Hi everybody. I have lots of black spots around my home using the vodafone-supplied THG3000 router with a Superfast 2 connection. Where there is internet, it is great. It's just a ##~## trying to work in my office (well, spare bedroom).
My issue is with the device I've purchased to try and resolve this. After a poor experience with a simple extender, I thought I'd try my hand at a mesh system. I opted for a TP Link Deco M3 Whole Home WiFi system, which (supposedly!) simply plugs into one's router, and should then create a new wifi network that can be extended with the satellite devices.
It arrived today, so I duly:
- connected it to the LAN port in the back of the router (I've also tried other LAN ports, and even a WAN port in one desperate attempt; I did look at trying to plug it straight into the BT OpenReach port in my wall, but the Deco mesh only has ethernet ports, and the included two-ended ethernet cable doesn't fit into the wall socket.
- contacted vodafone over the online chat on my vodafone broadband app for the details the Deco app requires. This included a username ending [at]broadband.vodafone.co.uk and a password. I received the same details from two agents, so am confident this must be correct. I also needed to know what kind of internet I have. The options were Dynamic IP, PPPoE, Static IP, L2TP, PPTP or DS-Lite. I was informed by two separate agents that mine is PPPoE. There is also a box to check called IPTV/VLAN. Both agents told me I need to select this. This means I have to provide an Internet VLAN ID and an Internet VLAN Priority. One of them said the former should be "either 108 or 109". Another said it should be 191. Folks on these forums have mooted 911 for other purposes like using a third-party router for vodafone broadband. One of the agents said the priority should be 'medium', the other 'medium or 5'. It appears the priority has to be numeric and between 0-7. Elsewhere on this forum, people have done things like change their routers with priority set at 0.
Armed with all of this information, and having entered it in various combinations, I've not yet managed to get the internet running on the mesh network. I don't know whether it's because one or more of these settings isn't correct, but this message is the last ditch attempt of mine after spending approximately 8 hours resetting and re-entering information.
I never post on forums like this but have benefited from the tech support of generous tech sages over the years, but would be so appreciative if somebody could help me before I return it to Currys and move my office into my living room next to the router!
Thanks for any help!
