Moving From Sky To Plusnet - Router Question

I am on Skys unlimited broadband at £15 per month, I don't have the TV etc.
My broadband usage is now very low so Plusnet looks tempting at just over £6
a month. I have requested the MAC code from Sky.

My problem is that I don't like Plusnets "Thomson" routers and have
successfully avoided purchasing anything from this manufacturer in the past.
I have been happy with the Sky Netgear router with its faultless operation
and simple menus etc.I realise its possible to re-flash the Sky Netgear to a
standard Netgear but this is beyond my capabilities and in any case I may
want to go back to Sky at some stage.

Anyone on Plusnet with the basic one port Thomson router care to comment on
its performance and operation ? Thanks.

Mike

On 30/06/11 16:17, Mike wrote:
> I am on Skys unlimited broadband at £15 per month, I don't have the TV etc.
> My broadband usage is now very low so Plusnet looks tempting at just over £6
> a month. I have requested the MAC code from Sky.
>
> My problem is that I don't like Plusnets "Thomson" routers and have
> successfully avoided purchasing anything from this manufacturer in the past.
> I have been happy with the Sky Netgear router with its faultless operation
> and simple menus etc.I realise its possible to re-flash the Sky Netgear to a
> standard Netgear but this is beyond my capabilities and in any case I may
> want to go back to Sky at some stage.
>
> Anyone on Plusnet with the basic one port Thomson router care to comment on
> its performance and operation ? Thanks.

Isn't the default router the 4-port wireless one? That's what I have and
I'm on plusnet value. I got it a few months ago because of problems with
my old router and ADSL2+.

The router interface has been customised with plusnet branding, but is
pretty well laid out. Features wise there's nothing special and finding
the more advanced ones (i.e. assigning static IP to printers etc) can be
tricky. Responsiveness of the interface is not great, taking several
seconds to respond sometimes and restarting the router can take a few
minutes before you're online. However, once set-up there's little reason
to go in there too often, so not really a bother.

Performance-wise it's fine; regularly I get pretty close to my 'typical'
line speed and wi-fi speed are fine although the range is not as good as
my previous router.

I've only needed to reboot it 2-3 times since I got it.

So, all-in-all fine for general stuff with no frills. I thought I'd
replace it, but haven't felt compelled to yet.

Mike wrote:

> Anyone on Plusnet with the basic one port Thomson router care to comment on
> its performance and operation ? Thanks.

I've never used Thomson myself, but I have two relatives on Plusnet with
the Thomson and no problems, my neighbour has had stability problems
with a Thomson (and its replacement) so reverted to an older Linksys ...

On 30/06/2011 16:17, Mike wrote:
> I am on Skys unlimited broadband at £15 per month, I don't have the TV etc.
> My broadband usage is now very low so Plusnet looks tempting at just over £6
> a month. I have requested the MAC code from Sky.
>
> My problem is that I don't like Plusnets "Thomson" routers and have
> successfully avoided purchasing anything from this manufacturer in the past.
> I have been happy with the Sky Netgear router with its faultless operation
> and simple menus etc.I realise its possible to re-flash the Sky Netgear to a
> standard Netgear but this is beyond my capabilities and in any case I may
> want to go back to Sky at some stage.
>
> Anyone on Plusnet with the basic one port Thomson router care to comment on
> its performance and operation ? Thanks.
>
> Mike
>
>
Why not just buy another router of your choice?
It will work with Plusnet (or any other ISP who doesn't insist on you
using "their" router).
In any case, if you ask Plusnet for one of their routers, they will let
you have one "free of charge" but will recoup the cost from you if you
leave them prior to the end of your contract.
I'm with Plusnet and use my own D-Link router (price £40-ish) which
works fine, thanks.

