Eircom's Netopia Modem

rcanpolat

Howdy,

I had engineers out checking my lines and i had engineers in eircom doing remote tests which went on for several days. This was due to my connection dropping randomly and taking either a reboot or 15 minutes to reconnect. In the end it was ruled out that it was eircom's crappy Netopia Router/Modem that was the problem. They sent me a new one and said it would fix the problem which it didn't.

In the very end we finally realized that the crappy Netopia P-660HW-T1 v3 (yes its firmware was updated several times) was the problem. When you get to many incoming / outgoing connections via p2p / torrents, multiple computers on the router / internal LAN networking and mash it all together it peaks the devices CPU and crashes the entire modem. (i can peak the cpu with 200 - 250 simultaneous p2p connections - thats pathetically small)

I don't understand why eircom keeps going back to Netopia for their devices. The high end products are fine but these mass produced relabeled modems are absolute rubbish. I've tried to telnet into it to try and find if the CPU is throttled back by eircom and i can't properly access the dam thing. Eircom won't tell me how to gain full shell access. Everything is restricted within telnet. They even have problems locally syncing mac products (MacBooks, iPod's, iPhones etc) even after the mac firmware release for the Netopia modem was released


RANT OVER:

On that note can someone suggest a decent modem/router with wireless capabilities and that is going to be future proof with eircoms expected release of fttc & ftth (which we were told would be between 50 - 150mb's and is only going to be 25mb's at the moment but thats another rant). I don't want to go out and buy a router only and keep the existing modem because its a lump and at the first stage of heavy traffic its going to peak and crash again.

Also: the hell with eircom's upload speed? 38KB/s sucks, how long have we had broadband in this country and its still at a donkey's speed? Don't eircom realize a slow upload speed results in a slow download speed?

jay93

rcanpolat wrote: »

Howdy,

I had engineers out checking my lines and i had engineers in eircom doing remote tests which went on for several days. This was due to my connection dropping randomly and taking either a reboot or 15 minutes to reconnect. In the end it was ruled out that it was eircom's crappy Netopia Router/Modem that was the problem. They sent me a new one and said it would fix the problem which it didn't.

In the very end we finally realized that the crappy Netopia P-660HW-T1 v3 (yes its firmware was updated several times) was the problem. When you get to many incoming / outgoing connections via p2p / torrents, multiple computers on the router / internal LAN networking and mash it all together it peaks the devices CPU and crashes the entire modem. (i can peak the cpu with 200 - 250 simultaneous p2p connections - thats pathetically small)

I don't understand why eircom keeps going back to Netopia for their devices. The high end products are fine but these mass produced relabeled modems are absolute rubbish. I've tried to telnet into it to try and find if the CPU is throttled back by eircom and i can't properly access the dam thing. Eircom won't tell me how to gain full shell access. Everything is restricted within telnet. They even have problems locally syncing mac products (MacBooks, iPod's, iPhones etc) even after the mac firmware release for the Netopia modem was released


RANT OVER:

On that note can someone suggest a decent modem/router with wireless capabilities and that is going to be future proof with eircoms expected release of fttc & ftth (which we were told would be between 50 - 150mb's and is only going to be 25mb's at the moment but thats another rant). I don't want to go out and buy a router only and keep the existing modem because its a lump and at the first stage of heavy traffic its going to peak and crash again.

Also: the hell with eircom's upload speed? 38KB/s sucks, how long have we had broadband in this country and its still at a donkey's speed? Don't eircom realize a slow upload speed results in a slow download speed?

Eircom use ZYXEL Modems now which are worse than the netopia.
Upload speed is always going to be slow on DSL copper wire in Ireland

rcanpolat

jay93 wrote: »

Eircom use ZYXEL Modems now which are worse than the netopia.
Upload speed is always going to be slow on DSL copper wire in Ireland

my apologies, i meant the zyxel modems along side the netopia's. i've got a zyxel zyxel P-660HW-T1 v3

prior to that i had a Netopia which eircom replaced.

So far they have replaced a netopia 3347nwg to a zyxel p-660hw-t1 v3, they then replaced the zyxel with the exact same model.

i told them that it was pointless and it wasn't going to solve the problem but they insisted on doing so before sending out an engineer.

also copper lines can handle up to around 1.5meg on a single copper line (naturally distance from the exchange etc comes into play but what they're offering as standard sucks anyway) when i upload to my server (ftp) my download speed crawls to slower then the days of 56k. If i upload any slower i'll be leaving my laptop running all night.

