Hugely frustrated with Draytek Vigor 120 & Airport Express

Hello,

I'm still using an old Linksys wireless modem/router but it's getting temperamental and seems to need rebooting more and more often. I thought i'd replace it with a Draytek Vigor 120 as ADSL modem and an Apple Airport Express (2nd Gen) as wireless router. However I'm having a bit of a nightmare with the new kit and hope someone here can point me in the right direction.

Connecting the Draytek to the ADSL line and powering up gives all the right lights but when I then connect the Express it usually claims it has no internet connection and can find no PPPoE server. My ISP username and password are set in the PPPoE section ("Internet") of the Airport Express' settings though. Sometimes it will connect to the net briefly but it's flakey and drops out after a minute or two. The few times i've managed to get to speedtest.net and run a test it is averaging about 0.6mbps download. If I connect a laptop directly into the Draytek via ethernet and make a PPPoE connection it is a little more stable and I can achieve downloads of around 6mbps, but this is still someway off the speeds my old Linksys box manages (usually 10-12mbps).

I've read a couple of things on the Draytek site (http://www.draytek.co.uk/archive/kb_vigor100_setup.html and http://www.draytek.co.uk/archive/kb/kb_vigor120_Airp... but they basically tell you that nothing needs to be done to the Vigor 120 when using with a normal ADSL connection. I chose the Draytek because I found lots of people online saying it worked well with their Airport kit. So i'm now wondering what i've got wrong...?

I've tried disabling the DHCP that the Draytek has in case that was causing a problem but it appears to make no difference either way.

The Express seems to work fine in all other modes i've tried (extending existing wifi network, etc).

Does anyone here have a similar setup? Any thoughts on what I can try? I'm guessing there is a setting in the Airport Express that needs altering but I don't know what. I was fairly confident with home networking stuff before I started with this 2 days ago but now i realise I don't know very much at all. All this PPPoE and PPPoA and NATs and Bridges and DHCP Relay stuff that I don't fully understand is hurting my head!

I'm also confused as to why the Draytek modem can only seem to manage 6mbps when I know my line is good enough to provide upto about 12mbps. (I think I read somewhere - maybe even these forums - that the brand of chipset inside the modem makes a difference to speeds - ie. the connection is better when the modem chipset and exchange kit chipset are from same manufacturer - but surely that can't be correct?!)

Keeping my fingers crossed that someone can help me out!

(And I hope i've posted this to the correct board! Apologies if not.)

Before getting into it are you sure you mean Airport Express?

The Express is, as far as I know, a WiFi base station. The Extreme is a full Ethernet router.

Thanks for replying, Ian.

I definitely mean the Apple Airport Express, current model: http://www.apple.com/uk/airport-express/

And i'm fairly sure it is a router. The original "wall wart" Express, I'm not sure about, but the current model I think is. It's sort of like a mini Airport Extreme now. http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/72933-airport-expr...

Sorry, you are correct. I have the older version which doesn't have any router capabilities but the new one does have NAT firewall, DHCP, etc. Hadn't realised they had built it all into the device as that kind of erodes some of the reason to go for the much more expensive extreme.

Unfortunately I don't have experience of the new version so I am afraid I can't help with your problem - sorry.

Sorry, replying to myself after another thought.

I wouldn't expect DHCP to be needing to be disabled if the modem was running in bridge mode so have you checked it is rather than running in it's own router mode? I don't know about the draktek but a lot of these devices can run as a router in their own right and need to be set to bridge mode if an external router is being used.

EDIT: Don't know for sure but this might be a similar issue that the guy seems to have solved around a third of the way down the page

Edited by ian72 (Thu 20-Nov-14 14:39:25)

Most UK ISPs are happiest on PPPoA.

Have you enabled PPPoE to PPPoA bridging on the Vigor 120?

I think so (well, i think that is the default mode) but I will check later.

Cheers.

I think the Draytek is in bridge mode by default but I'll check later.

And thanks for the link - I'll check it out tonight.

So i'm now wondering what i've got wrong...?

Probably nothing.

I was using a adsl modem in bridge mode and early one morning the pppoe connection dropped (I did discover there was planned engineering works).

Since that date (3/10/14) I have not been able to use a modem in bridge mode and have had to switch to a pppoa connection.

There are a couple of long threads on another forum http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php?topic=14509.0

The OP there also lost his pppoe connection at 2am on 3/10/14.

and http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php?topic=14627.0

Ian

Thanks Ian. Could be, I suppose. My old Linksys uses PPPoA and is fine. The PPPoE not so much.

I might give the suggestion from the other forum you linked to a go... setting encapsulation to LLC instead of VC-MUX. Nothing to lose.

Thank you for the responses so far. Much appreciated.

The Draytek is set to bridge (i think). Screenshots of the two main settings pages here anyway...
http://sallonoroff.co.uk/justuff/vigor1.jpg
http://sallonoroff.co.uk/justuff/vigor2.jpg

(No [IMG] allowed tags on this board, btw?)

I also forgot to mention in my original post that the Draytek is running its most up-to-date firmware, as is the Airport Express.

Elsewhere I saw mention of these Vigor 120 modems occasionally suffering with duff LAN ports which got me wondering. Connecting my laptop to the Draytek with a cat5e cable, it only connects half duplex 10baseT (see http://sallonoroff.co.uk/justuff/ethernet.jpg) whereas the same laptop plugged by same cable into my old Linksys connects full duplex 100baseTX. Could the Draytek's ethernet be faulty?

