My experience with Tenda d301+ and 3BB Huawei HG531 modem routers

[4evermaat]

Tenda d301+ (thai version) looked like a good deal at 1190 baht. ASDL2+, 300Mbps, 4port Lan + Wifi + USB port. And I figured since BananaIT was stocking it, it couldn't have been that bad. Did a search of Tenda router and the review wasn't that bad so I figured I'd check it out. The saga begins.

I take the modem home, sign on to the router login page, and I'm directed to the easy setup page. Not the most polished setup page, but it will do the job. This has the thai ISP in a drop down list and you select the correct ISP, and then input the PPPoE username/password and press the ok button (there is no separate connect button). You do not see the status of the connection attempt in real time. You have to manually refresh the page. Takes between 10-60 seconds to complete.

Then you have the advanced settings page. This is where you can configure the DHCP and all the technical details. I mostly browsed through as the easy setup would have theoretically had each ISP's default settings enabled. The router interface webpages aren't too polished, but if you look around long enough you can find most of the stuff. A big problem with the advanced setup pages is that the router isn't configured to clear/renew the cookie of the login. So sometimes when you try to move from the easy setup page to the advanced settings page, you are re-directed back to the login page It took me some time to figure out that it was the cookies that were not being cleared properly. So I had to clear the cookies for the router address manually almost every time in order to get back to the advanced settings pages.

So the router would sometimes connect at the full speed (10Mbps down in my package). But 5-15 minutes later, the speed would drop to 4-5Mbps. So my first instinct is to restart the modem. Now there is more fun. Sometimes the router would not automatically reconnect to ISP, or would take up to 3 min to reconnect. I would go to the easy setup page only to see the 3bb username/password saved and the connection is 'disconnected' and would have to ok the connection again. Sometimes I would get the full speed back in the speedtest. But even when I did, it didn't last long. So I figured I might suffer through the slower speed. But then sometimes (whether it was the ethernet or the wireless connection), the internet would drop even with the router homepage showing connected). So if the ethernet connection didn't work, the wireless connection was working, and if the wireless connection stopped working, the ethernet connection would work [most of the time after rebooting].

If I can't trust rebooting to 'fix' the problem, I know I'm doomed. And this happening every hour or two is not cool at all. Now to be fair, on one DSL settings page on the Tenda router that sort of looked like this 3bb router page had all the available [dsl modulation] options pre-checked.

.

Having too many options pre-checked could have been part of the reason for the constant slow downs/disconnects/failure to reconnect, but I can't be sure. The quick-start guide gave no indication of this, and I tried looking up guides for other 3bb routers to get some clues as to what should/n't be checked in case the 'default' ISP settings were incorrect. The next morning 3bb came out to look and they brought their own test router and as expected their router performed perfectly every time. Mine was perfect speed for 5 min and then it goes back to slow, or it would just be slow on a reboot anyway. He went through the advanced settings pages, and didnt change anything. He couldn't figure it out other than to confirm the Tenda modem router is faulty somehow.

But in combination with the other problems I was experiencing with the constant and inconsistent disconnections, I knew that I didn't want to waste anymore time on this nonsense.

So what ultimately fixed the problem? I had a friend call BananaIT shop to request a refund on the Tenda router and they declined. But they did say that they would offer to exchange for anything else in the store. So I decided to buy a modem direct from 3BB shop and then combine it with a separate wireless router, D-Link Wireless N 300 Cloud Router DIR-605L The only other router-only product available was from Linksys and that was 1700 baht or something like that.

The 3bb modem was the NT3bb-4PWN-137 (Huawei HG531 v1) which was a asdl2+ modem, 4 port LAN, and wifi router for 750 baht.

If you bring in a copy of your bill with your acct info or a payment receipt (or maybe just your acct #), they will setup the modem for you, including the wifi SSID name and password. I ended up typing in the name and password since I know the english keyboard better. Then, if you have a wifi-enabled device with you like a smartphone, you can connect to it and test to make sure it is all good before you leave the shop. That was very helpful.

