What is the best VFM router for FFTH

As the title, of my post CURRENTLY I ONLY HAVE OPENREACH as a choice, I don't use WI-FI ,and probably wont,use it, but what is the best wired router, for their options on offer, and will have some degree of future proofing should the likes of city fibre become available to me, My current isp ZEN offers the fritz,or eero what ever that is

My experience with a Fritzbox, same 3490 for for the last 10 years, has been excellent. Dunno how the newer ones stack up but the one I have is a real trooper.

The Eero is an Amazon router. I have an Eero 6+ which is fine but I only really use it for the mesh network. The problem with the Eero is it is pretty basic as a router and if you don't pay about £100 a year for the subscription then you lose some basic features like dynamic DNS (I paid the first year I had it but not since).

At some point I will upgrade to a WiFi 7 mesh at which point I will probably look at a different manufacturer but at the moment 7 is just too expensive for my tastes.

Barring the basics of connection what do you want a router to do?

Start by using whatever router your chosen ISP supplies - this will give you the best support if there are issues down the line. And then, only when you know what the limitations are of the device they've provided, you can look into alternatives.

Specify what your needs are, or what limitations you've hit in the ISP router. There's no one-size fits all, in the same way as if you'd asked "what car should I buy?". I could tell you I use and like Mikrotik routers, but without some personal context that doesn't tell you anything.

Aside: there are some Openreach-based ISPs who don't supply a router - e.g. Aquiss, AA - in which case you'll need to get one anyway. In that case, the question is slightly different.

Finally, I'd say there's very little point in buying a "future proof" router. Anything you buy will be obsolete in 3-5 years anyway. If you pay extra to get a router with 2.5G or 10G ports, there will be a much wider choice of cheaper and better devices next year. So just buy what you need today.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

Finally, I'd say there's very little point in buying a "future proof" router. Anything you buy will be obsolete in 3-5 years anyway. If you pay extra to get a router with 2.5G or 10G ports, there will be a much wider choice of cheaper and better devices next year. So just buy what you need today.

This ^^^ is the most important point.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by candlerb:

Finally, I'd say there's very little point in buying a "future proof" router. Anything you buy will be obsolete in 3-5 years anyway. If you pay extra to get a router with 2.5G or 10G ports, there will be a much wider choice of cheaper and better devices next year. So just buy what you need today.

This ^^^ is the most important point.

I agree but i would add another thing to the answer

In reply to a post by tommy45:

but what is the best wired router, for their options on offer,

There isn't a "best router" in general. You try and match one to your needs, and even then it will be trade off somewhere either due to price or features and price.

Some will care about >2.5gb ports, some will want wifi-7 (or 8) and again some will want multi wan (internent connections) and others won't care for anyone of those but want a nice easy interface.

In reply to a post by tommy45:

I don't use WI-FI ,and probably wont,use it, but what is the best wired router, My current isp ZEN offers the fritz,or eero what ever that is

I have an eero in it's box, supplied by TT so plugged in to ascertain it worked then ditched in preference to their older Fast5364. The eero is primarily for wifi use, has two ports, one is for ONT, so that leaves just one for any other use, which was useless for me and I guess you.

Edited by burble (Fri 15-May-26 16:48:48)

My new Plusnet Openreach FTTP service terminatees with an ONT. The ONT has an RJ45 socket and I use a cable with RJ45 plugs on each end to connect to my router. I use separate equipment for Wifi.

The customer splice point was located where the unerground FTTP service comes out of the ground.

To get the service to work I unplugged the cable I had going into the FTTC HG612 modem and then pluggred it into the ONT.

UniFi gear is absolutely fantastic. As are the access points if you choose to add them. The Cloud Gateway Ultra (Ignore the cloud - doesn't have to be!) is fantastic value for £80.