02 Wireless Router Issues

I have recently switched to 02 broadband and although the wired connection is superb, I am having serious problems using the wireless thomson router supplied by 02. I have tried changing the channels from 1 - 13 but I cannot establish a connection. I therefore, hooked up my original Linksys WAG325N (used with BT broadband successfully) using the config settings published by 02 and established a connection for 9 solid hours before the connection dropping and refusing to reconnect. Despite resetting the Linksys and restoring the config I have been unable to establish a connection since. Does anyone know what settings should be used to use a 3rd party router instead of the 02? Has anyone had this problem and know of a resolution? Many thanks.

Are you using the wireless security settings provided by O2 - can't recall if they put a sticker on the underside with the supplied password. Also you'll need to check if you were previously using WEP / WPA and compare with the O2 settings.

If your laptop has saved the Linksys network name as a preferred network you'll need to delete that (or set it to connect manually) as it may go hunting for the old wifi network.

If the O2 box comes with a CD you don't need to run or install it to connect wired or wirelessly - last I saw it was mainly to give support a predicatable series of tests if you were having trouble with the ADSL side of things.

Don't know if you are Mac or Windows laptop but in the case of Windows (Vista or XP) use the built-in wireless utilities as they should try both WPA(2) and WEP for a given password and offer to save whichever works.

If you use the wrong password it's sometimes possible (with WEP at least) to show as connected but you won't be be given an IP address - in which case delete the saved network before trying again.

Normally the router will be giving out IP addresses (DHCP) so make sure the laptop is set to get an address automatically (default) if you have previously used a static IP settings.

If you do want to to use static IP over wireless there is no point trying until you know it works on the automatic settings otherwise you could be trying to solve two different problems at the same time.

If you do want to to use static IP over wireless there is no point trying until you know it works on the automatic settings otherwise you could be trying to solve two different problems at the same time.

I'm not convinced about that. With any networking problem I always find it better to try a static address, if things aren't working, to eliminate the possibility of problems with DHCP. If static doesn't work then, to my mind, that leave less possibilities for the problem rather than more.

It does rather depend if you are already experienced enough to know what IP addresses, subnet masks, gateways and DNS settings actually mean.

Remember if the router and the laptop both come preset with DHCP on it just creates additional work and admin to change all that to get a working setup. It also complicates the setup if you want to take your laptop and get online elsewhere.

Static configuration also mulitplies up the work if you have more than one thing to connect to your network. If you want the same IP every time that is what DHCP reservation is for and still manages all the addresses in one place.

You can test DHCP is working by leaving everything on default settings and plugging in an ethernet cable so that is relatively trivial, then you know it's only the wireless bit to sort out.

If the wrong wireless password is used with static IP the status icon may show connected regardless, with auto IP it will show either no connection (WPA) or limited connectivity 169.254... (certain WEP setups) so at least you have a clue.

Static IP will be fine for some people.
But I do find E7er pops up saying changing to static IP (without adapting it to suite the OP's setup) is the answer to every networking problem when in fact the advice usually has nothing to do with solving the problem (wireless question in this case) and in worst cases following that advice can prevent the OP from reaching a working setup.

Both the SSID and the default 64 bit WEP key are printed on a silver coloured sticker underneath the box itself.

Thanks for this; I did try using the wireless security settings provided by 02 when using their router but could not connect wirelessly to either laptop or pc despite trying every channel. I could see the SSID broadcasting but failed to establish a connection. This is the point when I moved onto my Linksys router which I knew for sure worked on BT Broadband. However, your suggestion to delete the old network name is a good one and I will do next. Have never used static IP settings as that is past my technical knowledge. Do you know what config to use for 02 e.g. Encapsulation etc?

Sorry afraid I don't remember the settings for O2 ADSL.

You may need to plug the O2 box back in and look at the web admin interface (via a wired connection) to get these settings (or ask on the O2 forum).

You probably don't need the O2 box's ADSL socket connected while you do this so you can either screengrab / print off the settings.

While you are in there you can take a copy of the wireless settings (particularly security) for reference.

Hence the Linksys box can stay plugged into the phone line while you try the ADSL settings.

The only potential problem is if the Linksys box was supplied pre-configured and locked in to BT Broadband. If the settings are user-changeable you should be good to go.

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I setup O2 broadband (for my sister) and the router worked out of the box for wired ethernet. I think I changed the SSID to something they would recognise and set the wireless options to use WPA(2) for better security but probably left the password as per the sticker.

They might use with a (work) laptop in future but not crossed that bridge yet.

Edited by prlzx (Wed 19-Aug-09 23:46:42)

In reply to a post by kopparberg:

Do you know what config to use for 02 e.g. Encapsulation etc?

For O2 LLU:
Multiplexing: LLC-Based
VPI: 0
VCI: 101
Username: blank
Password: blank
Domain name: blank

Set IP address to Automatic unless you pay for a static IP.