Folks
I created some detailed notes, with screenshots, in the form of an MS Word doc, but there's a slight technical hitch in that I can't add them here due to the forum's security. In the meantime I'll ask the admin staff if I can send it to them & then they might post it on my behalf. But, until then, here are the words without the screenshots.
Before I go any further, I need to acknowledge the help of, amongst others, billion_fan and admin. They rose to the challenge, came up with the goods, and answered my questions. Other folks have helped too. And Billion have now gained a new happy customer. OK, on with the details ...
It's actually pretty straightforward (looking back after the event) and my 7800N has survived overnight with no problems at all.
Notes for how to set up a Billion BiPAC 7800N for use with Sky Broadband Fibre
1 Get the username & password out of the sky router by using the Sky router password generator which can be found at
https://www.cm9.net/skypass/generate.cgi
disconnect the sky router. Don’t throw it away, but do keep it boxed-up and put it in the cupboard. You’ll need it to hand just in case you need to call Sky about any broadband issues (using your own router is against their terms & conditions).
connect up the 7800N
2 Connect up the 7800N in place of the Sky router
This is the back of the 7800N. I apologise for the poor quality shot, but the grey cable is connected to the EWAN port and the other end of it is connected to the BT modem. The red cable connects the 7800N to my PC (my PC is wired, but my laptops etc are wireless).
Incidentally, nothing to do with the 7800N, but might be helpful for new Sky Fibre users, this is the 1st time that I have started to use the homeplug-type devices. These connect, via the household mains, the BT modem, which is downstairs in the living room (where the BT master socket is), with my “office” which is an upstairs bedroom.
I bought the homeplugs separately, after the event. They cost about £70.
In the old ADSL days this wasn’t an issue, but in the default new Sky Fibre installation I would have ended up having to drill holes in walls and run long lengths of Ethernet cable around the house. My wife suggested that that drilling holes etc “was not a Good Idea”. The homeplugs work very well and I’m impressed.
OK…
3 The address for the 7800N, by default, is
http://192.168.1.254/
At the Basic screen, select the WAN tab to configure the WAN port.
Change the Main Port from ADSL to EWAN
Ensure that the Protocol is set to Obtain An IP Address Automatically
Leave the other 3 boxes blank
Click the Apply button
(I think that the router reboots at that point (I’ve forgotten), but there’ll be a few reboots to be done along the way, each 1 taking about 60 secs!)
4 On left hand side, select Basic, then Quick Start and you should see the WAN Port screen
We then need to enter the details for the Sky username & password …
Maybe someone else can explain this better, but this is what I had to do.
Ensure that the Connect Mode is set to ADSL, then press the Continue button.
Set the Protocol to be MPoA, leaving the other values as they are except for the Client ID field.
The Client ID field in the screenshot below is where you enter the Sky username and password. Enter them both but separate them with the “pipe” symbol. The pipe symbol, on my keyboard, is the shifted one to the left of the Z key. Your keyboard may be different, but that symbol is the one to use.
E.g.
if your Sky username is xxx@skydsl
And your password is yyy
Then the value to enter for the Client ID is xxx@skydsl|yyy
The length of the 2 values exceeds what you can see on the screen (it’s maybe 35 chrs or so), but just enter it as described
When you have done that the router might reboot, and will appear to fail to connect to the internet.
Well, it will fail – because it is trying to connect by ADSL.
So, go back to the WAN port config screen (seen 2 screenshots ago) and change the Connect Mode from ADSL to EWAN, the press Continue twice and the router will reboot again.
5 You should see a good result like this. Notice that ADSL has failed (because we are not using ADSL any more) and that EWAN and Ethernet and Wireless have good connections.
6 Looks good to me ….
--END