Can I use my own router?

If you are currently experiencing trouble with your connection we recommend completing the following steps before contacting us:

Ensure everything is connected properly, ensuring you can see power indicator lights on all your equipment (remembering to check the fibre termination unit as well as the router) and ensuring all the wires are nice and secure

Following this, please power-cycle your equipment.

How to restart your Truespeed kit

Restarting your equipment also resets the network connection, and can solve a multitude of problems.  We will often ask you to do this if you call us with a problem.

Here’s how to do it:

• Turn off the FTU (Fibre Termination Unit) and your Truespeed router. Please turn them off at the socket to be absolutely sure there’s no power reaching them.
• Wait for at least 20 seconds and then turn on the FTU.  Wait for it to fully re-boot, you will see two green lights on the right-hand side.
• Wait for a further two minutes, and then turn on your Truespeed router.
• You should see some lights coming on straight away, and then your equipment will cycle through a number of other lights and colours whilst it fully reconfigures itself – this can take up to 5 minutes.
• Once the lights are stable you should be able to re-connect all your devices.

If this doesn’t work, or if you have a different issue, call our Bath-based Truespeed Support Team on 01225 300 370 or email ultrafast@truespeed.com.

For customers on our Zyxel and Fritz routers:

For wireless devices that move around your home with you (that’s tablets, smartphones and laptops) make sure they connect to and remember both Truespeed-XXXX & TruespeedUltra-XXXX network signals from your Truespeed router.

Once both networks are saved, your devices should automatically connect to the shorter ranged but faster TruespeedUltra-XXXX when they’re close to your router, and then swap over to Truespeed-XXXX when you’re further away. Now, your wireless tech gets the best of both wireless services, regardless of where you are in your home.

If you’re still struggling with your Wi-Fi, we recommend looking into our Linksys Whole Home Wi-Fi System or giving our customer care team a call on 01225 300 370.

If you already have a Linksys router
Your router automatically broadcasts two networks, at two frequencies: 2.4GHz and 5GHz.  By default it is set to appear as a single network, with the router connecting each device to the most appropriate network.

The 2.4GHz band broadcasts a fast speed across a longer distance and is better able to deal with interference from inside your home.  The 5GHz band can carry even faster speeds but not always as far in some homes, as it’s more likely to be weakened by interference from inside your home. Both bands can carry enough data to enjoy your full-fibre network to the full! But some older devices are only compatible with the 2.4GHz band. 

If you’re having difficulties connecting a particular device, or in a particular location, we recommend using the Linksys app to split the network into two networks:  It will ask you to name the networks to what you wish. To help at Truespeed we normally call the 2.4Ghz network “Truespeed” and the 5Ghz network “TruespeedUltra”.  The 2.4GHz network should reach where you need it to.  If not, give our customer care team a call and we can expand your network by adding Mesh to your package.

If your device is struggling to find the TruespeedUltra Wi-Fi network, you may be too far away from the router. The Ultra network is high speed, but shorter range, as opposed to our non-Ultra network, which is slower speed, but further range.

If your device can only find the Truespeed-XXXX network in your home, the wireless tech you’re using will likely be a ‘single band’ or ‘Wi-Fi 2.4’ device. So if your device is slightly older (in tech years this means 5-10 years) it may not be able to pick up TrueSpeedUltra-XXXX and experience our maximum Mbps.

Our full-fibre broadband network is extremely reliable and we monitor it 24-7. However once it comes into your home there are many factors linked to you home that can effect Wi-Fi performance. For example, physical distance from the router, thick walls, televisions, mirrors and microwaves, can all reduce the Wi-Fi signal’s strength and speed. Our Customer Care team can’t control your physical environment, but we can help you understand what may be causing problems.

We have some handy tips that may help in our how to boost Wi-Fi speed blog

Our Mesh Wi-Fi is a great solution for eliminating those weak spots in your home, and this can be added to your package at any time just by giving us a call. If you already have a mesh-capable router, then extending your mesh network isn’t subject to a minimum contract either.