Its a major disadvantage because there are more and more people pushing content to the web (Facebook, Server files, File Syncing, Dropbox) so quite clearly we need better upload speeds.

The trends show we need better speeds: mobile devices are recording in 1080 hd and our adsl service can't handle for that content to be uploaded at a decent rate.

On average its taking 1.5 to 2 minutes per mb and the average photo is around 3-4mb's from today's digital cameras IF NOT LARGER! The servers are set to do on server file compression for those lucky enough to have a fast connection. Half the people in this country don't even know how to resize and compress a jpeg

i mean seriously come on eircom! reading from a floppy disk is faster!

Anyway i went way off topic

Router / Modem with a decent CPU, FTTC/FTTH, Wireless Capabilities. Any suggestions anyone?

sfag31

doh - I'm in the same boat as of Froday last. Same router and same connection dropping.

eircom: Ant

rcanpolat wrote: »

my apologies, i meant the zyxel modems along side the netopia's. i've got a zyxel zyxel P-660HW-T1 v3

prior to that i had a Netopia which eircom replaced.

So far they have replaced a netopia 3347nwg to a zyxel p-660hw-t1 v3, they then replaced the zyxel with the exact same model.

i told them that it was pointless and it wasn't going to solve the problem but they insisted on doing so before sending out an engineer.

also copper lines can handle up to around 1.5meg on a single copper line (naturally distance from the exchange etc comes into play but what they're offering as standard sucks anyway) when i upload to my server (ftp) my download speed crawls to slower then the days of 56k. If i upload any slower i'll be leaving my laptop running all night.

Its a major disadvantage because there are more and more people pushing content to the web (Facebook, Server files, File Syncing, Dropbox) so quite clearly we need better upload speeds.

The trends show we need better speeds: mobile devices are recording in 1080 hd and our adsl service can't handle for that content to be uploaded at a decent rate.

On average its taking 1.5 to 2 minutes per mb and the average photo is around 3-4mb's from today's digital cameras IF NOT LARGER! The servers are set to do on server file compression for those lucky enough to have a fast connection. Half the people in this country don't even know how to resize and compress a jpeg

i mean seriously come on eircom! reading from a floppy disk is faster!

Anyway i went way off topic

Router / Modem with a decent CPU, FTTC/FTTH, Wireless Capabilities. Any suggestions anyone?

Thanks for posting on the eircom Forum on Boards.

Appreciate your position. The eircom modem is a standard customised specific router which is designed for general use by eircom broadband customers. There are obviously other modems with more advanced features. Some of these offer prioritised gaming options as well as built in firewall security features, which may not be available on the Netopia or Zyxel.

I wouldn't recommend one model over another, as I've witnessed similar models having different issues. In many cases the higher you pay doesn't necessary guarantee one model is better than another. I do like the D-Link router personally, though Netgear and Linksys or any Cisco are all good.

Of course you are welcome to use these on our network, though if you need additional support or information on compatibility, then you will have to get in touch with the manufacturer or the vendor's Technical Support.

Ensure that the modem supports PPPoE (Point to Point over Ethernet), and enter the correct settings shown below.

Username : eircom@eircom.net

Password : broadband1

Encapsulation : PPPoE

Multiplexing : LLC Based

VPI : 8

VCI : 35

Primary DNS : 159.134.0.1

Secondary DNS : 159.134.0.2

For details on how to configure your modem with these settings, please refer to your modem’s setup guide (usually found in the support section of your modem manufacturer’s web page).

If you experience problems with your own modem and need to contact broadband Technical Support, please do the stanard broadband checks advised below :

http://bit.ly/BBchecklist

Broadband Technical Support : 1890 260260 (lowcall); Hours : 08:00 - 22:00 (7 days).


Best wishes,
Ant

eircom: Ant

sfag31 wrote: »

doh - I'm in the same boat as of Froday last. Same router and same connection dropping.

Hi sfag31,

Thanks for post.

Please see previous post on checking your broadband connection. The source of your connection problem may not be the modem itself and may be related to something else.

