UPC help

elphin

new subscriber to UPC on their 3md broadband, phone and digital tv offer.

problems with bb since then both on laptop using wirlesss and on pc which is cabled to the netgear wirless router supplied. intermittent dropouts which are only resolved by disconnecting / reconnecting the wireless conenction or the lan connection as applicable.

UPC technician who called out says the problem is due to the following

Transmit Power Level

47.0 dBmV

it was running at 53.0 and he says this is too high. he reterminated at the entry point to the house and says that this should solve it. it has reduced the number of dropouts but not cured it.

TV picture quality when not using digital has dropped considerably since this retermination

rambled on a bit there but basically wondering if anyone here has any quick fixes rather than facing the "help desk " again

lambchops

53 dBmV was too high, he was correct there but what he hasn't told you is that this has nothing to do with your wireless dropping or the poor connection wired directly to the router. The transmit power level is from the modem not the router.

The supplied netgear router is a load of pants. I had bad intermittent wireless signals from mine and swapped it out for a new one and it stopped the problem.

elphin

I've a BT Voyager 2110 router here. Should thi work ok or have NTL some configuration on the netgear to ensure we have to use their router

lambchops

The BT Voyager 2110 is an adsl modem/router so won't work. What you need is a what is commonly referred to as a cable router, basically it has no built in modem and so the wan port is the same as an ethernet port. asdsl modem/router's use the dsl phone port for this.
If you look at the back of the netgear you'll see what i mean, it'll have 5 ethernet ports with one labeled "wan".

elphin

thanks for that , i'll have to pick one up somewhere. presume set up of any of them form the box is intuitive enough

dub45

elphin wrote: »

thanks for that , i'll have to pick one up somewhere. presume set up of any of them form the box is intuitive enough

It seems to me a bit premature to blame the netgear particularly as you say the tv reception has been affected. Have you tried the computer on ethernet to the upc modem to see what the performance is like?

elphin

i'll bypass the netgear first.

tv reception is fine through the digital box, just fuzzy when the didtial box is off. probably nothing worth worrying about. the router bypass is a quick hit

lambchops

elphin wrote: »

i'll bypass the netgear first.

tv reception is fine through the digital box, just fuzzy when the didtial box is off. probably nothing worth worrying about. the router bypass is a quick hit

It'll always be fuzzy when the digital box is turned off since this is whats passing the signal to the tv even for the analogue signal.

elphin

lambchops,

cheers for that. another tv is fine so that obviously is problem. must get around to bypassing the netgear tomorrow

elphin

Lambchops,

thanks for the direction on this one. only got around to cabling a pc directly to the cable modem today and voila 12 hours and no dropout at all. Now the fun from UPC / NTL getting a replacement wireless router

siobhan mc

how do you find the connection now elphin?
Im going to switch to upc 3mb broadband, phone and tv package too in the next few weeks, I'm sick of the huge landline charges from eircom each month with VAT added on - so swapping mainly for that reason.
Plus I'm getting a computer to have at home and will want broadband - plus I pay ntl for analogue tv each month - so figured package it all together cheapest way I can.

Havent had broadband in the house before and will be using an apple desktop.
From what you've said - ntl provide a router but its not very good so I need to buy my own cable router?!
Im not hugely up on tech knowledge ( i had to wiki what a router was)

Irishdudedave

If you are just using the desktop, and dont require a wireless signal for a laptop then you dont need any router. The modem UPC install will connect straight into your desktop.

elphin

going by my experience youll have a good connection if you dont need wireless or have 2 pcs.
cabled direct no hassle at all for 48 hours without interruption.

spoke to UPC NTL "help"desk. what a misnomer. they cannot support the netgear wirelss router and i have to contact a 1550number for any problem resolution. They will look at refunding me the cost of the phonecall if it proves to be a router issue !!!!!!!!!!!!

The alternative given to me was to phone netgear in Cork. and this is supposed to be a tech support line !!!!!!!!

dub45

elphin wrote: »

going by my experience youll have a good connection if you dont need wireless or have 2 pcs.
cabled direct no hassle at all for 48 hours without interruption.

spoke to UPC NTL "help"desk. what a misnomer. they cannot support the netgear wirelss router and i have to contact a 1550number for any problem resolution. They will look at refunding me the cost of the phonecall if it proves to be a router issue !!!!!!!!!!!!

The alternative given to me was to phone netgear in Cork. and this is supposed to be a tech support line !!!!!!!!

Was this UPC's own 1550 number? Several of us on here were concerned as to how this 1550 number might be used when we heard that UPC were introducing it.

elphin

1550 924 124 which they told me is the premium PC support company and she admitted is owned by UPC

siobhan mc

Irishdudedave wrote: »

If you are just using the desktop, and dont require a wireless signal for a laptop then you dont need any router. The modem UPC install will connect straight into your desktop.

thanks - so modem for desktop and router for wireless.
I'll follow elphins progress anyway because there will be 2 other laptops in the house aswell as my desktop which will want wireless broadband.