best router for long phone line?

murphy61

I'm having problems with my router losing synch every couple of hours. BT engineering say there's no problem with the line, it must be the router. BT provided it originally as it was the only one which would work on a very long line. It's a Netgear DG834G. BT also say that Netgear don't make those any more, and the modern Netgear routers will not work on a long line. They say a BT "black hub" (whatever that is) is best and I should try to get one. Does anyone know anything about routers for long lines, and which is best?

MsRed1

murphy61 wrote: »

I'm having problems with my router losing synch every couple of hours. BT engineering say there's no problem with the line, it must be the router. BT provided it originally as it was the only one which would work on a very long line. It's a Netgear DG834G. BT also say that Netgear don't make those any more, and the modern Netgear routers will not work on a long line. They say a BT "black hub" (whatever that is) is best and I should try to get one. Does anyone know anything about routers for long lines, and which is best?

Have you checked to see if Netgear DG834Gs are for sale on Ebay.?

murphy61

I do see some, and one of them is new, but I might be able to get a router for nothing from BT if I new what was the best one to get. One forum recommends a BT business hub, a 2700HGV, but I wanted to se what the experts on here had to say before I commit.

web_ferret

I have a netgear DG834GT. Its fine. My parents have one too (I installed it).
Its better than the "free" one that my ISP gave me.
Much more reliable and worth the money.

I'm no expert but with a similar model number it may be pretty much the same. The T is just the faster wireless bit I assume as I have 100Mbs.

You could always get one from PC world, try it for a couple of weeks then take it back in original box etc for refund if its not suitable...

scottishblondie

Same as web ferret both my parents and I have Netgear DG834 routers and they're much better than what the ISPs provided. You can definitely still buy them new, in a variety of models if you just want another one. Ebuyer are selling them for £42-99, Dabs are selling in a pack with a USB wireless dongle for £58-70 and PC World are selling them at £47-36 online, Comet for £59-99.

Have you tried upgrading to the latest firmware version to see if that helps the issue?

MsRed1

Be broadband users rave about Netgear routers.

kwikbreaks

There are several versions of the DG834. The versions before the v4 model used the TI AR7 chipset which is abysmal. It give the false impression of being good by hanging on to sync when the noise margin has dropped to very low levels but this is all an illusion as a halfway decent router on the same line will sync higher with a healthy noise margin (I know this for certain as my son had one).

The 2Wire 2700HGV (supplied by BT as their Business hub) is well thought of but I found that the Thomson Speedtouch 585v6 bettered it on my own line (which isn't long though). Strangely enough the early BT Home hubs which were also built by Thomson were abaysmal on long lines. I think this must have been solved now as I haven't seen tales of woe from a BT HH user for quite a while.

I've seen plenty of good reports about the DG834GT and have no doubts that it would perform well. The 585v6 isn't made any more and the v7 (supplied by O2 as their Box 2) attracts criticism on stability issues although mine has been fine.

murphy61

Thanks very much all of you. I'll go ahead and get another Netgear DG834G as it seems to be as good as anything else.

Inactive

murphy61 wrote: »

I do see some, and one of them is new, but I might be able to get a router for nothing from BT if I new what was the best one to get. One forum recommends a BT business hub, a 2700HGV, but I wanted to se what the experts on here had to say before I commit.

Best unit for long lines in most situations.