Replace Eircom router?

Gerard_Smith

I know I can't actually get rid of my Eircom wireless router but I'm getting sick of its poor wireless performance so I was wonder just how complicated it would be to set up a new router to work in tandem with it?

Say I where to buy this one http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=350214 how complicated would it be to set up? Would I just hook it up to the netopia router via Ethernet and be away or would it require more in-depth configuration? Having never done this before advice would be greatly appreciated.

jor el

Gerard_Smith wrote: »

I know I can't actually get rid of my Eircom wireless router

Yes you can, any DSL modem with built in Wifi will do.

Gerard_Smith

Really? I was told it wouldn't. Would there be much configuration involved? I would imagine it can't be as simple as just plugging it into the phone line.

jor el

Whoever told you that is clueless. There's not much more than plugging it in involved, the only settings you need are these:

Username: 	eircom
Password: 	broadband1
Encapsulation: 	PPPoE
Multiplexing: 	LLC Based
VPI: 	8
VCI: 	35
Primary DNS: 	213.94.190.194
Secondary DNS: 	213.94.190.236

from here. The manual should tell you how and where to enter these.

As long as the modem supports PPPoE, it will work. They pretty much all do.

Gerard_Smith

Aparently they were. Thanks a lot!

Fuzzy Clam

That D-Link is only a wireless router.
You would need to use it in conjuction with the Eircom modem with the wireless turned off on the Netopia.

dub45

What wireless problems are you having and have you attempted to diagnose them?

The netopia is not notoriously bad for its wireless signal or boards would be full of similar queries. Unless you are absolutely sure it is the Netopia that is the problem there is no point in buying a new model as its performance could be actually worse.

So try and diagnose the problems before you spend your money.

Dardania

The netopia 2247 (silver one) has comparatively poor wireless performance to the 3347 (navy one)

You may be able to improve the problem with a firmware update, as I noticed in newer firmware releases there is an option to set the router to auto choose the best wireless channel to communicate on.

OP, when you go to: http://192.168.1.254 , what is your model number, and Software Version?

hightower1

jor el wrote: »

Whoever told you that is clueless. There's not much more than plugging it in involved, the only settings you need are these:

Username: 	eircom
Password: 	broadband1
Encapsulation: 	PPPoE
Multiplexing: 	LLC Based
VPI: 	8
VCI: 	35
Primary DNS: 	213.94.190.194
Secondary DNS: 	213.94.190.236

from here. The manual should tell you how and where to enter these.

As long as the modem supports PPPoE, it will work. They pretty much all do.

Possible to work?....Yes.
Would Eircom support it.....Nope.

Cicero

you can have my old Eircom (silver) one if you want to see if its any better - just PM me- Kildare area but in Dublin lots if that helps- didn't have any probs with it when in use - no need for it now

LSLFAN

Dardania wrote: »

The netopia 2247 (silver one) has comparatively poor wireless performance to the 3347 (navy one)

Is that true?

Thats the one I have (the 2247) and it seems to work well (better than the rotten Belkin one that I got with the Dell PC, constantly dropped the connection!!).

The PC in the kids' playroom a couple of rooms away connects to it via a Dell USB wireless adaptor. Works fine but I notice that the signal is always fairly weak. However if I connect via my laptop upstairs, the signal is very strong so I assumed it was always the Dell wireless adaptor that was the weak link.

Apologies if I am highjacking the thread.

Also, is the 3347 a better modem/router? Many thanks in advance.

dub45

hightower1 wrote: »

Possible to work?....Yes.
Would Eircom support it.....Nope.

I am not quite sure what your point is?

No isp will support equipment that it does not supply - there is simply too wide a range out there to even attempt it.

And besides that's what boards is for:)

Gerard_Smith

3347NWG

7.4.2r2

Thanks a lot for the offer Cicero but since I have the 3347 it would seem there is no point. The biggest issue I'm having is that it seems to get overwhelmed when I'm doing any serious downloading causing my wireless network to grind to a halt. I have to turn the thing off and on to get my wireless back.

Range isn't great but I've managed to overcome that with a home made parabolic reflector http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template2/index.html Stupid looking thing but its given me about a 30% gain.

hightower1

dub45 wrote: »

I am not quite sure what your point is?

No isp will support equipment that it does not supply - there is simply too wide a range out there to even attempt it.

And besides that's what boards is for:)

To clarify for you my point is that Eircom will not support this, as you mentioned no ISP would. In case he the thread creator was not aware.

Is this ok by you NOW dub45? I thought boards was there to provide advice and information which is exactly what I am doing? I didn't realize I needed to justify or explain this to you first?

vibe666

c'mon now kiddies, play nice. we know where this will end up otherwise.

OP, i'm gessing you're torrenting or using other P2P apps? if you reboot your modem does your connection improve for a while and then go to crap again as you download more?

there's a sticky thread HERE with info on how to get the most out of your connection without killing your modem. it's a bit of a long read but it might help.

if you're determined to get a new modem/router then make sure it's one that's compatible with 3rd part firmwares like DD-WRT or Tomato which will allow much better management of heavy traffic loads and help prevent your modem/router from jamming up like that as most regular modems/routers are not designed to cope with the traffic levels and numbers of connections that p2p puts on them.

