Thinking of changing providers, current one being ee, not got a problem with them, only that when we got the infinity by BT in our area they changed the router to cope with the change. Now before this I could port forward no problem. But now with the bright box 2 router, it won't allow port forwarding and I only have a dynamic IP address. So I thought as we only have BT in the ground, to ask them if they give either a dynamic or static IP address and do they allow port forwarding. The guy I spoke to was honest and said he didn't know so went and asked two other people and they didn't know, so gave me their technical support number.
Hmmmmmm they didn't know either, so do anyone have BT Internet and do you get a static IP address, and can you port forward?
Someone did say to try a different router, now I'm not sure if that's the problem or not, and if it was the router, which would be best one to replace it with?

Two separate questions

Port forwarding is handled by the router - so if yours doesn't support it - and it may be hidden in some advanced menu - then another router may be the answer
The outside world is presented with a single IP address for your router - port forwarding simply forwards inbound messages on a particular port to a specified device within your network.

Static vs dynamic IP will be handled by BT centrally - I think most are somewhere in between - they don't generally change much, but are not guaranteed static either.


As for the Brightbox question - try here

Ta for rely I sorted out the port forwarding on the old bright box on the old speed internet and it worked. I tried the same settings on the new bright box 2 and it wouldn't work. I rang them but the tech folk didn't know if I could either port forward, or the box supported port forwarding.
It does show on their website how to port forward on the bright box 2 and I've followed those instructions exactly but it still doesn't work. In fact they are the same settings as the old router. (checked to see if there was something I missed)
I've read on the internet that other folk have tried but failed.
So it could be like you say the router itself.
I would like a static IP address for the app I use to check the cameras around the house, but I had to update the app settings every now as the IP address had changed. So quickly googled what my IP address had changed to and applied that to the app.
Sounds like I need to try a different router, I did try the old one but that didn't support the new speed.

I was with BT until 2 weeks ago. The only product they have with static IP addresses are the Business packages.

Port forwarding is done by the router. Buy something decent like a Cisco or a Draytek. The standard junk they give you for free (the clue is in the price) is utter rubbish. Plenty of Cisco's on EBAY (A 1609 is a good one - I use that model) or a Draytek 2860 is another fine bit of kit and easier to use if you're not used to command line interfaces like Cisco.

If you want a decent alternative to BT, I went with PlusNet, who bizarrely are owned by BT. They do static IP on several packages. They also have far better customer service than BT.

+1 for Plusnet.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
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Ta. Looked at plus net and it's working out more than what we have now and what BT can offer. Maybe a phone call might be in order, computers can't be dealt in the same way a human on the other end of the telephone.

Why do you need a static IP? Could you not use dyndns instead? It's free and why I use for VPN back to the house when out and about  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
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I switched from BE and had a static IP address,with port forwarding for my CCTV at home.
I switched to Sky who don't offer static IP addresses, so had to use DYNDNS, which isn't free anymore, unless you've got an account from when it was free. Current annual sub is $25.

Port forwarding has always been an issue with BT homehubs and im sure I read somewhere, that some of them just can't do it at all. My brother in law had a mark 4 and we could never get it to work. The other issue you need to Check is whether your new ISP router will support your choise of dynamic DNS. Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
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Sky do offer static IP addresses on their pro package. Range Rover quotes.....

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When I asked, they told me they didn't offer static IP addresses at all. Guess I was misinformed. Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
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How often does the IP address change ?

I'm with Virgin & whilst it's not static, I think it's only changed once in about the last 8 years.

I wasted about an hour trying to figure out what was wrong with my CCTV before I noticed the IP address looked wrong.

If you reset you router, or lose power, it will get a new one. You could even get the same one but that's the lottery of DHCP.
I think it's all down to the ISP as to how long they'll leave you with the same IP address. Some might never change it, so effectively it's pseudo-static but you'll only know when things don't work that it's changed and if you're not at home, you're stuffed to find out what it's changed to, hence DYNDNS takes care of it as soon as it changes and because you're connecting to a DNS name, managed by DYNDNS, the IP address (to you) is largely irrelevant. Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
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