Full Fibre with another provider for VOIP services.

[Plutochris]

Our existing contract with TalkTalk expires shortly (Fibre 65).

We can stay as we are but would like to move to Full Fibre which is available to us.

The only drawback is that TalkTalk will only provide one VOIP phone and we have been told we cannot add more phones.

We want more phones around our home as we do now. We currently have 5 analogue phones (one master one plugged into the BT socket & mains and  the others just plugged into the mains.

Doing some research we understand  there is no technical reason why FTTP internet and VOIP phone services should be bound in the same contract.

So my question is, are we able to just get a FTTP Fibre serve such as Fibre 150 from TalkTalk, excluding the VOIP service and go to a separate provider for the VOIP service?

We would want to keep our existing phone number.

We are a residential customer.

[Gondola]

I cannot test for Sky Q issues here but yes an Ethernet connection from the Master Sky Q box to the 8-port Gigabit network switch that's then connected to the eero port will be perfect.  The issue with a 2.4GHz connection is being forced to use that connection from the master Sky Q box to the router if not using Sky Broadband. But by using an Ethernet cable connection you're bypassing that issue.

The TalkTalk Guide I believe gives the facts but here's a guide from another Full Fibre provider that uses the eero package and I see that the advice is the same. How do I fix issues with Sky Q and eero? courtesy of our friends at Giganet.

[Plutochris]

As previously we will connect our main Sky Q box to the eero device via an ethernet cable. You recommend disabling the 2.4GHZ WIFI on the mini boxes to force  them to connect using the 5GHz WiFi band. I had seen previously that SKY Q would only connect to the 5GHz band if you also had Sky broadband. Is that now not the case?

 

[Plutochris]

 I have just ordered a TP-Link 8-port Gigabit unmanaged network switch!

Thanks for all your help, it's much appreciated!

[Gondola]

My personal choice was a TP-Link 5-port Gigabit unmanaged network switch. At under £10 an easy purchase.

If you do need an additional port to retain the use of the base unit for the wireless extender PLA, at least for the time being to keep all your existing setup active, then opt for an 8-port Gigabit unmanaged network switch. Just a few pounds over £10 from Amazon and a choice of brands.

A managed network switch will work and is intended to be configurable for small office / home office networking setups and for monitoring but definitely overkill for just connecting up devices in the home.

[Plutochris]

Thanks, that is all very helpful!

The 5-port Gigabit Ethernet connector is a smart managed one. Since my last message to you I saw on the eero site that, whilst they say you can get a managed one to work, they recommend just using an unmanaged one, so do you think it would be advisable to get one of those instead?

We have just gone ahead and ordered The Fibre 150 and digital package!!

[Gondola]

A Netgear 5-port Gigabit Network Switch is a perfect add-on to the eero 6 package. You can connect 3 existing wired devices plus the Digital Voice Adapter to the Network Switch that's then connected to the gateway eero 6 connected to the ONT.

The Sky Q master box being connected by Ethernet cable is recommended as well as disabling 2.4GHz connectivity for the Sky Q miniboxes. I'll provide a guide below. The Sky Q mesh will recognise just the Sky Q paired devices. The eero 6 mesh will recognise just the eero 6 mesh devices. There's no conflict using the 5GHz network band.

There isn't a spare socket for the PLA's to be plugged in so consider an additional eero 6 for improved wi-fi coverage to replace the PLA's.

As for Wi-Fi coverage I have the eero 6 gateway router centrally placed in the home. It's connected to the Openreach ONT via a Cat 7 double screened network cable that's 15metres long. I have no problem with wi-fi coverage. For a multi-storey home I would recommend an eero per floor. When I tested the Sagemcom Hub 2 on its own in preparation for testing the Sagemcom mesh networking I took spot measurements in my single storey home. The eero 6 on its own provided better or comparable coverage. The Sagemcom mesh obviously did better by extending coverage.  I'd be confident that an eero mesh network will easily be as good.

The eero Support Hub is your go-to resource for information, guides and Community support

Select here:
 eero Support Hub

eero 6 and eero Pro 6 Help

 eero - Setting up your eero

 eero app

 eero - Setting up the Digital Voice Adapter

 eero - Add or remove an eero from your network

 eero - Problems connecting a device?

 eero - Problems with a SkyQ connection?

 eero - Total Home Wi-Fi

[Plutochris]

Certainly pleased you mentioned that! Currently we have all four ethernet ports in use on our current TalkTalk router:

Two PCS, Sky Q master & a TalkTalk mains socket wi-fi extender.

I presume the wi-fi extender will need to be replaced, if necessary, with an additional eero.

With that in mine, do you have any idea how good the wi-fi range is of the Eero 6 compared to our current router?

We would still want to be able to have the other three ethernet connections, so we will need a network switch. I do currently have a Netgear 5-port Ethernet Smart Managed Plus Switch that I have never used, so hope that will be suitable!

I understand SKy Q creates it's own mesh to communicate with the Sky Q mini boxes. We do often lose connection between those and the main box but I'm presuming, having the eeor set up will not change that in any way?

The main eero 6 can be sited next to the Full Fibre ONT, so no problem there.

