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[cosrush]

Thanks again all for the replies 

Some information I should add, with all the issues over the years I have had with the copper wires from the cabinet I've always considered I have a noisy line. Several time BT engineers came out they said I was suffering from REIN.

With this in mind, to maximise my connection if I were to go with a ZyXel I'd be better off with a B10A with the filter over any of the others?

[j0hn]

Looking at a ZyXEL VMG8924-B10A for £48 which is used but comparing it to a TP-Link WD9970 which also has a Broadcom chipset which is £35 new.

Is the ZyXel worth the extra cost?
There's also a Billion 8800NL which also has a Broadcom chipset and is £40 used.

Unfortunately it's not that simple. The TP-Link and Billion models you mention have both been out for years and have both changed chipsets over the years (for the worst).

The TP-Link WD9970 used to have a Broadcom chipset.
It has many revisions and I believe the latest (v4) has a Mediatek chipset, not Broadcom.
The likes on Amazon are very likely to have the latest revision.

TP-Link also strip back the accessible stats on most of their modems.

The Billion 8800NL also has 2 revisions.
The Billion 8800NL R1 had an excellent Broadcom BCM 63168 chipset. It hasn't been supplied for years now.
The currently supplied version is the Billion 8800NL R2 which now has a cheaper and not so good Broadcom BCM 63381 chipset.
The R1 and R2 look different.

This is called bait & switch.
You release a model with premium components, get great reviews online, then using the same model number release later revisions with cheaper parts.
People buy the product based on the great reviews from when the product was released.
People tend not to review products years after release or to review later revisions of products.

Zyxel have done similar by going from the VMG1312-B10A to the VMG1312-B10D.
The B10D has an interior chipset.
In Zyxels defense it's a slightly different model number so you can actually see for definite what you are buying.
The 2 also look very different.

The Zyxel VMG8324-B10A or the VMG8924-B10A are great.
They are essentially the same device but the 8924 also has 5Ghz AC WiFi, while the 8324 is 2.4Ghz only.

My favourite was the Zyxel VMG1312-B10A.
It was the most stable and highest syncing modem I ever used and I also loved the shape and colour and how it could be wall mounted next to my master socket.
It's basically* a black version of the OpenReach modems in styling.

[cosrush]

Thanks j0hn,

All good information

Not heard of the 'bait and switch' before, seems an underhand way of doing things but I'm glad I now know why to be cautious about it. 

I'm going to need to give it some more consideration as I hadn't factored in the Modem being quite so expensive and that the better ones to choose from would be used as opposed to new with a warranty etc.

[Weaver]

Is the analog front-end filter important if you have an ok line? (My lines are extremely clean, just ultra-long. 4.55 mi by road.)

[tiffy]

Is the analog front-end filter important if you have an ok line? (My lines are extremely clean, just ultra-long. 4.55 mi by road.)

I can't give a definitive answer on that other than from experience on my line, as per "j0hn's" testimonial, have found that the 1312-B10A has always produced best results with respect to synch speed and stability on my relatively long, low noise VDSL-2 line to Huawei DSLAM in a relatively low population density area where the majority of my neighbours are on Virgin cable with a few (by choice) still on ADSL service.

Did once try a ZyXEL VMG1312-B10D on my line, much lower DS synch achieved with considerably increased error rates, can't say if that was directly attributable to the lack of internal filter or the lower spec Broadcom chip, possibly a combination of both?

[Alex Atkin UK]

And I always get better results from Lantiq on my short line to the ECI cabinet.

I did try a 1312 once but as I recall it synced no different to the ones I have without the filter, both considerably slower than Lantiq.

I would say my Zen line is rock-solid stable and my Plusnet line not so much, but I think the Plusnet hub may have always been dodgy as since switching to the ECI modem the Plusnet line seems stable.  I was going to test to see for how long but I've had to power them down several times recently due to storms, but so far neither has dropped except when I've forced them to.

[Weaver]

Which Lantiq modem did you use at your end? This is a case CPE-DSLAM/MSAN synergy, if that’s the right word, isn’t it?

[tubaman]

I'd second j0hn's recommendation for the VMG8924-B10A. It's the one that always ends up back on my line as it just sync's the fastest and is the most stable. I do have a VMG1312-B10A as a spare and only don't use it because of the lack of 5GHz WiFi.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Which Lantiq modem did you use at your end? This is a case CPE-DSLAM/MSAN synergy, if that’s the right word, isn’t it?

Originally it was a Home Hub 5a and Plusnet Hub One, both with OpenWRT.  I prefer this setup anyway as VLAN 101 is bridged to the WAN port and the management LAN is tagged on that port.  I can't make head nor tail of how Zyxel describe their VLAN setup, I don't trust it for a single wire solution compared to the clear language of OpenWRT.  Its so simple it makes my smart-managed switches blush, their UIs are really dumb.

The Plusnet Hub was never quite stable since they enabled G.INP on that line.  It started to take ages to gain sync until it stopped getting sync at all recently, so I swapped it with the ECI Openreach modem with the older build of OpenWRT on it (the one I replaced the capacitors on some time ago).

[cosrush]

So I bit the bullet and bought a secondhand ZyXel VMG8924-B10A.

Hopefully this'll be ok and give me a faster and more stable connection. 

[Ixel]

Back when I had FTTC a while ago, before moving to FTTP, one of the devices I had was their 1312. I had no noticeable problems with it. I imagine you'll find the same for the one you've ordered, hopefully anyway.

[cosrush]

Back when I had FTTC a while ago, before moving to FTTP, one of the devices I had was their 1312. I had no noticeable problems with it. I imagine you'll find the same for the one you've ordered, hopefully anyway.

Thanks, I do hope so.

[Weaver]

An excellent choice.

[cosrush]

I wonder if any of you good people could run through some of my setting for the modem in bridge mode?

I have the Modem in Bridge mode but notice when I open the modem settings and look at the network map I see some of my devices. I would have thought I would only see the router rather than specific devices.

Any advice?

[meritez]

@cosrush

Happy to run through the config, I can post my settings from my vmg1312-b10a in bridge mode if it helps?