In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Also if buying a new modem/router check its got a decent DSL chipset in it ie. generally broadcom

Would suggest before hitting buy actually saying which device you are thinking of as people here will have some idea of the history of the device, plus some people end up buying the wrong thing totally.

The high number of devices now has me wondering if this is software in router issues, e.g. NAT table filling up and not flushing correctly crashing router. In scenarios like this going for a VDSL2 modem in one box bridged to an Ethernet router is often better as the choice of Ethernet router is much wider.

A cheap VDSL2 modem that supports bridge mode is the TP-Link W9970 (https://amzn.to/2NmFU47 £33) which have used for 3 years solid in front of BT, Plusnet and Vodafone routers and means I get higher connection speeds and in the case of the Vodafone router a lot less drops in service.

Given the high amount of devices the OP has, probably going for a separate modem and a wifi router might be the best way forward. Given that the op whilst not understanding the logs, can get to the log means he should be able to set the two boxes up.

Hi the TalkTalk Router which worked great was the Super Router HG635 (it's got a Huawei logo on it).

I've actually taken the plunge after seeing a few other people with EE/Plusnet Router problems ordered the ASUS DSL-AC68U, which quite a few people on the EE Forums say has resolved their issues. I've got it on quick delivery for this evening, so hopefully I can see if it disconnects overnight.

The EE one has disconnected twice again since last night!

Cancel order

The ASUS DSL-AC68U uses a very bad mediatek chipset for the VDSL2 modem i.e. it is NOT stable on VDSL2/FTTC services which you are on.

I'd suggest the TP-Link 9970 or Draytek Vigor 130 depending on budget to run as VDSL2 modem
For router
Something like a Netgear Nighthawk X6 (https://amzn.to/2AuqRgk £149.99 Amazon), Asus also do more high spec more modern routers such as ASUS RT-AC86U which should handle lots of devices and give good Wi-Fi.

If an all in one box is preferred TP Link VR900 V2 (https://amzn.to/32R1JfN £119) has a fairly good reputation, and while not as powerful router generally the TP-link kit works well, just not as a pretty web interface as Asus/Netgear. There is the TPLink VR-2800 at £163 (https://amzn.to/2NrnIpV) that is probably more of a match for the Asus/Netgear kit and supports the good bits of the VDSL2 standards - no knowledge of how good people have found this on problematic lines.

Worst
modem
ever
!

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

If an all in one box is preferred TP Link VR900 V2 (https://amzn.to/32R1JfN £119) has a fairly good reputation, and while not as powerful router generally the TP-link kit works well, just not as a pretty web interface as Asus/Netgear. There is the TPLink VR-2800 at £163 (https://amzn.to/2NrnIpV) that is probably more of a match for the Asus/Netgear kit and supports the good bits of the VDSL2 standards - no knowledge of how good people have found this on problematic lines.

Remember that TP-Link limit the user interface with their own cut-down version of Telnet on the VR900 and VR-2800. If you want to run common monitoring programs like DSLStats or Routerstats you have to edit the config file to enable the full Telnet. I found the instructions to do this on another well known web-site that majors on DSL technology and information.

It's already arrived.

I was looking at the X6 on Amazon, but the comments state it does not have an in-built modem. I don't want two devices.

I try this for a few days and see how I go.

It's a pity you opened it.

The router part of it is great. WiFi OK. Modem, very poor. You will not find a single recommendation for it on these forums.

You might be very lucky and get a stable connection if the theory about the number of device connections is making the others fall over and reboot. But the throughput isn't likely to be better than adequate. If that.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Cancel order

The ASUS DSL-AC68U uses a very bad mediatek chipset for the VDSL2 modem i.e. it is NOT stable on VDSL2/FTTC services which you are on.

I was gonna mention - do not buy the dsl-ac68u but i couldn't offhand remember why, and hence left it to you and the others to explain.. Seems we are all too late! The gui on the asus compared to the tp-link is light and day

Hi, thanks for all your help I know you said send the ASUS Router back, but decided to give it a try and I have been online for over 2 days now with NO dropped connections, full 71Mbps which is all my line can get, plus the ping has come down from 24 to 18, still higher than TalkTalk but I am happy that I am now staying connected for more than a few hours.

More importantly my smart hub and lights are all working again and coming on at the right time, so think will keep it and see how it goes. Many thanks.

https://ibb.co/18YXphz (screenshot of uptime)

I had the same issue. Plusnet would disconnect 5+ times a day, using their supplied router. That would also drop the speed right down. I changed to Sky, and switched to their router which never disconnects. Exactly the same line, must just be the way that things are handled by different hardware.