Find out about our Whole Home Wi-Fi

If you experience a local power cut, or you need to switch off the electricity in your house, then your broadband and wi-fi won’t work until power has been restored (unless you have an uninterrupted power supply).

Once the power is restored, your Truespeed service should come back up automatically. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to restart your Truespeed kit to get your internet back on again:

How to restart your Truespeed kit

Restarting your equipment can solve a multitude of problems, and is often something we will ask you to do if you call us with a problem.

Here’s how to do it:

• Turn off the power to the FTU (Fibre Termination Unit – this is the box that is attached to the well where the line comes into you house) and your Truespeed router. If you can, turn them off at the socket to be absolutely sure there’s no power reaching them.
• After they have both been off for at least 20 seconds, turn on the FTU first, and look for two green lights on the right-hand side.
• Wait for a further two minutes, and then turn on your Truespeed router.
• You should see some lights coming on straight away, but you’ll need to allow up to five minutes for the router to fully reconfigure itself and allow you to re-connect to all your devices.

If this doesn’t work, or if you have a different issue, call our Bath-based Truespeed Support Team on 01225 300 370 or email ultrafast@truespeed.com.

Occasionally, customers can have issues connecting Sky Q to their Truespeed broadband. Not to worry, just give us a call and we will sort it out for you.

If you are looking to use your own router for static IP, this is only available to certain business connections with our static IP package. If this is important to you, give us a call and we will do our best to help you.

If you are planning to make the switch to our full fibre connection, then there is a chance your Personal Care alarm may not be compatible if it relies on a copper phone line. We would always suggest that before moving across, you check with your alarm company to ensure there will not be any compatibility issues.

If you have our Linksys router, you can use the Linksys app, or the below instructions to make changes to your network, including changing your network name (SSID) or password.

If you have one of our other routers, then give us a call and we can make changes for you.

Linksys

From a mobile, install the Linksys mobile app from Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

Or, from a computer connected to Truespeed, open your web browser and enter myrouter.local into the address bar.

Enter your login credentials (if this is your first time login in, you will need to reset the password).

From the main menu, choose Network Administration and follow the instructions to change the network name or password.

If you want to change the password, then when logging in to the app select ‘log in with router password’ and continue down the forgotten password link.

Other routers

If you don’t have a Linksys router and you need to make any changes to your Truespeed router, including password changes, please give our locally based customer care team a call on 01225 300370 or email us at ultrafast@truespeed.com. Please note, we are able to grant access to Zyxel routers if needed.

If you have our Linksys router, there are parental controls available through your Linksys app. You can manage individual connected devices, pause internet access and block specific websites directly in the app.

If you have any of our other routers, parental controls are unfortunately not available. However, there are several Parental Control apps available via third parties which work across multiple devices and platforms. Most are free with only certain features that you have to pay for.

If you’d like to upgrade to our Linksys router and have access to those parental controls, please call our team on 01225 300 370 or email ultrafast@truespeed.com.

All our units use mains power, and they all have indicator lights on the top or side to show they are receiving power. If you have any problems or have had a power cut, please check the power supply is plugged in and at least one light is showing on each unit.  You’d be surprised how often we speak to customers who can’t connect to the internet and have accidentally dislodged the power supply!

The FTU (Fibre Termination Unit, which is the box where your fibre-optic line comes into your home) will have two or three lights, which should all be green.

For the different routers:

Linksys:

There is only one light, which is on the top of the router.

This should always be shown as a solid blue to indicate the service is working.

If the light is showing as red, then it is not receiving a connection. Please check the connection and if everything is plugged in as it should be, then report it to our customer care team on 01225 300370.

If the light is purple, it indicates the setup is not complete.

Zyxel:

There are a number of lights, and we expect them all to be green (some will flash from time to time).

Power: Confirms the router is powered

WAN: Confirms the router is receiving a signal from the fibre termination unit.

