How to replace Sky SR102 with another Router (Sky Fibre)

Hi
Has anyone noticed an issue with the net gear nighthawk changing the DNS settings on devices. It's happened on two devices now. A laptop and a smart TV, I need to reconfigure to automatic to allow connection
 
Rich...

£54 TP-LINK TD-W9980
£68 Billion BiPAC 8800NL
£76 TP-LINK Archer VR200
£79 Asus DSL-N55U (should work)
£100 ASUS DSL-N66U
£120 (ish) DrayTek Vigor 2760
£125 TP-LINK Archer VR900
£128 NETGEAR D6400
£150 ASUS DSL-AC68U
£160 Netgear D7000
£200 (ish) DrayTek Vigor 2860

I've heard lots of slightly worrying things about the Asus, so personally have avoided them.

TP-Link have very good chipsets which should give a great line connection, as do the Billion 8800 range. The TP-Link Archer V900 is supposed to have much of the same innards as the more expensive Netgear D7000.

Draytek are basically business class routers - I would love a Vigor 2860, but don't want to spend that kinda cash. Will keep looking 2nd hand though, as you can often find Drayteks being sold on quite cheap.

Obviously Google the model you're interested in first... just to make sure. ;)

Any of the above *should* work as stand-alone devices, ie, no openreach modem needed. Do look into them properly though if you plan on buying one, don't just take my word for it.

If you have the Sky supplied black SR102 modem/router already, then that one is already fibre compatible. I would recommend giving that a go first and see how you get along before changing.

Hey Doug,

I'm going to be sorted with Sky Fibre in the next few days and am planning to get the same set up as you. Just have a quick question about the MAC address though. How would I go about spoofing the Sky router's MAC address to the TP-Link router? Is the process pretty straight forward?


Just read these posts Doug. Thanks for advising others as I have found it a good help for myself
 
Well.

After buying the wrong router, wrong modem i ordered a BT Open Reach modem and Asus RT N66U and all i can say is thanks.

Used the Skypassword link from the previous posts and wifi speed is improved a lot!
 
Worth noting for anyone in the future, if you are having any difficulty getting the password sorted etc - on Sky Fibre in particular you no longer need to know your own user/password. As long as *something* valid is in the DHCP option 61 field then you will connect.
 
Could someone please recommend the best modem to replace an SR102 on Sky Fibre? I see a lot of posts about decent wireless modem/router combos, however I already own a Netgear R7000 from when I had cable so I want modem-only. Something I can flash with AdvancedTomato would be preferred! Thanks.
 
CTR_Paul thank you so much for this. Old Sagem router had been failing recently. Just popped out, bought the Asus AC66U at 9am and the internet is back up and running through it within the hour (including the car journey back from PC World!) Amazing, you're a lifesaver
 
Hello,

I have just upgrade my sky from normal broadband to fibre today.

Previously I had been using a netgear D700 router instead of the awesome(!) one they send you and was working well.

After I got switched over to fibre my netgear no longer connects (can still get on with the standard one). I'd rather not have to have both plugged in so I don't really want to put my netgear into bridged mode.

I'm guessing any netgear router that can be used to replace the sky one would be similarly configured. I've tried changing a bunch of stuff (switching to VDSL) but all to no avail. Does anyone have an example of their connection settings so I can compare what I need to change to get me back up and running?

I've looked at a lot of forums and links but nothing seems to get me up and running.

The settings that used to work with standard broadband are:

Country: UK
Service Provider: Sky

Transfer mode: ADSL (ATM)
DSL mode: auto

Multiplexing method: VC-Based
VPI: 0
VCI: 38

Use VLANID: false

Does your internet connection require a login:
Yes

Encapsulation: PPPoE (PPP over ATM)

Login: my_mac_address@skydsl
Password: my_sky_router_password
Connection Mode: Always On

Internet IP Address: Get Dynamically from ISP

Domain Name Server (DNS) Address: Get Automatically from ISP

NAT (Network Address Translation): Enable

Router MAC Address: my_mac_address@skydsl

Many thanks.
 
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Hello,

I have just upgrade my sky from normal broadband to fibre today.

Previously I had been using a netgear D700 router instead of the awesome(!) one they send you and was working well.

After I got switched over to fibre my netgear no longer connects (can still get on with the standard one). I'd rather not have to have both plugged in so I don't really want to put my netgear into bridged mode.

I'm guessing any netgear router that can be used to replace the sky one would be similarly configured. I've tried changing a bunch of stuff (switching to VDSL) but all to no avail. Does anyone have an example of their connection settings so I can compare what I need to change to get me back up and running?

