Bt Broadband basic and 3com wireless router problems

yardo · 30-04-2005, 04:18 PM

I have recently taken BT Broadband basic and it installed fine with the wired ADSL modem supplied by BT. However I bought a 3COM wireless router / modem and cannot connect to the internet either wirelessly via the PCMCIA card or the ethernet cable. I have entered the id/password that I logon to BT with but it just doesn't find the internetwith the 3COM kit. I have changed only the minimum from the defaults supplied by 3Com but whatever I do I can't connect. As soon as I plug the BT usb cable and modem back in it's fine. Are there any settings I particularly need ? I am starting to despair !

pip22 · 16-05-2005, 07:28 PM

Did you first check that the 3COM is compatible with BT ADSL Broadband? You can't just plug in any modem/router you choose and expect it to find your network supplier just like that. At best it will need to be configured for BT ADSL, or at worst it will not be compatible with BT ADSL.

rfpettifer · 31-12-2005, 06:19 PM

I was wondering if YARDO found out if his 3COM router was compatible with BT. The reason I ask is that I have contacted BT with the same problem and was not told of any incompatibility. I have the wireless network running now but if I am not connected for about 2 hours, the the router goes off-line and cannot be restored wirelessly. It can be brought up via a direct ethernet connection. Can anyone help with this problem?

tpmartin · 02-01-2006, 08:08 PM

I have bought a couple of the 3Com OfficeConnect routers, 3CRWDR100A-72. Both have worked fine on other peoples lines using PPoE.

One of them I am trying to use to connect to BT Broadband on my own home line and I have problems. Cannot get any Synch ever. Get a long flashes and then a short flash on the sync light.

Have tried connecting direct to the master socket. With and without a microfilter, still no sync.

Took the router back to friends house and got synch after a few seconds. And got PPoE connection to AOL on BT line.

Still cannot get sync on my home line. I have been using my line at home for other routers for several years with no problem.

At the moment , I can only think there is a noise problem on the line. But even this doesnt really make sense because the adsl status alternates between Quiet1 and Idle and does not even show a noise margin. it is almost as if the line is not there.

I have another friend with a new 3com adsl wireless router and he cannot get his to work either. I am beginning to wonder if there is a pattern. will be interested if there are any others out there with problems.

I will try bt and 3com tomorrow. (The 3com web site is none too helpful.) and will post back here with any more info.

ikoncitybj · 02-01-2006, 09:41 PM

Was just searching for help on connecting a 3com officeConnect to bt broadband when i came acro ss this thread... It really is a weird one - As i run a 3com on my office loop which connect to BT fine but tring to run one at home has been a nightmare - i am thinking it has something to do with the exchange upgrades, as it started failing when i was a tiscali customer ( don't get me started on why i dumped them) and hasn't connected since joining BT... The votager supplied works fine... If i had just thought of the clicking the optional £25 'go' wireless option... then i would be a much happier bunny and i could ssit at my new 'christmas' desk... rather than on the sofa with the kids a screaming...

rfpettifer · 02-01-2006, 11:23 PM

I have now got mine to work. You are right the 3com web and telephone support is lamentable. I registered the router via the site and it helpfully completed the purchase date to a date 2 months earlier, thus telling me my telephone help had passed its 90day limit. Anyway I bought the device recently from Insight. I found that the router software was version 1.04 and the most recent was 2.05. I downloaded it and update the router via a system tool, had to type in the configuration again.
for starters, disable the firewall, disable encryption. Logout, remove ethernet cable, disable ethernet connection, enable the wireless connection, disable any firewall and it should work.

gastongarcon · 18-05-2006, 12:40 PM

Hey there, just reading this thread and thought somebody might be able to help me out.
I recently bought a 3com wireless adsl router, and have been trying to hook it up to my aol broadband adsl connection, i follow the installation instructions until i get to the part where i configure the network settings. It says to go to network settings and click on the LAN or High speed connection icon, theres only a local area connection called 'Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC' and when i click on it, i'm supposed to see an internet protocol tcp/ip button, but there isn't one.
Now, when i set up the hardware connections, i plugged the adsl RJ-11 cable directly into a splitter coming directly from the wall jack, and the other cable i ran from the router to the pc. I'm not sure why there is a splitter in this line, as we don't use it as a phone line, we have 2 phone lines. The splitter previously was connected to a BT voyager 105, USB adsl Modem. (it has both a BT and an AOL stamp on it) And then to the pc. It did also have a phone cable connected to the splitter and pc. (Not sure what for) Anyway, so , like i said, once i disconnect the old modem, so that i can connect the new router to the phone line (The old modem only has no spare ports) I lose the internet connection that i had (Obviously) But i can't seem to get any connection at all through the router.
Whew, i hope that makes some sense.
Any help would be much appreciated.
My only guess is that i for some reason need to use the modem provided by AOL in the first place? But i'm a complete dunce at computers, so my guess is probably nowhere near the truth.
Oh, in case you're wondering, i need the router as we have two mac laptops that we want to hook up to the wireless.
Thanks
Stephen

Empgamer · 21-05-2006, 01:57 PM

I have just gone through this. Might be worth a try but are you aware that the password (it seems - it works on my router) is actually just 'BT' and not the e-mail password? Sorry if you already know this, I didn't and was glad I eventually found it. Apparently the password is always BT for their stuff.

gastongarcon · 26-08-2006, 04:30 PM

Hey there.
I should have posted this ages ago, but I finally got my 3com router running perfectly on AOL broadband silver. In the end it was that the protocol settings that AOL gave me were wrong. They are using PPPoA, and not PPPoE as the operator told me.
Anyway, so it was running fine for the last two months, but yesterday just stopped all of a sudden. And I haven't been able to get it up and running again, will not sync at all. Have AOL broadband running again on the home pc, but with the old BT voyager modem. So there isn't a line problem.
Any ideas???
Please help.

PHH · 04-10-2006, 09:26 PM

Hi
Just won a small battle to connect to BT broadband basic with my new 3Com router - with help from this thread and this page of useful info from a different broadband ISP http://www.ukfsn.org/support/adsl.html

The 3Com settings required are under the router's Internet Settings config page

PPPoA not PPPoE
IP assigned by ISP = yes
VPI/VCI = 0/38
Encapsulation = VCMUX
MTU 1942 (this is default)

Username is firstname.surname@btbroadband.com
The 3Com insists on a password use BT
I also disabled the firewall to rule that out, but enabled it again after it connected.
Am still on 1.04 software.
Hope this helps someone!