HFC compatible routers

[memeweaver]

Continuing from https://community.tpg.com.au/t5/Broadband-Internet/NBN-Hybrid-Fibre-Coaxial-NBN-HFC-Setup-Guide/td-p... as REPLY has been disabled from that thread.

@BasilDV If TPG Tech team aren't making official statements then who is assigned this duty? This forum does not have TPG staff marked.

I have been considering the  Asus RT-AC86U or RT-AC88U but I am not willing to lash out for $300+ for an unknown quantity on TPG networks. Other NBN providors do list supported routers for each connection type. TPG does it for FTTx but not HFC.

[Anonymous]

Hi @memeweaver,

As @BasilDV mentioned on this thread

We don't have any brand or model of the router that we can suggest for you to use, but you can provide us some of the routers on your mind and we will check if it's going to work with the NBN HFC.

If you're interested with Asus RT-AC86U or RT-AC88U, we recommend to check other user's feedback/recommendation first.

Let us know should you require further assistance. Cheers!

[memeweaver]

@Anonymous : I've been invited by @BasilDV  to suggest a model which I did and you're saying that instead I should ask someone else. I don't know any other users. Should I be door-knocking my neighbourhood? The TP-Link router is so hopeless that it frequently lists my wired media-server as a wireless connection. No wonder the wifi drops out all the time and file transfers crawl along.

That's why I contacted TPG. I've tried router vendors who just give me the unhelpful response that I need a compatible router. I've tried router sellers and one just wrote back and said "we do not have access to the configuration TPG requires for their connection ".

> Let us know should you require further assistance. Cheers!

I am hoping to get the promised "we will check if it's going to work with the NBN HFC."

[Anonymous]

Hi @memeweaver
 

We understand that you do not wish to buy a router without guarantee that it will work with our network.
 

The only modem/router we are trained with are the ones that we supply. For third party equipment, we can provide you with the basic settings required for the connection.

As advised by my colleague, we can check in your behalf if your preferred equipment contain the basic settings required for the service, please note that should you require advance support or if the router does not authenticate you may need to check them with the original equipment manufacturer.

Regards,

[memeweaver]

The recommendations I am getting from Whirlpool are that because TPG are the only HFC provider to have special VLAN settings etc that make router selection so hard, I should seek another service provider.

Someone from TPG called me because they heard I was going to change providers, but refused to escalate the issue unless I confirmed my account by giving out private information to an unidentifiable caller on a blocked number. Even knowing what the issue was and that it was unresolved, she essentially wanted me to beg for an escalation. That's not my idea of customer service. And since I'm stuck with a router that is not fit for duty my options seem to be either to change providers or go to the Telecommunications Ombudsman with my diary of wildly inconsistent responses from TPG.

[Anonymous]

Hi @memeweaver,
 

We apologise if you feel that way. We cannot provide any brand of router and guarantee its compatibility.  We can provide you with the basic settings required for NBN HFC service.
 

If you wish to use a 3rd party router we recommend to connect the router by turning on the DHCP using our supplied modem/router.
 

We will treat this as a complaint and raise this to our Complaints Resolution Team for further handling and investigation.

Assessment will take 24-48hrs, you will be contacted by one of our Complaints Resolution Case Manager via email or phone call.
 

Regards,

[memeweaver]

Today i was spoke to
1. A case manager who kept confusing modem and router, who referred me tl
2. A network engineer who kept confusing modem and router, and who said a technician would follow up. Instead i got
3. Head of the complaint centre who wrote that I couldn't have a replacement MODEM and then there was a bunch of confused explanation that made no sense whether it was a modem or router.

My head hurts.Does anyone at TPG know the difference between these items?

[BasilDV]

Hi @memeweaver,

My apologies for the inconvenience.

I've sent you a direct message that includes a video of an iiNet customer that successfully configured his Asus RT-AC88U for his NBN HFC service.

iiNet and TPG requires VLAN ID = 2 for the service to work and he resolved it.

Hope you check it and give us a feedback so we could post it here on our community as well.

Kind regards,

BasilDV

[bigRED]

Just to help with this question.

• I have the ASUS DSL-AC68U
• I have HFC TPG nbn
• From all the reading I have done yesterday across TPG & Whirlpool Forums, it appears that this specific version of the AC68 does not allow for the VLAN ID = 2 to be manually configured in the router as this "2" port is hard-coded into the hardware

What I have done as a workaround is set the TP-LINK issued TPG nbn modem/router to 'Bridge' mode following these instructions: https://community.tpg.com.au/t5/Modems-and-Devices/How-to-turn-on-bridge-mode-on-the-TP-Link-1600v/t... (make sure to delete all previous settings in the 'Network - DLS' page) and I then turned off all WiFi settings on this device so it was purely the nbn modem.

If you are wanting another router to connect to this devices internet then also make sure you follow these instructions: https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2717311 these instructions over the above TPG instructions, but also help setup the Interface Grouping which I assume helps port the traffic from your TP-Link to your router.

We then need to configure the ASUS DSL-AC68U to allow an Ethernet port to be used as the Ethernet WAN port and for me it was Case A here: https://www.asus.com/au/support/FAQ/1016292/

Hope this helps!

[trilogy]

@BasilDV

Can you make this video public as I have the same questions and am considering the same router.