Hi,

Wonder if there’s anyone here who might have some ideas why my ‘brand new’ Thomson TG585 v7 router won’t work …

It’s for my daughter’s PN account which I set up a few days ago. 

(We'd waited 'till these silly 12/18 month contracts had been removed - then we got a welcome email - telling us we were on an 18 month contract - however I'll worry about that later...)

I initially wasted a fair bit of time setting this router up then found out one of the filters was faulty – shame on you Plusnet – it’s the second time you’ve sent me duff filters!!!

Then it became apparent the pc and router were not talking to each other.  The daughter's pc is upstairs and the router is downstairs, not the easiest situation in which to be setting things up..…so I decided to bring it home and try and hopefully sort it.

I use NetStumbler to locate APs and this found the Thomson, providing its name and SSID.  I use Cisco Aironet 350 wireless cards and inputed the appropriate information into the Cisco software and attempted to connect.  No luck.  Now I ‘think’ the Thomson comes with WEP enabled so I entered the appropriate WEP information into the Cisco software.  No luck.  I tried this with four different computers (including my daughter’s).  No luck.

Initially we had the Thomson connected to the phone socket but when it became apparent there was a problem I disconnected it from the master socket,  it should however talk to the PC just the same.  I was now having doubts about what I was doing so dug up an old D-Link from my junk box.  All three of my PCs will happily connect to that.

Just in case the WEP had somehow become corrupted, I then tried getting the Thomson to talk to the pcs using the supplied Ethernet cable.  I thought if I could get into the set up I could possibly disable security.  No luck.  Typing in the appropriate url into my browser won’t allow me to connect to the Thomson.

Finally I used the Windows software instead of the Cisco software, again with no luck.  Like the Cisco the Windows software sees the Thomson but won’t allow communication ‘tween it and the PC.

SO, basically this router won’t talk to a number of PC’s, either via wireless or Ethernet.
 
I did raise a ticket on Monday night when PN said there was a ~3 hour delay in replying.  I’m still waiting… (ticket Id 30333221 ). 

My own D-Link router took literally a couple of minutes to set up…

John

Hi John,

The new contract rules don't start until next Thursday.

If you have a dead router, we can send you a new one.

Pretty sure that the Thomson's use WPA as default though, not WEP?

Hi Jameseh - I hoped you were lurking!!!

Thanks for that - oh next Thursday start eh -  now that's a bummer - I did email PN about it and they changed it to 12 months so if we can make the darn thing work I suppose we'll just have to live with it...

Ref the Router.  I'm pretty sure it's dead and I would appreciate a replacement to try.

As for the WEP/WPA thingy.  The Cisco software is pretty old and I  'think' it only supports WEP - maybe someone more knowledgeable than myself might jump in here...  I suppose I could still use the 350 wireless card and use the Windows software instead...presumably that supports both?

Are you only sending out Thomson routers at the mo?

I have a D-Link DSL-2640B myself but obviously any brand would do as long as it works!

Thanks again Jameseh

John

Hi John,

We'll be reverting the contract rules for existing customers too, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I'm really not sure on the Cisco software I'm afraid, but the Windows one should do the same job?

Hi Jameseh,

> We'll be reverting the contract rules for existing customers too <

Oh that's good.

> I'm really not sure on the Cisco software I'm afraid, but the Windows one should do the same job? <

I presume so.

The Cisco is a throwback to the days when I had wireless broadband via a local supplier - antenna on the roof and no hassle with routers!!!  They had an installation charge of £99 and that included fitting and supplying a Cisco 350 Aironet card in the PC and installing the software.  The engineers were not allowed to work on ladders so they fitted the antenna using a 'huge' cherry picker parked in my drive - and all for download speeds of 250K.  (well it was an improvement on my previous 28k modem...)

Seriously if you could arrange for a replacement router I'd be grateful - I'm pretty sure this one's duff but the only way we'll know is by trying another one.

Thanks Jameseh,

John

No problem.  I'll get it ordered now.

the Thompson is WPA, have you tried it with an ethernet cable?, also it is probably set up with your daughters user name etc.

I tried mucking about with the security as my linux netbook had difficulty with WPA, but a bios update cured that. also the laptop I am using now has trouble, so that is on ethernet

Thanks Jameseh

pierre_pierre  - thanks for your input also.

If the Thomson is WPA as you say - and assuming the replacement Jameseh is sending me is a similar model - I 'may' have to get another wireless card as I  'think' my old Cisco 350 Aironet and it's associated software will only support WEP.  I have three machines with Cisco 350 cards and they DO date back to the middle ages though they work well - but maybe time I moved on!!!  

Yes I did try connecting via an ethernet cable and putting the appropriate url into Firefox  (http://192.168.1.254)  but the browser returned the standard - unable to connect - message.  I did try it with IE as well, and tried it on two separate PC's.  Obviously I need to  be able to connect before doing anything and as I couldn't  I never got as far as being asked for a user name/password...

We'll see what happens when I get the replacement router.

Thanks both of you for your help,

John

[Moderator's note by Dick (Strat) Quote fixed ]

dont know if there are different version, but Cisco says it does support WPA  http://www.cisco.com/en/U...heet09186a0080088828.html

pierre_pierre - that's interesting.

I'll have a read later, I don't think there's any means of selecting WPA in my present Cisco software, maybe that becomes possible with a later version.  I have version 6.00.023 (2003?) and  I have tried to locate and download a newer version but the Cisco site is a real dog.  You have to register before being allowed to download anything and they seem to only want to deal with resellers and not with individuals.  I've even emailed them but they couldn't be bothered to answer. 

Ah well, maybe have to splash out on a new wireless card...

Thanks again,

John

Well the replacement Thomson router arrived – and it works!

Just to make sure, I checked the suspect one ‘again’ before boxing it up ready for return and it will not allow me connect via either Ethernet or wireless.  So it’s obviously faulty, it should go off today and I’ve enclosed a covering letter.

Thanks to Jameseh who arranged to get me the replacement in double quick time - I'd nominate you for an Oscar if I knew how to!!!   

Excellent service form Plusnet and the guys who lurk on the Forums  –  as usual.

Thanks again.

John

pierre_pierre...

Had a look at the Cisco site and my 350 card might well support WPA as you suggest but maybe using Windows software and not Cisco's own...

I looked for a driver update but I seem to have the latest though it's fairly old, the 350 series was discontinued ages ago and obviously it's no longer supported.  Just in case there was some compatibility problem between the Cisco and the Thomson I bought an Edimax Wireless LAN card.  Interesting little toy and works well - but I prefer the Cisco so maybe consign the Edimax to the drawer - along with all the other impulse purchases!!! 

Thanks for your input again,

John