Full Fibre 900 (FTTP) upgrade and having problems with setup, please help Community

[sohailnassiri]

Hi,

I have been a long-standing, first adopter of BT's Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). I think it was called Fibre 4 (300Mb or similar).

We just had a new customer line placed, replacing the old package with Full Fibre 900 (900-910Mb pack with a "stay fast' guarantee of 455Mb).

Old set-up (Setup 1)

(-> means direct, wired connection):

Fibre optic line to inside the home -> Huawei EchoLife GPON Terminal HG8240 (four port, white box) -> Cat6 cable -> Google Wifi router/access point.

This provided a working wireless network.

We also had 3 x additional Google Wifi router/access points to create wireless mesh.

New setup (setup 2):
Fibre optic line to inside the home -> Huawei EchoLife GPON Terminal HG8110H-20 (one port, white box) ->
Cat6 cable -> BT SmartHub 2 ->Cat6 cable -> Google Wifi router/access point.

No working wireless network. Google Wifi not connected to the internet.
Just using BT SmartHub 2, intermittent, very poor wifi and then dropped out (disconnecting).

Setup 3

As with Setup 2 but Disconnect SmartHub 2, connect new Huawei EchoLife GPON Terminal HG8110H-20 directly to Google Wifi (via Cat6 cable).

Wireless now works.

Here's the odd thing. Please help guys...

I reconnected the SmartHub 2, I went into its hub control panel (192.168.1.254) and CHANGED THE NAME OF the network and changed its wireless password, disconnected the SmartHub 2 but the OLD, Setup 1 and Setup 3 wifi name and password still apply. The new wifi name and password don't work!

Back to first principles, what is the GPON Huawei doing? Isn't it a modem? If so, by connecting the SmartHub 2 and changing the network name, why don't these changes take affect?

How do I configure the net connection?
Why doesn't Setup 2 work? What's the error?

Thanks so much!

Sohail 

[brookheather]

I assume your Google Wifi is setup as a router with a PPPoE connection so it won't work connected to another router (i.e. SmartHub 2) so you would have it connected directly to the ONT.  I don't think the Google Wifi is fast enough for the 900 Mbps package so you would need to use the SH2 and put the Google Wifi in non-router or wireless access point mode if possible.

[licquorice]

Why would you want setup 2? That is just adding an unwanted router into the equation.

As for the 'problem'. The ONT is just a modem and is not involved in any network naming. Any network naming you do on the SH2 is only pertinent to the SH2 thus if you remove it, you remove the new wifi names and password.

[sohailnassiri]

Hi, 

Firstly, thanks ever so much for replying so promptly. 

Sorry, I should have said, I don't wish to use the SH2 at all. I hadn't realised that the GPON is a modem. Well, I thought it was but the Openreach engineer said I was wrong. In any case, I would like to use my own equipment or get better equipment but, aside from the Huawei GPON, I really don't want to use any BT equipment.

Please let me know if you would set things up differently as I am not very knowledgable at all.

If the wifi name and password is specific to whatever router is being use (I think that's what you're saying), then there must have been a device before (let's call is SmartHub 1) where I called the network what I did, then I got rid of that device so it was configured as Setup 1, but why is that prevailing when all I have is the Huawei GPON -> cat6 -> Google Wifi? Or, are you saying, I change the name via Google Wifi?

Thanks to you and to BrookHeather, really helpful.

All the best,

Sohail

[licquorice]

It is Google wifi that is determining the name, that is where it is configured. There is no need for any BT equipment other than the GPON ONT.

[sohailnassiri]

Hi BrookHeather, 

Thanks very much. I'll see if I can do that. I thought that the ONT was a modem but when I spoke with the Openreach chap he said it wasn't so it threw my limited knowledge.

Thanks,

Sohail

[sohailnassiri]

Thanks, that's great!

[sohailnassiri]

Hi again,

Thanks for your help. Noting my equipment and the Fibre 900 package, I would appreciate your help with getting the best out of the Fibre 900 in the resulting wifi network via my Google Wifi devices (x4).

How would a multi-port gigabit switch work in this setup and would it help get the best out of the Fibre 900 insofar as a better the mesh wifi network it creates uses the best (i.e. wired) of the Fibre 900 speed into the premises?

Noting my limited knowledge, am I right in saying that I could wire (cat6) each Google Wifi device to the ONT via a switch and then would you recommend I try to use a Gigabit switch so that each Google Wifi device (in bridge mode) so that 

Fibre optic cable -> ONT -> cat6 -> multi-port switch (new device)

-> cat6 -> (1) Google Wifi device /

-> cat6 ->(2) Google Wifi device / 

-> cat6 -> (3) Google Wifi device / 

-> cat6 -> (4) Google wifi device /

(1), (2), (3) and (4), together creating ONE mesh wifi network.

Is this efficient (most efficient?), helpful and a good way to set thing up and get the most out of the Fibre 900?

Thanks,

Sohail

[brookheather]

One of the Google Wifi devices will be acting as a router - this needs to be directly connected to the ONT.  You can then connect a switch to the second Ethernet port on this router but I'm not sure Google Wifi supports Ethernet backhaul (hardwiring) so you may not be able to connect them to the switch.  Bear in mind that Google Wifi is only going to give you a fraction of the 900 Mbps bandwidth - you need to look at a different hardware solution if you want to get more than 500 Mbps.

[sohailnassiri]

Hi Brookheather,

Many thanks again for your guidance.

OK, I see, so, there's my lack of knowledge already showing. I now see that the switch comes in after the first router device.

The Google Wifi has two ports (i) a port for the modem to connect; and (ii) a port labelled < . . . > which I guess is for a "daisy chain" bridging type of set up, so Google Wifi -> cat 6a -> Google Wifi -> cat 6a -> Google Wifi.

Forgive my use of the term daisy chain, I realise that this may be the wrong technical term.

In terms of the bandwidth, could you kindly explain why you say that the Google Wifi device will only give me a fraction of the bandwidth? Assuming hard wired? 

At the moment, the hard wired Google Wifi which is the first and only device connected to the Huawei ONT gives me 59 Mbps but I thought that was do to with the maximum speed I could get from BT (900 Mbps is what's sold but I can get 596, say,). This is all a noodle twister!

Thanks again and look forward to your reply.
Sohail