Help center

Please find the below guide for configuring a TPLink VR40o Router for a Ghost FTTC connection. You can also download a copy of this guide here.

1. Press and hold the FACTORY reset button on the back of the router for 15 seconds.
2. Connect to the router via WiFi or ethernet
3. Open a web browser to http://192.168.1.1

4. The quick start wizard will appear.
5. Enter a device password of your choice and confirm this. Click LETS GET STARTED

6. Region and Time Zone.  Select United Kingdom in the drop down and click NEXT.

7. ISP LIST. Select OTHER and click NEXT.

8. Enter the following and click NEXT.

• L2 INTERFACE TYPE: VDSL
• VLAN: ENABLE
• VLAN ID: 101
• INTERNET CONNECTION TYPE: PPPoE
• USERNAME: replace-username@ghostgb.co.uk
• PASSWORD: replace-password
• CONFIRM PASSWORD: replace-password

9. WiFi leave default and click NEXT. (Un-tick the SMART Box)

10. You should then see a testing screen.

11.  Click FINISH. This screen will show your information not what is show below.

Latency can be affected by many factors outside of our control such as 3rd party peering and the remote server locations you are testing to. (please refer to our other articles for further information) For this reason, we monitor latency between our broadband gateway that you are authenticated with, and your broadband router which we refer to as BASE LATENCY.

This method allows us to remove all external influences and gives us an accurate picture of how your connection is performing.

We may refer to this when diagnosing latency related support tickets.

While we make every effort to ensure latency is as low as possible. Our references are based on areas within our control.

What is DLM?
DLM, (Dynamic Line Management) is the Openreach system used to monitor and control the speed / stability of FTTC circuits. All FTTC services provided by Ghost will prioritise speed over stability within thresholds defined by the DLM system for the current enforced profile.

Day of install
When your service goes live on the day of install. (depending on line conditions) DLM might already make changes to the line such as enabling interleaving or error correction. Both interleaving and error correction can add latency to your experience (between 9-18ms) as by their very nature, they are designed to correct errors on the line. This is something we want to avoid!

What can be done?
We allow 2-5 days after install for DLM to settle on a line before we can take a closer look, as in most cases the line will sort its-self out.

For lines that remain on an interleaved profile after this time, we will review options to see if it’s possible to remove this, such as lowering the sync speed profile. Typically, lines that remain on an interleaved profile will have a reason why.

Each line has its own characteristics and acts differently. DLM on FTTC is fully managed by Openreach with limited options for service providers to make / request changes. However, we will do all we can to provide the best possible service for your line.

Instability
When we provision a copper based broadband service, we select a “Speed” or “Standard” profile depending if the service is WBC or GEA provided.

These profiles operate with more leniency and result in DLM being less aggressive with the aim of keeping interleaving disabled and enabling G.INP with a lower SNR where supported.

On some lines this can result in service dropouts and DLM not taking any corrective action. Where this occurs, we may have to manually increase the stability profile via a service modify. This can take up to 48 hours per change request and will reset DLM “learning”.

We can raise the stability profile 2 “levels” after a change we have to allow the new changes to take affect and DLM to re “learn” which can take 5 working days.

Changes can also result in interleaving being re-enabled.

Faults can be raised by emailing support@ghostbroadband.co.uk where a support ticket will be automatically generated and an engineer will be in touch shortly to investigate and troubleshoot.

You can also contact us on 0203 301 9998 to raise a support ticket. Calls will be answered between 9am-5.30pm weekdays. Calls outside of those hours will generate a voicemail email to engineers.

The first stage is to create a support ticket with us by emailing support@ghostbroadband.co.uk or by calling us on 0203 301 9998. We cannot accept returned hardware without a support ticket being created and without a discussion with our support engineers. Any equipment received without these terms will not be accepted as a return and will be sent back to you.

Unless otherwise advised by a member of the Ghost support team, all original content should be included within the box when returning hardware.

