Squirrel Internet

Just wondering if anyone here is with Squirrel and if so what your thoughts on them are?

I got an email a couple of weeks back from them as they were the first provider to give the go ahead to order. They're a bit more expensive than the other providers, and the router they provide is apparently rubbish (so I'll be sticking with my own) but so far their customer support has been very responsive. Only downside is that the engineer was due in tomorrow and that's now been delayed over a week, which I can't say I'm too happy about.

In looking up all the different providers that Fibre Heroes are partnered with on here though it seems like they all have issues.

Hi, I have it, the service is great, their customer support brilliant to be honest. Only issue I had was installation was delayed by a month but I didn’t know this till I contacted them and they contacted Gigaclear, who neglected to to inform myself or Squirrel that they found a fault on their network build in my village, a multi junction box which was repaired fairly quickly.
When installation came round it was fast, my issues then were not with Squirrel but my own routers. I bought a TP Link BE65 WiFi 7 mesh system, it was giving my WiFi 6E devices over a gig in speed tests, but it was dropping IPV6 after 30 minutes despite all the relevant addresses being filled. I tried my old Eero Pro 6 and they just don’t issue a router IPV6 address to my devices. So I’ve sent the TP Link back and connected the Squirrel router which has no IPV6 issues at all and I’m running the Eero’s in bridge mode. When I liaised with Squirrel on this they were excellent but as it was a third party router couldn’t offer a lot of help, one operator did advise they used a Mikrotik router with no problems.

So I am going to wait for the Asus WiFi 7 mesh system to test. But so far speeds are great, touch wood no drops.

I’ve been with them almost 9 months, had a shaky start due congestion on the wholesale network (MS3) that took around a month to resolve. It wasn’t Squirrels fault, so I don’t hold it against them, and they handled it well waiving the months fee and offered to let us leave.

I don’t know how standard for ISPs it is, but they don’t ship their router out until after the wholesaler has completed the install which could be a bit of a surprise for some customers. It didn’t matter to me since I use OPNsense and Squirrel had activated in on their side within a few hours.

The customer support experience has been excellent, I sent a bunch of pre-sales questions and have had a few interactions since becoming a customer. I’ve received quick, detailed, and often technical responses. I hope they can keep the support levels up as they grow – I’ve noticed they recently added another 1024 IPs so looks like customer numbers continue to grow!

The connection has been consistently 900+ up and down, transferring several TB per month. However, there have been more (usually) brief connection drops than I’d had in years with the previous provider, some I’m certain are MS3 issues since I monitor Squirrel IPs on other wholesalers. Squirrel are quick to notice incidents and update the service status page on the website, I’d prefer if it showed a history of outages, but I have BQM for that anyway.

BQM goes via AS25369 (Hydra Communications) in both directions and has occasional packet loss https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/... it’s usually so infrequent I have not bothered bringing this up to them but from monitoring I believe it occurs on the hop between Squirrel and Hydra.

Static IPv4 and IPv6 /56 included is handy, with IPv4 I’ve experienced very few geolocation or reputation issues, not with major sites just occasionally outdated databases linking the larger IP block before it was sold/leased to smaller players.
I don’t have IPv6 enabled currently, they have fewer upstreams and I’d noticed a few bizarre routes via Cogent (BQM via France), but I haven’t tried it in the last 6 months so it could have improved.

I’d have no problem recommending them, I’m paying £35/month and see they’re now even cheaper on the Fibre Heroes and MS3 networks.

I'm with them via MS3 after years of virgin media i wanted faster upload and sick of the annual price rise dance i was thrilled when i saw MS3 coming to the area (would rather of been CF but we cant have it all ay lol), I contacted the few ISPs available and squirrel were 100% above the rest so decided to take a punt. I've been scored by smaller unknow ISPs in the past via the digital region network so was a little hesitant but based on their pre sign up responses i decided was worth a shot,

The service has been fantastic 24/7 full speed multiple TB a month no problem, I never got one of their routers as i told them when i signed up i planned on using my own PFSense setup and they said if i ever changed my mind they'd send one out next day, so im not sure how it fairs i know they have 2 types they send out though 1 better than the other so that's touch and go.

I've only had 1 little problem and that was IPV6 not working but within 15 mins they had realised it had been configured wrong on my account and was up and running. As another person said i have also had problems with IPV6 using a TP LINK router, i had to temp take my PF out of the network for some rework tweaking and hooked upto my archer X55 pro and V6 was constantly dropping so i guess avoid TP link routers

Id say give them a shot

In reply to a post by acpsd775:

I'm with them via MS3

Any chance of expanding what MS3 is?