Gerard_Smith

vibe666 wrote: »

c'mon now kiddies, play nice. we know where this will end up otherwise.

OP, i'm gessing you're torrenting or using other P2P apps? if you reboot your modem does your connection improve for a while and then go to crap again as you download more?

there's a sticky thread HERE with info on how to get the most out of your connection without killing your modem. it's a bit of a long read but it might help.

if you're determined to get a new modem/router then make sure it's one that's compatible with 3rd part firmwares like DD-WRT or Tomato which will allow much better management of heavy traffic loads and help prevent your modem/router from jamming up like that as most regular modems/routers are not designed to cope with the traffic levels and numbers of connections that p2p puts on them.

Yep its mostly torrents that cause it. I'm a devil for downloading Linux distos. In case I do go for one can you recommend a 3rd party firmware compatible router?

vibe666

i use a linksys wrt54gs running tomato v.125 and my monthly traffix is usually over 200gb and i might not reboot the router for a month or more but it doesn't have a built in modem, so you'd need to find a modem too.

when i was on DSL (with BT) I had a linksys adsl2mue modem which sits perectly under the wrt54g routers as they have exactly the same form factor and are stackable.

when i moved to ntl i just used their standard modem and kept my wrt54gs, but there may be routers out there with built in DSL modems that will work with DD-WRT as it is compatible with a wide veriety of hardware, although i'm not sure if tomato works on any routers with built in modems as it's compatible hardware base is much smaller than dd-wrt's.

if you don't mind a separate modem, then you could do a lot worse than the linksys WRT54GL's which are re-flashable in about 5 minutes with 3rd party firmwares without any hacking required. some of the other linksys models need some minor hacking to get to a point where you can re-flash them and some are not re-flashable at all, due to different hardware versions.

make sure you check compatability lists before buying because you could very well end up with something that's no better (or possibly worse) if it's not compatible with 3rd party firmwares.

that said, the WRT54GL's are as simple to flash as downloading a new firmware and uploading it to your router via it's config page in your web browser and rebooting it so if you were going for one and wanted to keep it simple, that would be the one i'd choose.

the downside is obviously the need for an external modem, but the upside is, if you ever switch to another type of broadband like ntl cable, you can keep your router and all the fancy features that come with the firmware.

the downsides are obviously an extra plug socket used and two boxes instead of one on a shelf somewhere, but personally, the pro's far outweigh the cons.

if you want to see what tomato could do for you, there's a virtual gui online HERE so you can have a look at some of the features.

Gerard_Smith

Would I actually need to buy a new modem when I already have the 3347NWG? Could I not just turn off its wireless hook it up to the new router via eithernet and be done. Also what do you think of this one? http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=306150

vibe666

it looks like the following hardware versions of the WAP54G are supported by DD-WRT (from the supported hardware page of the DD-WRT website).

Manufacturer Model Revision Supported
Linksys WAP54G v1.0 yes
Linksys WAP54G v1.1 yes
Linksys WAP54G v2.0 yes
Linksys WAP54G v3.0 yes
Linksys WAP54G v3.1 yes

i don't know if that covers all the possible hardware versions of the WAP54G or not, so you never know what you might end up with. see if you can find a list of all the possible hardware revisions.

have a look through the site and the guide for installing DD-WRT on the WAP54G and see if you think you're up to the job I guess.

linksysinfo.org is probably the best resource for all things linksys, but you might want to try the DDWRT forums and see if there's a better bit of hardware with a built in modem that will support that firmware, as the WAP54G is probably not the most up to date kit that DD-WRT supports.

Dardania

dd-wrt doesn't support adsl modems - it will only go on a router. The best you can do is get dd-wrt to create a PPPoE connection through an existing modem (like the netopia).

I use the Buffallo WHR-HP_G54 http://www.buffalo-technology.com/pr...r-with-dd-wrt/ with DD-WRT - tis excellent

FWIW, before you go buying stuff there are firmware updates you could apply to your current netopia

you can go to 7./8.0r7, as found from here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=60077518&postcount=83

but bear in mind you have to update to an intermediate firmware 7.5.0 first: http://broadbandsupport.eircom.net/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/&/?St=183&E=0000000000174363840&K=9524&SXI=1&case=9235&source=search&query=3347%20firmware&DCSext.clickedFrom=searchResults&branch=4

vibe666

Dardania wrote: »

dd-wrt doesn't support adsl modems - it will only go on a router. The best you can do is get dd-wrt to create a PPPoE connection through an existing modem (like the netopia).

serves me right for not paying attention.

i always assumed that dd-wrt would have supported a router with built in modem, but since i never had one (went straight to a wrt54gs with a separate modem) i never had to find out the hard way.

i also should have noticed that the WAP54G doesn't have a modem anyway, it's just a wireless access point (obviously, the clue being in it's name, d'oh!).

i can't even use late night posting as an excuse, i posted that at 6pm. :eek:

Gerard_Smith

Dardania wrote: »

dd-wrt doesn't support adsl modems - it will only go on a router. The best you can do is get dd-wrt to create a PPPoE connection through an existing modem (like the netopia).

