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daddius
new user
Reg'd: Mon
Posts: 18
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This is a message for anybody who has gone in for this new 1 mb "Wireless" option kit that Wanadoo provide. If you haven't bought it yet....my advice is DON'T DO IT, because after spending 10 hours on Sunday getting the thing up and running, you will understand that I was just a little bit ****ED OFF! No actually, I was all for putting the whole lot in the car, driving a round trip of 500 miles, and putting the whole package through Wanadoo's boardroom window!
The instructions that you get are quite simple and I quote them here.
Here's what you get:
An easy setup guide (and other booklets)
Installation software CD
Wanadoo 'Home' Unit (The modem)
1 Wireless adaptor
A 1m Ethernet cable
2 Broadband filters
Telephone line cable
Power supply.
The instructions clearly state...Don't connect anything yet....so we didn't. We read the book, and made sure we had all the bits and pieces.
1. Insert the CD and turn off any Firewall/Anti Virus software.
2. Run the CD, select Full Installation.
3. Connect the telephone line cable and power supply to the home unit.
4. Connect the other end of this cable to one of the filters, and then plug it into your telephone socket.
Various lights will then flash and when they read as shown....
5. Select the Wireles Option
6. Connect the wireless adaptor
7. The lights will flicker again, and the wireless adaptor will be found.Put in the installation code.
8. Select the Wanadoo network
9. Pair it with the home unit by pressing a button on the home unit.
10.Enter your login details .
that's it.
If you want to connect a 2nd PC then use the supplied ethernet cable and run the software on the second or subsequent PC/'s.
That's it........supposedly!!!
Now let's go to the REAL WORLD.
OK we had all the bits as described.
We want to set up our main PC which is near our phone line.
We also want to connect our daughter's PC which is elsewhere in the house.
So off we went with the installation.
Then we realised that we'd have to use the ethernet cable to connect the main PC, and let our daughter use the wireless adaptor because she hasn't got a phone line so we couldn't put the home unit in her room. Because we couldn't put the home unit in her room, we also couldn't connect her with the ethernet cable as it wouldn't be anywhere long enough.
So I connected up OUR computer, using the ethernet cable and then went to install the wireless adaptor in her room.
ZILCH.....absolutely nothing.
The 'tehnical help' from wanadoo..forget it. they will tell you that:
Your PC is faulty
You haven't followed the installation.
You have to re-install the software (did this about 11 times).
The thing that they seemed to have forgotten is this.
If I connected the PC up as indicated on their CD, then the only way I could connect my daughter's machine would be to either buy and run a 50m ethernet cable to her PC (not supplied) Buy her an ethernet card (not supplied), OR (as I suspect they want me to do) buy another of their useless wireless adaptors....which is a bit of a laugh as the one they sent wouldn't connect anyway!!!
After ten hours downloading various drivers from the web, I finally connected everything up....no thanks to Wanadoo!! Thank God I am reasonably technically minded. Letter is in the post to their Board of Directors ref this.
SO here's my question.......
I now want to wirelessly connect my wife's laptop to this setup.
Will ANY wireless adaptor (I'll buy a brand new one with the software) do the job or have I GOT to buy another of these horrid adaptors and probably have the same **** all over again??????
Connection is 802.11g for those who want this.
Any help most MOSt MOST welcome.
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alex22
new user
Reg'd: Sat
Posts: 8
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Other wireless adapters do work 802.11b adapters is backwards compactabile with the router, so you can use them with the router. What I found is with Windows XP is to ensure SP2 is installed and other adapters work fine.
Regards
Alex
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bigdavid
new user
Reg'd: Fri
Posts: 1
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Hello Daddius.
I have had similar problems getting wireless connections to work with Wanadoo Home. The supplied Wanadoo adapter worked for a while but the signal kept dropping and the kids were unimpressed as this was on their machine. Our machine worked fine directly connected with an Ethernet cable. Trying other wireless adapters was even worse: the built in adapter on an IBM Thinkpad connected to the network for a short time but never got as far as the internet, and a Linksys PCMCIA adapter never managed to connect at all.
Rather than tackle Wanadoo tech support, I preferred to reuse my Linksys ADSL router/wireless access point, which I bought 2 years ago to work with an NTL cable modem, and has worked flawlessly. (We switched from NTL because of truly abysmal customer support and an unreliable connection. The Wanadoo wireless option seemed an attractive swap.) Eventually with some help from the Linksys website I changed the IP address of my Linksys router, so that it did not conflict with the Wanadoo Home (both wanted to be 192.168.1.1).
Now everything works fine for me:
- Linksys does the wireless network and direct Ethernet connection
- Wanadoo Home does the internet access
- The Linksys WAN port is attached to the Wanadoo Ethernet connection
- The wireless network on the Wanadoo Home is now disabled, so the box has become a rather roundabout way to provide an ADSL modem with Ethernet connection.
