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Author Topic: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi  (Read 5822 times)

Pint

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #15 on: July 08, 2020, 09:46:02 PM »

Quote
Personally I think TP-Link hardware is OK, but am not a fan of TP-Link's apparent habit of dropping firmware support relatively quickly.

I would tend to favour a different manufacturer but I know TP-Link devices do appear to be good value, if you are contemplating a TP-Link then I think it would be good to select one which has an opensource firmware support e.g. OpenWRT
thanks, keep the suggestions comming, i had  quick look at the Tp link user forum, and there are quite a few complaints/issues on there
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spudgun

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #16 on: July 08, 2020, 09:59:23 PM »

I don't think what you are looking for exists I'm afraid.

If you want decent wifi and a solid connection with monitorable stats etc. you need a 2 (or more) box setup. All of the 1 box solutions come with some amount of compromise. For example, the 8800nl has an excellent modem, but the wifi is poor.
« Last Edit: July 09, 2020, 08:10:41 AM by spudgun »
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Pint

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #17 on: July 11, 2020, 12:18:36 PM »

hmm, probably leaning towards the TP link at the moment, i could live without the line stats etc
considering this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-Connections-Infinity-Archer-VR400/dp/B01N2LSLMH?th=1
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psychopomp1

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #18 on: July 11, 2020, 06:21:15 PM »

thanks, keep the suggestions comming, i had  quick look at the Tp link user forum, and there are quite a few complaints/issues on there

You will find complaints with pretty much all router vendors, TP Link are no exception. TP Link routers are excellent value for money if you're not too bothered about certain advanced router functions which you might find on Billion or Asus all-in-one routers.

The VR400 is a good solid choice and it should be a nice improvement over the Billion 8800NL.
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Pint

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #19 on: July 13, 2020, 08:16:13 PM »

This would be the top of my budget range https://www.ebuyer.com/782409-tp-link-archer-vr2800-wireless-router-archer-vr2800
would it be worth the extra £35 ?
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psychopomp1

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #20 on: July 14, 2020, 08:17:06 AM »

The VR2800 is on a par with the Billion 8900AX, both high end 4x4 routers. So if you can afford it, definitely worth getting the VR2800 as its TP Link's best all-in-one router. £150 is a great price for the VR2800 considering it normally sells for around £180-£200.
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Pint

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #21 on: July 19, 2020, 09:57:28 PM »

Instead of just going away and leaving this thread dangling here's a follow up...


Decided to bite the bullet and order the VR2800 for £150, plugged it all in - found the phone lead (RJ11) was somewhat on the short side, as is the mains adaptor lead (12v) so its sat on the window ledge in the same place as the billion 8800nl r2 was - which in turn should show real like-for like performance.
I'm on plusnets VDSL 40/10 product ( minimum term on this expires in september - so the next quest is to find out who charges what and then haggle plusnet to match the cheapest /come up with something competitive again)
 pugged it all in - set up was simple it was just a case of entering username@plusdsl.net and the account password and that was it, then changing the wifi ssid + password to match that of the billion ( which in turn matched that of a much older router) to avoid the hassle of having to change every wifi device and of it went.

My wifi repeater can now be retired as the wifi extends all over the property - including outside previously i was plugging a repeater in or using a phone hotspot to get wifi outside, without the repeater the billion was poor, with it the poor wifi just stretched a little further
Billion router whilst at  bottom of garden speeds about 0.1, Tp link speeds at 32mbps

Second bonus, i've got a few smart plugs ( glorified timer switches that can be controlled over the internet) i had these down as broken as they kept randomly turning off for a few seconds when they were supposed to be on, and on for a second at random when they were supposed to be off - connected to wifi on the new router they have been flawless

Wake on lan is up and running and was relatively simple to set up - the tp link router has a search function in the GUI which makes it easy to find where they have hidden the settings you need, unlike the billion which at times could feel like finding a needle in a haystack

Size wise, the thing is somewhat larger than the billion, although it just fits ( with a slight overhang) on the window ledge
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burakkucat

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #22 on: July 19, 2020, 10:13:48 PM »

Thank you for the update. I'm pleased to read that you now have a successful solution to the WiFi problem.

Just a comment about having the device on the window-ledge. Depending upon which way the window faces and, of course, your local environment it might be worthwhile checking that the modem/router does not get overheated by any direct sun.
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Pint

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #23 on: July 19, 2020, 11:33:06 PM »

No sunshine on that window ledge.
 One side of it is behind the TV ( not good for wifi) and the other location i could put the router sees it directly in front of a radiator ( not good for wifi) 1970's house designers didnt put much thought into wifi router location when designing the locations of plug sockets radiators windows etc - likewise when British telecom (post office telephones?) decided on where to route the incoming phone line - they must have gone  for the easy option of drilling through what would have been a wooden window frame as opposed to the brickwork showing an incredible lack of foresight
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burakkucat

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #24 on: July 19, 2020, 11:45:02 PM »

Understood.  :)
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Alex Atkin UK

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #25 on: July 20, 2020, 02:05:12 AM »

No sunshine on that window ledge.
 One side of it is behind the TV ( not good for wifi) and the other location i could put the router sees it directly in front of a radiator ( not good for wifi) 1970's house designers didnt put much thought into wifi router location when designing the locations of plug sockets radiators windows etc - likewise when British telecom (post office telephones?) decided on where to route the incoming phone line - they must have gone  for the easy option of drilling through what would have been a wooden window frame as opposed to the brickwork showing an incredible lack of foresight

Could be worse, here BT wedged it around the outside of the window frame.  When the council replaced the window frame it got wedged really flat against the brickwork.
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mountainman2

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #26 on: May 10, 2021, 09:10:07 AM »

I have 1 of these routers for the past 3 years, around 12 months ago the Wifi signal was getting lower week by week. I took it a part & measured the input voltage to the router it seemed a little low. I replaced the supplied PSU with a slightly more powerful unit 12V at 4Amps. Result Wifi signal back to high level, still no problems after 1 year. Firmware was also updated earlier this year to the most recent.
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adslmax

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Re: Billion 8800nl r2 poor wifi
« Reply #27 on: May 10, 2021, 02:16:36 PM »


Decided to bite the bullet and order the VR2800 for £150, plugged it all in - found the phone lead (RJ11) was somewhat on the short side, as is the mains adaptor lead (12v) so its sat on the window ledge in the same place as the billion 8800nl r2 was - which in turn should show real like-for like performance.


Does this router showing PPPoE connection ongoing timestamp on both DSL stats and PPPoE connected? As I have TP Link VR2600 as it very annoyed as both DSL stats and PPPoE connected both have no connection ongoing timestamp at all which it very disappointed overall.

Cos I prefer and check how long it been connected from the cabinet to router and how long it been connected from plusnet gateway.
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