Firstly:
Powercycle the modem:
Flick the power switch to the Off position on the back of the modem
Wait 30 seconds
Switch the modem back On
Wait two minutes for the modem to re-connect

*Temporarily disconnect everything from the phone line: phones, fax machine, Sky Digital TV, or any other equipment connected to the phone line which may interfere with the broadband connection. For e.g: a long private extension cable. Also, when testing your connection: ENSURE that you temporarily remove the adsl splitter and connect the modem directly to the main phone socket.

*All secondary phone extensions should be correctly FILTERED. If you have any problems with your Secondary Phone Socket(s) you will need to contact a 3rd party/ or vendor who installed this extension socket (usually an electrician).

Are you connecting wirelessly?

* If you are using wireless to connect to the internet, connect your computer to the modem with the yellow ethernet cable if possible. This would eliminate any wireless related problems which may affect your connection speed.

If you are unsure about any of the above, please take a look at our Broaband Checklist on the eircom Forum:

Broadband Checklist

If you are still experiencing slow speeds, after testing your connection as advised, then try a full hard reset of your modem. To do this please follow the instuctions on eircom's Support Forum website -

Resetting the Modem

If you are still experiencing intermittent connections after resetting the modem, then you will need to call into Broadband Support.

Completing the Checks (above) will ensure that you have tested the modem as advised by Technical Support. Once this is done and you are still experiencing intermittent connection or slow speeds /or low attainable rates / then please contact Broadband Technical Support ;-.

Broadband Technical Support : 1890 260260 (lowcall); Hours : 08:00 - 22:00 (7 days).

Please retain your case id /reference from Technical Support, as this will speed up your call time and help if you need to follow up.

Kind regards,
Ant

rcanpolat

eircom: Ant wrote: »

Thanks for posting on the eircom Forum on Boards.

Appreciate your position. The eircom modem is a standard customised specific router which is designed for general use by eircom broadband customers. There are obviously other modems with more advanced features. Some of these offer prioritised gaming options as well as built in firewall security features, which may not be available on the Netopia or Zyxel.

I wouldn't recommend one model over another, as I've witnessed similar models having different issues. In many cases the higher you pay doesn't necessary guarantee one model is better than another. I do like the D-Link router personally, though Netgear and Linksys or any Cisco are all good.

Of course you are welcome to use these on our network, though if you need additional support or information on compatibility, then you will have to get in touch with the manufacturer or the vendor's Technical Support.

Ensure that the modem supports PPPoE (Point to Point over Ethernet), and enter the correct settings shown below.

Username : eircom@eircom.net

Password : broadband1

Encapsulation : PPPoE

Multiplexing : LLC Based

VPI : 8

VCI : 35

Primary DNS : 159.134.0.1

Secondary DNS : 159.134.0.2

For details on how to configure your modem with these settings, please refer to your modem’s setup guide (usually found in the support section of your modem manufacturer’s web page).

If you experience problems with your own modem and need to contact broadband Technical Support, please do the stanard broadband checks advised below :

http://bit.ly/BBchecklist

Broadband Technical Support : 1890 260260 (lowcall); Hours : 08:00 - 22:00 (7 days).


Best wishes,
Ant

Thanks Ant,

Any specific D-Link? Like you said the higher you pay does't necessarily represent a good modem. The main issue is the modem's CPU. Its got to be able to handle traffic without maxing out.

eircom: Ant

rcanpolat wrote: »

Thanks Ant,

Any specific D-Link? Like you said the higher you pay does't necessarily represent a good modem. The main issue is the modem's CPU. Its got to be able to handle traffic without maxing out.

Thanks rcanpolat,

You'll probably need to shop around or go online and search for a good router. The following N games router may suit your setup though - LINK

Let me know how you get on and what type of modem you went for; and if you'd recommend it for wireless, etc.

Cheers Ant

jay93

rcanpolat wrote: »

my apologies, i meant the zyxel modems along side the netopia's. i've got a zyxel zyxel P-660HW-T1 v3

prior to that i had a Netopia which eircom replaced.

So far they have replaced a netopia 3347nwg to a zyxel p-660hw-t1 v3, they then replaced the zyxel with the exact same model.

i told them that it was pointless and it wasn't going to solve the problem but they insisted on doing so before sending out an engineer.

also copper lines can handle up to around 1.5meg on a single copper line (naturally distance from the exchange etc comes into play but what they're offering as standard sucks anyway) when i upload to my server (ftp) my download speed crawls to slower then the days of 56k. If i upload any slower i'll be leaving my laptop running all night.

