BT 2 Wire HG1800 Advanced Features Setup

[#1]

Hi
I have taken delivery yesterday of a HG1800 2Wire thankyou PlusNet.
From the instrucations provided it shows thier is a feature of content screening/Access Control on the router but I cannot find it once I have logged into the router.
Am i doing something incorrect?
I have followed the setup guide provided by yourselves, when I come to enter the configuration key as described it searches for PPP connection as described then it goes onto search for a Configuration server but fails on this each time after a couple minutes of searching.
It does let me connect to the internet correctly when i have entered my settings etc, but will not complete the setup wizard correctly.
Any help would really be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Andy

[#2]

Quote from: andyrogers

I have taken delivery yesterday of a HG1800 2Wire thankyou PlusNet. From the instrucations provided it shows thier is a feature of content screening/Access Control on the router but I cannot find it once I have logged into the router.

Not too sure about that. You might want to take a look at page 63 onwards of the userguide here.

Quote

I have followed the setup guide provided by yourselves, when I come to enter the configuration key as described it searches for PPP connection as described then it goes onto search for a Configuration server but fails on this each time after a couple minutes of searching. It does let me connect to the internet correctly when i have entered my settings etc, but will not complete the setup wizard correctly.

I think this happens when the router tries rebooting itself. I've seen the error before although it doesn't seem to happen all the time and is more common in the 1801's. Might be worth making sure you have the latest firmware.

[#3]

Bob
Thanks for the reply, I shall have a look at the manual later.
The router that has been supplied if a HG1801 i remember seeing on the menus last night.
How do i find out my current firmware version in the menus?
Where do I find the latest firmware to download?
Thanks
Andy

[#4]

Hmm, seems to be pretty tricky to get hold of on the web Andy. let me know if you need it and I'll try and source a copy from somewhere.

[#5]

I think you'll find the manual here:- http://www.2wire.com/pages/pdfs/2Wire_1000_User_Guide.pdf
That is the manual for all the 2wire 1000 series routers. There might be slight differences since yours will have BT branded firmware but I dont think you'll find much difference.
Dont worry about the Setup Wizard and configuration server, the BT 2wire routers are capable of being automatically configured by BT/2wire's servers but in your case it cant find the information because its a PlusNet supplied router.
AFAIK its not easy to download updated firmware directly, I believe the router should detect if updated firmware is available and update itself.

[#6]

Ian
I did somehow last night get to the firmware upgrade screen and it was asking me for a file, it did not seem to be auto checking to see if a latest firmware was available.
How will i be able to tell if I need to upgrade my firmware? 
This router is completly new to me, iam more use to Linksys & Seedtouch Routers.
Thanks
Andy

[#7]

Do I actually need to get me router to get to connect to Configuration server for these features to actually be enabled?
Iam just asking so I know which area I need to concentrate on this evening.
Has anyone else recieved these, but with the Content Screen / Access Controls already enabled.
Thanks
Andy

[#8]

Andy,
The manual update screen only allows you to update from a local file, it won't serach for an update. The 2wire routers are a bit unusual, I have a 2700HGV which is similar to the 1800HG but is ADSL/2 and has VOIP ports. AFAIK they run similar firmware and have the same user interface. 2Wire do not supply direct to the public but sell 'branded' routers through ISP's. Any firmware updates are issued via the ISP's. My 2700HGV updates automatically by contacting the bt server ( and has done so twice since I had it ), I assume the 1800HG is similar. Dependant on the ISP supplying the router ( in your case its a BT branded one I assume ) it may or may not have Content Screening/Access controls enabled . IIRC my 2700 didnt have content screening enabled until it had contacted the configuration server.  Here is an extract from a blog on setting up 2700HGV's explaining how to get content screening active. I can't guarantee anything but it MIGHT work with the 1800HG.
AS regards seeing what firmware you have it should be shown on the initial status screen http://home
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To install the ‘Internet Access Controls’ and ‘Content Screening’ application modules:
    * Start Internet Explorer.
              192.168.1.254                                    or type                        home
    * Click on the 'View available Upgrades and options' link or visit this web page:
                  http://gateway.cms.smehomehubrms.bt.com/hp/upgrade/showUpgrades.do ;       (v4.x firmware only)
    * When the web page successfully loads.  Do NOTHING !  (I do NOT advise upgrading from v4.x to v5.x)
    * Now return to the previous page.
    * The ‘Access Controls’ should now be visible in top right corner, and along the right hand side of the page.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope that helps.
Ian       

[#9]

Hi Ian
Thanks for the latest post last night, eventually i got it to work.  After arout 4 hours of fiddiling and searching for firmware's etc.
At first I did not even have an icon 'View available Upgrades and options', nor did my HG1801 like the address being linked to.
Then after abit my router started a go awol, ie lost wireless kept rebooting after each time i changed a simple option.
Then after one of the reboots the 'View available Upgrades and options' icon appeared, I followed this at first but said non were available then went back as instructed like you said, but no icons appeared.
Si i rebooted and no difference, so this time i ran through the setup and used the key that PlusNet has supplied, and this time it worked straight away when it was searching for a configuration server.
I then went back and treid the 'View available Upgrades and options' again, still no firmware available so then I went back to the main screen and pressed refresh and their they were the 2 available options that i had been looking for.
Thanks for the tips Ian.
I just seems to be so aukward to findm i wounder If I had originally just done a factory reset and this may have all been over so quickly.
Regards
Andrew

[#10]

Andrew,
Glad I could be of some help. The 2wire routers are a little different from most of the others. If the 1801 is anything like the 2700 however, it should be a good router. They are very stable, mine's been connected for about 3 months solid now and they are really good at handling long or noisy lines.
The logging and statistics are superb but if you need to do any port forwaqrding you will find it strange.
Anyway, glad you're up and running.
Ian

[#11]

Bob
Could you possibly try and source or find out what the current latest firmwaer available is for my 1800HG router please, Iam having problems with the wireless feature as in that when I disconnect the router and switch it back on, the wireless is always not switched on.
When i go back into the router and check the settings for the wireless it is always showing as enable, so i then disable the wireless in the router and then re-enable it and then it works fine.  The only trouble doing this is that it is a complete pain each time.
I haev tried the firmware upgrade option from the menu but this either times out when trying to access thier webpage, or I just get an error.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Andy

[#12]

Andy,
An idea, when you have enabled the wireless, try going to the 'Wireless Settings' page, dont change anything but click the 'Save' button. That might set some data so that next time the router is rebooted the wireless is automatically enabled.
Ian

[#13]

Ian
Thanks for the idea, I shall give it ago tonight.
Thanks
Andy

[#14]

Ian
I tried this last night, and it did not make a difference iam afraid.
Switched if off and then back on, and the wireless was not working again until I did my usuall trick.
Thanks
Andy

[#15]

I'd be happy to speak to 2wire about this one if you can't find a solution. What I would need in order to do that is the output from your system summary page (http://home/mdc - Should look like this: http://www.supportshots.com/two_wire/mdc/mdc.html )
If you can send me that I will certainly ask if there is any known issues with the wireless, and if it's still a problem we can send you out a replacement unit. I use the same router myself currently and have not seen the same thing, although I rarely disconnect it.
Interestingly, on the point about parental control and some other advanced features supplied by the router, they are normally chargeable extras for an ISP so it's interesting that they can be made to function without ISP authorisation (We ain't paying for them currently anyway  ). I suspect there is oddness relating to BTs auto configuration servers. I'm looking into this anyway, as personally I reckon 2wire probably build  the best quality ADSL kit on the market and I like the parental control functionality and think we should be able to offer it for a low cost (but a cost all the same!).
Ian