So if you can pick up a cheap router/wireless access point you could try the same. Not a very clean solution, but it works for me and I don't have the energy to battle on with wireless on the Wanadoo Home.
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fangio18
regular
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 50
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Man, do I wish I had read your post before I too got suckered into "The Dark Side" or as it is more commonly known..."Wanadoo Home".
Not only is the "Technical Support" un-technical and useless but also the "Wireless" adapter for a laptop has a.....wait for the punchline......yes you guessed it folks.....A WIRE! so you get to use you lap top wirelessly around the house with this thing dragging behind you...........ah but wait there is more
For the final bit of Wanadoo Wonder we must look at the actual name of the service, this is called Wanadoo "Home" inicating that you can use you laptop wirelessly around your "home" with the kit they provide you.......................great news is that if you move anymore than about a foot away from the router/useless piece of £80 junk you get disconnected because of POOR/LOW quality which is the final irony.......Poor/Low quality service from a Poor/Low quality product from what is made out to be a simple solution from a so-called market leader.
Oh, wait a tick I just though of another and this will really get you...........if Wanadoo Technical Support can not help you they suggest that you try Inventel who created the device.........who are in.....wait for it..........FRANCE and are unable to comunicate with you in English.....because why would they are French so we can not expect them to but it would appear Wandoo can.
Suggestion of the day: Wanadoo cange their name to Wanadon't!
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fangio18
regular
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 50
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O dear, after reading my post I have realised 2 things:
1: I can not spell, sorry.
2: Has anyone got a suggestion on how to get either the present wireless adapter to work around the house or if I got another wireless adapter (this time: one that does not have a wire) and plugged it into my laptop, firstly woudl it work with the Wanadoo Home and 2nd would the signal be better. Is the poor signal due to a poor sender/router or is it down to the poor reciever?
Anyone have any thoughts?
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11diamond11
new user
Reg'd: Tue
Posts: 5
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A very big warning to all,
I was supplied wanadoo home (big mistake) and it was faulty. 10 weeks along the line with over 20 phone calls 2 emails and 1 letter i still have not had a replacement , i am being charged broadband rate straight out my bank which i do not have yet i am £80 down for a load of plastic and metal crap that does not work and nobody gives a dam about doing anything. I keep receiveing th standard email that a replacment part will be sent out (yeah right) I requested a refund to which it has just been ignored. I am so p.... of with it.
STAY AWAY FOR YOUR OWN GOOD look up there are enough warnings
diamond
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tommyg
new user
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 1
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Sweet Jesus! Wanadoo....Wanadon't! My parents applied for a "wanadoo livebox" for one of my christmas pressies. I had no idea until this big box was placed in our trailer/skip outside our back door (little did i know this box was alomast headed BACK in the trailer/skip!!!) I opend it up and i saw this beautiful wireless braodband pack..."WOW!!" i cried! FINALLY!! Ok...so its not christmas yet....BUT HEY!!! Ne way...I flipped open the lid 2 find this rather gorgeous....if a little odd "wanadoo livebox" and wires etc. I had NO previous experience in home networking and with wanadoos "easy installation" i thought it would be a sinch!
In the box was only included 1 adapter which was going 2 be connected to my dads PC. Er...hello....i want 2 be connected to...wheres the other adapter. AW CRAP! www.wanadoo.co.uk...adapters....dududu...3 TO 4 WEEKS!! O GOD! : (
With my head bowed and my tail between my legs...i woz gutted. Still....next day....went to school...got home...??? Another box...including an adapter...?? Wandoo...ur rele stupid (little did i no HOW stupid). Kool. I took it out....shovedin the set up disk and i was off!
Er...hang on...why isnt the computer finding the drivers on your cd?? err...why wont XP bloody recognise it. bah..ill try again! Err...no why wont it STILL not connect. O jesus. Phone...bleep bleep bleep..."hello custermer serveices"...blah blah blah...SP2?....interfierence...uninstall. Get lost!! They sucked....they didnt have a bloody clue what they were on about! God bless the web user pages! I downloaded the drivers where i was told and up flased the little green light! woooo!! Im up and running...i hope. EH OH! Wrong awnser. 1 works...but the other comp dosnt connect. HUH!? Here we go again. "customer services how may i help"....Yea SP2 is causing problems...."BANG" i commit suicide. Bolocks 2 u all. The reason the adapter wudnt work was coz u didnt supply the right drivers! And all you had to do was reinstall the software! God...u suck wanado!!!
Moral...wudnt bother with them unless u enjoy pissing yourself and your dad off and enjoy getting anoyed with imcompetent ???? on the end of the phone that have no idea what they are tlking about! Still...its up and running now aftr abt 4 hours worth of work! But...it woz worth it.
There is no conclusion lol. If u want a trouble free time dont use wandoo!! but wen its up and running...it rocks!
Edited by TheFatControlleR on 10/12/2004 03:51 (server time).
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