Are they usually known by something else?

How do they appear on https://bidb.uk/ ?

Thanks

In reply to a post by think26872:

In reply to a post by acpsd775:

I'm with them via MS3

Any chance of expanding what MS3 is?

Are they usually known by something else?

How do they appear on https://bidb.uk/ ?

Thanks

MS3 are like city fibre and openreach they are a whole sale FTTP network that other ISPs sell on.

for me on bidb i get


MS3 Networks is live
Virgin Media is live
CityFibre is planned
FibreNest is local

then a whole bunch unplanned/unavailable

Thanks - if I looked at bit closer I should have seen it listed on the BIDB site like you say (in the unplanned section for me )

In reply to a post by acpsd775:

I'm with them via MS3 after years of virgin media i wanted faster upload and sick of the annual price rise dance i was thrilled when i saw MS3 coming to the area (would rather of been CF but we cant have it all ay lol), I contacted the few ISPs available and squirrel were 100% above the rest so decided to take a punt. I've been scored by smaller unknow ISPs in the past via the digital region network so was a little hesitant but based on their pre sign up responses i decided was worth a shot,

The service has been fantastic 24/7 full speed multiple TB a month no problem, I never got one of their routers as i told them when i signed up i planned on using my own PFSense setup and they said if i ever changed my mind they'd send one out next day, so im not sure how it fairs i know they have 2 types they send out though 1 better than the other so that's touch and go.

I've only had 1 little problem and that was IPV6 not working but within 15 mins they had realised it had been configured wrong on my account and was up and running. As another person said i have also had problems with IPV6 using a TP LINK router, i had to temp take my PF out of the network for some rework tweaking and hooked upto my archer X55 pro and V6 was constantly dropping so i guess avoid TP link routers

Id say give them a shot

I also had no IPV6 with my Eero Pro 6 or original Google WiFi not that that ever worked on IPV6 anyway. I’ve got a low end Asus router on order to test, if it works I’ll get an Asus WiFi 7 mesh system when it’s out, if not I’ll grab a Miktorik router and get a pair of Alta Labs AP’s. I suspect it is a case of having the right settings available to make IPV6 work.

Edited by markyr74 (Mon 29-Apr-24 20:12:04)

I wonder what the OP did back in October .

(It does seem to be a good provider to go with where it's available ).

u know i didn't even notice the post date haha

Who knows lol. They are good. Small though at present.

What's the latest on this ISP? I've recently signed up for them and am awaiting installation next week,

these guys are also providing over the freedom fibre network now.
https://fibreprovider.net/news/freedom-fibre-names-b...

Edited by Fe_plus (Fri 28-Jun-24 18:18:31)

Please keep us updated on how your install goes. My own is the other end of this month so keen on hearing about any experiences. Hope all goes well.

Just had the new fibre line put in via fibre heros in Shrewsbury, first came an engineer with a cherry picker van who ran an overhead cable from the Openreach pole to the house which didn't take long at all since it's overhead vs underground in my case, then a while later another engineer came to drill a hole through the wall and affix a grey fibre box and cable entry cover to the outside and ONT (Nokia XS-010G-Q) and small round internal cable entry cover to the internal wall. The engineer was flexible to where I wanted the ONT and cable entry point. The ONT flashed for about half an hour after he left before connecting via WAN and then did a reboot which I suspect was an automatic firmware update, but I can't be sure.

I'm now awaiting the Squirrel router to arrive in the next two days and using my Sky FTTC service for the time being. I'm getting the 600mbps up and down service with digital phone line, the phone connects to the router and not the ONT. I can only get 30mbps down and 5mbps up with FTTC due to line length to the cabinet hence the move to FTTP.

I messaged Squirrel via their web chat who quickly confirmed it's the XGS-PON standard and they don't use CGNAT for IP addresses, often it's two people called Dan and Harrison who'll reply. I asked them about using my own router and they said to set the WAN to DHCP/automatic and no credentials were required.

All in all it's going smoothly and I'm quite looking forward to getting fully going. Squirrel handled all the switching from Sky FTTC and I get to keep my landline number.

Edited by SpeedySlow (Mon 01-Jul-24 17:05:14)

Great. All sounds good then. You're in a similar situation to me it seems. I'm in Malvern and my install (also with Fibre Heroes) will be to replace my BT line. I'd already moved to FTTP with them though so will be having an additional internal and external box to replace the Openreach connection! I've opted for the 600mbps line and phone too which will be roughly half the cost of my current 500mbps BT contract. I won't be cancelling the BT service until all is working OK and was wondering if I could use the BT Hub once the new line is in whilst waiting for the Squirrel router to arrive. Might be better to be patient though and I guess Squirrel don't activate the line until you confirm their router is in and powered up?

