Fibre and the Sure Signal Device

Before posting here I carried out a search on entries about the Sure Signal device and found entries on many TB forums, so its not obvious which one to use on this topic. However my issue is fibre specific so it appears here although my first port of call was to the Vodafone forums but I have exhausted any expertise lurking there.

The issue is simple, but with complex overtures, in so much as you can have Sure Signal working fine but an upgrade to FTTC and you sleepwalk into problems that you never knew existed. To be told by Vodafone that the Sure Signal device was only designed for ADSL and won't work with FTTC was a bit of a shock as there is no signal from any mobile provider to serve our premises.

However people with greater technical expertise than me HAVE got the Sure Signal device working with FTTC but trying to discover exactly how is proving very difficult or misleading. To get the Sure Signal device working again, I am prepared swap out the router for another but one thing that is unchangeable is the FTTC service from TalkTalk Business.

Currently our hardware is a Draytek 2820vN and a MK2 Sure Signal Device. If anyone is prepared to jump in with assistance on this matter, it would be very welcomed because at the moment the only solution seems to be installing a second telephone line with ADSL broadband which would not be a welcome expenditure each month.

An alternative approach would be a one off cost for a Draytek 2860vN router which appears to be configurable to support the Sure Signal Device. Why Draytek? Well we need the VoIP functionality and access for remote users. All of which we had with an ADSL service!

So do we have a knight in shinning armour out there that can come to our rescue. I do hope so.

All my sure signal devices work with BT Infinity so Vodafone are clearly mistaken. No port forwarding required, they're just plug and play.

What seems to be the problem?

Lots of misinformation around, it's essentially a tunnelled VPN from the SureSignal and some routers mess that up or block it.

The Dlink router (ADSL but it's an IP level issue) I have on a line from T-T requires the firewall to be disabled for the SureSignal to work, no amount of rules and port forwarding made it work otherwise. Turn the FW off and off it goes. I have another router behind the Dlink doing the security.

My sure signal works fine with idnet and openreach modem and asus rt-n66u router

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/results.html...

Turned wi-fi off on iPhone and this shows maximum speed for the model of sure signal I have.

OP, i'm also on TalkTalk Business Fibre and have the Sure Signal v3 (plug in type) working without any problems. So the issue is likely to be your router or a faulty SS unit. I'm using the Asus RT-AC87 router.

In reply to a post by yarwell:

Lots of misinformation around, it's essentially a tunnelled VPN from the SureSignal and some routers mess that up or block it.

Nail on the head. From experience most routers work fine with the Sure Signal on FTTC but i've had the odd one which gives me connection problems with the SS.

Thanks for your responses guys where:
BatBoy says:
All my sure signal devices work with BT Infinity so Vodafone are clearly mistaken. No port forwarding required, they're just plug and play.

yarwell says: .
Lots of misinformation around, it's essentially a tunnelled VPN from the SureSignal and some routers mess that up or block it.

MrSaffron says:
My sure signal works fine with idnet and openreach modem and asus rt-n66u router.

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OK let's think about all this for a minute.

To yarwell I would say all too true. I would almost put the Draytek 2820 in that category except an end user has reported that he has got his 2820 to play ball with VSS [Sure signal device] but getting his configuration details hasn't happened yet.

To BatBoy I would say that Vodafone acknowledges that BT Infinity with a Home Hub will work with "Clamping" set correctly but that feature seems to be exclusive to the Home Hubs.

To MrSaffron I would say this is great to know and very tempted to immediately order an asus rt-n66u router. It stuffs me with the VoIP functionality without additional hardware but to be honest with you getting VSS is more of a priority. The question there is would be OK with TTB and can you have remote access with that router?

If I could be sure that the Draytek 2860vN or something else from their range of routers with the vN functionality can be made to work, that would be my preferred manufacturer especially if the 2820vn could be retained.

On the VSS, what actually should be performed when you need to reset the VSS? Various options are given with no clear indication of what each does.

Currently in the 2820's Firewall section, I have the Default Call Filter, and Default Data Filter enabled. DoS defense is disabled. There are no Port Redirection entries. The Open Ports configuration page does have entries for 8, 50, 123, 500, 4500 and 1723. When using VSS successfully on ADSL, the setting for MTU was 1400 but it has been suggested to use 1492 [the maximum that the router supports] or even 1454. I'm inclined to revert to 1400. Any thoughts on that?

With the FTTC going live on 15/10/14, I don't really want the Router going up and down like a yo-yo to test various options.

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

OP, i'm also on TalkTalk Business Fibre and have the Sure Signal v3 (plug in type) working without any problems. So the issue is likely to be your router or a faulty SS unit. I'm using the Asus RT-AC87 router.

Good to hear from you as well as your entry indicates that TTB Fibre is OK when using VSS.

I don't see that my MK2 VSS can be faulty as it was working fine until upgraded to FTTC but I have reset the unit many times since then and may have done this incorrectly. Any suggestions of how to get back to square one on that one please?

Now you have place me in a dilemma; do I rush out and get a MK3 VSS or get an Asus RT-AC87 router? Option 1 looks good , as it retains other features of the router, but then what about configuration requirements for VSS in the Draytek 2820vn to match? Your thoughts on this please.

I had a SS v2 many moons ago and if i remember correctly this is how you reset it:

1) Using a pin/needle push the reset button and after a few sec disconnect power to the SS - keep the reset button pushed in.

2) Wait for for 30 sec, reconnect power - keep the the reset button pushed in.

3) Wait for 15 sec, let go off reset button and it may take anything up to 24 hrs for the unit to sync - but its usually within the hour.

If this doesn't cure your problem, give VF a call and ask them to reset it from their end and then reset it again from your end.

If still no luck, pop into your local VF shop and buy a SS v3 unit. If it works, great you can bin your v2 unit but if the same problem continues return it to the store for a full refund - just say its not working (store staff are usually very good with returns) - DO NOT under any circumstances buy it from the online store as its a big hassle to return it.

Let us know how you get on. Good luck!

Edit: I should also add that the MTU is set to 1492 on my router so it might be a good idea to use this.

Edited by deleted (Sat 18-Oct-14 14:06:41)

No port clamping required here. It just works. The factory reset often fixes things and make sure you're using a real cat5 cable.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

No port clamping required here. It just works. The factory reset often fixes things and make sure you're using a real cat5 cable.

I was coming round to thinking of changing the supplied 'toy' Ethernet cable only today; I will certainly do that whilst I am on the case of getting the dam thing working in my environment. I can see that it should be possible, just haven't cracked it yet.