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Michael Phillips is product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk and can help with anything from contractual problems, to giving technical advice or telling you how to speed up those slow movie downloads.
On the subject of using your own router, our expert says...
Hi Graham,
First things first, Sky's router is free for a reason; it’s not a great unit. This is the case with many free routers supplied by broadband providers.
The main flaw in this router is the strength of signals passed between the router and wireless networks are weak at best. Online discussion forums and the Broadband Choices customer reviews sections are loaded with comments to this effect from Sky customers.
Substituting the ISP’s router for your own
Your Belkin N1 router is a higher performing device than the Netgear router supplied by Sky, pure and simple. It makes sense you would rather use the Belkin N1 to power your LAN.
You can extract the username and password of the router supplied by Sky and substitute in your own Belkin N1 router, but this process has one major flaw. Sky will not offer you technical support once you’ve replaced their router with yours, and you will be in breach of the terms and conditions you agreed to upon signing their contract.
Should you be determined to obtain the username and password of the existing Sky unit, then the following site can help you out:
However, look at the swathes of big red warnings you have to get through before committing to this process. In essence, should you use your own router, Sky could choose to suspend your service. Also, if you’re not technically competent enough to diagnose and troubleshoot difficulties that you may face with your own router, stick with Sky’s and let their technical support team assist you.
Adjusting your own network settings is additionally possible if you use the IP address listed in your Sky router’s manual. This local address usually looks like this: 192.168 (then followed by either 0 or 1 and then a number between 1 and 255). Enter this number into your web browser to access your router settings and make any necessary changes there, like this:
Again, if you’re lacking in technical proficiency (and let’s face it, most of us are), you would be best advised to leave the network settings in their default position.
Free Routers
Should you already own a router you’re happy with, but receive a free router from your new ISP anyway, don’t just bin the free router.
Keeping the free router as a back up will do no harm whatsoever, and you’ll still be able to use your own providing your ISP supports it. Alternatively you can plug back in if you do need to call Sky so that they have to support your enquiry.
Zen Broadband, for example, charge for their wireless router separately at a cost of £58.75 (excluding VAT), giving you scope to use your own router without having to surreptitiously pay for a router you’ll probably never use.
Using Your Own Router
A number of providers, such as Be Broadband, will allow you to use your own router. Unfortunately, Be cannot offer technical support to anyone who uses their own modem and presumably their own router too, but this is offset by their ability to offer the best speeds on paper in the UK.
Most broadband providers will not offer any assistance if you choose to use your own router. The infinite number of hardware combinations multiple router selections throws out would make it nigh on impossible for providers to train their technical staff to adequately cover all bases. Effectively, your overall customer service would suffer as a result.
TalkTalk, however, WILL provide technical support to those who choose their own router, so this is perhaps the path that those who don’t know a great deal about telecoms hardware should take.
External Support
If you’ve taken the road marked ‘My Own Router’, but you’re slightly less confident about fixing any router niggles than you were when you made that decision, there are a number of people who can offer assistance.
The Geek Squad offer in depth technical support and analysis, the chances are they can fix most of the problems you may experience. However, expertise comes at a price, and these geeks don’t come cheap.
For a more inexpensive option, consider taking a look in Computer Active magazine or checking out their site. Alternatively, you can always try typing your router model into Google, and checking whether there are any discussions happening on internet discussion boards that may be able to solve your problem.
Conclusion
If you’re confident when it comes to reconfiguring hardware and diagnosing any problems you may experience with your router, try swapping your under performing free router with a more powerful model. You could significantly improve the network’s performance as a result.
Not so confident? Stick with plug and play. Where possible, plug directly into the router using an Ethernet cable to get the best speeds.
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