Modem that works well with Orbi 970 (UK)

[booclay]

Hi All,

I've just recently purchased the Orbi 970 mesh system. One thing I didn't realise, is that it doesn't have a modem in it.

The problem I have is that I have a BT smart hub 2, and that thing doesn't allow for modem only mode (bridge mode?). So I need a new modem. I only have FTTC so no fiber comes directly to the house.

I've noticed that Netgear don't really do many/any modems in the UK anymore?

What would be a good modem to get? Obviously assuming I'm going to be hooking up the Orbi 970 to it so the wifi element of the modem/router won't be being used.

Any advice would be great. I've really struggled finding information on this.

[plemans]

the smart hub should work fine. You just need to put in passthrough mode or enter the orbi's IP address into its DMZ. 

[booclay]

Hi there and thank you for the response. I don't think you can do that with the BT smart hub:

https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-setup-Wi-Fi-network/Smart-Hub-2-and-Bridge-Mode/td-p/2306834

Even if you could I really don't like the Smart Hub, its user interface is really poor.

Would you have a recommendation for a good modem?

Many thanks in advance

[booclay]

World the DrayTek Vigor 167 be a good option for this?

[booclay]

or maybe the Netgear AX2400 in passthrough mode?

[plemans]

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@booclay wrote:

World the DrayTek Vigor 167 be a good option for this?

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I'm not in the UK/EU so I'm not great with their modems/options/setup. @michaelkenward would be better at that. 

do you have to rent your modem? Maybe the ISP would upgrade you to the hub 4

[booclay]

Ah cheers for the help even though you are not in the uk.

I think the smart hub and home hub are different as in i'm not sure the home hub 5 is an upgrade on the smart hub 2, but maybe they would swap them. I don't rent the hub.

[Dilby]

You can get an BT openreach modem (ECI Telecom or Huawei) on eBay for less than £30. Make sure it’s an FTTC one (will have a telephone type socket).
It should just be plug and play, but if not set the WAN interface to PPPoE on the Orbi router.

[booclay]

Many thanks. I ended up getting a draytek 167. Was a bit of a faff to setup but got it in modem only mode and it's now all working a treat:-)

[Dilby]

Glad you got it sorted.

For others who may face the same thing, it's worth noting that your ISP in the UK does not need to be BT for you to use the BT Openreach modems, it will work with any ADSL FTTC service from the lies of BT, Sky, Vodafone, TalkTalk etc. In some cases you might need to find some credentials (often provided by your ISP customer services) to use as a part of the PPPoE configuration on the router.