Internet: Confirms internet connection.

2.4GHz: Indicates that a wi-fi signal is transmitting at 2.4GHz, which corresponds to the standard Truespeed network, suitable for most devices and able to reach the furthest distance

5GHz: Indicates that a wi-fi signal is transmitting at 5.0GHz, which corresponds to the ultrafast Truespeed network and is compatible with newer devices. It will deliver much faster speeds if needed but does not reach as far as the 2.4GHz signal

LAN: When a device is plugged into one of the LAN ports on the back of the router, a light will show.

Fritz:

You should always have both the power/DSL and WLAN lights turned on. This confirms that the router is powered and transmitting a wireless signal.

Depending on which router you have with your Truespeed service, please follow accordingly.

Linksys:

If you have the Linksys router, you can connect to your devices by using the network name and password, which can be found on the base of your Linksys router.

Other routers:

If you have any of our other routers (Zyxel or Fritz) please go to your device’s Wi-Fi settings, locate and select either the Truespeed-XXXXX or TruespeedUltra-XXXXX network and enter the password we sent in your welcome email. If you have lost your WIFI password, please call our Customer Care team on 01225 300370

All modern broadband routers transmit two wireless frequencies called ‘bands’. Your Truespeed router has this capability and is classified as a ‘dual band’ router.

With our non-Linksys routers, you may notice that there are two separate networks available to access on certain wireless devices: Truespeed-XXXX is a lower frequency, longer range 2.4GHz band, and TruespeedUltra is a high frequency, shorter range band of 5GHz.

So what’s the difference between Truespeed and TruespeedUltra?

The higher frequency TruespeedUltra-XXXX is capable of supplying the full flow of Truespeed to your wireless devices. It broadcasts at 5Ghz. It’s important to note that your devices need to be designed to support Wi-Fi 5 or above, which covers the vast majority of devices being used today.

At 2.4GHz, Truespeed-XXXX might have a lower frequency, but it can still supply speeds up to 100Mbps (again, depending on your individual wireless device’s wi-fi capabilities). Although a lower frequency, Truespeed-XXXX’s signal naturally travels further. And in a typical UK house, it is more adept at penetrating solid objects like walls and floors than the TruespeedUltra network.

All in all, the combination of our two networks gives you the adaptability and performance. Plus, they’ll automatically switch between themselves on your devices depending on where you are in your home.

For customers with the Linksys router, it is worth noting that the default setting is having both your 2.4GHz and 5GHz merged under one network name to ensure seamless transition between bands. You are able to split the bands if required by calling our customer care team on 01225 300 370 to be sent our easy to follow step by step guide.

When we install Truespeed full-fibre broadband in your property, we need fit a few different small pieces of equipment. If you’re having problems with your service it’s worth checking all the equipment is correctly plugged in and functioning properly.

We’ve been connecting homes since 2015, and over that time we’ve used different equipment as technology has changed, but the fundamentals are the same:

The fibre termination unit (FTU) converts the light signals from the fibre-optic cable into a format that devices like computers and phones can understand, which is similar to what a modem does with older technology.

In most cases this unit is a small box attached to your wall where the fibre-optic cable enters your property. In some cases we’ve fitted free-standing units instead.

Now the signal needs to be translated into one that can be distributed and used by each device you’re using in your home.

This is the job of the router, which broadcasts your wi-fi networks and if positioned correctly it will be the most visible part of your equipment. In most cases, an ethernet cable connects the FTU to the ‘WAN’ or ‘Internet’ port on the back of your router. In some homes we’ve fitted a single unit that combines the job of the FTU and the router, so this cable isn’t needed.

If you have a Truespeed phone line too, this will be connected to your router, either directly or via an adapter, depending on the router. If you have need for an uninterrupted power supply then this will also be connected to the router.

Finally it’s possible to extend the reach of your wi-fi network without sacrificing performance by adding additional mesh units. These work differently from older-style extenders or repeaters which typically broadcast a new, weaker network.