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Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

raygun57
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎06-05-2011

Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Hi all,
I have just switched from my old O2 Connect package (large £, poor result) to Plusnet.
With my old O2 setup, I had the old router set to bridging mode which basically turned off all the router features and left it as a simple modem, allowing the Apple Time Capsule to do all the routing / NAT etc.  I also think that the Time Capsule accessed the O2 network using PPPoE because of the bridging from the modem.  It worked like a treat, except for the aforementioned poor O2 Connect service.
I have tried to find similar options within the menus of the Thomson 585v8 router that I received from Plusnet but I just do not think this option is available via the GUI.
Should I purchase a standard modem with an unlocked GUI that I can bridge to the Time Capsule?  Has anyone else setup PPPoE on the non-fiber offerings from Plusnet?  Does anyone even understand what I am talking about as it is getting late and I don't even think I understand what I am talking about?
Help.  I am currently accessing the internet over my fiances Nexus One acting as a wireless hotspot!!!
Cheers
Raygun
17 REPLIES 17
raygun57
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎06-05-2011

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Righto.
Few more hours of tinkering and I have got it working.  Not entirely sure how,  but here is what I did:
1) Went to http://www.speedtouch.ca/firmware.php and upgraded my firmware
2) Could not login to the router using my original passwords or the Administrator (user) Blank (pword) options
3) Did a factory reset of the router by pressing the button on the back
4) Logged back in using the original passwords supplied
5) Noticed that the options for service had changed and I had the new "BRIDGED" or "PPP" options as opposed to "PLUSNET"/"MADASAFISH" etc etc
6) Selected BRIDGED and set the VCI to 038
Voila.
dvorak
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 29,473
Thanks: 6,623
Fixes: 1,482
Registered: ‎11-01-2008

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

welcome to the forums, glad you got it sorted Smiley
potentially you could have used your old router, unless you had to give it back..
Customer / Moderator
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If it fixed it click 'This fixed my problem'
raygun57
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎06-05-2011

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Thanks
That did form part of the tinkering at some point, however it didn't go so well!  O2 want the box back as well...
Cheers!
Raygun
avatastic
Grafter
Posts: 1,136
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

I use the Netgear DM111P in bridged mode on Plusnet successfully (and a few others have in the past).
You should be able to pick on up on eBay for under £20.
F9 member since 4 Sep 1999
F9 ADSL customer since 27 Aug 2004
DLM manages your line the same way DRM manages your rights.
Look at all the pretty graphs! (now with uptime logging!)
mattturner
Grafter
Posts: 246
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎25-06-2009

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

If you've got a TG585v8 then you could also use the file here:
http://www.mattturner.plus.com/bridge.tpl
And upload it into your router using the restore configuration option.
This will add an extra bridge mode option into the set-up wizard (just like the firmware file you found). No need to upgrade the firmware.
Quattro
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎05-08-2011

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Matt,
Can you explain further how to use your file to enable a Bridge option on the Thomson.
I would like to give this a go, but have little idea how to use your file.
When I click on the link, I open a text page as oppose to a file.
Thanks
Quattro
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Hi there,
You'd need to right click the link and 'save target as...' (or 'save link as' in firefox) and save the file that way. Then you'd be able to upload it.
Alternatively, load it like a text file in the browser, highlight everything then paste it into notepad (it's important to use notepad rather than wordpad or any other office program as they do strange things to formatting - make sure word wrap is _off_ in notepad as well (it's in the View menu and will be ticked if it's on) as this adds line breaks - then save it with the same three letter extension as Matt has. Then upload that to the router.
Hope that helps,
Quattro
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎05-08-2011

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Thanks, I think I have it now.
Just to confirm before I give it a go - am I correct in thinking this 'bridge mode' is what I require to convert my adsl line to a WAN connection which will feed a broadband gigabit router I now own.
Are there any other settings I would need to get this working?
Thanks again
Quattro
madbilly
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎22-09-2011

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Hello Matt,
I've aldo been trying to figure out how to bridge the internet connection from the TG 585 v8 wirelessly to another router in another part of the house (a Tenda W311R+ which has WDS). I used the config file you provided and was able to setup the router in bridged mode, but I couldn't enable internet access. Am I being daft and missing something or is the intention of the config file you provided?
Thanks,
Will
sjrinfroyle
Grafter
Posts: 895
Registered: ‎08-05-2011

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

You probably need to enable PPoE on your router.
madbilly
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎22-09-2011

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

On the Plusnet Thomson router or the Tenda one?
oliverb
Grafter
Posts: 606
Registered: ‎02-08-2007

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Quote from: madbilly
Hello Matt,
I've aldo been trying to figure out how to bridge the internet connection from the TG 585 v8 wirelessly to another router in another part of the house (a Tenda W311R+ which has WDS). I used the config file you provided and was able to setup the router in bridged mode, but I couldn't enable internet access. Am I being daft and missing something or is the intention of the config file you provided?
Thanks,
Will

If you're talking about WDS (Wireless network) bridging that's a different story altogether. That means configuring both routers to be WDS peers and turning off DHCP on the second router. Your milage may vary and "universal repeater" devices may be a better bet.
Bridging the router is when you configure the router to pass on the broadband connection without "terminating" it so the PPP service can be run on a second device, typically an enhanced router or firewall device.
ewanvanderboon
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎10-12-2011

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Hi,
I've just moved uploaded the bridge file to the Thomson and enabled bridge mode. Can anyone tell me where to go from here? I want to use a Netgear N300 as my router I just don't have much of an idea of how to do it.
Thanks,
Ewan.
oliverb
Grafter
Posts: 606
Registered: ‎02-08-2007

Re: Apple Time Capsule, PPPoE, Bridging the Thomson Router and other CRAZINESS

Well you might want to test the bridge mode by connecting a PC directly and then checking if the PC can "dial" through and create a PPPoE connection. Once you've verified that that works then its just a matter of disconnecting the PC, connecting the WAN port of the N300 to the bridge and setting up PPPoE on the N300.
You can probably skip the PC step, but it may be usefull for diagnostics.