Always include within the box, your name, phone number and postal address along with a brief description of your reported fault so that we can process the return correctly.

Please ensure you secure the goods within the box suitably to prevent damage whilst also protecting the outside of the box within the postal packaging. In the event the outer box is excessively damaged or defaced you may not receive a refund where applicable. Hardware return address:

Ghost Broadband
Unit 8, Foundry Court
Foundry Lane
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 5PY

All routers purchased through Ghost Broadband carry a 12-month manufacturer warranty in line with the manufacturer terms.

All our supplied routers will be delivered pre-configured so it’s easy for you to get connected. However, should you need help with one of our routers or one of your own you can contact support at support@ghostbroadband.co.uk which will generate a support ticket for you and an engineer will be in contact.

Alternatively, please contact us by phone on 0203 301 9998 between 9am-5.30pm weekdays and we will be happy to help.

Please note that in the event you are seeking advice on a router you purchased elsewhere, our engineers will endeavor to assist where they can, however you may need to refer to the router manufacturer.

That may or may not be a problem. Some broadband providers lock the router to their services only i.e. BT Hub. This is similar to when a mobile phone is locked to only work on one mobile phone network. Some routers can be “unlocked,” and some online research may be able to help you figure out if you can do this or if you will need to purchase a new router. Remember that we supply a standard Wi-Fi router free of charge with any connection.

All Ghost Connections are supplied with a free standard Wi-Fi router free of charge. We will configure this for you so it’s simply plug and play when your broadband is activated. We also include in the box all the technical details you would need in order to program your own compatible router if preferred.

Here are a couple of possibilities:

1. Your current services are not provided on the Openreach network. Providers like Sky and Virgin Media use other networks and we are unable to takeover services from other networks. DO NOT PANIC! You can have Ghost Gamer Broadband if you choose to have a new line installed. You can initiate the order process by clicking “no” to “Do you have an existing phone line?” and entering your post code.

2. As hard as we try technology can have issues sometimes. If you believe that the broadband checker is not working out of error, please refresh the page and try again. If the checker refuses to cooperate, please complete our contact us form with your landline number and address and we will do what we can to help.

FTTP – Fibre to the Premises provides a pure fibre path from your home or office to the exchange, delivering speeds of up to 330Mbit/s.

‍FTTC – Fibre to the Cabinet provides a fibre path between the cabinet near you and the exchange. We use the existing copper network to cover the few hundred yards between you and the cabinet. It’s the copper that causes the pinch-point, while still delivering faster speeds than are available today.

An IP address is a unique number identifying the location of your computer on the Internet, enabling it to communicate with other computers.

A Ghost static IP address means your computer is assigned a fixed, permanent address that is unique to you and does not change. You will need a static IP address, if you want to:

• Run your own FTP server
• Run your own website
• Host online gaming sessions
• Host your own website or domain name server
• Connect to your computer from anywhere in the world via remote access
• Ensure other computers can locate your computer anywhere across the internet
• Conduct voice-over- IP calls or other web-based services

Note all Ghost connections come with a static IPv4 and IPv6 address.

1. The nature of your line. ADSL and Fibre lines are affected by things like the distance between you and the exchange and/or cabinet.
2. Traffic. This refers to both traffic management, please see ‘What is Traffic Management and how does it improve my gaming?’ and the amount of traffic accessing a particular website at any one time, for example.

The Ghost Broadband is not traffic managed, meaning the connection is optimised for gaming.

Traffic Management is a process used by ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) for controlling the bandwidth provided to their clients on broadband in the event they run an ‘oversubscribed network’. Often this traffic management increases latency and ping resulting in a poor connection for fast reaction requirements i.e. gaming/streaming.

Latency – time it takes for one data packet to leave your computer and arrive at the gaming servers running your game. Obviously, the faster this data arrives at the gaming server, the better your in-game advantage becomes.

‍Ping – Ping is the measurement of how low the latency on your connection is running at. The lower the ping, the better the in-game advantage becomes.