NEW CONTRACT 500 VOIP ROUTER QUESTION

[mockingbird43]

So after spending over an hour on chat i decided to upgrade to the 500 voip service from the 150 service. everything went smoothly to start i agreed the monthly cost which was more than the cost for new customers, but went with it ! I read the advert on your website for the 500 service which says a new eero 6 + accomodating a 1gb speed. i currently am using the eero 6 which im lead to believe is 500 mbps over wifi. when i asked abouth the new eero 6+ the lady said i was only allowed a new hub 3 which is absolutely useless for me as everything in my home is set up for the eeros. So from my 150 contract i had a eero 6 and a spare eero 6 that the good people in support sent me to help me connect with security devices the service has been flawless over the lasst 12 months ?

so my question is ! am i not allowed a few eero 6 + instead of the hub 3 

whilst i may be reading this wrong i thought it best to ask you guys whether 1 > a normal eero will work on the 500 voip service and  if not can they be replaced? 2> i would preffer to send the hub back to you guys as it wouldnt serve any purpose. Any info would be great to give me an idea of options? thank you for your time

[mockingbird43]

cheers keith for your time and assistance in this matter will come back to you and the team in 24/48 hours when my son comes and sets it all up ! and agree if i need an extender i would buy new from talk talk 

[slarty*1]

I have both versions and both work well.  In my experience, the older version seems more reliable at making the initial connection.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @mockingbird43 

If there is anything further I can help with after you contact them, please let me know.

[mockingbird43]

unless its a massive improvement in hardware from the previous version an extender will probably be a must !! 

[Mandisa-TT]

@mockingbird43 I appreciate your willingness to look into it further. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any additional assistance or have questions. We here to help.

[mockingbird43]

Thank you mandisa i will look into it further in the morning i will then come back to request further assistance 

[KeithFrench]

Wi-Fi 6.

[Mandisa-TT]

Thanks a lot for your valuable input @KeithFrench 

[mockingbird43]

are the sagecom routers extenders wifi 5 0r 6 ? 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @mockingbird43 

As I said, you can first try the Hub 3 to see how the coverage is. You do not have to buy a FAST266 at all if you don't need it.

[Mandisa-TT]

You can use the details provided by KeithFrench to call or Another option is to use the below link to chat to our live chat advisors who are always ready to assist with your issue.

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/How-to-contact-TalkTalk-Broadband/ta-p/2230529

[mockingbird43]

i certainly dont want to add more to the monthly cost keith and will give that team a ring in the morning see if they can do me a deal on an extender ! it will be a few days before my son can come and put everything together for me and will take it from there ! is the sagecom wifi 5 or 6 ?

[KeithFrench]

Hi @mockingbird43 

If you were to follow the advice from @slarty*1 you may not get the bargain you might think you have. Those may be the older version 1 FAST266s, not the current version 2 FAST266 you would get from TalkTalk.

[slarty*1]

You will often see the Sagemcom F@ST266 wifi extender for the TalkTalk hubs 1, 2 and 3, used on EBay at a much reduced price.  I can vouch that these work well to extend WiFi 6 coverage. 

[KeithFrench]

You can buy the Sagemcom FAST 266 booster from the TalkTalk Better Value Team for a reduced price of £30 plus delivery. You cannot get one free for a trial period. Why not just try the Hub 3 first & see how it performs? Do not get confused with Total Home WiFi option, which they might offer you for about £8 per month; you do not need that.

To contact the Better Value Team (old Legacy Dept), please call:  0345 1725157. 

Opening hours:-
Monday to Friday 09:00 to 19:00
Saturday 09:00 to 18:00
Sunday Closed

[mockingbird43]

Is there an option to trail the extender ? As it would be an integral part of the set up ! If not what is the cost of the extender ? Could a staff member from talk talk perhaps interject with info on the extender Keith ! And always thank you for taking your time to give a clear and concise breakdown of my options 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @mockingbird43 

No, the eero Pro 6 is no longer an option on FF500, but if you already had one, you could use it.

The FAST266 simply connects to the Hub 3 via a WPS connection over the Hub 3's wireless. You could, if you wanted, connect it back to the Hub 3 via an Ethernet cable or power lines, but normally that is totally unnecessary.

I am not sure what you mean by:-

? similar to an eero ?

The hub 3 and eero have a similar specification (other than the eero needing a Grandstream for the DVA, when the Hub has it built in). However, you cannot extend a Hub 3 with an eero 6 or extend an eero 6 with a Hub 3. It is one manufacturer or the other. From my own situation, the eeros were good to start with, then after some eeroOS update, the speeds halved. Plus, of course, the eeros do not support WPS, which is a pain. I totally agree with eero in so much it can be a security vulnerability, but you only need it when connecting a new printer or something, then just keep it disabled after that.

You say that you have struggled in the past with a Sagemcom's Wi-Fi reception, then you have not tried the FAST266, which was a game-changer when launched.

[mockingbird43]

so the eero pro 6 is an aption with the 500 voip package keith ? is the 266 extender plug and play does it need to be hard wired or via a powerline kit or does it send data over the air almost like a repeater and what would be the aditional cost for the 266 extender?

? similar to an eero ? sorry i dont know much about the product?i know in the past ive struggled with sagem routers not servicing the parts of my property ive needed? plus forgive my lack of knowledge or understanding 

[siphosethu-TT]

Thank you for the help @KeithFrench.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @mockingbird43 

There has been a change in TalkTalk policy that affects all Full Fibre packages from 150Mbps upwards. Originally, the eero 6 or the Sagemcom Hub 2 was supplied for FF150. With FF500, one eero Pro 6 (not the eero 6+ - TalkTalk have never provided that router). Then for the FF900 package, one or more eero Pro 6s were supplied.

Now all of these packages, including FF900, are supplied with a Sagemcom Hub 3, which is a Wi-Fi 6 router of a similar specification to the eero 6. It does not require a Grandstream ATA for Digital Voice and has the benefit of four x 1Gbps Ethernet ports. If the WiFi coverage from this is not sufficient, then you can purchase one or more Sagemcom FAST266 Wi-Fi boosters. Calling this excellent product a booster is IMHO not doing it justice. The 266(s) combine with the Wi-Fi Hub 3 to form a Wi-Fi 6 mesh. The 266 also has two further 1Gbps Ethernet ports on it. This is again very similar to the eero 6 mesh offerings, but the two systems are not compatible with each other.

What do I think of the Hub 3 - I think it has superior WiFi coverage when compared to the eero 6 and when combined with the 266, it is even better. However, this all depends on the environmental factors in a property that can affect WiFi signal propagation. Whilst the eero app is excellent, the Sagemcoms are more configurable in terms of WiFi and I think better illustrate the current topology of a mesh network (how one or more extenders connect back to the gateway mesh router).

There is nothing to stop you from using the eero(s) that you have currently, but I have no idea what the policy would be if one went faulty.

I can supply full support on both the Sagemcom offerings if required.