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Strange internet woes

One thing I'd like to ask is regarding the router I'm currently using - a Zoom X6 5590C - does anyone else have one of these? Or furthermore, does anyone know some of the finer points in setting it up?

I'm possibly being completely paranoid (as I said before, this problem has occurred with 3 modems/routers including this one), but there's an awful lot in the control panel of that Zoom which I haven't got a clue about, and let's face it, should it be the unlikely event that all the routers have a similar problem, I'd like to put that to bed completely before BT may get called out to avoid a potential fee I can't afford.

I'm au fait with the obvious settings my ISP has specified.

So, please, anybody?
 
I had an X6, it was a great little router, but prone to overheating a bit. I dont remember it being too difficult to set up, but then the one I had before it was a nightmare.

Incidentally, did you unplug ALL your filters and equipment and leave it for about 40 minutes before plugging it all back in?/
This would clear any dodgy BT line stats and give you a fresh profile.

If you have lost the Zoom manual, there is another copy in pdf format on the driver disk.
To be fair, you dont need to touch a lot of it, it sets itself up using the ISP info on the ADSL connection, or at least mine did.

Just remember, if you use it wirelessly, use WPA or WPA2 if it has it; PSK means Pre Set Key = you enter a word or phrase as the password.
 
Ah, thank you Captain C! That's truly put my mind at rest.

To be brutally honest, I think I am being a bit paranoid - just there's a lot of settings/menus which spooked me a little. I am however wary of BT trying to charge for things, so just trying to make absolutely SURE I've covered all my bases. FYI, they tried to bill me 6 times last year for the call-outs before that magical Home Office contact, then I miraculously never heard another thing!

I'll have a nosey on the driver disk, then, ta very much. And, yes, I think it's a great little router - I dig a bit of a dig around on reviews, and they generally tend to run away trouble-free, which suits me down to the ground.

I rarely use wireless, but I always set-up WPA2 straight away (in case I forget), for the rare cases the Wii or the DS' go on.

I was going to disconnect for a while and let the profile reset, but I noticed when I got the message from Fast, it changed up to 8000+kbps briefly (with a load of errors, naturally), before it then settled back down to my usual profile. Of course, the overall speed's still worse (as I quoted before).

But, I'll try it later tonight when I get the chance, and see how it goes. I won't cross my fingers though.

Got a feeling this is going to go backwards and forwards again for some time ... which is frustrating enough, but every year??

Ho hum.
 
sounds like fun and games....

still lve always stuck with Netgear after all the problems with belkin l had... for the last 4 years lve used three different neatgears and swear by them for the time being.

as for your issue, the best suggestion l can make is to turn off and disconnect your modem/router for maybe a few hours, better yet overnight then see how things go without it connected it wont be resyncing all the time possibly messing up your profile and it may provide time for your line to settle again... still knowing BT it might take a while... its great when there isnt a problem but when there is one there are so many hoops to jump through that no one knows what anyones doing.
 
I plan to do just that, Timeless :) - depending of course, on what time I do eventually go to bed that is!

Quite agree Belkin from experience are pretty cheap and nasty affairs, but Netgear do generally toddle along nicely while they work - have had two fail on me, so I'm just basically going for a change at the moment; Zoom seemed to fit the bill as I couldn't find a decent Buffalo router within my price range.

My biggest beef about BT is that there has been continued years of poor investment, in part due to the "British disease" - that of failing to invest in assets, etc, just so the year-end profits look good enough for the shareholders, and the top bods get nice golden handshakes within a few years. Nobody has ever been allowed to take a long view and manage those assets correctly. In cases such as mine, for example, instead of finding excuses not to go out and fix/replace faulty equipment to save themselves some cash in the short term (in the vain hope we'll get fed-up and go away, I guess), they should be slowly getting things replaced correctly and efficiently so that they'll last a number of years, which naturally, in turn helps the long-term good of the business.

I've witnessed nothing that contradicts my belief, especially as I've been in contact (through a few of my political friends I've made over the years) with a number of senior ex-BT employees who have since confirmed this.

Anyway, that's my fruitless rant. Won't solve anything, but it does get it off my chest :)

What makes this doubly frustrating is my lack of alternatives. I really do NOT want to go through yet another yearly battle with BT over yet another fault of theirs, yet here I am again. If I could go to cable or something else, I would jump at the chance, regardless of the price - but we are unlikely to ever get that option in South Lincolnshire (I keep a regular eye on it).

It's really galling to have to rely on the internet so much too, but when you're house-bound, what can you do?
 
Sorry for yet another quick post - but a thought has occurred to me.

Should I go across to Fast's LLU service?

My primary reasons are: (1) The monthly usage is far greater, which gives me much more breathing space, as it were, for a mere £5 extra a month. (2) Would this mean that Fast will have greater control over fault repairs and problems as they'd have greater control over the line?

I've checked and my exchange does support it, Fast support it (although speeds don't really increase, but as I've said before, this is of no concern to me - 2Mb is fine for me). I realise that in all probability BT will end up doing the LLU work for Fast, but I don't care, as long as my 2 reasons above are met.

All I want is an easy reliable life, and I hope (fingers crossed) this may be an answer. Any input, as ever, is greatly appreciated.
 
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tbh LLU can be a little weird, tho since you had 6meg you might get that or a little less, tho it depends on how far you are from the exchange... l myself am on LLU and have found that in order to get "amazing" speeds you have to live virtually on top of the exchange..

still whether it will improve your problem maybe debatable, mainly in the perspective that if there is a problem it could be between the exchange and your home, in which case moving to another similar technology wont do much... and possibly be worse, but then again the fault could be within the exchange and changing to a LLU port might mean moving off a faulty one... who knows, lm stabbing in the dark here but those are the only possible assumptions l can make so until the problem is fixed (at which point you might want to stay with your current provider) l would personally keep onto BT until its sorted so if you do move then at least you have a clear mind that you will get a good quality service which consistently performs at the highest capable rate.
 
Thanks, Timeless, not the answer I would have liked, but we can't always get what we want, can we? :)

As far the speeds go, it could decrease a bit, and I'd be happy - I really do mean 2Mb is adequate for me, and WHEN things work properly 4.5-6.5 is the norm, so I guess I've got a bit of leeway in that respect. Also, I wouldn't be moving provider - no way I could top what Fast offer, I believe.

One thing they have said - after speaking to them today - is that they'd want this problem sorting out before moving across, which makes perfect sense. In all honesty, I think it'd be worth the move as for a mere £5 a month extra, I get a few benefits which are worthwhile.

But of course, I'm not going to run before I can walk though ;)

The overriding thing that bothers me more than anything is having to go through this crap with BT every year (for the last 5 years in succession, at least). It's always been either a problem with the line, or hardware at the exchange. Of course, as they're individual cases, I can't blame them for not doing the repairs. What does **** me off is this unreasonable amount of time going back-and-forth BEFORE you get lucky enough to get them out - and even then it's hit and miss. In a nutshell, each occasion has taken weeks to sort out (the shortest example was 3 weeks). Bearing in mind my being house-bound, and having to really RELY on internet for shopping, otherwise my health suffers (I had several bad infections last year down to not being able to get any food other than from the local corner shop). That is not an excuse - it really is that big a thing to me.

So if moving to LLU (even if BT were being sub-contracted by Fast), if it speeds up such a situation in the future, then I'm in. To be brutally honest, I can't see as it'll be much worse.

'Til then, the problem's still here, and on we go ...
 
its a sad thing, but sadly something that it seems everyone has a problem with unless they are a shareholder or have a big wad of cash to backup their need.
 
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