Thanks for these thoughts E7er. I've decided after some thought to give the BT hub a try. I'm 3.5km (by road) from the exchange which is riight for the attenuation.

I'm on the "old" Orange up to 8Meg LLU, and I think from experience (and what I've read on the OrangeProblems forum) that Orange have fixed profiles (sync speeds) of [7xxx], 5500, 4092 and 2268 for those customers (who are not on their automated DLM unlike customers on the newer and more expensive up to 20Meg services), which reflects the decline in my speeds. (I cannot achieve the highest attainable speed due to distance from the exchange, which is also why up to 20Meg services are a waste of time and money for me).

The Livebox (supplied by Orange) currently shows an improved attainable sync speed of 3502 (formerly 42XX), so I'm hopng that if the alternative router can achieve a higher attainable sync speed of over 4 Meg then I can recover to the higher profile. Orange will not change me from Fastpath to interleaved, and although the highest attainable & actual sync was achieved on ADSL2 rather than 2+, I was told an Orange contracted engineer changed settings on the DSLAM to keep me on a fixed ADSL2+ Fastpath at a maximum sync rate of 4092Mbps, when he could not achieve a faster stable rate after the initial fault. (Subsequently when a PPP server fault recurred Orange "rebuilt" the connection followed by an initial reduction to 2268 maximum sync but then recovered over 2 weeks or so to its previous 4092).

The practical significance for me is that the 2268 MSR gives an actual throughput speed of between 1.4-1.9Mbps (pitiful towards the lower end) download and 0.25Mbps upload whilst the 4092 MSR gave an actual throughput of between 3.4-3.9 download 0.6 upload which was much more useful. I don't by the way have any disconnection problem, the Livebox has always resynched with the PPP server weekly, but stays connected to the exchange.

Am I right in reading that I should only need to disable the automatic checking for a BT login, and enter my Orange authentication details to get the BT Business Hub to work on the Orange LLU connection?

Edited by deleted (Wed 23-Mar-11 00:10:47)

In reply to a post by smurf46:

I'm on the "old" Orange up to 8Meg LLU, and I think from experience (and what I've read on the OrangeProblems forum) that Orange have fixed profiles (sync speeds) of [7xxx], 5500, 4092 and 2268 for those customers (who are not on their automated DLM unlike customers on the newer and more expensive up to 20Meg services)

I don't believe this! Orange's "old" 8 Meg LLU is now just Orange's "new" 20 Meg LLU capped to 8 Meg by increasing the NM to damp the speed. I know; I was on it up to last year and Sync'ed at 8061 Kbps constantly for 2 years. Never found such a statement on OrangeProblems either!

You should be able to put your Orange authentication details and other settings in any generic router.

I thought you were right too, but my NM is normally the standard Orange 10, and has been as low as 8 or as high as 14, but it doesn't alter the 2268 sync rate however it varies (and similarly didn't before when I was on either the 4092 or 5500 sync rates) . The only explanation I can offer is that Orange didn't follow a consistent approach amongst different exchanges, perhaps another reason for the high costs why the contract was moved over to BT. (I doubt it's a Livebox fault since identical results were achieved with a substitute old BT Voyager modem). Or if it is their DLM, it gets stuck . . . every time, just on my line?

Perhaps interestingly their website still shows a 2Mbps speed for my connection (as it did when I had the 4Mbps sync!) and a 3Mbps estimate (used to be 4 before the website was reconfigured this morning) for the up to 20Mbps service, may be the latter reflecting the BT line profiling on IPStream/21CN which Orange appear to be using for "new" connections?

The Orange marketing logo (which they are so keen on) should perhaps be "Everything Everywhere: anything is possible with Orange" then they've covered it all.

In reply to a post by smurf46:

Thanks for these thoughts E7er. I've decided after some thought to give the BT hub a try. I'm 3.5km (by road) from the exchange which is riight for the attenuation.

Am I right in reading that I should only need to disable the automatic checking for a BT login, and enter my Orange authentication details to get the BT Business Hub to work on the Orange LLU connection?

Hi smurf46, the BT 2700HGV a great router, will connect with any ISP using ADSL2/2+ broadband connection.

