Removing firmware on modem router

[andy stone]

Someone has terminated their internet connection with Be (because they have
sold up to sky) and Be say they do not need to return the modem router to
them. Zen internet provider said they can use the modem with their service
provided its not locked down.

When ringing Be technical support they say it has their firmware on it, but
it can be removed.

Is this a difficult thing for a novice to do, removing firmware?

[Pete]

andy stone brought next idea :

First of all, why don't you just try going into the router management
pages (192.168.1.1 or 192.168.2.1 or 192.168.1.254 or some such - may
even be a label on the bottom of the router giving the IP address and
username/password, which could be admin/admin) and change the login
details to that of the new ISP? May not need firmware changed at all.

[Nick Leverton]

In article <knign6$nh4$1...@dont-email.me>,

Removing firmware would be quite a bad idea and would produce a slim,
elegant paperweight. What Be might, perhaps, have meant is to update
their specific firmware with something more generic for the router.
I believe some Be routers are locked to their own firmware though so
you'd have to check the model number in more detail and see what firmware
might be available for it.

Once you've found something you want to install, that should be quite
simple using the router's firmware update web interface. There is always
a little "will it reboot or have I bricked it" frisson when the lights
stop flashing, but you'll soon get used to the fun of that and to doing
factory resets :-)

The Be firmware has various specific scripts to set things up for their
network but given that ADSL is all pretty much of a muchness, I'd agree
with just trying it as-is first anyway.

Nick
--
"The Internet, a sort of ersatz counterfeit of real life"
-- Janet Street-Porter, BBC2, 19th March 1996

[Andrew Benham]

I'm a BE customer. BE have supplied a number of modem/routers over the
years - all from the same company, variously known as Speedtouch/Thomson/
Technicolor.

Some of these models have locked firmware - in the sense that you can
only install firmware provided by BE, and specifically *not* in the sense
that you can only use the firmware on a BE connection.
Other ISPs do this as well so you have to use firmware which they
provide, but there's nothing to stop you from using their firmware with
any other ISP. Other ISP use generic firmware, and you can't install an
ISP's locked firmware on such a modem/router.

I suggest the solution is to ask Zen if they have a template for the
model concerned. If so, install that template and use it in the wizard
to configure the device for Zen. If there's no template, it's worth
looking at
http://forums.modem-help.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=9301

If you're brave and have a JTAG cable, it's possible to unlock the device
so that you can use generic firmware on it - Google for "firmware unlock
TG585v7" (or whichever model it is). But generic firmware might not be
the right answer for you - e.g. do Zen provide firmware, and if so is it
locked as well (so you might want to unlock from BE and then lock to
Zen) ?

[The Natural Philosopher]

usually you overwrite it with a new image.


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

[alexd]

Nick Leverton (for it is he) wrote:

> The Be firmware has various specific scripts to set things up for their
> network but given that ADSL is all pretty much of a muchness, I'd agree
> with just trying it as-is first anyway.

One thing it won't have is anywhere to put in the PPP username/password, as
Be don't use them.

--
<http://ale.cx/> (AIM:troffasky) (UnSoEs...@ale.cx)
21:28:14 up 52 min, 3 users, load average: 0.06, 0.13, 0.30
Qua illic est reprehendit, illic est a vindicatum

[Andrew Benham]

On Wed, 22 May 2013 21:28:44 +0100, alexd wrote:

> Nick Leverton (for it is he) wrote:
>
>> The Be firmware has various specific scripts to set things up for their
>> network but given that ADSL is all pretty much of a muchness, I'd agree
>> with just trying it as-is first anyway.
>
> One thing it won't have is anywhere to put in the PPP username/password,
> as Be don't use them.

BE don't use PPP, but "their" firmware still has support for it. You can
configure PPP from the command line, or (much easier) install a template
which knows about PPPoA.

[Graham.]

Also BE use VCI=101

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

[Graham.]

On Wed, 22 May 2013 14:24:28 +0100, "andy stone"

I have a Thompson router supplied by BE still in its box somewhere, I
prefer to use an old Netgear G834MN with DG Team firmwhere.

However, when I briefly looked at the Thompson, although I didn't much
like the interface, I saw nothing in it as supplied, that would lead
me to believe it wasn't configurable for any normal ADSL provider.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

[alexd]

Andrew Benham (for it is he) wrote:

> BE don't use PPP, but "their" firmware still has support for it. You can
> configure PPP from the command line, or (much easier) install a template
> which knows about PPPoA.

For a novice, doing it from the CLI or with a template [whatever one of
those is] = doesn't support it.

--
<http://ale.cx/> (AIM:troffasky) (UnSoEs...@ale.cx)

19:42:30 up 23:06, 4 users, load average: 1.21, 1.23, 1.22

[Graham.]

On Thu, 23 May 2013 01:04:25 +0100, Graham. <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

>On Wed, 22 May 2013 14:24:28 +0100, "andy stone"
><1972...@mail.invalid> wrote:
>
>>Someone has terminated their internet connection with Be (because they have
>>sold up to sky) and Be say they do not need to return the modem router to
>>them. Zen internet provider said they can use the modem with their service
>>provided its not locked down.
>>
>>When ringing Be technical support they say it has their firmware on it, but
>>it can be removed.
>>
>>Is this a difficult thing for a novice to do, removing firmware?
>>
>
>I have a Thompson router supplied by BE still in its box somewhere, I
>prefer to use an old Netgear G834MN with DG Team firmwhere.

That was supposed to read Netgear DG834PN

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

[Andrew Benham]

And 102, on their new network.

[Plusnet Support Team]

Is it a Thomson/Technicolor and if so what model number? If it's a
585v7/v8 or 582n then we'll have firmware for it which should work with
Zen (albeit Plusnet branded).

--
|Bob Pullen Broadband Solutions for
|Support Home & Business @
|Plusnet Plc. www.plus.net
+--------------- twitter.com/plusnet ----------------

[Andrew Benham]

On Fri, 24 May 2013 10:44:55 +0100, Plusnet Support Team wrote:

> On 22/05/2013 14:24, andy stone wrote:
>> Someone has terminated their internet connection with Be (because they
>> have sold up to sky) and Be say they do not need to return the modem
>> router to them. Zen internet provider said they can use the modem with
>> their service provided its not locked down.
>>
>> When ringing Be technical support they say it has their firmware on it,
>> but it can be removed.
>>
>> Is this a difficult thing for a novice to do, removing firmware?
>
> Is it a Thomson/Technicolor and if so what model number? If it's a
> 585v7/v8 or 582n then we'll have firmware for it which should work with
> Zen (albeit Plusnet branded).

I'm sure you do, but one would still have to unlock the BE firmware in
order to install yours - certainly on a BE TG585v7, which is the most
common BeBox.

[Plusnet Support Team]

Fair enough, I wasn't aware that would be necessary.

I assumed it would be as simple as using the standalone application
Technicolor provide to simply reflash the firmware image with ours.