GUI settings look ok I think.

Perhaps try plugging a PC into the Vigor and use Windows to establish a PPPoE connection (or use a Mac if that's your thing). The modem will hopefully convert it to PPPoA.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-vista/cre...

Which ISP is it?

Edited by Oliver341 (Thu 20-Nov-14 23:30:40)

Many thanks Oliver.

As I said in my first post, i've tried making a PPPoE connection from my Mac. It works a lot better than the Airport but is still not great and noticeably slower than when using my old Linksys modem/router.

Linksys manages ~10-12mbps downloads.

Vigor 120 with my Mac on ethernet sees ~6mbps download speed

Vigor 120 with the Airport Express gets ~0.6mbps, when it can even connect.

I suspect the problem is either a hardware fault with the Draytek's LAN port (but how to diagnose/confirm it?) or some software setting / conflict in the Draytek/Airport Express.


Edit: Forgot the ISP... it's PlusNet.

Edited by deleted (Thu 20-Nov-14 23:43:19)

In reply to a post by sallonoroff:

Edit: Forgot the ISP... it's PlusNet.

BT WBC supports PPPoE on LLC, judging by Ian's links. Might be worth forgetting about PPPoA bridging and just use pure PPPoE.

Edited by Oliver341 (Thu 20-Nov-14 23:54:07)

Go to the draytek website and get the latest firmware for your 120. I had exactly the same issue on one of our sites, and after talking to draytek, they explained that with some UK ISP's, only the latest firmware works due to some settings that are different in a few ISP setup's.

TBH I cant remember exactly what change it was, only that after the update it worked perfectly without the need to play around with connection settings.

This was a brand new 120 as well, (6 months ago ish) so not even a case of an ols version.

If you don't have any luck with the Draytek a TP-Link TD-8817 is super cheap on Amazon. I've used them and the older TP-8816 in bridged/PPPoe mode with BTOR based ADSL.

Thanks Oliver. I'm going to give this a try, though I'm now fairly convinced there is a problem with the LAN port of the Draytek so i'm sorting a refund/replacement for that.

Thanks Paul. The Draytek is already running the latest firmware though.

Thank you. I just looked up this TP-link model - it is nice and cheap, though I've seen mention of it not working properly when you're more than a couple of KM from the exchange. Have you experienced that?

I've not used them on really long lines, but didn't have any trouble with one on a line capable of 4Mbps that I'm pretty sure was over 2km from the exchange.

In reply to a post by sallonoroff:

I'm now fairly convinced there is a problem with the LAN port of the Draytek so i'm sorting a refund/replacement for that.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Whilst the Draytek 120 is an excellent ADSL2+ modem, it has a reputation for the 100mbps LAN port failing. Many moons ago on ADSL2+, my speeds suddenly dropped from 16 meg to 8 meg. What happened was the LAN port on the 120 had a max throughput of 10mbps instead of 100mbps. Bought a replacement 120 and speeds went back up to 16 meg.

Thank you to all who've replied. An update on this...

I got a refund for the Vigor 120 with the faulty ethernet port. The guy didn't want it back, so with nothing to lose, I thought i'd try updating the firmware to 3.2.6.1 (a version not listed on Draytek's UK website but available on Draytek's international FTP server). It appears I did something wrong with it, or the UK site didn't list it for good reason, because I can no longer use the modem at all. It's not a brick as such, as it all lights up as before, but I can no longer get into the web admin screen or telnet to it. Oh well.

Now, given I want the Apple Airport to do routing and wireless (so that I only have to change the modem if/when I upgrade to fibre), what options do I have for ADSL ethernet modem?

Try another Draytek Vigor 120 ?
TP-Link TD-8817 ?
D-Link DSL-320B ?

I originally opted for the Draytek because i'd read it should be rock solid and sounded like no/minimal setup was required. Right now I just want something that is easy to setup with the Airport - and can be as cheap as you like as it only needs last the 12 months until I inevitably convince myself I *need* fibre.

Huawei HG612, unlocked and reconfigured for ADSL
Billion 8800NL

Don't let your experience of the Draytek 120 put you off them...they really are solid modems ideal for using with standalone routers. Normally you don't need to configure them at all (they are just dumb modems) and any config (eg username/pw) is done in the router's GUI. I suggest you buy another but buy from Amazon for peace of mind.

Did you turn off the PPPoE to PPPoA conversion stuff and just set it up as a dumb bridge for pure PPPoE on LLC?

Thanks. Easy to unlock the HG612?

Looks like both these can also act as fibre modems too. Handy.

Thank you, frogmella. I might do... though perhaps through Dabs. (When I contacted Draytek about the possibility of repairing the Vigor 120, they said it would have to have been bought from an approved supplier such as Dabs, Misco or Broadband Buyer.)

Yes, very easy. Someone knows the magic settings for ADSL too.

Tried that newer firmware and borked it (more). Probably should've tried your PPPoE on LLC suggestion beforehand.

I just wanted to let you know that I finally got this sorted. Ended up buying an old Netgear router to act as modem (Drayteks and Billions were going on eBay for a bit more than I wanted to pay) and after changing encapsulation from VC to LLC everything worked as expected.

Wireless coverage is a little better and the download speed over wifi is noticeably quicker than it was.

Many thanks to all that replied.