1. Broadband
2. Providers
3. John Lewis
4. Routers

As of 4 October 2022, John Lewis Broadband has ceased offering broadband deals to new customers. For the time being it continues to serve its existing customers without interruption. John Lewis Broadband is aimed at customers who trust its brand but are not necessarily interested in learning all about wifi and broadband. John Lewis Broadband is actually supplied by Plusnet.

A router with poor features can slow down your fast fibre internet connection and a router with rubbish wifi will leave you frustrated when trying to connect from some parts of your home. So where do John Lewis Broadband routers stand in all this? Let’s take a look at what it has to offer.

How to get a John Lewis Broadband router

You will be supplied with a router from John Lewis Broadband by signing up to one of its packages. 10Mbps 'Unlimited' customers will get a Sagemcom 2704n ADSL router, while faster fibre customers are sent a ZyXEL VMG3925-B10C router. Both models of router provided by John Lewis Broadband can also be bought on the open market.

In most cases, you can expect your John Lewis Broadband router to arrive within a couple of weeks of signing up to a new package and you can easily set it up yourself. However, an engineer will be required if you need a new phone line.

John Lewis router features

If you sign up to a John Lewis Broadband package, you will receive one of two routers. Customers who choose Unlimited (10Mbps) broadband will get the Sagemcom 2704n router, known as the Hub Zero. This is an older type of router, but it is more than capable of dealing with the 10Mbps ADSL provided by this broadband package. Fibre broadband customers will get the more advanced ZyXEL VMG3925-B10C router, which can handle the faster speeds of fibre broadband.

Sagemcom 2704n features

• ADSL only – Supplied with John Lewis’ entry level ADSL broadband package
• Slightly outdated wifi – This router doesn’t use the latest wifi standards. It is still on 802.11n rather than the newer 802.11ac
• ADSL modem – This router is for use with ADSL broadband (broadband supplied via your phone line)
• Single band – Unlike most modern dual band routers, the Sagemcom 2704n’s wifi only uses the 2.4Ghz band. This is the most commonly used wifi band, which means the airwaves can become crowded, causing interference. Data transfer over this band is also slower than modern 5Ghz wifi
• Four 10/100Mbps ethernet ports – This router has four ethernet ports, but they are of an older generation than the current gigabit ethernet port. The 10/100Mbps ethernet ports are considerably slower than their modern counterparts
• Two antennae – The wifi signal may struggle to reach all areas of your home due to the low antennae count on this router

ZyXEL VMG3925-B10C features

• On fibre packages only – Supplied only with John Lewis fibre broadband packages
• Next generation wifi – The ZyXEL VMG3925 uses the latest wireless standard (802.11ac) to deliver the fastest wifi speeds possible. Devices using older wifi standards such as 802.11n are also able to connect
• ADSL2+ & VDSL2 modem – The ADSL2+ allows for connections over the Openreach telephone network, while the VDSL2 means the modem is ready for fibre broadband. The modem features auto switching to the relevant mode
• Smart channel selection – The ZyXEL VMG3925 automatically connects your devices to the fastest wifi channel and frequency available
• Dual band – Like many modern routers, the ZyXEL router uses both the 2.4GHz and faster 5GHz bands
• Four gigabit ethernet ports – The ZyXEL VMG3925 has four gigabit ethernet ports, so you can use a wired connection for up to four devices
• One USB port – The useful addition of a USB Ports allows users to connect shared hard drives, a shared printer or even a 5G dongle if they want a back-up internet connection
• Seven antennae – The ZyXEL VMG3925 has seven antennae, to provide good wifi coverage around the home

If there are any unfamiliar terms you'd like a more in-depth explanation of, check out our jargon-busting guide.

Setting up a John Lewis router

Setting up your John Lewis router is a fairly simple process and is the same regardless of which router you have.

First you should unplug your existing router, micro-switches and phones from your wall mounted telephone socket. Once you have done this, plug the supplied micro-filter into your phone socket. Then plug the grey cable into the micro-filter and push the other end into the port on the back of the router.

Now it is time to connect the power. Firstly, switch off the mains plug socket and plug the power supply into your new router. Now insert the power plug into the mains power socket. Once this is done, switch on the power socket and switch on your router.

On the back of the router, you will find the details required to log into your new wifi network. Once your router is up and running, we'd suggest you start making it as secure as possible. Our guide to securing your wifi router can help.

Legacy John Lewis routers

There will still be plenty of John Lewis broadband users out there using legacy John Lewis routers. So let’s take a look at some of the previous models provided by John Lewis broadband.

• Zyxel VMG8924 – A fibre broadband router with 2 USB ports, Gigabit ethernet and dual band wifi (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz 802.11ac)
• Zyxel VMG3925 – A fibre broadband router with 2 USB ports, Gigabit ethernet and dual band wifi (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz 802.11ac)
• Netgear WNR1000 – An ADSL2+ router with single band 2.4ghz, 802.11n wifi and slower 10/100 ethernet ports. An older type of router with outdated wifi
• Sagemcom 2704n – An ADSL2+ router with single band 2.4ghz, 802.11n wifi and slower 10/100 ethernet ports. An older type of router with outdated wifi
• Technicolor 582n – Another old-style ADSL2+ router with single band 2.4Ghz, 802.11n wifi. Also an older type of router with outdated wifi. This router also has only the slower 10/100 ethernet ports

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