As most of you already know, Singtel’s packaged 2wire routers aren’t exactly what you’d call ‘good’.

Because of this shitty device, I’ve had to endure a lot of pain and frustration over the last few years because of it. It’s also not fair to all the customer service reps whom I’ve talked to over the years because they’re actually damn good… It’s a pity when you have good employees working within a system that’s broken.

So, a little late but as promised, here are the 3 ways to replace the black 2Wire 5012NV Router. Note that I will be using the Asus RT-N56U router in the examples here, which is not exactly cheap (it’s $189 retail), but it’s good, fast and reliable. Theoretically, you should be able to use any after market routers for methods 1 & 3, but at this point in time, it is a must for method 2.

Why this particular Asus router? Because they’ve been kind enough to create pre-sets so that a normal person like you and me can set up Mio TV and Mio Voice without being a technical genius.

1. Complete Replacement

Mio TV – No
Mio Voice – No
Connection: Optical Network Terminal (ONT) -> Modem

This is the easiest and laziest way to  solve this problem as you’re simply replacing the entire modem with another model. Requires the fewest steps, but you can’t use Mio Voice & Mio TV. Useful if you only have the internet service.

So, nothing to teach here.. Just get a router, plug it into the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and off you go.

2. Replacement, Mio Services

The Asus RT-N56U

Mio TV – Yes
Mio Voice – Yes
LAN Ports – 2 used for Mio Services
Connection: ONT -> Asus RT-N56U -> Mio TV and Mio Voice

This is essentially the same as the 1st method, but with a few additional steps to ensure that you can still use Mio Voice and Mio TV. In this setup, you will still need the 2Wire modem provided by Singtel for Mio Voice. The internet traffic and MioTV will be routed from your new device. Note that this method here requires the purchase of an Asus RT-N56U Router.

Click here for method 2 instructions

3. Replacement, Mio Services, More Ports (My current setup)

Mio TV – Yes
Mio Voice – Yes
LAN Ports – All free
Connection: ONT -> 2Wire (Mio TV & Voice) -> Asus RT-N56U

In this method, Mio TV and Mio Voice will still be connected using Singtel’s 2Wire router but all internet traffic will be processed through your own router. This frees up more Lan Ports and is slightly more flexible in your choice of after market router.

Theoretically, the flaws in the 2Wire’s routing ability shouldn’t effect the internet traffic because it only be acting as a bridge, throwing everything to your router of choice. I’ve not done any tests on this though, so if you’re still iffy about it and don’t need the extra LAN ports anyway, feel free to use method 2.

It’s the most difficult of the 3 methods, but as mentioned before, method 3 has the added advantage of freeing up more LAN ports on your chosen device because the you don’t need it for Mio TV and Mio Voice, useful if you need it for other things, like a networked printer or a media centre.

Click here for method 3 instructions (Coming Soon)

A shout out to the people on the Hardwarezone and VR-Zone forums that made this possible. Here are the threads I use for research:

HWZ – How to turn off routing/set bridge mode on 2Wire 5012NV
HWZ – Asus RT-N56U has new firmware for VLAN ID to allow direct to MioTV STB
VRZ – Question: replacing 2wire modem