George

On 30/06/2011 16:17, Mike wrote:
> I am on Skys unlimited broadband at £15 per month, I don't have the TV etc.
> My broadband usage is now very low so Plusnet looks tempting at just over £6
> a month. I have requested the MAC code from Sky.
>
> My problem is that I don't like Plusnets "Thomson" routers and have
> successfully avoided purchasing anything from this manufacturer in the past.
> I have been happy with the Sky Netgear router with its faultless operation
> and simple menus etc.I realise its possible to re-flash the Sky Netgear to a
> standard Netgear but this is beyond my capabilities and in any case I may
> want to go back to Sky at some stage.
>
> Anyone on Plusnet with the basic one port Thomson router care to comment on
> its performance and operation ? Thanks.
>
> Mike
>
>
Unfortunately there are too many variables.

These include personal preference, advanced requirements, the model (and
even variations within a model) and the nature of your signal.

I was using a Draytek Vigor. Nice router but with SNR dropping on the
line during the evening it kept resynching. Plusnet CS suggested that I
try their Thompson.

I did and found it was far more stable - maintaining a line for weeks
down to a very low SNR.


You may be pleasantly surprised

Flop

Mike <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> Anyone on Plusnet with the basic one port Thomson router care to comment on
> its performance and operation ? Thanks.
>
Not on Plusnet, but Thomson routers compared to some other makes have a
pretty horrid interface and are a pain to configure. However, in terms
of speed (for ADSL2+ anyway), they seem to be among the best; so unless
you're doing fancy things or need to configure the router regularly, I
would stick with the Thomson.

In reply to "Mike" who wrote the following:

> I am on Skys unlimited broadband at £15 per month, I don't have the TV etc.
> My broadband usage is now very low so Plusnet looks tempting at just over £6
> a month. I have requested the MAC code from Sky.
>
> My problem is that I don't like Plusnets "Thomson" routers and have
> successfully avoided purchasing anything from this manufacturer in the past.
> I have been happy with the Sky Netgear router with its faultless operation
> and simple menus etc.I realise its possible to re-flash the Sky Netgear to
> standard Netgear but this is beyond my capabilities and in any case I may
> want to go back to Sky at some stage.
>
> Anyone on Plusnet with the basic one port Thomson router care to comment on
> its performance and operation ? Thanks.
>
> Mike

I'd expect the thompson routers to be the most reliable part of the service from
Plusnet

Moving to BTW from LLU...lol.


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On Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:17:44 +0100, Mike wrote:

> I have been happy with the Sky Netgear router with its faultless
> operation and simple menus etc.I realise its possible to re-flash the
> Sky Netgear to a standard Netgear but this is beyond my capabilities and
> in any case I may want to go back to Sky at some stage.

Depending on where you are in the country, I'm sure there would be someone
local on this NG who could re-flash it for you. If you later went back
to Sky, they might send you another Netgear.

On 01/07/2011 15:14, Andrew Benham wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:17:44 +0100, Mike wrote:
>
>> I have been happy with the Sky Netgear router with its faultless
>> operation and simple menus etc.I realise its possible to re-flash the
>> Sky Netgear to a standard Netgear but this is beyond my capabilities and
>> in any case I may want to go back to Sky at some stage.
>
> Depending on where you are in the country, I'm sure there would be someone
> local on this NG who could re-flash it for you. If you later went back
> to Sky, they might send you another Netgear.

They probably would, as apparently they lock-down their Sky routers so
that all their customers "enjoy" an identical and non-tweakable experience.
(It makes life simpler fro their customer service people but doesn't
help customers who like to do a bit of optimising from time to time).

George

"Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ...
>I am on Skys unlimited broadband at £15 per month, I don't have the TV etc.
> My broadband usage is now very low so Plusnet looks tempting at just over
> £6 a month. I have requested the MAC code from Sky.
>
> My problem is that I don't like Plusnets "Thomson" routers and have
> successfully avoided purchasing anything from this manufacturer in the
> past. I have been happy with the Sky Netgear router with its faultless
> operation and simple menus etc.I realise its possible to re-flash the Sky
> Netgear to a standard Netgear but this is beyond my capabilities and in
> any case I may want to go back to Sky at some stage.

It really is very easy to do if you can follow a few lines of instructions.
If you went back to Sky they would send a new router anyway.


Peter Crosland