Using your own router with UK broadband

A provider's hub usually combines a modem, which talks to the provider's network, and a router, which shares the connection by Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Our guide to broadband vs Wi-Fi, modems, routers and hubs explains the difference.

On full fibre there's a separate box on the wall where the fibre comes in. Openreach calls it an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and says it converts the fibre signal into a connection your router can use; it doesn't give you Wi-Fi on its own. Broadband through the phone socket with no box like that usually means part fibre. Our guide to the full fibre ONT and your router explains what each box does.

Openreach's full fibre network is used by many providers. The ONT belongs to Openreach, should stay where it is, and is reused by a new provider when you switch. Because it already hands over an Ethernet connection, full fibre is the simplest line for your own router.

Openreach says you'll typically need a compatible router for full fibre, and that your provider will usually supply one designed to work with the ONT. If you'd rather use your own, it needs:

• An Ethernet WAN port: the socket marked Internet or WAN, which plugs into the ONT.
• PPPoE support. PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) is a log-in your router sends to prove the connection is yours. EE says any router used on its network must support it.
• Your provider's username and password, entered in the router's WAN settings.

What EE publishes

EE says that on full fibre your router needs an Ethernet WAN port and no VLAN tagging, modulation or VPI/VCI settings. It publishes one set of log-in details for third-party routers on all its line types: username bthomehub@btbroadband.com, password BT (or left blank), CHAP authentication and DNS set to automatic. See our EE broadband deals page for what EE currently offers.

If your provider isn't covered in this guide, ask it for the connection type (PPPoE or DHCP), the username and password, and whether a VLAN ID is needed, before you buy a router.

Faster than 1Gbps?

Your router's WAN port needs to keep up with your plan. Community Fibre, for example, says that to use its 8.5Gbps service you need your own compatible router with a 10Gbps WAN port. On Openreach, ISPreview reported in April 2026 that Openreach is moving its ONTs to 2.5G Ethernet by default, so on a plan faster than 1Gbps check that both the ONT and your router have a multi-gig port. Our guide to what a home network needs beyond 1Gbps covers cables and devices as well.

Part fibre runs fibre to the green street cabinet and copper the rest of the way. Openreach describes its fibre-to-the-cabinet service (FTTC, also called superfast or VDSL) as continuing to your home over the existing copper phone line. SOGEA is Openreach's broadband-only version of this kind of line: ISPreview explains that on SOGEA any phone service can only be added as an optional digital (VoIP) service. Because the signal arrives over copper, your router needs a built-in VDSL modem; thinkbroadband notes that FTTC lines use VDSL2 technology. Check the router's specification lists one before you buy.

Part fibre also usually needs VLAN tagging: a VLAN (virtual local area network) ID is a label the router adds so the provider's equipment accepts its traffic. EE and Plusnet both publish the same values for their fibre lines:

• VLAN active, VLAN ID (802.1q) 101
• Priority (802.1p) 0
• PPPoE with your provider's username and password

Plusnet lists PPPoE Always On, a username in the form yourusername@plusdsl.net (long-standing customers may have a different ending, shown in My Account) and your My Account password. It also lists a version with no VLAN settings for a router connected to what it calls a "BT Openreach modem"; if you're not sure which applies, ask Plusnet. Plusnet also warns that a router from your old provider might not work on its network, so a hub you kept from a previous contract isn't a safe bet.

A few homes are still on older copper-only ADSL. EE lists different settings for that (an integrated ADSL modem, VPI 0, VCI 38 and VC-based multiplexing), and Plusnet lists PPPoA with VPI 0 and VCI 38. Before buying a router for ADSL, check whether a faster line is available: our broadband deals comparison shows live deals for your postcode from our comparison partner.

Virgin Media's cable network doesn't use Openreach's lines, so the settings above don't apply. Virgin's Hub is a modem and router in one; modem mode turns it into a cable modem so you can connect your own Wi-Fi kit. Our guide to how Virgin Media's network differs from Openreach explains it.

How to switch it on

1. Connect a device to the Hub and enter 192.168.0.1 in your browser's address bar.
2. Select Next and enter the Hub settings password printed on the base of the Hub. This is not your Wi-Fi password.
3. Select Super Hub, then Modem Mode, then Enable Modem Mode, then Apply Changes.
4. Plug your own router's WAN port into the Hub with an Ethernet cable.
5. The Hub's settings page is now at 192.168.100.1.

Virgin says this works on the Hub 3, 4 and 5 and the Super Hub 1, 2 and 2AC. When we checked in October 2026, it said modem mode was not currently available on the Hub 5x, which Virgin lists with an XGS-PON full fibre connection rather than cable. If you have a Hub 5x, ask Virgin what your options are before buying a router.

What stops working

On the Hub 3, 4 and 5, Virgin lists four things that are temporarily disabled in modem mode: Cisco monitoring and the SamKnows two-step speed test; Plume Pod compatibility; Intelligent WiFi; and the Connect App's Homescan, Hub Management and WiFi Diagnostics. Virgin says its 21CV VoIP phone service still works in modem mode, and the other features come back when you turn modem mode off.

To go back, enter 192.168.100.1, select Next, enter the Hub settings password, then choose Hub Settings, Modem Mode, Enable Router Mode (or Disable Modem Mode) and Apply Changes. A factory reset also restores router mode. You can compare Virgin's current packages on our Virgin Media broadband deals page.

Independent full fibre networks, often called altnets, each do things their own way. Some hand your router a connection automatically (DHCP), some use a PPPoE log-in, and some supply a router with the ONT built into it, which leaves no separate fibre box for your own router to plug into (4th Utility describes its Icotera router as an integrated ONT-router). For those, the provider can supply a bridge device: a box that ends the fibre connection and passes it to your router through an Ethernet port.

