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[Miller]

Hello thankyou in advanced to anybody who takes the time to help.
I have read a few threads that came up in Google search and have been bambozeld by models and things I don't understand lol
I recently bought a tp link archer c2300 not realising it wasn't a combined unit and past the point of being able to return now that's what I have. I used my talk talk router as a bridge but it die, I'm currently using a loaned Netgear d7000 but doesn't seem to work well drops in performance. Before coming across this forum I was thinking of getting a vigor 130 but he general feeling I get is they are not well thought of, switched my thinking to a VMG1312-B10A but not sure if I'm right so my question is  am I on the right path

[burakkucat]

Welcome to the Kitz forum. 

I recently bought a tp link archer c2300 not realising it wasn't a combined unit and past the point of being able to return now that's what I have. I used my talk talk router as a bridge but it die, . . .

That is easily done, as some manufacturers do not clearly describe their products.

Were you happy with using your TalkTalk supplied modem/router as a bridging modem in conjunction with the TP-Link C2300?

. . . I was thinking of getting a vigor 130 but he general feeling I get is they are not well thought of, switched my thinking to a VMG1312-B10A but not sure if I'm right so my question is  am I on the right path

"Yes" is the answer to your query. However the ZyXEL VMG1312-B10A is no longer manufactured and due to the device's popularity are being re-sold, second-hand, at premium prices.

There are other ZyXEL devices which can be used . . . but I can't remember the model number. I'm sure other members will be able to assist.

It would be useful to know the type of service you are currently using. Is it a VDSL2 (FTTC based) service? If yes, do you happen to know the type of electronics installed in the cabinet?

[hushcoden]

I've used the ZyXEL VMG1312-B10A for some time it was rock solid and if you are interested in some stats then install johnson firmware (he is a member of this forum), more details here https://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php/topic,21545.0.html or directly to the firmware: https://github.com/johnson442/custom-zyxel-firmware/releases

And if you can get G.fast, then go with Draytek Vigor 166 (I'm using it and it works pretty well).

[Miller]

Thanks for the replies with the talk talk router we had to restart it couple of times a week. I was hoping to get somthing maybe more reliable if possible. As far as I know we don't have g fast in my area, my connection 70mb speed and as for the cabinet I wouldn't know where to start

[Weaver]

Welcome to the forum!

As Burrakucat said, the ZyXEL VMG1312-B10A units are very popular secondhand and there are good alternative ZyXEL models (and inferior ones) that are still current. I use several VMG1312-B10As with the excellent johnson firmware mentioned. (I have three lines IP-bonded together for triple speed.) Some current ZyXEL models do not have an analog front-end filter that improves the performance of the VMG1312-B10A, so ask for advice before picking an alternative current model. The ZyXEL xxxx-B10D models are an example of current units that lack the good filter.

[burakkucat]

I should have mentioned earlier that skyeci, one of our respected members, has a number of ZyXEL VMG3925-B10B devices available . . .

[tubaman]

If you want the equivalent modem performance to a VMG1312-B10A then look for either a VMG8324-B10A or a VMG8924-B10A as both contain the common mode filter in the line circuit that the VMG1312-B10A has.
The difference between the 8324 and 8924 variants is that the 8924 has 5Ghz ac wifi added.
Note that there is also a VMG1312-B10D available that is ok but not as good as any of the above.
 

[Miller]

So I've bought an VMG1312-B10A off eBay box opened unused which is already better as it was under half of what I was going to pay for the vigor. Hopfully evrything is ok with it on arrival.
What is the purpose of the custom firmware and is it easy to flash I have flashed a couple of phones and a couple of GPUs in the past very nerve racking for the GPUs no one wants to brick a £400 card   
I have also tried the cabinet checker but doesnt seem to be functioning. Does it mean there should be information on the cabinet itself?

[tiffy]

You can always run DSLStats which works very well with the 1312-B10A if you don't wish to re-flash the firmware, although I use a 1312-B10A as modem have never tried the Johnson F/W, have always been happy with a RPi running DSLStats 24/7 and found the 1312-B10A to be the best performer by far on my rather long VDSL-2 line to Huawei cabinet having tried various modems.

I appreciate that running DSLStats 24/7 requires keeping either a PC or a RPi running also, however, a very modest RPi Zero-W will run from the modem USB port and communicate to PC (Win, Mac or Linux) using VNC over Wi-Fi, will even work remotely over WAN if so required.

[Miller]

Ok so the custom firmware or dslstats monitors my connection? Please forgive me I am quite an experienced pc builder/user but new to delving into modems/router and my connection.

[Alex Atkin UK]

The custom firmware generally just makes it easier to monitor the connection without needing third-party software.

It also enables an MTU of 1500 which is largely academic, not really important in day to day usage but technically makes the connection slightly more efficient.

One other possibility with custom firmware is you can choose a different modem firmware which on some lines can perform better/more stable.

Basically its unnecessary unless you looking to address a specific problem.

[tiffy]

Perhaps a look at DSLStats web site will offer some insight into the various modem parameters which are extracted from a Broadcom chip set modem and displayed/recorded in a user friendly fashion.
http://dslstats.me.uk/

Of course as Alex has advised, when using the 1312-B10A as modem the available modified F/W is another option, not sure of the presentation format produced by this method as I don't use, "Weaver" has frequently displayed modem stat's graphs from his ADSL-2 lines, I'am sure he could advise further.

[mattd]

I’ve been running a commtrend vr-3030 that I picked up on eBay. Seems to work just fine - stable connection etc.

Did just buy an 8924-B10A off eBay - again for bridge mode only, just to tinker and compare really and see if there is any difference in performance between the two.

[Weaver]

The excellent johnson custom firmware comes in various builds with various features present or absent, your choice. MTU 1508 for full-size packets is one such feature, the ability to run multiple telnet sessions is another and there is also what I have termed ‘easy stats’ where the modem itself can report stats and draw pretty graphs directly using http from a second internal web server listening on port 8000; all you need is a web browser, no external software required. Our mr johnson knew that I didn’t have a PC to run Dslstats on - because I’m in bed all the time and I don’t find it easy to type on a laptop so I use an iPad. This perhaps motivated him to put in a huge amount of work on this. He made the easy stats graphing UI incredibly slick and highly functional.

[meritez]

I’ve been running a commtrend vr-3030 that I picked up on eBay. Seems to work just fine - stable connection etc.

Did just buy an 8924-B10A off eBay - again for bridge mode only, just to tinker and compare really and see if there is any difference in performance between the two.

Have you got telnet access to the comtrend?