[Gondola]

You're absolutely right. Full Fibre 150 and included Digital Voice calls at an offer price of £31 versus a renewal of Fibre 65 at £32.

I have the eero 6 and Fibre 150 Data Only package and it's been entirely reliable.

The eero 6 offers mesh networking by adding additional eeros to the network should you need to extend wi-fi coverage. There will be no spare Ethernet ports for connecting in wired devices. The eero is essentially a device for connecting to by wi-fi. Should you need to provide spare wired connection sockets then a Gigabit 5 port network switch at under £10 is available from online shops like Amazon. The Cat5e Ethernet cable supplied with the eero 6 is only 900mm long so if you need to place the eero further from the Full Fibre ONT that Openreach will install then you'll need to source a longer Cat5e / Cat6 cable to connect from the ONT in a location that you can agree with the installer.

I mention the above so you have an expectation of additional things to consider as part of the upgrade to a Full Fibre service.

[Plutochris]

I have just talked to TalkTalk and they say with the Fibre 150 the eero 6 and voice adaptor is only option (they say theHUB 2 is only available with the lower speed packages). They have agreed to price of £26 variable and the £5 for the calls (discounted from£16).

It seems the eero 6 set up will still do exactly as we want relating to using our DECT phones, so as the price will be virtually the same as we are paying now for the Fibre 65, we cannot think of any negatives!

[Gondola]

Full Fibre 150 with Digital Voice (VOIP) would be provided as either an eero 6 and Grandstream Digital Voice Adapter or the TalkTalk Hub 2 with Phone port (green socket) at the rear. If you have a preference for the Hub 2 then arrange that with TalkTalk Sales (the same team that offered you Fibre 150 with one "VOIP phone". That was an offer of TalkTalk Digital Voice including a discounted offer of £5 for Unlimited UK calls using your landline number with TalkTalk Digital Voice via VOIP.

To clarify. The offer does not include any additional 'phone handset for VOIP. It's just that the Sales team are describing the inclusion of one 'phone socket for the Digital Voice service or Voice over Internet Protocol commonly known as VOIP. You just plug your existing DECT base station into the Hub2 or Grandstream Adapter.

[Plutochris]

Getting Digital Voice from TalkTalk and using phone port on the back of the TalkTalk Hub 2,  to enable us to use our DECT phones seems ideal for us.

We presume the Hub 2 would replace our existing hub that does not have a phone socket.

TalkTalk's Fibre 150 contact normally comes with one VOIP phone . Would this still work as well with that set up or would the Digital voice be instead of that?

How do we go about getting Digital Voice?

Would there be an additional charge?

We were offered Fibre 150 with the one VOIP phone for £26.00 (variable contract) plus £5.00 unlimited VOIP calls to UK phones & mobiles (up to 60 mins long) or a fixed contact for £29.95 plus the £5

Our existing Fibre 65 renewal would be £24 plus calls boost unlimited calls to UK phones and mobiles £8.

[Gondola]

The DECT base station phone handsets will all work exactly as they do now because their communications are between the handset and the base station and the base station is connected to the 'Phone port in the rear of the Hub 2 or the Grandstream Digital Voice adapter if provided with the eero package.

The conversion to VOIP service is carried out in the built in VOIP adapter of the Hub 2 or the Grandstream Digital Voice Adapter. Note that this VOIP service is tied to TalkTalk's Digital Voice vendor and cannot itself be used with any other VOIP service.

TalkTalk's Digital Voice service comes with a Digital Voice app. With the Digital Voice app Full Fibre broadband customers can use their mobile phone to make and receive calls with their TalkTalk landline number. 

The eero package is provided with a mobile phone backup service but this is not for making calls. This is so if the eero detects a loss of broadband connection the eero can switch to a backup Internet service that's provided via your mobile 'phone data connection. If you have a good mobile 'phone service and a good allowance of mobile data then the eero can maintain your Internet connection for all devices you select even in the event of a loss of the broadband connection.

[Plutochris]

Thank you for your reply. If I go with Talk Talk Fibre 150 and they agreed to offer us the voice option you say one option would be to just plug our existing DECT base station phone into the relevant port on the hub. Would the remaining four DECT phones still work ok?

I understand the eero set up means you can link mobile phones in some way. Would you still be able to use all the existing DECT phones as well?

[Gondola]

What you have currently is a DECT base station and multiple phones communicating with that base station that connects to the BT Master socket.

All you do for Digital Voice from TalkTalk is to take the base station lead out of the BT Master Socket and plug that into either the Phone port on the back of the TalkTalk Hub 2 or the Digital Voice adapter if you're provided with that as part of the eero package with Digital Voice. But you need to be offered a Digital Voice option from TalkTalk. Digital Voice is not offered as standard.

Be aware that if you port your existing 'phone number to a VOIP provider then that will cancel your existing broadband line and all services because that line and its services are defined by the telephone number linked to it. You would have to go through a process called renumber and export so that the existing services are given a new line number and simultaneously the existing number is ported to a VOIP operator. Bad news next: TalkTalk do not offer that as an option.  Some smaller ISP's are geared up to offer this as a specialist service.

Inevitably, you may have a break in service whilst trying to achieve the porting of an existing number.