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[DanielCoffey]

Hello folks, I would appreciate some advice on the current recommended VDSL modem for those of us on long lines.

My current situation is that I am in a new property on a 40/2 package with BT around 3300m from the FTTC cabinet. As a result, my speed is fairly slow. When the line was new around a year ago, the BT HH6 would sync at around 9.0Mbps down 1.0Mbps up. I then changed over to my own HG612 / ASUS RT-AC86U and got on with using the internet.

Gradually thoughout the past year, the speed I have obtained has slumped to around 5.6Mbps (ThinkBroadband Speed Test) which is getting to the point where the two of us are struggling to use the internet without conflict. We generally have one Apple Music stream and one YouTube video at 1080p. When were are both hitting it at once, there is buffering. The speed is completely consistent at all times of day with no "peak" slowing at all. All speed tests are wired.

Since it was trying our patience, I swapped back to the BT Home Hub 6 and it immediately negotiated a better speed out of the line of 7.3Mbps (ThinkBroadband Speed Test). It is reporting 1181/8474 Kbps at 6.5dB/6.4dB SNR. As soon as I put the HG612 back on, it dropped back to the old, lower speed of 1137/6812 at 6.1dB/7.1dB SNR.

While the HH6 was an improvement, I went through the BT Troubleshooting Tool which reported that I should still be getting more out of my line. I have been through Chat and have an Engineer on his way to check our wiring to make sure I am getting the best out of our package but that brings me to my question...

Given that the BT HH6 can negotiate and hold a better speed than the HG612, what VDSL modem would help me match what the HH6 can negotiate but still allow me to use my own router? Do you feel the HG612 should be able to do better if configured differently?

[j0hn]

The HG612 has a pretty old DSL chipset.
My chipset of choice is the BCM63168
It syncs higher than any other chipset I've tried.
I'd confidently say it's preferred chipset for the majority on this forum.

Kitz has compiled a list with most of the modem/routers using Broadcom DSL chipsets.

https://wiki.kitz.co.uk/index.php/BCM_routers

I find the Zyxel VMG1312-B10A (Not the VMG1312-B10D) syncs the highest on my line.
It's no longer manufactured so is becoming harder to source at a reasonable price. You can pick them up on EBay for about £40 new.

The Billion 8800NL R1 (NOT the newer R2) is also a highly recommended modem on these forums. It also has the BCM63168 chipset.

There's a newer BCM chipset, the BCM63138 that seems to perform as good as the 63168 for some users.
I found it synced slightly lower than my Zyxel though.
The choice of modems with this newer chipset is still quite limited.

After saying all that, you may find you see no improvement what so ever compared to the HH6/smart-hub.
I've never tried it myself (sold the 1 BT gave me, still sealed) but it seems to sync pretty well.

[DanielCoffey]

Thank you for the very detailed reply. It is appreciated.

I had a quick look for Zyxel VMG1312-B10A and it looks like the price is going up and up. I will have a more thorough rummage and see what I can find.

[johnson]

I'd encourage you to look at completed listings rather than the buy it now if you're looking at the auction site.

Many to be had for ~ £20 delivered second hand.

[DanielCoffey]

I see what you mean about the completed listings. The one that is currently there for £21 sets off quite a few warnings. It is described as New but is clearly used, the buyer has a No Returns policy, is only a week or so old with one rating and has a lot of other similar routers for sale.

[banger]

Dont worry about the no returns, ebay will cover you. I had a duff ZyXel and ebay gave me a pre-paid label to send it back, the seller refused the delivery so it ended up back with me then ebay refunded my payment.

[DanielCoffey]

Well we just had the Openreach chap round for a chargeable visit to check my wiring. First obvious thing he found was star wiring for the extensions which was a surprise since the property is brand new. I will be raising that with my builder in the next few days.

Once he corrected that to just a single extension, he tested the line and said it was actually very clean apart from its length (around 3300m we estimate). The first visible change was the SNR dropped from 7.1dB to 6.3dB and the HH6 synced a *little* higher. Not much of an improvement but at least I now know the home wiring is clean and that what we get now will be our max speed.

The HH6 is syncing at 1173 / 8620 at SNR 6.7dB / 6.3dB. Line attenuation is 33.1dB

Now all I have to do is wait for a ZyXel to pop up at a sensible price.

[Weaver]

@DanielCoffey there is a B10A on ebay for £67 at the moment

[DanielCoffey]

I have set up a watch for them. Hopefully one will come up soon at a bit less than that.

[Weaver]

So my lines are more than twice as long as yours, at over 7300m.

[DanielCoffey]

Hmm... sync speed is creeping up slowly which is a good sign. I'll leave it on the HH6 for a few days. One advantage on my particular line is that I find that my speed is very consistent throughout the day. There is no slower service at peak time.

[johnson]

I have set up a watch for them. Hopefully one will come up soon at a bit less than that.

There are a couple of VMG8324-B10As finishing in the next 5 days that should go for reasonable money.

Edit: And if you are feeling adventurous, there are several VMG3925-B10Bs for around £30, it uses the same good BCM63168 and the firmware has even later xDSL driver A2pv6F039x1 vs the A2pv6F039v on the 1312 & 8324. Changes can be seen here:

https://www.cisco.com/web/software/282821780/140978/ReleaseNote_A2pv6F039x3.pdf

Must say I'm tempted to try one, or at least try getting the later dsl driver into the firmware for a 1312/8324 as there are several mentions of improvements to vectoring, which I have on my long line:

Fix G.993.2 Showtime drop issue for certain G.INP configuration

Improve G.993.2 stability in the presence of ADSL xtalk

Improve G.993.5 performance in long loop
...

Improve G.993.5 reach beyond 4kft

[Weaver]

What is the difference between the different models?

[johnson]

When used as just a modem as DanielCoffey intends to replace a HG612 very little.

The VMG1312-B10A, VMG8324/8924-B10A & VMG3925-B10B all use the same broadcom chipset the BCM63168 that seems to have the best VDSL performance out there. Experience from the forums (and my own) suggests they all achieve very similar sync speeds, with the VMG1312 maybe just a little higher (I have experienced this, but the different is less a mbit so could be random). Maybe its input circuitry is slightly superior somehow, who knows.

Aesthetically the 1312 is preferable I guess as its a smaller rectangular box, with the 8324/8924 being quite a bit larger and an awkward shape for wall mounting.

Its the other features that serve no purpose when used as a modem that make the models different, the 8324/8924 support directly connected VOIP handsets, the 8924 has AC wireless etc.

[DanielCoffey]

It will be for bridge/modem-only, yes.

I spotted a clean VMG3925-B10B for £30 boxed with all accessories from a good seller so decided to take it. It will be living in a cupboard so the looks and size are not critical.

Apart from factory reset and flashing to the latest firmware, do I need to do anything else? Is it likely to have any old ISP-specific stuff I need to get rid of for modem-only use?