o2 broadband help

triggerhappy · 3rd May 2008, 2:09pm

We've had o2 broadband for a few months now and everything has been perfectly fine, but our (Netgear) router got fried by a power surge last night and we're now having to use the o2 supplied router which isn't working quite as well.

Now certain pages won't load (e.g. YouTube) or will only partially load, but it seems to be pretty random.

Any ideas?

Stew · 3rd May 2008, 2:10pm

YouTube is down at the moment. If you need to browse it you can get there by going to 208.65.153.251

Problems with any other sites?

triggerhappy · 3rd May 2008, 2:21pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stew

YouTube is down at the moment. If you need to browse it you can get there by going to 208.65.153.251

Problems with any other sites?

Ah, that would explain it.

The last time we hooked up this router though (about three weeks ago) we were having trouble accessing sites like Google, BBC News etc. but not consistently. Pinging them failed, but it only seems to happen with this router. When we put the Netgear back everything worked without a hitch.

Baron Samedi · 3rd May 2008, 2:21pm

Free technical support - 0800 230 0202 (option 2).

triggerhappy · 3rd May 2008, 2:24pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baron Samedi

Free technical support - 0800 230 0202 (option 2).

I honestly can't bear technical support (having done it myself for a few years) and I'm really not in the mood to be asked twenty times whether there's a green light on the front of the router, whether I've restarted my machine and why I'm using a Mac.

Thanks though, but tech support is a last resort.

Stew · 3rd May 2008, 2:27pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by triggerhappy

Ah, that would explain it.

The last time we hooked up this router though (about three weeks ago) we were having trouble accessing sites like Google, BBC News etc. but not consistently. Pinging them failed, but it only seems to happen with this router. When we put the Netgear back everything worked without a hitch.

The 02 supplied routers have reported issues with overheating and poor signal strengths, which would maybe explain the noticeable difference when browsing the intertubes if it was happening after you'd been browsing for a while.

Do you get the same problem if you're connected to the router via cable? Also, SEE - this is why people should have surge protectors.

Baron Samedi · 3rd May 2008, 2:28pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by triggerhappy

I honestly can't bear technical support (having done it myself for a few years) and I'm really not in the mood to be asked twenty times whether there's a green light on the front of the router, whether I've restarted my machine and why I'm using a Mac.

Thanks though, but tech support is a last resort.

To be fair o2's technical support is usually pretty good - there are standard questions they have to ask before trying to resolve any problem but they're pretty knowledgable and do try to offer a better service than the standard "5 questions from a script" approach.

triggerhappy · 3rd May 2008, 2:41pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stew

The 02 supplied routers have reported issues with overheating and poor signal strengths, which would maybe explain the noticeable difference when browsing the intertubes if it was happening after you'd been browsing for a while.

Do you get the same problem if you're connected to the router via cable? Also, SEE - this is why people should have surge protectors.

Ah, that could be it. I'll have a go with a cable and see what happens with it.

I really should get surge protectors as it's happened a few times over the last few months. Grr.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baron Samedi

To be fair o2's technical support is usually pretty good - there are standard questions they have to ask before trying to resolve any problem but they're pretty knowledgable and do try to offer a better service than the standard "5 questions from a script" approach.

They probably are pretty good, every time I've phoned them about other stuff they've been fine. Worst comes to worst I'll give them a shout. They can't be any worse than BT's broadband support.

Stew · 3rd May 2008, 2:44pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by triggerhappy

Ah, that could be it. I'll have a go with a cable and see what happens with it.

The other likely solution is that the 02 router you have could be a pretty old model which there could be a software upgrade for. You got the model number for it? If not on any manuals then it should be on the bottom of the actual router.

triggerhappy · 3rd May 2008, 2:49pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stew

The other likely solution is that the 02 router you have could be a pretty old model which there could be a software upgrade for. You got the model number for it? If not on any manuals then it should be on the bottom of the actual router.

It's a Thomson ST780WL.

Stew · 3rd May 2008, 3:01pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by triggerhappy

It's a Thomson ST780WL.

Ah well, that rules out that problem. It's not going to be a problem with firmware needing to be upgraded to iron out any bugs, or the settings being incorrect for 02 to be connecting correctly. The 02 wireless boxes are rebadged Thomson SpeedTouch routers which are fitted with 02 specific firmware and most of the features are locked out to avoid anything being changed in error.

Witch · 3rd May 2008, 3:06pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by triggerhappy

why I'm using a Mac.

i hate this part " go to www.blah... and download the exe"
"i cant ive got a mac"
"err...hold on we need to put you through to someone who knows about macs"

Hammer · 3rd May 2008, 3:13pm

I've got a spare BT Home Hub router if you get desperate. It should presumably work fine with non-BT companies.

triggerhappy · 3rd May 2008, 3:52pm

Not been able to post back for a while because altnation.com was one of the sites it randomly decided to reject.

Having the old one unplugged for a few hours seems to have done it some good as I've managed to power it up and things are connecting fine.

Hrm.

erithromycin · 11th June 2008, 6:59pm

That actually sounds like a DNS failure to me.