TP-Link EX820v v1.0 firmware

[john7]

I have a EX820v v1.0 from IDNet and had it nearly a year now. So far its never had a firmware update. In the past I have used routers from nearly all the other makes and used to have regular firmware updates. Should I be either pleased that they have such bug free and secure firmware or beginning to get worried? As a router its been working well so that's not a problem.

[Postal]

The router supports TR-069 remote management.  Maybe firmware updates are being done in the background while IDNet are remotely configuring and managing the device via ACS (Auto-Configuration Server).

Presumably you could check with IDNet whether that is the case.

[nowster]

The router supports TR-069 remote management.

Occasionally ISPs have got this wrong and not blocked traffic to the TR-069 ports correctly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TR-069

A forum I help out with has recently been attacked with a DDoS from what seem to be mostly compromised Brazilian domestic routers. Difficult to block, too, as they never used the same IP address more than twice. At the peak they were sending out 50 complex database requests per second. Not great for a single small server.

[stan]

Will you fellas permit me to interject and stray at a slight tangent?

My query is vaguely relevant as Idnet do show TP Link EX820v on their list of available items .... as well as TP Link VX230v (which is the one they supply by default if you take out a one year or two year FTTP plan with them).

I was, up till today, resolved to leave Idnet and move to Andrews and Arnold (AAISP) and get FTTP to my house in Devon. Additionally I planned to take AAISP's very reasonably priced VOIP service.
AAISP supply, by default, with their FTTP offerings, the Technicolour 4135 router (with two green FXS phone ports on the back which accept old analogue phones as it has an ATA (phone adaptor) built in to it.

That's all fairly straightforward up to now.

However, after 17 years continuous subscription to Idnet I recently contacted them and subsequently got a reply which kindly offered an inducement to stay with Idnet and which, if you include free FTTP installation and a free TP Link VX230v router with two year plans, makes the Idnet loyalty offer to me fiscally better than AAISP's.

If I accepted the Idnet FTTP (150/30) offer but declined the UBOSS plan and, instead, went to AAISP for their, £1.40 a month, VOIP plan it's a bit of a financial win on both counts - relatively speaking anyway.

BUT .... I find the matter of routers (or is it router/modems?) supremely confusing. All the different makes, specifications, prices performance criteria, reviews, reputations.

Basically ... the one Idnet supply for free (TP Link VX230V) is the cheapest on their list of supplied hardware on their website and leads one to wonder if it's a pile of poo.  They also show EX820v which is further up the pecking order. and which one could, presumably, pay extra for and receive, suitably configured instead of the default one.

I have no idea what a wise course of action might be. An extra approx £100 is enough to splash out but if it means you get better wi-fi round the house then it might be worth having.

And who configures the router for the VOIP? Does AAISP do it? I accept that Idnet configure any router they supply with regard to the broadband, but they're not gonna get involved with someone else's VOIP plan, are they? I just sat for 45 minutes and watched a Youtube video of a bloke configuring a TP Link VX230v router from start to finish. I didn't understand a word he said. Not a word.

Someone help me out here. I'll ring AAISP tomorrow and they'll help but I've raised a couple of points above which might elicit some observations that I'd be very happy to read and for which I'm very keen to say thank you for in advance.

[Simon]

@stan - good to hear from you, it's been a while.

I've still yet to make the jump to VoIP, but I have the TP Link VX230v, configured by IDNet for my Fibre, and it's worked faultlessly.

I'd be interested to know if AAISP provide their own VoIP service, or are they providing the service through a third party, like IDNet are with UBOSS?

[stan]

Hello Simon,   

Good to know I'm still not the only one to excercise a degree of caution before jumping into the jaws of this new fangled malarkey.

In my locale they say the copper pairs are to be ceased in December 2025 - so the fateful day is definitely getting closer and the realisation is dawning on me hence a revival of interest in moving to fibre to the house.

Since I wrote the above note, earlier this evening, I've started to come at this from a slightly different angle.  I keep wondering if the Wi-Fi facility on the TP Link VX230v will, as the apparent base model in the list, be good enough to reach upstairs and into other downstairs rooms.  The local computer man who will come round to connect my printer, wife's laptop, 2x mobile phones and 2x televisions to the new router has said he would instal a mesh system of some sort if the wi-fi didn't extend well enough but I'm thinking should I ask Idnet about upgrading to the router that they supply on their gaming plan (ASUS TUF Gaming AX3000 v2) in the hope it might stand a better chance of reaching those remoter areas.

If we did do that then, of course, there would be no green FXS phone ports on the (ASUS) router and I was thinking of just buying the most basic £55 Yealink T31P desk phone from Andrews and Arnold and having them configure it and then just plug it into the back of the (new) ASUS router for standby VOIP telephony purposes. AAISP calls on their VOIP plan are 1.5p p.min. so not horrendous should we need to use that facility now and again. Incoming calls on their VOIP can be directed to email (on my mobile phone and PC) which I suppose is vaguely handy.

I do believe that AAISP do run and maintain their own VOIP service and they seem very familiar with it if you ring and speak to them. Reassuringly so in fact.

To be honest I wasn't all that keen to go with UBOSS and definitely wasn't inclined to use the Idnet Centrex system ... definitely overkill for the likes of me.  The AAISP one seems far more appealing for low use. When I rang today the fella seemed happy to re-explain the principles and details of it and said lots of people just take ther VOIP without having their broadband. I told my mate about Andrews and Arnold recently and he's applied to join using their most basic FTTP plan for £37 p.m. with no phone required and they've started the ball rolling within hours of his filling in the online form. They're posting his new Technicolour router out as we speak. He was with SKY for broadband and TV and is leaving them.

Having said that, Heather dealt with my enquiries promptly and got back to me within 24 hrs and someone always answers the phone quickly when I've rang.

So it's looking like I'll stay with Idnet for another two years at least. It says online that prices are fixed for the contract.

Lets hope the dealings with Openreach aren't as protracted as you know they can be if fortune is less inclined to smile.

Do I gather your  FTTP is now completely uneventful and satisfactory??

How much of the above sounds familiar or in accord with your own recent experiences, Simon?  What are your current thoughts about what you think you'll do ?

Forgive me if I forget to check in here to look at responses, I'm increasingly forgetful and I can't recall if I get email notifications of replies.


BFN.