PPPoE login issue with Unifi Dream Router (FTTC VDSL)

Hi,

Hoping someone may have an insight as to what I may be doing wrong here. I cannot get PPPoE to work with Zen on a third party router.

Background:

- I have recently moved to Zen Unlimited Fibre 2 from (FTTC, VDSL).
- Zen supplied a Fritzbox 7530 AX which connects fine.
- I have a Ubiquiti home setup with a Unifi Dream Router (UDR) as the main controller and router.
- I would like to use this setup instead of the Frtizbox.
- I also have Openreach / Huawei g.fast MT992 from a previous install which I intend to use as the modem.
- I am aware I could also use the Frtizbox in psuedo-bridge mode (and not use the MT992) by entering incorrect PPPoE credentials in the Frtizbox but passing the PPPoE connection through th Frtizbox.

Confirmed that:

- Frtizbox acting as modem and router = connection works fine, IPv4 and IPv6 (so I am confident I have the correct PPPoE settings)
- Frtizbox acting as router and MT992 as the modem (connected to the Fritzbox WAN port) = connection works fine, IPv4 and IPv6 (so I am confident the MT992 works fine and can be used as an independent modem)

Issue:

- I cannot get the same PPPoE settings to work on my UDR. Each attempt to connect to the internet fails.
- I have tried using the MT992 as the modem.
- I have also tried using the Frtizbox in the psuedo bridge mode where I allow other network devices to establish an internet connection through the Fritzbox and then deliberately put the wrong PPPoE settings in the Frtizbox so the Fritzbox itself cannot establish a connection.
- The PPPoE settings I am using are:
--- Zen username (format "zenxxxxx@zen") and Zen password (the ADSL password from the technical details section of my account on their website)
--- VLAN: 101
--- I have verified these work in the Frtizbox

- Additional settings presented in the UDR:
--- Mac clone: Not used
--- QoS tag: Not used
--- DNS: I have tried both leaving on auto, and using the DNS the Fritzbox gets from Zen upon connecting.

I am very much at a loss as to why I cannot establish a PPPoE connection from the UDR. Has anyone got any potential insights?

Many thanks in advanced.

Not familiar with the UDR - just UDMPro & SE but I guess they will be similar.


Have you connected the UDR direct to the ONT?

If UDR interface is similar to UDMPro, there will be a <Network> tab and under that an <Internet> tab and then WAN settings. Can you get a screen shot of that and provide a link?


Also, I have sometimes found that on first connect the UDMs can take a couple of minutes to establish the connection. After, it is instant.

Can you confirm that the Openreach MT992 G.Fast modem has worked on a VDSL2 circuit, from other posts there seems to be some doubt about this and whether it can automatically switch from G.Fast to VDSL2. There are varying opinions, some say it works, or used to work but no longer does because of a firmware update and the no it doesn't work at all and there is no way to configure it to operate in VDSL2 mode as the modem is locked and there is no access to any GUI.
If you are convinced it works on VDSL2 then you do not need any VLAN ID configured on the router, the VLAN is dealt with in the modem, so try removing this from your router config.

@MHC I don't believe the OP is on an FTTP connection. Zen Unlimited Fibre 2 appears to be a VDSL2 service, presumably now SOGEA ( since last September)

Hi both, thanks for the replies:

MHC - As noted in the post below yours, this is a VDSL connection, so no ONT. The UDR is connected directly to the MT992 modem.

I have posted a link to the screenshot of the UDR networks settings below. I've given the UDR quite a bit of time to connect and no dice yet...

Realalemadrid - I can confirm the MT992 is definitely workings as an external modem, and as far as I am aware I am on a VDSL connection not G.Fast. I don't know how to (or even if it is possible) to log onto a web interface of the MT992 to get further details?

Interestingly in the Frtizbox I have the VLAN ID set on 101, and the connection works well. I will try without the VLAN ID on the Fritzbox and then on the UBR to see if the Frtizbox still works, and if the UDR starts working. (I'm not using the Fritzbox and UDR at the same time here, just verifying what does work on the Fritzbox and then trying to use the exact same settings on the UDR).

I have posted screenshots here: https://imgur.com/a/QO2yESM

Thanks for the help so far, and appreciate any further thoughts.

Edited by omokenta (Mon 01-Jan-24 16:22:25)

Sorry, my mistake. Was reading on a very small screen at the time.

did you set :
VPI/VCI 0/38 and EC Mode LLC, for the ATM connection?
Annex B for DSL.

Vlan 101 should be right for DSL

I flashed my FritzBox to Openwrt, so can not advise on the right way to set this up when in bridged mode sorry

The settings you suggest are for an ADSL connection and do not apply to a VDSL2 PTM connection.

Also irrelevant is the VLAN ID which is not required on the router as it is configured in the external modem.

I am surprised at your statement .... Interestingly in the Frtizbox I have the VLAN ID set on 101, and the connection works well

Is this with the WAN connection through the Openreach MT992 modem or using the built in modem in the Fritzbox? The VLAN ID is only required when the internal modem is used and should not be required when using the external MT992.

Is the MT992 a standard Openreach branded device? These are locked and have no user interface but configured for an Openreach G.Fast connection but this one works on VDSL2 for you.

The retail Huawei version of this device has a web interface for configuration and would not by default have the correct set up for an Openreach connection.

Edited by Realalemadrid (Mon 01-Jan-24 17:54:23)

It's working!

Thanks all for input, but especially Realalemadrid who's solved the problem.

Realalemadrid, in answer to your points:

Is this with the WAN connection through the Openreach MT992 modem or using the built in modem in the Fritzbox
The former. Fritzbox WAN -> MT992 modem. The Fritzbox PPPoE settings worked when the VLAN was set to 101 (irrespective of whether using the inbuilt Fritzbo modem or going via the MT992). HOWEVER, I have just verified I can connect through the MT992 when leaving the VLAN tag in the Fritzbox blank.
I hadn't realised the VLAN tag was not necessary when using a separate modem - why is this the case?

Is the MT992 a standard Openreach branded device?
It is. It was supplied with a BT G.Fast connection I had several years ago, and thus must be locked. It is working on VDSL2 for me.

Anyway - I now have my UDR connecting, through the MT992, using PPPoE by not setting a VLAN tag at all. This has solved the problem. The Fritzbox must be somehow aware that the VLAN tag is to be ignored if connecting via an external modem, whilst the UDR is not? That is the only thing that seems to make sense?

Many thanks for your help, I would not have worked this out for myself.

That's good news. Happy New Year.

I suspected it was all about the VLAN ID but the results you were getting with the Fritzbox were not as expected. I have no experience with the Fritzbox routers apart from other users saying they are a bit different and have some quirky behaviour.

The Openreach modems such as the Huawei HG612 which I have used for years on my FTTC line and the MT992 have been configured to strip out the VLAN tag so the ethernet connection to the router does not need any VLAN configuration. It was probably done this way so no extra config was required at the router.

Hope you are sorted now and your modem behaves itself and continues to work on your VDSL2 connection.