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04-05-2012, 12:27 PM

Hi all,

Just a quick question really. The Tenda router supplied by Origin is cheap plastic shite, and regularly disconnects me from the internet, either requiring me to wait a few minutes, or go and pull the power and reinsert it. (The power button on the back doesn't appear to do anything!)

So if we can all agree it's dreadful, can I replace it with something of my own, and if so, what? I've always used combined modem/routers before, but never anything like this, which is just a router on its own. I generally make very light use of wi-fi and could live without it (use Ethernet for my main PC), but it's a nice-to-have.

Does anyone have any recommendations, and is it hard to replace the Tenda technically? Do Origin authenticate on the MAC address of the Cellpipe (which I'd be keeping), or the router? Does any of this make sense? Blush

Cheers

LeJimster · 04-05-2012, 12:47 PM

Can you reuse what you had before? or was it an all-in-one jobbie?

ash45 · 04-05-2012, 01:01 PM

(04-05-2012 12:27 PM)Dearne Ranger Wrote: Hi all,

Just a quick question really. The Tenda router supplied by Origin is cheap plastic shite, and regularly disconnects me from the internet, either requiring me to wait a few minutes, or go and pull the power and reinsert it. (The power button on the back doesn't appear to do anything!)

So if we can all agree it's dreadful, can I replace it with something of my own, and if so, what? I've always used combined modem/routers before, but never anything like this, which is just a router on its own. I generally make very light use of wi-fi and could live without it (use Ethernet for my main PC), but it's a nice-to-have.

Does anyone have any recommendations, and is it hard to replace the Tenda technically? Do Origin authenticate on the MAC address of the Cellpipe (which I'd be keeping), or the router? Does any of this make sense?

Cheers

you can use any router you want (sulong is it had a rj45 wan port of course) providing you leave the cellpipe in tact its fine, Its similar to the way virgin media used to operate before they introduced the superdud router lol you left the modem there (cellpipe) and replaced the router with anything you wanted,

Ash

TTM13 · 04-05-2012, 01:02 PM

I bought a second hand Linksys WRT54GL so I could put the Tomato firmware on. I too had the connection drops. I still get them but very rarely now - it was 3 or four a day when I first connected.

With regards to the settings, just copy whatever is on the setup page on the Tenda, there's only half a dozen from memory - tell it that it needs to use a static IP, the IP itself, DNS IPs etc.

LeJimster · 04-05-2012, 01:29 PM

Theres plenty of options out there. I'll probably not use the Tenda at all when I get my kit. Cellpipe > IPCop (mini itx router pc) > Switch and then from there I can use my cheap ass wireless access point or as it's range sucks I might replace it if I can be bothered. =)

ash45 · 04-05-2012, 01:35 PM

i cant actually fault the zyxel i got with LBO good wifi (although i hardly use it) gbit lan never drops connection, never gets warm (my old adsl router was like a mini oven haha) and a nice interface thats both easy for simple comp people but still advanced enough for people who like to tinker lol, Only drawback is LBO wont give us full admin access so i think there's the odd fetcher we cant use but that's LBOs fault not the router haha and best of all its an all in 1 VDSL modem router so no need for 2 boxes messing my desk up lol

Ash

LeJimster · 04-05-2012, 01:43 PM

You got us there ash. I think most of us would prefer an all in one solution. I must say it bugs me ISP's offering hardware and then locking them down so you can't even view the line stats. The cellpipe for example is actually an all in one solution, but because the wireless sucks they've chosen to lock it down and turn it into a modem. Did they ever think that maybe some people don't use Wifi but might want to use the built in 4 port switch?

(This post was last modified: 04-05-2012 02:26 PM by ocdcodemonkey.)

(04-05-2012 01:43 PM)LeJimster Wrote: You got us there ash. I think most of us would prefer an all in one solution. I must say it bugs me ISP's offering hardware and then locking them down so you can't even view the line stats. The cellpipe for example is actually an all in one solution, but because the wireless sucks they've chosen to lock it down and turn it into a modem. Did they ever think that maybe some people don't use Wifi but might want to use the built in 4 port switch?

In a lot of cases it's because the permissions system on the device isn't granular enough, so they can't give access to some functions an end user would find useful without compromising the basic configuration that makes the device work on their network.

While I'm not doubting the technical capabilities of anyone here, I expect they don't give you full access to avoid the problem of the end user being brave/stupid, changing something critical (without remembering it), and then being forced to send an engineer/replacement hardware out to solve the problem. Remember, their goal as an ISP is to provide you with network access, not to give you toys to play with in your home; anything else is a bonus.

Sure it'd be nice if there was a default set of settings that you could jump back to with a factory reset button, but more often than not this feature can't be customised and will actually factory reset the device, completely bricking it until someone with the right equipment/software re-flashes it.

***Chalky*** · 04-05-2012, 02:38 PM

Whilst I can't recommend this router directly, I have been increasingly trying out TP-Link stuff. I have the Powerline adaptors from them and they work really well and a colleague of mine has their Gigabit switch and Wireless Access Points and he sings their praises and considering we're both Cisco Network Engineers, I think it's pretty high praise.

http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/?...L-WR1043ND

There are better models out there such as the one below, but super fast Wireless wasn't a requirement. The advantage to this one over the cheaper models is the built-in Gigabit ports, including the WAN port. Should give you a bit of future-proofing! It's available for around £40. For those who like to use local suppliers, CBC Computer Systems is one of my personal favourites as @mattyatty1 will attest to!

For those wanting a faster Wireless N Router:

http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/?...L-WR2543ND

Like I say, I haven't personally used these products, I'm just very happy with the range from TP-Link as a whole. At the end of the day, they're probably made in the same factory in China as NETGEAR, Linksys, Cisco, etc.

clifft · (This post was last modified: 04-05-2012 03:20 PM by clifft.)

Anything has to be better than the Tenda. Wife was working from home on the hard wired desktop today. I started up the tablet accessed the browser and it went tits up. I bought my mum a TP-Link adsl router, to replace a crappy Belkin one and she's had a totally stable connection since.

(04-05-2012 01:02 PM)TTM13 Wrote: With regards to the settings, just copy whatever is on the setup page on the Tenda, there's only half a dozen from memory - tell it that it needs to use a static IP, the IP itself, DNS IPs etc.

There's no static IP on the new network, at least for new customers. We get account name, password, MTU 1492 and DNS of your choice.