My Tech Adventures

Hello Again! O2 Wireless Box III Note: I have put up stickers to cover the DSL port and mark the Ethernet port to use as WAN port O2 Wireless Box IV Next to a (relatively) generic model! This time it's the turn of 2 routers, the O2 Wireless Box III ( specifications , firmware ) and the O2 Wireless Box IV ( manual , firmware , openwrt ), both being locked to O2 as usual. Now, one may use jtag to try to 'unlock' these by replacing and/or editing the CFE in order to flash generic firmware for use with other ISPs but if you are just looking for a wireless router to add to an existing lan network, all it takes is the Configuration Wizard with custom templates (and the SuperUser account credentials). (To continue reading, please click on 'Read More')

Hi! Next we have the locked down version of the Thomson SpeedTouch TG585v7 ( Specifications , wikidevi ) router in the form of O2 Wireless Box II. Fortunately, one can install (compatible) firmware (apart from changing CFE via jTAG) by BE that is much closer to generic firmware allowing the router to be configured easily for other ISPs (and not only other ISPs, but, can also be configured differently such as a Wireless Router with one LAN port acting as WAN port and more). Here are some pictures of the router itself: Firmware Update: (To continue reading, please click on 'Read More')

Hello Again! Next up is the BT Home Hub v2* Type A home ADSL Wireless Router by Thomson/Technicolor (more info at OpenWRT wiki ). Again, this router accepts only BT specific/approved domain names for username of dsl and must be 'unlocked' to be used with other ISPs. Such 'unlocking' (thanks to btsimonh and Surreliz3) also allows more configuration options, though firmware upgrade options might become limited. As with the BTHH v1 & v1.5 , this router can be 'unlocked' via jTAG method but there is also the relatively easier software method provided the firmware version currently on the BTHHv2A is lower than version 8.1.H.U.  Unlock: I 'unlocked' mine via the software method a long time ago so I won't be able to post screenshots of the process (have yet to try the jtag method on one with newer firmware that I also happen to have), but, here is the process as described on the now defunct psidoc.com website (the links may...

Hello! This time, we have a Huawei EchoLife HG521 provided by the ISP TalkTalk based upon a chipset by Realtek (more details here ). It is quite a nice ADSL Wireless (upto Wireless N 300Mbps with good range) Router despite its small size and only one Ethernet/LAN port. There is a review of the same available  here . However, unlike the generic version, this one is 'locked' to TalkTalk as it does not accept other dsl username(s) ... unless you edit the configuration file or replace the firmware :) Method 1: Editing the Configuration File (may also work for ones by AOL, ttnet, etc) - Login to the router's web interface (default username: admin, password: admin in this case) - Click Advanced (To continue reading, please click on 'Read More')

Hello Again! Although the home hub (HH) routers can be both configured via the web interface and the configuration wizard software (see part 1  here ), there is another 'hidden' powerful tool in the form of CLI that not only provides configuration options but many extra options too. In order to use the CLI interface, one needs to have a Telnet Client in the form of the client built into WindowsOS or a separate utility like PuTTY . The CLI Reference, uploaded at http://1drv.ms/1NlbDf6 , shall also come in handy. An example for changing the DNS Server Addresses : telnet 192.168.1.254 dns server route ? dns server route list dns server route add dns = 199.85.126.20 metric = 5 intf = Internet dns server route add dns = 8.26.56.26 metric = 7 intf = Internet - I have used the DNS Server Address of Norton DNS and Comodo DNS respectively in this case as an example ... replace with your own  - The 'Metric' can be thought of as prior...

Hello! I actually wanted to write about the BT ones first starting with older (but still relevant) models and come to D-Link later but upon receiving many requests, I have decided to write about this particular model first!!! This is a good router (I tried it out for some time) provided by TalkTalk to its customers! It is also found 'dumped' here in Pakistan along with all the other routers. It has some good specifications as well! There is a review of it over here . So, how do you use it with other ISPs that require usernames (for dsl) not allowed by this router??? All one has to do is to configure the router using the 'Setup Wizard' and just click OK for the popup that pops up when you have to input the username for your dsl connection (any modern browser should disregard it). Then, after a few seconds, you are presented with the next page of the wizard! This method also works on the DSL-2680!!! Note: For tweaking the default settings like MTU and Di...