JimFromSales
@swbell.net
| Setting up Westell 327W wireless modem/router
I purchased a westell 327w wireless combo modem/router on ebay to work with CenturyTel DSL service. I believe the modem was configured to work with AT&T so with the help of the good people on here I was able to change my VCI settings to match what CenturyTel works with. I had the modem/router directly hooked up to my HP laptop (which has wireless capabilities).
With the internet/DSL working the next step is for me to setup wireless in my house. Can anyone walk a novice through setting this up? I tried to fool around with the wireless configuration in the modem but I was afraid of screwing up some internal settings. How do I setup my router in the Westell 327w to provide SECURE wireless service throughout my house?
Thank you in advance for any assistance in this matter. |
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seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
Salish Sea | I'm going to send you over to the Westel forum so we can concentrate on Centurytel issues here. |
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nwrickert
sand groper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL | reply to JimFromSales
This will depend a bit on which model of the 327w you have. Recent models support WPA. Some older versions only support WEP (weak security).
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AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.1 |
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JimFromSales
@swbell.net | this is a pretty recent modem/router, within the last 6 months I believe. |
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nwrickert
sand groper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL
 ·AT&T Midwest
| There are different versions of the firmware. The configuration interface varies between them. I can only describe what I am seeing.
The main page (after browsing to the Westell) has several tabs. One of those is labeled "Wireless". So I click on that.
That takes me to the basic wireless settings page. On that page, I enter my desired SSID, and I make sure that Wireless operation is set to enabled. The defaults should be fine for everything else on that page.
There is a menu item for "Security" just below the tabs. I click on that. It takes me to a page for the security settings. There, I can select between "WPA-PSK", "WEP" and "Disabled" for the security. My selection was "WPA-PSK".
Just below that is a window to enter the WPA shared key. That's where you enter your preferred key. It is usually recommended that this be at least 20 characters, and not easily guessible. I used a random generator to give me a string around 40 chars in length.
You should not need to change anything else on the page. You will need to remember the key, or keep a copy in a file, for you will need that key on your systems that connect with WiFi.
Then click on "Save" at the bottom of the page. And after that, you will need to click on "Reset", or otherwise reset the modem (power cycling also works).
When the modem comes back up, the WiFi should work. You will need to enter the key on your WiFi connected boxes.
Your config pages might be different (different firmware versions). But the general process should be similar. You just have to work out how to navigate around the menus.
When picking an SSID, pick something other than "Westell", and best not to use your name or address either. If you have previously used WiFi on your computers, it might be best to pick a new SSID different from any you have previously used, so that saved configuration info doesn't confuse the setup.
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AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.1 |
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