I use the Buffallo WHR-HP_G54 http://www.buffalo-technology.com/pr...r-with-dd-wrt/ with DD-WRT - tis excellent

FWIW, before you go buying stuff there are firmware updates you could apply to your current netopia

you can go to 7./8.0r7, as found from here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=60077518&postcount=83

but bear in mind you have to update to an intermediate firmware 7.5.0 first: http://broadbandsupport.eircom.net/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/&/?St=183&E=0000000000174363840&K=9524&SXI=1&case=9235&source=search&query=3347%20firmware&DCSext.clickedFrom=searchResults&branch=4

So basically install 7.5.0 first and then 8.0r7, after?

Dardania

Gerard_Smith wrote: »

So basically install 7.5.0 first and then 8.0r7, after?

exactly!

Gerard_Smith

Dardania wrote: »

exactly!

Ta!

Rej

I'm having probs with my eircom router too. At the minute one wall (load bearing) seperates me from the router, and I have 'low' connectivity.
But even if i have my laptop in the hall, if i go more than one meter away from the router in any direction it goes to low.. whereas before I could quite happily use my laptop in the garden.

I have gone into the netopia wireless advanced settings and cycled through the channels (default 7) from 0 - 13 but this hasnt really made much difference.

I think the router itself is faulty though, cos when i plug it out and then plus it back in, the power light flashes red before going green/yellow.

Ive given up on ringing eircom tech support, cos all i ever seem to get is someone who doesnt know what they are on about reading off a script.

RAWLiNGS

Rej wrote: »

I'm having probs with my eircom router too. At the minute one wall (load bearing) seperates me from the router, and I have 'low' connectivity.
But even if i have my laptop in the hall, if i go more than one meter away from the router in any direction it goes to low.. whereas before I could quite happily use my laptop in the garden.

I have gone into the netopia wireless advanced settings and cycled through the channels (default 7) from 0 - 13 but this hasnt really made much difference.

I think the router itself is faulty though, cos when i plug it out and then plus it back in, the power light flashes red before going green/yellow.

Ive given up on ringing eircom tech support, cos all i ever seem to get is someone who doesnt know what they are on about reading off a script.

Did you switch Autochannel to "Off - Use default", when you tried those channels? Also you should testing this laptop somewhere else to make sure that Its not your wireless card in the computer.
Have you bought any new device? baby monitor, video transmitter, cordless phone base station beside the modem, etc? If you havent changed anything in the house and your laptop works fine in an other location over wireless, contact support tell them that you have changed all the channels, you tested your computer somewhere else and it worked, and that you havent changed anything around the house, and that you have no other wireless devices near the modem.. Now, if the they don't replace the modem, you may ask for a TL...

Also, power light will only flash red if its being reset to factory defaults.

Hope this was helpful

Rej

RAWLiNGS wrote: »

Did you switch Autochannel to "Off - Use default", when you tried those channels?

yeah have done that, should have said that in the earlier post

RAWLiNGS wrote: »

Also you should testing this laptop somewhere else to make sure that Its not your wireless card in the computer.

The laptop can pick up the wireless internet at work no probs. Also we have a SKYPE phone, and have similar results.

RAWLiNGS wrote: »

Have you bought any new device? baby monitor, video transmitter, cordless phone base station beside the modem, etc?

Have no new kit at all in the house.. live in a Semi-D house, would anything in the neighbours house affect it?

RAWLiNGS

Rej wrote: »

Have no new kit at all in the house.. live in a Semi-D house, would anything in the neighbours house affect it?

It's very unlikely, but may happen.

First you should ring tech support and ask for a replacement router.
If you receive the new one and have the same problem, you may move the modem away from its current location (opposite side of the house, no need for phone cable) and try to connect their, if it works that way then you know that its something around its original position.

This what I would do.

I think first you should get the modem replaced. Please, let me know what happened.

Fuzzy Clam

Rej wrote: »

But even if i have my laptop in the hall, if i go more than one meter away from the router in any direction it goes to low.. whereas before I could quite happily use my laptop in the garden.

.

Def sounds like low rf output.
I know it won't be the cause, but check the aerial is screwed in fully. In fact, remove the aerial completely and if the signal doesn't decrease much, its almost certainly a faulty box.

Rej

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Def sounds like low rf output.
I know it won't be the cause, but check the aerial is screwed in fully. In fact, remove the aerial completely and if the signal doesn't decrease much, its almost certainly a faulty box.

Did that, and the signal decreased from excellent 5 bars (right beside the box) to 2 bars.. Put the aerials back in and now the signal is fluctuating between low (2 bars) & good (3 bars) in the room off the hall..

Will try and ring eircom early in the morning...

Gerard_Smith

Updated to 7.7. I'm not touching 7.8 unless forced to. Thanks again!