From what I can tell the WAN connection is up and running now as the light went from flashing to solid so I assume there's service on it, Squirrel told me they don't require login credentials when using a third party router. But I've not tried using it myself. As to using the BT router it depends on how locked down it is but before all in one VDSL router/modems were a thing everyone used to connect to FTTC via openreach modems so I assume it's similar.

Edited by SpeedySlow (Mon 01-Jul-24 17:46:04)

I may have a go then just to see if it's possible. Won't bother trying too hard though as the BT router will need to be returned after the contract is cancelled anyway.

They're having some problems right now, I should be getting 600mbps up and down
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/_assets/speedtest/but...

Hi speedy,

I also live in Shrewsbury (Harlescott) I signed up on Thursday and the engineer is coming Monday (i Hope).

How are you getting on with Squirrel, I hadnt heard of them before so im a little apprehensive.

Many Thanks

Steve

In reply to a post by dowbulldog:

Hi speedy,

I also live in Shrewsbury (Harlescott) I signed up on Thursday and the engineer is coming Monday (i Hope).

How are you getting on with Squirrel, I hadnt heard of them before so im a little apprehensive.

Many Thanks

Steve

Hi, to be honest the speed throughput isn't very consistent and there's a lot of retransmissions but it looks like it might be a local issue. Will be interesting to hear how your service turns out.

Hey @miken06 Did you have to do anything exotic (VLAN Tagging?) to get OPNSense working with Squirrel, I'm struggling to get any sort of DHCP response, but have solid connection on the ONT :/ ?

It may vary by network but on MS3 no VLANs were needed just DHCP.

Is it a new install? Perhaps Squirrel haven't set it up yet.
I'd recommend live chatting them in the morning, they have been very helpful the few times I've contacted them.

The connection has remained pretty problem free, averaged 5TB/month down for the last year.
The previously experienced brief drop outs seem to have stopped but I think that was an MS3 issue anyway.

We've just moved to Squirrel for fibre 900Mbits. They gave us a free installation of fibre, too, so it's the first time we're experiencing it (previously we had Virgin/Three).

Not been a great experience, to be honest.

Speeds via ethernet to the (cheap) router are around 860Mbits download, and 920Mbits upload. OK, not to be sniffed at but I believe that indicates quite serious contention. No matter which speed test I use, upload is always faster than download. Their support chat says this is fine and just the way it is because the network is busy sometimes, y'know?

IPv6 worked initially, but has now died. Don't know why. No device on the network has an IPv6 address now.

Carrier grade NAT for IPv4, too, so it'll mess-up any VPN connection. £2 extra gets you a static IP.

And then there's the price. They're cheap as chips, which is probably why there's so much contention. I got a deal and just as they were about to do the fibre install, they dropped the price again. I asked if I could have the better price. They basically told me to f*** off. You might think this is OK but, well, it's not great customer service.

I'd advise people to take care with this company. It might be a classic example of an aggressive startup outpacing what it can actually offer.

In reply to a post by lulubonkers:

We've just moved to Squirrel for fibre 900Mbits. They gave us a free installation of fibre, too, so it's the first time we're experiencing it (previously we had Virgin/Three).

Not been a great experience, to be honest.

Speeds via ethernet to the (cheap) router are around 860Mbits download, and 920Mbits upload. OK, not to be sniffed at but I believe that indicates quite serious contention. No matter which speed test I use, upload is always faster than download. Their support chat says this is fine and just the way it is because the network is busy sometimes, y'know?

IPv6 worked initially, but has now died. Don't know why. No device on the network has an IPv6 address now.

Carrier grade NAT for IPv4, too, so it'll mess-up any VPN connection. £2 extra gets you a static IP.

And then there's the price. They're cheap as chips, which is probably why there's so much contention. I got a deal and just as they were about to do the fibre install, they dropped the price again. I asked if I could have the better price. They basically told me to f*** off. You might think this is OK but, well, it's not great customer service.

I'd advise people to take care with this company. It might be a classic example of an aggressive startup outpacing what it can actually offer.

Depending where you live, you could be on Gigaclear backend services, and Gigaclear is running extremely hot at the minute is certain parts of the country.

We're in South Manchester, on the Warrington border.