access point). If your mesh has router capability (which it obviously does as you were using the Virgin box in modem mode) you could do away with the Vodafone router completely, but you would lose the VOIP phone until someone works out/is given the Vodafone settings.

I'm coming from Virgin media fibre and you can easily do that with their router. 

Good luck, ex-Virgin clients seem to have the most problems at the start.

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[thefunkygibbon]

thanks for the reply. 

1) yes, sorry automatically spelled it colour.  no idea why the 'wifi xpert' told me it was huawei.

2) just spoke to another 'xpert' and he told me that it has 1 ethernet port in each extender and they are usable. 

3) well.. you say that, but big ISP's dumb routers have been known to not allow basic features like changing any of the DHCP lease settings (other than maybe the IP address range).  fixing reservations is most def not a given when it comes to these sort of devices.

4)  again, the 'xpert' replied to me asking 'can you reserve dhcp ip's and port forward'  with 'sort of'  which was a little disconcerting.  he wouldn't go into detail and advised me to ask on these forums.  😕  again, not filling me with much confidence. 

5) not sure i understand.  are you saying that voda's fibre, when its installed into your house, presents itself to the modem as ethernet already?  (not coax like virgin do)?  

problems moving from virgin?  how so?

[Jayach]

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@thefunkygibbon wrote:

thanks for the reply. 

1) yes, sorry automatically spelled it colour.  no idea why the 'wifi xpert' told me it was huawei.

Probably because the previous one was.

2) just spoke to another 'xpert' and he told me that it has 1 ethernet port in each extender and they are usable. 

Useful info, thanks

3) well.. you say that, but big ISP's dumb routers have been known to not allow basic features like changing any of the DHCP lease settings (other than maybe the IP address range).  fixing reservations is most def not a given when it comes to these sort of devices.

I'll take your word for it. I've only had experience with Sky and now Vodafone. Still say it wouldn't be much of a router if it doesn't.

4)  again, the 'xpert' replied to me asking 'can you reserve dhcp ip's and port forward'  with 'sort of'  which was a little disconcerting.  he wouldn't go into detail and advised me to ask on these forums.  😕  again, not filling me with much confidence. 

At least he understood what you were asking, most of Vodafone's "support" staff wouldn't.

5) not sure i understand.  are you saying that voda's fibre, when its installed into your house, presents itself to the modem as ethernet already?  (not coax like virgin do)? 

Yes. There will be a fibre box attached to the wall and the output will be Ethernet.

Edit: I should mention that if you use your mesh to replace the Vodafone router you will lose the automatic 4G backup.

problems moving from virgin?  how so?

Mostly with getting the phone number transferred.

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Please do keep us informed as to how it goes. It's all useful info for advising others.