Routers: Which to buy?

I need to replace a Thomson router with a better router and have had recommendations of 2 TP-Link routers, Archer C50 AC1200 Dual Band Wifi and Archer C6 AC1200 Dual Band Wifi Router, the latter at about £44 being about £10 more than the C50. The prices and information are taken from ebuyer as follows.

https://www.ebuyer.com/842323-tp-link-archer-c50-v4-ac1200-dual-band-wifi-router-archer-c50-v4
https://www.ebuyer.com/1286648-tp-link-archer-c6-ac1200-dual-band-wifi-router-archer-c6

Comments or other suggestions?

Added: I prefer one that will work with fibre optic signal.

I think that (at least in the UK) few (no?) modems will work directly with a fibre optic cable plugged in. The fible cable comes into your house into a small box (Optical Network Terminator or ONT) – which needs a power socket – and that box converts the optical signal into an Ethernet socket. The ONT is connected to your router with a normal Ethernet cable (which can be long). So the router needs to be able to accept a WAN Ethernet cable.

As for router – you have not really specified if what speed of LAN Ethernet you want, what speeed LAN WiFi you want, if you want to be able to integrate Mesh Wifi units directly to your router, if you want NAS abilities, or a Guest network, or phone facilities, or ???
And they all affect recommendations and price.

I know that

….. few (no?) modems will work directly with a fibre optic cable plugged in. The fible cable comes into your house into a small box (Optical Network Terminator or ONT) – which needs a power socket – and that box converts the optical signal into an Ethernet socket.

So I need to check that a new router must accept a WAN ethernet cable if it’s to work with an ONT box – thanks for that information.

The other facilities you mention are not so important except the LAN WiFi speed. This router will not be for home, and any normal WiFi speeds will do or higher if the cost is not much more. There is no Mash, no NAS, and there is a telephone. Don’t need a Guest network.

I use a Nokia Beacon 3 Mesh system, Open Reach ONT into a PlusNet Homehub, with Wifi disabled and then ethernet into the main mesh hub, and then the others communicate via ethernet or wifi to each other.

Just set the SSID and password of the Mesh to that of my old Sky Router I had about 5yrs ago to stop having to update all the devices.

<shrug> Fibre hooks straight into the back of my Livebox (router).

Probably depends upon who your provider is, but given that everybody seems to want to get rid of the copper wires, I think this will become more common.

Here in NZ, virtually everyone has separate ONT and router. The main fibre provider used to offer a combined unit, but apparently very few customers took it up. I saw a forum post last week that said only around 50 end users nationwide were doing so.

Do the coms firms provide a battery – to cover power cuts – for emergency calls?

@Dave: If your requirements are so simple, does the ISP provide their own router? It may be a fairly basic one, but probably satisfies your requirements, free and supported by the ISP.

Do the coms firms provide a battery – to cover power cuts – for emergency calls?

This depends but OFCOM have said there needs to be provisions for customers at risk, who are registered with their ISP. This could be a basic battery backup. Or provide a basic none smartphone, or in some cases now a Hybrid phone (this has a SIM card plus digital phone if you have taken Digital Voice from certain providers)

@Dave; You have not said who your ISP is but majority of ISPs provide a router suitable for the service you are using/purchasing. These should now be standard for use with Full Fibre, as that is what the UK is fully moving over to nationally. If you are moving to Full Fibre then ISPs will have an ONT (Optical Network Terminator) installed to replace your old Analogue master socket. and then your ethernet cable is connected from that to your Router.

I suspect as you say you have a Thompson router it is fairly old.

The ISP is Phone Coop, part of the Midcounties Co-operative Limited. They provided the current Thompson router, model TG385 v8 SW release 8.2.7.8. It’s around 12 or 13 years old, I think. Its WiFi signal is not strong, and so I am looking for a router with a strong WiFi signal.

If the Phone Coop router is 12 years old, it is past the time they should replace it. That is ancient in terms of router technology! And if the SW has not been updated for a few years, it will be missing some security updates. Have you asked them for an updated replacement?

Do the coms firms provide a battery

<sprays tea across the table <

The Livebox reboots at the slightest power glitch. I saw the bathroom light flicker at ten to twelve yesterday. Went to look at the box, 2/4 of the boot sequence.

I might try hooking it up to the little 12V UPS that I used to run the older box on. The UPS is rated 2A, the new Livebox claims 3A but I’m not using ethernet or WiFi 6. I don’t think it’s sucking 3A because the power brick isn’t even warm.
Plus it only needs to run the thing for, literally, a quarter of a second as… I dunno, is EDF switching from this to that or something?

The Pi, of course, kept on going with not a hint of a problem.

for emergency calls?

They probably figure you can just use a mobile.

A router I have in another place is a Technicolor (sic) DGA4134 WiFi 6 Dual-Band Gateway and has 2 WAN sockets, one for ADSL/VDSL and the other for FTTP. It’s currently using the former socket for FOTTC (fibre optic to the cabinet). I was looking for the same in the TP-Link routers, but from pictures they seem to have just one WAN socket.

As you normally have either VDSL/FTTC or FTTP, the only reason to want two WAN sockets are if you also have a mobile dongle to act as backup to FTTP (assuming the router includes a VDSL modem). One WAN socket can be used for FTTP or a mobile backup… but not at the same time.

Interestingly, I did have a quick look at the PhoneCoop site, and the only mention of routers I saw was the DGA4134 & DGA0122, so presumably those are the ones currently issued by Phone Coop?

Thomson / Technicolor are the cheapest POS routers imaginable from the most skinflint of budget ISPs. They are renown for WiFi so weak, you many not get speeds faster than an old ADSL connection from across a small living room. The best thing to do is not to even open the box, and put them straight in the bin.

Do the coms firms provide a battery – to cover power cuts – for emergency calls?

I have my router, ONT and DECT phone base on UPS, but the problem is that when the power goes off locally, it also takes out the local cabinet, so the internet/phone drops out anyway…

@Grahame: If you have an ONT, then you are on Full Fibre. Which do not use a local cabinet (Ok if you are with certain alt-nets then it possible they have a cabinet in some cases). Your full fibre will come from what is called a Headend exchange which may well not be your local exchange located in another town/city. If you use Digital Voice then you need to also have the router on your UPS as that is how the digital phone systems works nowadays.

when the power goes off locally

After Arwen, not only was power off here (six days) but at the local exchange (two days I think) and no mobile signal here or down in town. Mobile signal down in town was restored late the next day but not up here for a further few days.

My old landline phone DECT base is plugged into the ONT, not the router, but the router is on UPS anyway (as mentioned earlier). There is definitely a link to local power somewhere nearby, as when they took the power down locally a few months ago to permanently fix an emergency temporary patch that bypassed tree branch/storm issues from earlier in the year it also took out the fibre circuit. I wasn’t expecting that to happen, hence the UPS cover in the hope of keeping some external access.

The DNOs have a historic reciprocal agreement to share overhead line poles, basically to stop multiple “telegraph” poles being erected one for power and one for telephony.

Newer installations can’t use this arrangement but existing can and can be maintained.

This will be why you sometimes lose internet connectivity when overhead assets are being replaced or worked on.

In terms of Rick’s lights flickering taking out his internet that flickering of his lights is a sign of Harmonic distortion on the LV network, which if you report to the DNO will be investigated, as under the ESQCR they have to prevent what is actually referred to technically as “flicker”. There’s a good chance someone is using either motors, welders or induction furnaces that the DNO aren’t aware of.