Orange settings for any ADSL2+ router all you need is�

ATM Circuit Identifier: VPI:0 / VCI:38
ATM Encapsulation: VC-Mux
Connection Type: PPPoA
Username:
Password:
MTU 1492
-------------

BT2700HGV router configuration Hack http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/dslrouter/t/3964549...

When you configure the router, do not bother with the CD and do not use their silly numbers from the base of the router and for wireless security use your custom encryption key with WPA-PSK.

The wireless SSID (network name) can be whatever you wish I sometimes use Mickey Mouse.

Use Wireless Mode: 802.11g.

Check (Save) to save the settings.

Useful hidden page for Management and Diagnostic Console.
http://192.168.1.254/mdc

All I do with the ones I have (at least the ones that still run BT 6.1.x.x firmware) is go to the (hidden) page below and enter my ISP log in details and presto. I should mention that sometimes the router is connected and running before the "internet light" turns green, so keep that in mind.

192.168.1.254/xslt?PAGE=HURL13

Note that if you have changed the IP range from the default then this link needs to reflect that change. That is enough to connect. I never yet had to enter codes and stuff to get connected.

I have 20 2700s that are running either BT firmware and Qwest firmware that I am rolling out to all the locations where I support friends or family. I have a non standard IP range specced for my network but the one above is for the default BT IP range.

There is firmware that you can update to from the 6.1 BT crippleware if you are feeling brave, but that would depend on your requirements

The site linked to elsewhere is a useful resource that still gets updated from time to time I would recommend you bookmark it for future reference
http://bt2700hgv.tripod.com/ir1002700HGV.htm

In reply to a post by smurf46:

my NM is normally the standard Orange 10, and has been as low as 8 or as high as 14

That's because the 10 is set by Orange's DLM when you connect and then varies up & down as line noise changes over time (it is a margin after all). As long as this noise variation is not enough to cause a discon, your Sync will remain what it was upon connection.

Well I've had an interesting afternoon setting up the BT hub on Orange LLU, and interestingly, its VOIP facility also seems to work with the Orange VOIP service, which makes it a good substitute for the Livebox. (I suppose we loose that VOIP service when Orange discontinue their LLU which would be disappointing as it's the reason I persevere with them!). At the moment wireless is a bit erratic, and the built in firewall is playing havoc with some programs.

No change in speeds yet, but of greater interest is the better stats available from the router, which do show the service as interleaved and the NM (down) as 17, which is more what I would expect from my knowledge of the decrepid state of the local infrastructure, compared to the Livebox readings. (Any change to the Orange Livebox stats always followed a disconnect/reconnect as the Livebox stats do not update save on a reconnect).

In reply to a post by smurf46:

Well I've had an interesting afternoon setting up the BT hub on Orange LLU, and interestingly, its VOIP facility also seems to work with the Orange VOIP service, which makes it a good substitute for the Livebox. (I suppose we loose that VOIP service when Orange discontinue their LLU which would be disappointing as it's the reason I persevere with them!). At the moment wireless is a bit erratic, and the built in firewall is playing havoc with some programs.

No change in speeds yet, but of greater interest is the better stats available from the router, which do show the service as interleaved and the NM (down) as 17, which is more what I would expect from my knowledge of the decrepid state of the local infrastructure, compared to the Livebox readings. (Any change to the Orange Livebox stats always followed a disconnect/reconnect as the Livebox stats do not update save on a reconnect).

Hi smurf46, wow! That�s the first time I have heard anyone say they got the VOIP connection working with the BT Business Hub 2Wire 2700HGV router other than with BT. How do you get that service with Orange do you have to be registered with Orange for it and what phone do you use? I am very interested I want one.

Sorry, I gather for Orange VOIP you have to had registered for the service on the "old" pre-October 2010 Home Ultra or (as in my case the even earlier) Home Max service - they've withdrawn it from new connections. Foolish me though, I think it just runs through the normal landline, not the Orange VOIP!!

Edited by deleted (Sat 26-Mar-11 21:25:57)

continual loss of connection for several hours the following day after steady rain, though BT quiet line test has no noise.

Have you tried a qlt when the connection is down?