TP-Link Deco With Vodafone: How to Set It Up Properly (and Fix Double NAT)
12 November 2026 · By Ethan Fernandes
Double NAT or devices dropping with TP-Link Deco and Vodafone broadband? The right setup for this combination, whether to keep the Vodafone Hub, what full fibre needs, and how to protect your home phone.
Quick fix
For most homes, keep the Vodafone Hub as the router, put the Deco into Access Point mode and turn off the hub's Wi-Fi. On full fibre, if you don't need the Vodafone home phone, you can instead connect the Deco straight to the Openreach fibre box (PPPoE, login from Vodafone).
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Get help todayYou've added TP-Link Deco to your Vodafone broadband and it isn't quite right: the app warns about double NAT, games report strict or moderate NAT, a work VPN drops, smart devices disappear, or phones hop between the Vodafone Hub's Wi-Fi and the Deco. The cause is that both are acting as the router. Here's how to set up this exact combination properly.
The short version: For most homes, keep the Vodafone Hub as the router, put the Deco into Access Point mode and turn off the hub's Wi-Fi. On full fibre, if you don't need the Vodafone home phone, you can instead connect the Deco straight to the Openreach fibre box (PPPoE, login from Vodafone).
Before You Start: Two Questions
- Full fibre or part fibre? On full fibre there's an Openreach fibre box on the wall, and your mesh can connect to it directly. If you're on part-fibre broadband, the Vodafone Hub is also your modem, so it has to stay.
- Do you use the Vodafone home phone? If your home phone plugs into the Vodafone Hub, removing the hub stops the phone working, so keep the hub and use the first option below.
Option 1 (Works for Everyone): Deco in Access Point mode
- Connect the main Deco unit to the Vodafone Hub with a network cable.
- Switch the Deco to Access Point mode. In the Deco app, go to More > Advanced > Operation Mode and choose Access Point. The Deco restarts and stops routing.
- Open the hub's settings (the address and admin password are on the hub's sticker or card) and turn off the hub's Wi-Fi.
- Restart the Deco and check every room.
This keeps the Vodafone home phone working. In Access Point mode some Deco features, such as parental controls and QoS, aren't available, because the hub is doing the routing. Set up parental controls on the hub or on children's devices instead.
Option 2 (Full Fibre, No Home Phone Needed): Replace the Hub
- Connect the main Deco unit to the network port on the Openreach fibre box.
- In the Deco app's Internet connection settings, choose PPPoE and enter the login details. Vodafone uses PPPoE with a username that looks like dsl…@broadband.vodafone.co.uk and a password. Ask Vodafone for them, ideally on live chat so you can copy them exactly: the password is case-sensitive and letters like l and 1 are easy to mix up.
- Restart, check you're online, then unplug the Vodafone Hub.
This gives the cleanest setup, with every Deco feature working.
If Vodafone's full fibre at your address runs on the CityFibre network rather than Openreach, the settings differ, so check with Vodafone.
Still Not Right? Quick Checks
- Two Wi-Fi networks? If the Vodafone Hub's Wi-Fi is still on, devices may join it instead of the Deco. Turn it off, or give it a completely different name.
- Restart in order: the Vodafone Hub first, then the main Deco unit once the hub is online, then the other units.
- Main unit next to the hub, connected by cable. Other units about halfway to the weak areas, not in them.
- Use cables between units where you can. Wired connections between mesh units give much better speed than wireless.
- Smart plugs and cameras won't connect? Many only use 2.4GHz. See smart device won't connect to Wi-Fi.
How We Handle It
We set up TP-Link Deco with Vodafone properly: choosing between keeping the hub or connecting straight to the fibre box, protecting your home phone, configuring the mesh, placing the units for full coverage and testing every room, games console and VPN. See our Wi-Fi and home networking service.
Related Reading
Common questions
Yes. Keep the Vodafone Hub as the router and put the Deco into Access Point mode, or on full fibre connect the Deco straight to the Openreach fibre box if you don't need the home phone.
On full fibre, usually yes: connect the Deco to the Openreach fibre box (PPPoE, login from Vodafone). On part-fibre broadband the hub is also your modem, and if your home phone plugs into the hub it needs to stay.
A PPPoE username, usually starting dsl and ending @broadband.vodafone.co.uk, and a password, both from Vodafone. Ask on live chat so you can copy them exactly.
Yes, if the Vodafone Hub stays connected and the phone plugs into it. If you remove the hub, a home phone that plugs into it stops working.
Still stuck? We can fix it for you
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