Third Party router not working, do i need a modem?

[Aronb80]

Hello.

I have been seeing a lot of inconsistency in my my router for gaming and lots of packet loss (i assume) while using smarthub 2.

some match's i have near perfect bullet registration and others are just terrible.

i decided to buy the Asus AX 3000 V2 gaming router as it allowed qos amongst a whole host of attractive looking gaming specific options.

Long story short, tried to set it up and it tells me the cable is disconnected.

After some reading i found that people say i need a modem as well with some routers in order to use them on specific isp.

1) Do i need to buy a seperate modem?

2) Will it need to have a certain specification in order to work with bt

3) can i buy it from bt

4) I thought BT used to install them but i only have a smarthub 2

couldnt find anything about this issue with this specific router and why is the information not clearly stated for people like myself with a lack of networking experiance to understand the kit i would need in order to just use my own router.

[Aronb80]

forgot to mention i have BT fibre 1 FTTC i think as full fibre is just rolling out in my area now

[imjolly]

do you have FTTC or FTTP?  if FTTC then you need a separate modem whereas FTTP you can connect router providing it has a WAN port direct to the ONT and username bthomehub@btbroadband.com and any password

[licquorice]

Depends on what service you have.

If you have FTTP (full fibre), then you don't need a modem, if you have either standard broadband or FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) you need either a combined modem/router rather than the standalone router you have bought or a separate modem.

If you have G.Fast, there are very limited options for modems.

For FTTC, either exchange your router for a combined VDSL modem/router or buy an Huawei HG612 moodem from ebay. Don't pay extra for an unlocked one, its not necessary.

[Aronb80]

its BT fibre 1 and i assume thats fttc.

What type of modem do i need? does it have to be BT specific and would that be a safer option or just return the router and buy another one?

[imjolly]

@licquorice  has posted preferred modem but maybe if FTTP nearly rolled out in your area then just keep SH2 and then when FTTP you will be able to just use the Asus

[licquorice]

As above, the Huawei HG612. However, it might be simpler to exchange the router for a VDSL modem/router combined unit.

[Aronb80]

Thank you very much for the replies, much appreciated!

I'm just gonna send it back and buy the Asus RT82u which is a cable/router so that should do the job.

Thank you again as not knowing this can be a real headache when making a purchase 

[licquorice]

@Aronb80  Nooooo that is a cable modem router, you need a VDSL modem router. You need the DSL AX82U

Asus RT series devices are just routers, it needs to be DSL series whatever version you want.

[Aronb80]

Omg thank you so much, just seen the difference between them. Looked identical so I thought it was the same.

You saved me quite a lot of returns trouble there.