The settings that used to work with standard broadband are:

Country: UK
Service Provider: Sky

Transfer mode: ADSL (ATM)
DSL mode: auto

Multiplexing method: VC-Based
VPI: 0
VCI: 38

Use VLANID: false

Does your internet connection require a login:
Yes

Encapsulation: PPPoE (PPP over ATM)

Login: my_mac_address@skydsl
Password: my_sky_router_password
Connection Mode: Always On

Internet IP Address: Get Dynamically from ISP

Domain Name Server (DNS) Address: Get Automatically from ISP

NAT (Network Address Translation): Enable

Router MAC Address: my_mac_address@skydsl

Many thanks.

Don't use PPPoE, just use DHCP!

Edit: also be careful not to disconnect and reconnect the modems too often, BT's DLM will kick in and your speed will be drop. I had to get an engineer out to reset mine, I'd dropped from 80 to 50! (if you use a separate modem and router, the modem should be on as much as possible, the router can be rebooted as many times as you like, it's the connection between your house and BT's Exchange that's monitored by DLM - confirmed by the engineer.)

Edit2: You'll need to use option 61 to input the Sky details. For example, I have to input this under Advanced DHCP Options>DHCPC>

-x 61:68656c6c6f736b79757365727340736b7964736c7c3132333435363738

I made that string up but it needs to be in hex, that was converted from:

helloskyusers@skydsl|12345678

I use AdvancedTomato, the method of inputting option 61 will vary per firmware, which do you use?

Edit3: Last edit! If you haven't done already, you can sniff the credentials from your current Sky Fibre modem or simply input fake ones - there's examples earlier in the thread. I used Wireshark to grab my own though, just incase, doesn't take long.
 
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Thanks for the quick reply.

Wasn't even aware you could flash it with different firmware (mine is a D7000, not R7000) looking at the AdvancedTomato pages my router isn't listed.

Because it is the standard OS I don't really have any other choice than to select the PPPoE setting.

Thanks for the tip on the line speed.

I already grabbed my details when I had it running with the old broadband so have them already input.
 
Thanks for the quick reply.

Wasn't even aware you could flash it with different firmware (mine is a D7000, not R7000) looking at the AdvancedTomato pages my router isn't listed.

Because it is the standard OS I don't really have any other choice than to select the PPPoE setting.

Thanks for the tip on the line speed.

I already grabbed my details when I had it running with the old broadband so have them already input.

No probs, I've notifications on for this thread and the laptop in front of me!

Most people use DD-WRT, my preference for AdvancedTomato is a personal one just. I'm 99% sure DD-WRT supports the D7000, and has a specific Option 61 option which you need. Check it out.

Edit: I wouldn't be surprised if DLM has already kicked it in, it usually drops the line speed in the early hours of the morning. If it has, phone Sky and tell them you need the DLM reset by an engineer. That you had issues setting up the new modem, turned it off and on a lot, and as a result DLM has kicked in and reduced the line speed.
It doesn't take much for DLM to activate, more so in the first two or three weeks after activating fibre. You don't want to be disconnecting more than once a day, don't turn it off frequently (one example was a fella who turned his modem off every time he left the room...DLM misread it as constant disconnects.)

Edit: And obviously switch back to the Sky modem before phoning them (they'll want to try remote diagnostics) - and before the engineer arrives (who probably wouldn't care about using your own modem but not worth the risk.)
 
I seem to remember when I got it that it wasn't possible to install any custom firmware as they didn't support the built in ADSL modem features that it had, a bit of searching now seems to indicate the same (Availability of Open Source Firmware for Netgear D7000 Modem Router)

The username and password must have been being sent back correctly previously as it was able to fool sky, unless of course the username and password are sent back differently on standard vs fibre, but I doubt it as I have seen posts of people succeeding in connecting, sadly none really seem to have the detail on what was done to get it working.
 
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I seem to remember when I got it that it wasn't possible to install any custom firmware as they didn't support the built in ADSL modem features that it had, a bit of searching now seems to indicate the same (Availability of Open Source Firmware for Netgear D7000 Modem Router)

The username and password must have been being sent back correctly previously as it was able to fool sky, unless of course the username and password are sent back differently on standard vs fibre, but I doubt it as I have seen posts of people succeeding in connecting, sadly none really seem to have the detail on what was done to get it working.

Ah that sucks, I coulda swore it was supported, sorry.

You should still be able to get the stock firmware working, try resetting your D7000, running the setup wizard again, and ensure you select "Sky as the ISP and selected VDSL(PTM) in transfer mode." Once you do this, option 61 should become available. I set my Netgear DM200 up this way initially, logged in to the modem's management page and selected Sky when prompted.

