Since a few people have previously reported compatibility issues between the Deco X20-DSL and Sky broadband, I thought I would share my experiences so far.

 

I have the NOW Broadband Super Fibre service and am replacing a Sky NR801 broadband router (branded as NOW TV Hub Two) with the X20-DSL.

 

The configuration settings I am using:

 

Advanced > Quick Setup

Region: United Kingdom

ISP: Sky(MER)_VDSL

Connection Type: Dynamic IP

MER Username & Password were obtained using the Wireshark method as described by George Buckingham's blog post.

Internet VLAN ID: 101

 

DSL Settings

DSL Modulation Type: Auto Sync-up (manually selecting VDSL2 also works)

Annex Type: Annex Auto (manually selecting Annex A also works)

Bit Swap: ON

SRA: ON

 

I did not need to use the MAC Clone feature.

 

If I manually disable IPTV/VLAN (VLAN ID 101) then routing stops. I gather therefore that this is essential !

 

In terms of performance, prior to my disconnecting the Sky NR801 router it reported the following modem line rates:

 

Upstream: 19,999 Kbps

Downstream: 75,081 Kbps

 

So far the Deco X20-DSL is reporting:

 

Upstream: 17,773 Kbps

Downstream: 73,828 Kbps

 

This is significantly worse performance than the Sky NR801 router.

 

I don't know if Bit Swap and SRA are supported by Sky, but I gather I may get a slightly higher sync speed if I disable SRA. Can anyone confirm?

 

Other than the lower sync rate, the X20-DSL has been performing well so far. One minor gripe is I'd like to stop the router responding to ICMP ping requests on the WAN side. If anyone from TP-Link is listening, please add this as a feature request.