Its a major disadvantage because there are more and more people pushing content to the web (Facebook, Server files, File Syncing, Dropbox) so quite clearly we need better upload speeds.

The trends show we need better speeds: mobile devices are recording in 1080 hd and our adsl service can't handle for that content to be uploaded at a decent rate.

On average its taking 1.5 to 2 minutes per mb and the average photo is around 3-4mb's from today's digital cameras IF NOT LARGER! The servers are set to do on server file compression for those lucky enough to have a fast connection. Half the people in this country don't even know how to resize and compress a jpeg

i mean seriously come on eircom! reading from a floppy disk is faster!

Anyway i went way off topic

Router / Modem with a decent CPU, FTTC/FTTH, Wireless Capabilities. Any suggestions anyone?

The Eircom copper in Ireland musn't be able to handle the upto 1Mb/s upload have never seen it go over 50Kb/s here on my own line.
Mobile broadband can even get uploads of nearly 3Mb/s on Meteor which is owned by Eircom just don't get it why it's so slow on DSL yet my downlink can go at nearly 900Kb/s download speed yet uplink is 50Kb/s

I don't upload alot so i don't really notice it but when i do have to upload something it takes forever.

Tough some of your problems are probably being caused by the bad ZYXEL modem some people i know that have them say they perform like a modem that is about to die and not work again.
I've one of the silver Eircom Netopia 2247NWG model which is very stable

If your buying your own modem-router just avoid the belkin branded ones there are useless most other brands like DLINK Netgear etc are better,
I wouldn't be able to suggest a modem-router that would be future proof for FTTH/FTTC services as i'm unsure of what type of ports and interfaces are on the new Eircom FTTH modems!

rai555

Sorry for waking up old tread - the issue remains. I would like to hear success stories from lads who got decent replacement or considering to do so. Many thanks

rcanpolat

My solution was to port to UPC. The routers they have can hold connections without any issues. I had UPC put into my home around 6 weeks ago and since then its had 100% uptime. Its never died!

One solution though is maybe grab a Cayman 3300 Router (really old eircom one with no wireless support) My dad used that one in work for years and years and i pushed that thing to the max and it never bounced on me

But yea.. you dont know what your missing until you hit UPC. Don't mind the rumors about slow connections etc. Even at peak times you'll pull 35mb's. I ordered the 100mb line and the highest speed i got was 104. You realize how much Eircom sucks when you change provider.

Don't use vodafone or perlico or something like that. Its essentially Eircom because they rent the same lines

rai555

rcanpolat wrote: »

My solution was to port to UPC. The routers they have can hold connections without any issues. I had UPC put into my home around 6 weeks ago and since then its had 100% uptime. Its never died!

One solution though is maybe grab a Cayman 3300 Router (really old eircom one with no wireless support) My dad used that one in work for years and years and i pushed that thing to the max and it never bounced on me

But yea.. you dont know what your missing until you hit UPC. Don't mind the rumors about slow connections etc. Even at peak times you'll pull 35mb's. I ordered the 100mb line and the highest speed i got was 104. You realize how much Eircom sucks when you change provider.

Don't use vodafone or perlico or something like that. Its essentially Eircom because they rent the same lines

Agree with you, just moved from UPC and missing the consistency of service, i believe the modem could be the bottleneck in this situation

rcanpolat

Just watch it - Open up 192.168.1.254 and check the CPU Meter - Then put it under heavy load like start torrenting and connect to around 3000 peers, flood the wlan with connections and don't set up port forwarding. This will seriously stress out the router and cause the connection to drop. Stress ain't a bad thing though. The product they give to customers should be well able to handle the load.. otherwise they shouldn't have packed it with so many features.

YET... Eircom continue to ship these pieces of crap... Oh Well...

You could try use the router as a router and grab a cheap little modem and mash them together. It might work for you.

If your stuck under contract call Eircom, complain like ****, let them send out several engineers (who are going to find nothing wrong anyway) and then quote that they have breached their contract by not supplying the service. (which they don't - dial up is more stable) Then your out of contract and go back to UPC or wait a few months for Sky Broadband to come to Ireland.

Even with Eircom's Fiber to the cab / home i can still see their service being a load of ****e!