I went into the 3bb router settings (192.168.1.1 , username: admin , password: 3bb) and found something very interesting. It appears to be 'unlocked' so you could just use the modem with a different carrier if you like. To increase stability in the wifi connection, I ended up assigning the dlink router as permanent DHCP lease to reduce the chances of the internet dropping out.

The dlink router settings were much easier with adding DHCP leases to devices. You can just pick the device name identified by the network and it would prefill the MAC address and you edit the local IP address given.

One interesting thing about Tenda d301 was that they did have a feature where you could use one of the Lan ethernet ports to accept an incoming connection, so that you could use one of the LAN ethernet ports of the modem+router as a router-only. It was called the ETH Interface: http://www.tendacn.com/tendacn/Support/show.aspx?articleid=2292 . I'm not sure what other modem+routers have this feature built-in. I was considering exchanging the for the dlink modem+router but could not confirm that I could use it as a router-only. So I got the router-only just to be safe since I already had the 3bb modem.

In retrospect, I could have bought the TP-Link TD-W8961ND for 1590 baht and would have probably been good to go from the beginning. But I'm actually glad that I ended up with the 3bb modem (router) + separate dedicated wifi router. In this way, 3bb can come and service the modem if I have a problem. They have been fantastic the whole time, coming the same day when I reported the problem with my Tenda modem router. Then after buying a modem that Friday, the guy came back Sunday and checked to see if all was ok. The final setup looked like this:

This whole thing actually got started when my asus modem router, DSL-N12U, decided not to turn back on one day. That was a fantastic router that worked until it didn't. The warranty is still valid, but asus bangkok does not accept mail in. I either have to walk it in to repair center or get the dealer to do this. The dealer in fortunetown sent me on this whole goose chase to clear it first with asus. [if it is your own product that you sold, shouldn't you know what to do?] Guess what the first comment that asus made was? The retailer/dealer should assist you in the warranty service. And yes, I have the original box, receipt, etc. Quite a fun weekend indeed.

[KittenKong]

Why are you using two routers? There is rarely any need for this. Why not just use the 3BB router on its own?

If you particularly want to use your D-Link router then you should set the 3BB one to work in bridge mode (modem only). That's what I do and it all works perfectly.

As for your Tenda router that connected badly: maybe it was just faulty?

[Crossy]

This whole thing actually got started when my asus modem router, DSL-N12U, decided not to turn back on one day. That was a fantastic router that worked until it didn't. The warranty is still valid, but asus bangkok does not accept mail in. I either have to walk it in to repair center or get the dealer to do this. The dealer in fortunetown sent me on this whole goose chase to clear it first with asus. [if it is your own product that you sold, shouldn't you know what to do?] Guess what the first comment that asus made was? The retailer/dealer should assist you in the warranty service. And yes, I have the original box, receipt, etc. Quite a fun weekend indeed.

Unless something is DOA or dies very quickly it's not worth going back to the retailer, locate your nearest service centre for the brand and go there.

Asus service in Zeer directed us to Synnex with a dead Asus router (under warranty). Luckily Synnex is about 2 minute's walk from Asus.

No receipt, no box so was expecting to pay.

Two weeks later collected a brand new router FOC

[phil2]

Mine is sitting there gathering dust. I thought it was just a TOT thing, but their technicians told me the Tenda router was overheating that I should change it. I didn't believe them at first, but when the problem persisted, I decided to use my TOT router for a few days to see what will happen. The problem disappeared, so I got a wifi router (TOTO Link A2004NS) online with lots of vents. No problems in the last 5 months.

There's a furum discussion about it on the Tenda website, and they recommend updating the firmware. To get the firmware, you'll have to leave your e-mail address (I've been getting lots of spam since falling for that trick) on the thread. I never received any firmware.

[4evermaat]

Why are you using two routers? There is rarely any need for this. Why not just use the 3BB router on its own?

If you particularly want to use your D-Link router then you should set the 3BB one to work in bridge mode (modem only). That's what I do and it all works perfectly.

As for your Tenda router that connected badly: maybe it was just faulty?