Source: D7000 DHCP option 60 and 61 missing - NETGEAR Communities
 
I seem to remember when I got it that it wasn't possible to install any custom firmware as they didn't support the built in ADSL modem features that it had, a bit of searching now seems to indicate the same (Availability of Open Source Firmware for Netgear D7000 Modem Router)

The username and password must have been being sent back correctly previously as it was able to fool sky, unless of course the username and password are sent back differently on standard vs fibre, but I doubt it as I have seen posts of people succeeding in connecting, sadly none really seem to have the detail on what was done to get it working.

Here’s the settings for my D7000 also on sky fibre.

IMG_0391.jpg
 
I've been messing about a bit and now see what you are talking about with the options 60 and 61 so cheers for pointing me in the right direction :)

I changed the above config so that it doesn't use the Does your internet connection require a login option to no.

This then gives a few different options lower down (DHCP as you said above), one for each 60 and 61.

I went back and got option 60 from the sky router and put both those values in.

Option 60 I left as the string I got from wireshark (looks like the router identifier in this format: 2.8c.999.R|001|SR102|99999XX999999)

Option 61 I set to be the e3c2f56d4dee@skydsl (not my real one) WITHOUT the "|password" password bit at the end as you have configured - see this comment.

After changing a bunch of the other settings, this then worked as expected and am connected (my speed test still indicates the same rate as before I rebooted a ton of times luckily).

If it is of any use to anyone in the future my settings are now:

Country: UK
ISP: Sky

Transfer mode: VDSL(PTM)
DSL Mode: VDSL2

Internet is the selected drop down (options are Internet, IPTV)

Enable this interface: Checked
Use VLANID: Checked
VLANID is set to: 101
Priority: 0

Internet IP Address: Get dynamically from ISP

DNS Address: Get automatically from ISP

NAT: Enable

Router MAC Address
Use this mac address:
e3:c2:f5:6d:4d:ee (using the made up value from above, substitute with your own)

DHCP Options
Vendor Class Identifier String (Option 60):
2.8c.999.R|001|SR102|99999XX999999
Vendor Identifier String (Option 61): e3c2f56d4dee@skydsl
 
Hey all, I have been using a version of merlin from 2015 am I able to just download and flash the latest without having to go through all the previous before?
 
You should be able to, but make a backup of your config & take screenshots of the key (if not all) pages of configuration that you have made amendments to.
You'll be making a big jump from your current to latest firmware
 
Cheers Aciid, worked no problem at all! I copy and pasted the information I needed just incase but worked flawlessly, cheers!
 
I've been with Sky Fibre since 2012 and up until now have been using the F@ST 2504 router along with the white BTO modem. For the past few months, the 2504 router has been completely losing wifi connection - and its nothing to do with the actual connection as its fine on ethernet. Only a reset/power toggle sorts it out and it's become infuriating.

I spoke with Sky via their live messaging service and they wanted £109 for a replacement (Sky Hub 3.0). It would be easy to say yes but I know I can probably get a router with similar features for the same price or less. I asked out right whether I can use my own router and this was their response.

sky.jpeg


So first thing tomorrow I'll be buying a replacement!
 
You have a F@ST Sagem router with Fibre? I thought they rolled fibre out with the Sky SR101 routers and an Openreach modem.

Certainly get your own router. It's far better!
 
Hi guys

I’ve been looking for a way to replace my Sky fiber router, with a 3rd party one.
I’ve got the latest one, but it’s only got 2 Ethernet ports and the WiFi is shocking.
I’ve noticed this is one of the most comprehensive guides about, but it was done in 2015.
Is this info still correct for 2017 and does it work with sky fiber?
And if so, does anyone have a list of current routers and modems that are compatible please?

Thanks

Jay
 
Hi guys

I’ve been looking for a way to replace my Sky fiber router, with a 3rd party one.
I’ve got the latest one, but it’s only got 2 Ethernet ports and the WiFi is shocking.
I’ve noticed this is one of the most comprehensive guides about, but it was done in 2015.
Is this info still correct for 2017 and does it work with sky fiber?
And if so, does anyone have a list of current routers and modems that are compatible please?

Thanks

Jay

Hi the information is still correct as of today just use the newer version of the software when it comes to downloading.

I personally recommend the ASUS RT-N66U (Dark Knight) it is an excellent router.
 
I'd like to use a third party router alongside the BT Openreach modem that I have for Sky Fibre. Only because I don't want to interrupt the FTTC connection and would rather just swap the router as thats whats causing the issues I've been having.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced model that has gigabit ethernet, 5ghz wifi and would allow me to connect to the BT Openreach modem via ethernet cable?

I was looking at this in Argos. Would it do the job?
Buy D-Link DIR-809 AC 750 Dual Band Wireless Router at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Routers, Networking, Laptops and PCs, Technology.
 
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hi guys im also trying to get away from this crap sky sr102.i have just bought the ASUS RT-N66U but my question is do i still need the bt openreach modem too.also does it matter that i live in ireland and will it work thanks
 
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