From each provider's help pages, terms or price guide, checked October 2026. Policies change.

Two practical tips: Rebel says that if your router won't connect with VLAN 101, try turning VLAN tagging off; and on Hey!Broadband the bridge device has to be asked for before installation. On Zzoomm it's just a DHCP setting, and for Ogi, read the Eco Voucher details in its current price guide.

4th Utility and Rise Fibre describe the same set-up: unplug their router, plug the fibre cable into the bridge, connect your router to the bridge's Ethernet port and enter the PPPoE details from your account. Both say to do this only when you're ready to switch, because you can't pre-configure your set-up and then go back to their router.

Using bridge mode on a provider's router

Some routers have a bridge setting of their own. Hey!Broadband says it's often under Advanced, Internet or WAN settings, called Bridge Mode, Modem Mode or Pass-Through Mode. Connect a LAN port on the provider's router to your router's WAN port before turning it on, because you lose Wi-Fi access to the provider's router once it's active.

Your home phone

Check this first. GOV.UK says most customers are expected to have moved to digital landlines by the end of January 2027, and with a digital landline your phone typically plugs into the router (as Vodafone and GOV.UK describe), so the router decides whether your phone works.

• EE: with EE Digital Home Phone you need to keep your EE or BT hub as the main router; EE says third-party routers aren't compatible with that service.
• BT: Digital Voice contacts are stored on the hub, so back them up before changing it.
• Zen: its Digital Voice page says call features such as voicemail and call diversion are only guaranteed with a FRITZ!Box router. ISPreview reported in September 2026 that Zen has made the Amazon eero 7 its standard router on Full Fibre 500, 900 and Max, replacing the FRITZ!Box. If you have an eero and use Digital Voice, ask Zen how call features are supported.
• Quickline: Quickline Talk+ only works with Quickline's router.
• Virgin Media: says its 21CV VoIP phone service still works in modem mode.

If you rely on a landline, especially for a telecare alarm, confirm with the provider how your phone will work before removing its router. Our guide to checking your phone works on a digital landline has the questions to ask.

Provider Wi-Fi extras

Rebel says its SuperPods can't be used with your own router, and Quickline's Wi-Fi Everywhere only works with Quickline's router. Virgin Media disables Plume Pod compatibility and Intelligent WiFi in modem mode. Hyperoptic says Total Wi-Fi only works with Hyperoptic broadband, can't be used with other mesh systems, and that its Minihubs are designed to work alongside the Hyperhub router, so ask Hyperoptic before replacing the Hyperhub. EE says EE TV, its WiFi Extender, Connectivity Backup and WiFi Optimiser may not work. If you pay for a Wi-Fi guarantee, read our guide to what provider Wi-Fi guarantees promise before swapping the router out.

Support when something goes wrong

Expect less help: EE can't help set up or troubleshoot third-party routers, Zzoomm stops at its Fibre Connection Box, and Rebel can't diagnose your router or Wi-Fi. Some providers make their own router part of the fault-finding process: Quickline says support requires reconnecting the router it supplied, and EE explains how to plug its hub back in.

A general checklist; your router's manual and your provider's help pages come first where they differ.

1. Confirm your line type using the table near the top of this guide.
2. Check your provider's policy and what you'd lose: home phone, mesh or Wi-Fi guarantee, TV.
3. Get your connection details: the connection type (PPPoE or DHCP), username and password, and whether a VLAN ID is needed. On Hey!Broadband, 4th Utility or Rise Fibre, ask for the bridge device.
4. Check the router can do the job: an Ethernet WAN port for full fibre and cable, a VDSL modem for part fibre, and a WAN port at least as fast as your plan.
5. Run a wired speed test on the provider's router first using our broadband speed test, so you have a figure to compare against.
6. Prepare the new router. Change its admin password and set Wi-Fi names and passwords. Where your provider allows it, enter the connection settings before you unplug the old router. On 4th Utility and Rise Fibre, wait until you're ready to switch for good (see above).
7. Connect it: router WAN port to the ONT, bridge device or Virgin Hub in modem mode.
8. Test with a cable, then on Wi-Fi in the rooms you use most, and check calls work.
9. Keep the provider's router somewhere safe, with its power supply. Some providers ask you to reconnect it for fault-finding, and many want it back when you leave.

A new router is a good moment to tighten security: our guide to securing your home router and Wi-Fi covers admin passwords, updates and guest networks.

Provider routers are often lent, not given. Examples from providers' pages and terms, checked October 2026:

• BT says its hubs remain its property and must be returned within 60 days when you leave.
• Sky and NOW say the Sky Hub is loaned and must be returned when the subscription ends.
• TalkTalk says its router must be returned when you no longer use it.
• Ogi wants its routers back at the end of the contract; EE may ask for its hub back if you leave.

Deadlines aren't always clear. Connect Fibre's terms say router equipment must be returned within 14 days of the contract ending, while its Price Book says within 60 days of the service ending, so ask which applies. See our guide on how to cancel broadband for equipment returns.

A router of your own may help when:

• You want Wi-Fi kit you'll keep when you switch providers.
• You want features or control the provider's hub doesn't give you, such as newer Wi-Fi standards (see our guide to Wi-Fi 6, 6E and 7), detailed parental controls or more Ethernet ports.
• Your plan needs it, as on Community Fibre's 8.5Gbps tier.

It won't fix a slow line. If a wired test on the provider's router is slow, look at a fault report, a faster package or another network. You can see which providers serve your area on our broadband providers hub and check live deals for your postcode on our broadband deals comparison. The comparison shows deals from our partner; it doesn't switch you itself.