Which Router Works With BT, EE, Virgin Media, Sky and Full Fibre

Start with the socket on the wall, not the box on the shelf

Two things decide whether you can swap the provider's hub for a router of your own, and neither is the Wi-Fi standard on the box. The first is how the line arrives in the house, because that sets the login the router has to use to get online. The second is whether your phone runs through the provider's hub, because that decides whether the hub can go at all.

Router threads on the BT Community, r/UKBroadband and r/VirginMedia keep asking the same question in different ways. Will a router I buy myself even connect? And is it worth replacing the hub the provider sent? Here's how each kind of line works, and which of our picks suits it.

Openreach full fibre: BT, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk and Zen

On an Openreach line, the fibre ends at a white box called the ONT. Openreach describes it as neither a router nor a modem. Your router plugs into it with a standard Ethernet cable. So unplug the hub and plug your router's WAN port (the socket for the incoming connection) into the ONT. The only thing left is the login.

BT, EE, Plusnet and Zen use PPPoE, which means the router signs in with a username and password.

EE's page on third-party routers is the clearest. The router must support PPPoE and have an Ethernet WAN port, and it connects to the ONT. On full fibre, EE says, "you don't need VLAN tagging, modulation, or VPI and VCI settings". Those are extras that other kinds of line can need, and VLANs come up again below. EE also publishes the login it uses. The username is bthomehub@btbroadband.com, and the password is BT or blank.

Zen lists PPPoE with no VLAN on Openreach full fibre, using your Zen login. For Plusnet, the username is yourusername@plusdsl.net (with your own username at the front), and the password is your account password.

BT's consumer help has no such article. Its business page allows any compatible router running "a PPPoE session, using the username and password we've given you". It also warns that the helpdesk will not support it.

TalkTalk is the odd one out. Its settings page gives DHCP/IPoE, with the username and password left blank. DHCP means the router simply asks the network for an address, so there's no login at all.

Virgin Media: modem mode, and the Hub 5x problem

Virgin Media's cable network has no ONT. The Hub is the modem, so the way to use your own router is modem mode. Virgin Media's help page says modem mode turns "the Hub into a cable modem, letting you connect your own WiFi kit". The page lists it for the Hub 3, 4 and 5 and the older Super Hubs, and says the phone service "will still work".

The catch is a footnote on the same page: "Not currently available for Hub 5x." The Hub 5x is the unit on Virgin Media's XGS-PON full-fibre network. ISPreview reported the gap in April 2024, and it was still there when this post was written.

With a Hub 5x, a third-party router can only sit behind the Hub as an access point. That fixes coverage, but the Hub still does the routing, which means it still runs your home network. The Hub 5 has a 2.5Gbps port, ISPreview notes, so a package faster than a gigabit reaches your router uncapped.

Sky and NOW: a different login altogether

Sky doesn't use PPPoE, and it publishes no settings for other routers. So the documentation comes from router makers instead.

DrayTek UK's guide for Sky Fibre and NOW says Sky "utilises DHCP". An alternative router works, it says, "if that router is able to send DHCP option 61". That's a client identifier: a code the router sends to identify itself when it asks for an address. It's built from a MAC address (a network device's fixed hardware ID), "@skydsl", a vertical bar and a password.

TP-Link's UK FAQ on Sky describes the same login, which it calls MER. It lists the products that support it: its VR-series DSL modem routers and DSL Deco models. And it states that option 61 "is not supported on any TP-Link router".

Four of the seven picks on our routers page are TP-Link routers or Deco systems (TP-Link's mesh range). Keep that in mind before buying for Sky or NOW. There are two safe purchases. One is a router whose maker documents Sky support on its UK site. The other is a mesh system (a set of Wi-Fi units that work together as one network) behind the Sky hub, rather than in place of it.

That second option is what TP-Link's FAQ describes for full fibre. The hub keeps Sky's login and phone socket, and the mesh carries the Wi-Fi.

CityFibre lines: Vodafone, Zen and the rest

On a CityFibre line, CityFibre installs the ONT and runs the network. The provider you pay runs the service, and it's the provider that answers the router question.

Zen's settings page shows the difference. On CityFibre it gives PPPoE with a VLAN of 911, where on Openreach there's no VLAN. A VLAN here is a number the router has to tag onto everything it sends. So a router on a CityFibre line needs a WAN VLAN setting, and you need to know which network you're on.

Vodafone allows a non-Vodafone router on ordinary plans. It doesn't allow one on Pro Broadband, 5G Broadband "and any plan with Digital Voice". Digital Voice means your home phone runs over the broadband. If you do use your own router, you ask Vodafone for the username and password, and reconnect the Vodafone router for any fault.

