alternate router to vodafine hg556

Toyota1968

Fed up of hg556a modem continuously dropping the lan wifi connections - seems to lock up - mobile devices can see the network but cannot connect - wifi light goes solid and only solution is to reset or power cycle router

have moved to different sockets, disconnected all wired connections, happens with android and windows devices xp, w8, ics, htc phone......

please recommend a good quality alternative model of modem that I can rely on

roast

Have you tried changing the channel setting? Also make sure the firmware is up-to-date.

Alternatively....

roast wrote: »

TP-Link gear is decent bang for your buck.
Something like this perhaps:
http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/?categoryid=219&model=TD-W8961ND

MBSnr

roast wrote: »

Have you tried changing the channel setting? Also make sure the firmware is up-to-date.

Latest firmware is v028 and has this problem. I've an unused HG556 due to these issues. Apparently Vodafone NZ have issued firmware v037 and it works without dropping the wifi on the HG566 issued by Vodafone IE. You have to reconfigure the DSL PPPoe settings as they are set for NZ PPPoa. So I will try that and let you know, as the thing is only really useful as a paperweight at the moment anyhow. So if I brick it... well it's still a paperweight

Toyota1968

if you brick it I have a second one that you can have - I have had 2 of these hg556a and both have exactly the same wifi problem

MBSnr

OK running v037 for the last 9 mins... works . Didn't have to reconfigure or do anything - it just rebooted and kept the same Vodaone PPPoe settings.

I used the v037.bin2 file from here dated Aug 2012 The other v037.bin file is older so didn't try it.

Note that it seems to do nothing for a few minutes when updating. I thought it was bricked but I left it and after a few mins all the lights flashed and it rebooted.

EDIT: Meant to say - upgrade the firmware at your own risk.... v028 is the latest from Vodafone Ireland and other versions might invalidate your warranty.

Toyota1968

will try it ...... interesting to note that v028 cured port forwarding issues which I also had in early days - VF Ireland technical at the time told me that they didn't support port forwarding since it was a security risk

MBSnr

Just an update. Been running with v037 for the last few days without issue. No wifi drops.

Mylow

v037 limits my download speed from 17mb to 7.6mb. At least it works and doesnt keep dropping connection every 5 minutes. Glad my contract is up with Vodafone, only problem is all ADSL providers seem to have there negatives.

roast

Mylow wrote: »

v037 limits my download speed from 17mb to 7.6mb. At least it works and doesnt keep dropping connection every 5 minutes. Glad my contract is up with Vodafone, only problem is all ADSL providers seem to have there negatives.

As in Wifi speeds, or DSL sync? If you check the line stats, is it reported as syncing at 7.6~mb?

Mylow

DSL Sync Speed....It has been ultra unreliabale since Xmas. Reading lots of posts on The Huawei...general impression...white plastic paper weight. Removed a filter in a spare extension that didn't have phone connected.

ADSL Sync speed back up to 17 mb...but connection dropping every 5 minutes.

Just after digging out old ADSL modem....see if this resolves the issue.

Mylow

Configured an old Thomson ST716v5 ADSL modem. It has been up and running for 30 minutes now.....that's about 10 times as long as the Vodafone modem would run without dropping connection. Vodafone support trying to tell me it was a wiring issue. Same cables connected into the modem and no issues so far.

Toyota1968

I triedv037 - wifi still locking up regularly

xyel eircom router in other house (don't ask) has not needed to be reset for 4 months

MBSnr

Toyota1968 wrote: »

I triedv037 - wifi still locking up regularly

Seems the HG556 is just crap. I know someone else who did update but couldn't get the DSL to connect. I've found the wi-fi to be better with v037, but still not perfect, so have gone back to the Netopia router.

danger_mouse_tm

Mine started locking up about a week ago. It's increased to the extent that I am now resetting every 30 minutes. I've flashed today with the 037 firmware and it made no difference. I'm going to borrow my mother's one later this afternoon and see how that does but ideally I think I will just replace it altogether with something different. I had a quick check on PC world's website and it appears that the prices seem to considerably more expensive than buying from Dabs etc. Does anyone have a recommendation as to what router to use. I stream a lot of video from my HTPC and occasionally the neighbors grab some stuff off the server too so it would want to have a bit of power. I also have a vodafone sure signal, I presume this will work with any router?

Thanks

irishgeo

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

Mine started locking up about a week ago. It's increased to the extent that I am now resetting every 30 minutes. I've flashed today with the 037 firmware and it made no difference. I'm going to borrow my mother's one later this afternoon and see how that does but ideally I think I will just replace it altogether with something different. I had a quick check on PC world's website and it appears that the prices seem to considerably more expensive than buying from Dabs etc. Does anyone have a recommendation as to what router to use. I stream a lot of video from my HTPC and occasionally the neighbors grab some stuff off the server too so it would want to have a bit of power. I also have a vodafone sure signal, I presume this will work with any router?

Thanks

I use a netgear n300 cracking job.
A sure signal will work on any router you just need to portforward the correct ports.

danger_mouse_tm

irishgeo wrote: »

I use a netgear n300 cracking job.
A sure signal will work on any router you just need to portforward the correct ports.

The n300 looks good. I think there must be several versions of it. I see pc world have it for €120, Argos €75, dabs €52 (inc shipping) and walmart are $44 ( I will be stateside in a few weeks).