| Westell 327W modem questions I signed up for CenturyTel DSL in July of '07 because I live in the exact middle of absolutely nowhere and DSL wasn't available before that.
When I did, they provided me with a Westell Vesalink model 327W modem/router thingumy. It's been working fine, but I've had a few ... issues ... lately.
My daughter has a laptop with Windows Vista installed on (infecting?  ) it. When she's away at college Sunday afternoon through Friday afternoon, it works fine. Once she comes home for the weekend and connects to the router, the internet connection starts giving me fits: pages won't load, what does deign to load takes forever to do it, etc. If I unplug the phone line from the dsl modem, then things straighten up for a little while, but so far, the only real solution has been to make her disconnect her laptop from the LAN.
I've been searching the internet (while she's asleep ) and I came up with a few other questions:
1) Where can I find a manual for this thing. I saw a link posted here in a message dated about 2 months ago, but the link is dead now.
2) When I go to »192.168.1.1/update.htm to try updating the device's firmware, I discover that it's trying to load the update from a broken link. (»www.westell.com/upgrades/model32···0-00.xml) My "about" screen reports:
Model Number D90-327W14-06
Software Version VER:4.03.02.02
Software Model 4 Port Gateway
Description WireSpeed Data Gateway
Boot Loader VER:4.03.02.02
Configuration 096-900163-00A
Is there a newer firmware version for this thing, and, if so, where can I get it?
3) Ever since Day One with this thing, if I just plug it in and turn it on, when it connects I see
DSL Connect Rate (Down/Up) 1728 Kbits/sec by 32 Kbits/sec
When I SHOULD see
DSL Connect Rate (Down/Up) 1728 Kbits/sec by 352 Kbits/sec
The only way to fix this is to remove the phone line (without powering off the device), wait 4 seconds, then plug it back in. I strongly suspect that's because of line noise caused by the fact that the phone line I'm using is CONSIDERABLY longer than the recommended 10 feet, but the phone jack is in the other room, this computer doesn't have a wireless card, and I can't move either one.
I would LOVE to hear any constructive comments on this whole mess...' |
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 IconTime KeeperPremium,VIP,MVM
join:2004-01-07
Little Rock, AR
kudos:3 | I've seen issues like this several times, with the upload reporting lower than it should. This severely affects the download speed like you mentioned. It seems to me that it's something in either the chipset or the firmware on the Westell modems (327 and 6100), and the handshake between the modem and the DSLAM. I've tried other brands of modems, specifically Netopia and Speedstream, and haven't gotten those skewed upload numbers.
I'm still looking for a definitive answer to this myself, as I'm running into this problem more and more, and we only give out Westell branded modems now. |
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| As I said, the only time I notice the problem with the upload speed is when the device automatically reconnects (i.e. after the power is turned off and back on), and, even then, the solution is simple: disconnect the phone line for a few seconds.
It's a pain in the posterior, but it works.
My main issue here is the fact that when my daughter's laptop is connected to the internet, NOBODY can get ANYTHING to load.
Right now it's only a problem on weekends, when she's home from college, but I'd REALLY like to find a solution before next summer when she's due to bring that nasty laptop home for two solid months!
I'm guessing it has something to do with Windoze Vista's implementation of IPv6. That's why I'm looking for a firmware update for this device.
Problem is I haven't even seen MENTION of model number D90-327W14-06. Everybody else seems to have the 327W15 models.
Did CenturyTel hand me an outdated DSL modem? |
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 tstolzePremium
join:2003-08-08
O Fallon, MO
kudos:1 | reply to Thriell
I would start with the laptop, look for some sort of file sharing program or a virus...
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Ofallon, Mo Weather |
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| reply to Thriell
Buy your own modem.Try a 2Wire 2700hg from Ebay.I have had good luck with it as it works a lot better than the provided Netopia modem + my Dlink router that i now just have as a spare in case something happens.Can't see why your sync speed would change |
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Bippin
join:2004-09-17
Monroe, LA | reply to Thriell
CenturyTel uses custom versions of the routers they provide. I don't think the generic versions of code on the Internet aren't loadable to the CTL version. |
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Bippin
join:2004-09-17
Monroe, LA | reply to Thriell
My guess is that the laptop has a virus (or something similar) that is using up all of the bandwidth on the upstream side and is making it difficult for anything else to get out. |
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