Hyperoptic and Community Fibre: an Ethernet socket

Both hand you an Ethernet socket. Hyperoptic's welcome pack says to plug the supplied cable "into the WAN port on the router and the other end into the Hyperoptic socket on the wall". For a different router, its help page says only that "compatibility depends on your service and equipment requirements".

Community Fibre says it plainly: "You are free to use your own router". The router must support your speed package, an RJ45 connection (a standard Ethernet plug) and DHCP. Community Fibre also says "we do not use a PPPoE connection type". They may switch you back to their router while a fault is investigated. No login, no VLAN.

Older FTTC lines still need a modem

If your broadband still arrives through the phone socket (Fibre 35, Fibre 65, anything in the tens of megabits), the line is VDSL. That's broadband over the phone line, and a router with only an Ethernet WAN port can't talk to it.

EE's page says a part-fibre router "must have VDSL support and VLAN tagging", with VLAN 101. Plusnet, Zen and TalkTalk list the same VLAN.

None of the routers on our page is listed with a VDSL modem built in. So on an FTTC (part-fibre) line, they sit behind the provider's hub or a separate modem.

The two rules that decide the purchase

The WAN port caps the line. Whatever the provider, the connection comes into your router through one socket. A gigabit socket passes roughly 940Mbps. So even a Wi-Fi 7 router with a gigabit WAN port can't deliver a package above a gigabit. Several on Amazon UK are built that way. At 900Mb or slower, gigabit is fine. Any faster, and you need a 2.5G WAN port.

Mesh solves coverage, but a faster router doesn't. A weak signal in the back bedroom is a problem with the building. Two or three mesh units sharing one network name put the signal where you use it. A more powerful single router starts from a slightly better position, but it still fails to reach. Where the hub can't be replaced (a Hub 5x, a Sky line, a Digital Voice plan), a mesh in access-point mode behind it still fixes the Wi-Fi.

Digital Voice and the landline

Landlines are moving onto broadband, so the phone plugs into the back of the provider's hub. That's why the phone decides whether the hub can go. BT's Digital Voice setup page says to plug the handset "directly into the green phone port on the back of the hub".

EE is blunter. With EE Digital Home Phone, "you'll need to keep your EE or BT hub as your main router. Third-party routers aren't compatible." Vodafone refuses a third-party router on any plan with Digital Voice. Hyperoptic's phone service uses the port on the Hyperhub, Hyperoptic's own router.

Virgin Media's phone plugs into the Hub too, but its phone service survives modem mode. So Virgin Media customers can have their own router and keep the phone. Everywhere else, keep the hub for the phone and run a mesh behind it. Or, if the landline is unused, move to a broadband-only plan.

Which of our picks fits which line

The seven routers on our Wi-Fi routers page each state their WAN speed. Here's how they match the lines above.

Openreach full fibre above a gigabit, one unit: the TP-Link Archer BE3600. It's the least expensive router on the page with a 2.5G WAN port. It does nothing for coverage, which is the right trade in a flat.
The same line in a house that needs coverage: the TP-Link Deco BE65. It's Wi-Fi 7 mesh with 2.5G on every port, plus a dedicated backhaul band (a channel the units keep for talking to each other).
A CityFibre line with a VLAN tag, or anyone who sets things by hand: the ASUS RT-BE58U. It's a router with a 2.5G WAN port, running ASUS's full firmware (the software that runs the router). Confirm the WAN VLAN setting on ASUS's UK page first.
Packages of 900Mb or below, where the hub can go: the TP-Link Deco X55 three-pack for whole-house coverage on Wi-Fi 6, or the Deco X10 three-pack with less headroom. Both are gigabit, so neither suits a faster line.
Virgin Media with a Hub 3, 4 or 5 in modem mode: choose the same way as above, and the Amazon eero 7 is worth a look. It has a 2.5G WAN port, and setup is done entirely from a phone app.
Sky, NOW, a Hub 5x, or a Digital Voice plan that ties you to the hub: buy for coverage and run the mesh behind the hub. The mesh picks (Deco X55, Deco BE65, eero 7) are the candidates. Confirm access-point or bridge mode on the maker's UK page first.

The GL.iNet Slate AX is a travel router for hotels and holiday lets, and it belongs in none of these.

Quick answers

Can I use my own router with BT Full Fibre? Yes, unless you have Digital Voice and want it through the hub. Plug the router's WAN port into the ONT and set the WAN type to PPPoE. If there's a fault, expect BT to want the Smart Hub back on the line before it investigates.

Does Virgin Media allow third-party routers? Yes, through modem mode on the Hub 3, 4 and 5, and the phone still works. Not on the Hub 5x, though, where Virgin Media's own page says modem mode is "not currently available".

Do I need a new router for Full Fibre 900? No. A gigabit WAN port passes roughly 940Mbps, so a 900Mb package fits, with little to spare. Replace the hub for coverage, or when you move above a gigabit. At that point, a 2.5G WAN port is the specification that matters.