Over 2 weeks and still no wireless router

[#1]

The sad story so far--
Sat 21 July -- As a customer of 4 years I downgrade my account from £21.99pm premium to the Option 2 £14.99p. which entitles me to a free wireless router.
Wed 25 July -- I receive a non-wireless router - the wrong router. I raise a 'ticket' - 'Please send the correct router.'
Mon 30 July -- Plusnet: 'A wireless router has been despatched to you'.
Fri 3 August -- Me on the helpline: 'I have not yet received it.'  Plusnet: ' It seems it has not been despatched - it got stuck in the 'tunnel'.
TODAY Tues 7 August -- I receive a BT1800 HG wireless router BUT THERE IS NO CD OR INSTRUCTIONS IN THE BOX !!!
My son received his new laptop over 2 weeks ago, and thanks to Plusnet today he still cannot connect to the internet !!!
I'm beginning to think that these people are taking the ****.  Do they treat their new customers this way too, or maybe it's because I've downgraded accounts?

[#2]

if you have written the above you must have internet access of sorts could you download the software needed for the router on line?
Yes F9 treats all customers this way when replying to tickets

Michael

[#3]

You could try the website, a setup guide and drivers are available.
http://www.f9.net.uk/support/broadband/hardware/index.shtml?supporta=hardwaresetupguides

[#4]

As long as you only use ethernet wired or wireless connections to the 1800HG and NOT the USB connection you do not need any drivers or software installing.  The setup guide on the website is pretty good and and should get you up and running quickly. Any queries then post back, I use a 2700HGV router and its setup is very similar so I could probably help with any problems.

[#5]

Some more thoughts. The 1800HG is a really good router and has some extremely useful diagnostic and management facilities. Dont know how old your son is but the router has built in access and parental control facilities should they be useful to you.
Once you have it up and running there are a few things, however, that you should consider changing from the defaults.
1) on the Advanced Firewall settings , check 'Stealth mode' and 'block ping and uncheck 'remote management'. This will make you network more invisible to hackers.
2) change the default wireless encryption from WEP to WPA and change the key. This provides better security for your wireless connection.
3) from the router home page, set a system password and dont forget it ( or you will need to do a factory reset and re-setup the router again )
4) again from the home page ensure that remote access is disabled ( this stops the BT servers from accessing your router remotely).
As I said earlier, if you have young children then take a look at the 'access control' and 'content screening' facilities provided by the router.

[#6]

We don't actually send out a CD with the 1800, this is not required as a lot of people will use the ethernet connection and therefore don't require any software installing. You can find the set up guide here

[#7]

Hi Southerncomfort,
I am truly sorry that you feel that you have been treated poorly and I hope that your experience with us will continue to improve once you have managed to set up your router.  As Chris has mentioned, the 1800HG doesn't come with a CD or instruction pack, but we'll be happy to help you out if you're struggling to set it up.

[#8]

OK thanks for the comments. On the box it says it should contain 'Installation instructions pack with CD-Rom'.
Unfortunately our wired PC does not have ethernet - just USB. Can I download the software for this ( that would have been on the CD)?
Thanks

[#9]

You certainly can, this is available here. This is linked from this page.

[#10]

or, the laptop should have an ethernet connection - why not use that to configure everything?

[#11]

Chris - I downloaded and printed everything you said, but encountered a problem with the downloaded USB driver files: When I try to launch 'setup.exe' (there is no 'install.exe') nothing happens (just a quick flash of the hourglass symbol). So I can't even install the BT1800HG driver. Any idea why?
Thanks
geofftswin - Our main PC is USB only, and it must continue to be broadband enabled (currently via Binatone 500 modem).
ianwarrilow - Thanks for the valuable advice re the 1800, which will be most useful once (if?) I ever get it installed!!
Question please -
Can I have both modems connected to 1 telephone line via a splitter?  Then I can keep my existing Binatone 500 for the wired USB only PC, and use the 1800HG for the wireless laptop!?

[#12]

Quote from: southerncomfort

Question please - Can I have both modems connected to 1 telephone line via a splitter?  Then I can keep my existing Binatone 500 for the wired USB only PC, and use the 1800HG for the wireless laptop!?

No you can't. ADSL is synchronous and you can only sync one modem to the line at a time.

[#13]

Quote from: southerncomfort

Our main PC is USB only, and it must continue to be broadband enabled (currently via Binatone 500 modem).

If you have any spare PCI slots inside your PC you can add an ethernet card - they cost about a fiver these days!

[#14]

I dont think you need to run setup.exe , you just need to unzip all the files in the downloaded driver file and note where you store them.
Follow the 'Setting up your broadband connection using USB' section in the setup guide but where in step 1 it says

Quote

. Download the PC USB Driver File to your hard drive. Double click on the install file and save the driver files onto your hard drive. Make a note of where these files have been saved as you will need to use them in step 3.

I think it really means
Download the PC USB Driver File to your hard drive. Unzip the file and save the driver files onto your hard drive.
Then proceed with the instructions and, when specifying where to search for drivers, give it the path where you saved the driver files.
Note:- the directory structure in the zip file has a subdirectory called '1800' so when asked where to search you may have to specify this subdirectory below where you saved the files.
Good luck , keep trying we'll get there soon.

[#15]

Hi again,
I've asked one of my colleagues to give you a call and go through the setup. Hope this helps.