The combined problem with the browser cookies needing deleting, the fact that I had to switch between ethernet and wifi connections on every reboot just to connect to the router homepage, and that it would sometimes not connect without me refreshing the 3bb login details manually was enough to make me 'do it right' with either a more reputable brand or with 3bb directly. I still plan to get the asus router replaced, so getting a modem-only direct from 3bb made sense + a stronger router from dlink, asus, tp-link, etc The 3bb office only stocks one model, and they seem to change that every few months. It just so happen that it was a modem+router. But the wifi on it is weak (internal antenna); 15-30 meters of any decent coverage. For 750 baht you can't complain too much, and it appears unlocked also so you could just use ToT or whomever.

Can you explain more how to setup the 3bb modem for bridge-only? Never did that before. Any screenshots would be helpful. Also what did you do on the separate router settings?

Currently the 3bb modem part is setup on PPPoE connection type and then the dlink router's mac address is assigned a permanent DHCP lease. The internet has gone out for about 30 seconds a few times, but not sure if it was due to the heavy raining at the time. There was only 1 time where it was going out repeatedly and a modem reboot solved it.

I think the Tenda has a lot of potential....maybe it could have mostly been solved with a firmware update. I didn't have a week to figure it out. BananaIT only gives you 7 days to swap [keep all the original packaging], NO REFUNDS. Perhaps the W300D version which was slightly cheaper might have had a different firmware, perhaps better.

This whole thing actually got started when my asus modem router, DSL-N12U, decided not to turn back on one day. That was a fantastic router that worked until it didn't. The warranty is still valid, but asus bangkok does not accept mail in. I either have to walk it in to repair center or get the dealer to do this. The dealer in fortunetown sent me on this whole goose chase to clear it first with asus. [if it is your own product that you sold, shouldn't you know what to do?] Guess what the first comment that asus made was? The retailer/dealer should assist you in the warranty service. alt=rolleyes.gif.pagespeed.ce.hZ59UWKk-s.gif> And yes, I have the original box, receipt, etc. Quite a fun weekend indeed.

Unless something is DOA or dies very quickly it's not worth going back to the retailer, locate your nearest service centre for the brand and go there.

Asus service in Zeer directed us to Synnex with a dead Asus router (under warranty). Luckily Synnex is about 2 minute's walk from Asus.

No receipt, no box so was expecting to pay.

Two weeks later collected a brand new router FOC

Here's the thing. Both the Asus global tech support and the Asus Thailand support specifically said first to go back to the dealer/retailer; they should have provisions to get the replacement. Of course the dealer said to contact Asus. But TiT I suppose. So what we will do now is contact a couple of other repair centers (surat thani, Nakorn Si Thammarat, etc) to see if they can accept mail in. If not, I think I would need to somehow forward it to someone who lives or passes by one of the repair centers regularly to get the exchange. (Anyone here wanna volunteer?)

Asus Thailand has actually been very quick to reply to email, with replies within 20 minutes not uncommon support-th at asus.com . Or use live chat You have to go to the thailand chat link specifically (don't change the language in the url link), because the malay, singapore, korean links to separate support sites which have different hours and maybe staff. The online ticket system will go to the global tech support team (Singapore?), it is not forwarded directly to thai staff. So you have to use thai email or live chat to get thailand support. English was acceptable. I wouldn't be surprised if my next purchase was an Asus. Acer on the other hand has not replied to a single email. Maybe I'll test the phone support as a final test.

[4evermaat]

Case in point. Had a thundershower yesterday and it appears that it somehow partially fried the 3bb modem. It appeared to be working by all outward appearances, and you can access the modem admin panel, but it would not log on to dsl connection. Submitted trouble ticket to 3bb and after they checked on their end, they sent someone out today and they replaced the modem. Works the same as before. I had it plugged into a surge protector....wondering if it was the asdl line that had the surge?

BTW, password on the 3bb modem can also be the last 4 digits of the MAC address.

[4evermaat]

An update to the Asus modem router. I sent it to a friend in Bangkok who then took it to Synnex in FortuneTown (4th floor). It was a 3 week promise vs the main service center which quoted 45 days (and no mail option). So 3 weeks turnaround time and 50 baht for the parcel post 'tam-a--daah'.

It was actually back and in my mailbox 3 or 4 days before the deadline.

I suppose having a backup modem isnt so bad.