Vodafone Gigabox / super wifi (first impressions)

antboreds

Hey all

Just a little review/first impressions of Vodafone's gigabox service.

I changed from Eir because Eir were charging a lot for a modem that reached it's 16 device limit, only offered fiber to the cabinet (although overall a reliable service for office work and streaming), and one thing that really irked me but during my new customer offer years ago they yanked the offer mid-way into the first month. I also didn't like where it came into the house as I had visions of someone cutting the line outside the living room.

So, I figured I'd get Vodafone's FTTH (fiber to the home), a new modem, and new customer discounts.

Signing up online was impossible. There were issues with the website for a long time now it seems, so I had to sign up in a chat window with one of their agents.

Installation went quite smoothly and the guy installing it came on time with good communication from the outset.. My attic is semi-converted (it has a floor, plugs, etc) and so he installed it in the attic. I have cat6 cables running to a few rooms in the house although the cables in the attic are missing the little part that plugs in to the modem. Not a problem, as part of the new customer offer gives a mesh booster plus 4G backup for €5 a month (instead of €10). Better safe than sorry when switching from Eir. Actually I didn't even cancel Eir until I was sure Vodafone worked. I rely on reliable internet for work.

Well... so how am I getting on with the service?

First stumble, my existing wifi password did not meet Vodafone's complexity requirement for setting a wifi password(!). I don't know if huawei forced this or if it was a Vodafone innovation but it meant I had to change the password from the one I used with Eir. Meaning every device in my home - approx 20 - had to be adjusted in some way or another.

Second stumble. While I plugged in the "super" wifi / mesh extender, i assumed i connected it properly by pushing the pairing button. But nope, it has to be done through a vodafone app on android or iphone. So I got that set up, and eventually nearby devices connected to it.

And next stumble.. like Eero's mesh router, it doesn't let you split 2.4 and 5 Ghz bands. Making matters worse, but google home (not google wifi, i mean the loose system hobbled together in the google home app on android phones of devices connected to the same network) seemingly cannot cope with a mix of devices on 2.4 and 5 Ghz bands.. and I am open to correction on that. The result - my upstairs Nest thermostats (close to the router) was now showing as offline, and other devices just popping up and dropping off again, and vodafone's super-wifi app notifying me "a device joined the network" but when i'd check the number connected it was going from 16 to 21 or so, meaning devices were just disconnecting from the "weak" band and reconnecting to the strong. Even without google home, I'm sure many other devices would have the same problems of jumping between 2.4 and 5 and showing as disconnected, so it is a shame Vodafone made this decision because I don't think they implemented it well. It looks like they did a firmware update to the router that just crippled the feature to split the bands and patted themselves on the back for a job well done. The icing on the cake is I disabled the guest network but it still shows up on the list of available networks.. I had to uncheck "broadcast SSID" and it seems to be gone now.

Anyway, my solution to the problem with connectivity of google devices was to take my old tp link router (the one I was forced to use when Eir went over the 16 device limit!) - disable 5Ghz and only activate 2.4ghz, rename it, put it in bridge mode and plug it into my gigabox with super broadband and extenders...... and the truly annoying bit was then I had to reconnect all my google home devices to it having just moved them all to the vodafone router's wireless! (thermostats, speakers, chromecasts, tp link wifi plugs). So two routers side-by-side upstairs with a vodafone booster downstairs.

At the end of the cheap year it will likely be a very similar setup as I have now - Vodafone router upstairs, a few cables running from it including one into my old router downstairs reliably connecting my google home devices (chromecasts, google speakers, nest thermostats) and probably a tv plugged into it.... the smart wifi booster will be going back to Vodafone. Mesh seemed like a nice idea, but not like this!

There's nothing "super" about Vodafone's super wifi. I figure network cables, switches and perhaps those TP link powerline extenders will be present in the homes of many Vodafone customers.. maybe even non-vodafone routers assuming you don't rely on vodafone for your landline phone number. You just can't have devices like thermostats dropping their connection because Vodafone figures the 5Ghz signal is stronnn... oh nevermind, back to 2.4.. Why was a thermostat in a different room on 5Ghz to begin with?

Speeds... well, as I said I just stream a little and haven't run into any problems and I don't expect to. The super-wifi and the crippled firmware on the router though.. And knowing Vodafone are very unhelpful at supporting people setting up their own routers just makes this experience more disappointing.

So.. I'll leave it at that! Assuming the broadband is reliable I'll get over the frustration of trying to set up a workable wifi network using Vodafone's equipment.

TestLink

Would you suggest Vodafone over Pure Telecom or Eir?

I am first time hearing about this 16 device limit to connect to a router.