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

Router threads on the BT Community, r/UKBroadband and r/VirginMedia are one question in different clothes: will a router I buy myself even connect, and is it worth replacing the hub the provider sent? Two things decide it, and neither is the Wi-Fi standard on the box: how the line arrives in the house, which sets the login the router must speak, and whether the phone runs through the provider's hub, which decides whether that hub can leave at all. Where a provider publishes no setting, this post says so rather than guessing.

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

On an Openreach line the fibre ends at a white box called the ONT, which Openreach describes as neither a router nor a modem; the router plugs into it with a standard Ethernet cable. Unplug the hub, plug your router's WAN port in, and the only thing left is the login.

BT, EE, Plusnet and Zen use PPPoE. EE's page on third-party routers is the clearest: the router must support PPPoE and have an Ethernet WAN port, it connects to the ONT, and on full fibre "you don't need VLAN tagging, modulation, or VPI and VCI settings". EE publishes the login it uses (username bthomehub@btbroadband.com, password BT or blank). Zen lists PPPoE with no VLAN on Openreach full fibre, with your Zen login; Plusnet gives yourusername@plusdsl.net and 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", and 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 blank, so there is 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 route to your own router is modem mode, which Virgin Media's help page describes as turning "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." That is the unit on Virgin Media's XGS-PON full-fibre network; ISPreview reported the gap in April 2024 and it is still there. With a Hub 5x, a third-party router can only sit behind the Hub as an access point, which fixes coverage but leaves the Hub routing. The Hub 5, ISPreview notes, has a 2.5Gbps port, so a package above a gigabit reaches your router uncapped.

Sky and NOW: a different login altogether

Sky does not use PPPoE and publishes no settings for other routers, so the documentation comes from router makers. DrayTek UK's guide for Sky Fibre and NOW says Sky "utilises DHCP" and that an alternative router works "if that router is able to send DHCP option 61", a client identifier built from a MAC address, "@skydsl", a vertical bar and a password. TP-Link's UK FAQ on Sky describes the same login (it calls it MER), lists the products that support it (its VR-series DSL modem routers and DSL Deco models), and 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, so read that before buying for Sky or NOW. The safe purchases are a router whose maker documents Sky support on its UK site, or a mesh behind the Sky hub rather than in place of it, which is what TP-Link's FAQ describes for full fibre: the hub keeps Sky's login and phone socket, the mesh carries the Wi-Fi.

CityFibre lines: Vodafone, Zen and the rest

CityFibre installs the ONT and runs the network; the provider you pay runs the service and answers the router question. Zen's settings page gives PPPoE with a VLAN of 911 on CityFibre against none on Openreach, so a router on a CityFibre line needs a WAN VLAN setting and you need to know which network you are on. Vodafone allows a non-Vodafone router on ordinary plans but not on Pro Broadband, 5G Broadband "and any plan with Digital Voice"; you ask them 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"; on a different router its help page says only that "compatibility depends on your service and equipment requirements". Community Fibre is unambiguous: "You are free to use your own router", it must support your speed package, an RJ45 connection and DHCP, "we do not use a PPPoE connection type", and 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 broadband still arrives through the phone socket (Fibre 35, Fibre 65, anything in the tens of megabits), the line is VDSL and a router with only an Ethernet WAN port cannot 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 FTTC 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 enters your router through one socket, and a gigabit socket passes roughly 940Mbps. A Wi-Fi 7 router with a gigabit WAN port cannot deliver a package above a gigabit, and several on Amazon UK are built that way. At 900Mb or slower, gigabit is fine; faster, and you need a 2.5G WAN port.

Mesh solves coverage, a faster router does not. A weak signal in the back bedroom is a building problem. Two or three units sharing one network name put the signal where you use it; a more powerful single router fails to reach from a slightly better starting point. Where the hub cannot 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. 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, and Hyperoptic's phone service uses the port on the Hyperhub. Virgin Media's phone plugs into the Hub too, but its telephony survives modem mode, so its customers can have both. Everywhere else, keep the hub for the phone and run a mesh behind it, or move to a broadband-only plan if the landline is unused.

Which of our picks fits which line

The seven routers on our Wi-Fi routers page each state their WAN speed. Mapped to the lines above:

Openreach full fibre above a gigabit, one unit: the TP-Link Archer BE3600, the least expensive router on the page with a 2.5G WAN port; coverage is untouched, the right trade in a flat.
The same line in a house that needs coverage: the TP-Link Deco BE65, Wi-Fi 7 mesh with 2.5G on every port and a dedicated backhaul band.
A CityFibre line with a VLAN tag, or anyone who sets things by hand: the ASUS RT-BE58U, ASUS's full firmware on a router with a 2.5G WAN port; 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: the same logic, and the Amazon eero 7 earns a look: a 2.5G WAN port and setup entirely from a phone app.
Sky, NOW, a Hub 5x, or a Digital Voice plan that pins 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 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. WAN port into the ONT, WAN type PPPoE, and expect BT to want the Smart Hub back on the line before it investigates a fault.

Does Virgin Media allow third-party routers? Yes, through modem mode on the Hub 3, 4 and 5, with the phone still working. Not on the Hub 5x, 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, where a 2.5G WAN port is the specification that matters.