Does ADSL work with no installation?

buglawton

Does ADSL work with no installation?
This may sound like an odd question but: If I were to plug in an ADSL modem having contracted for the Internet service, will there be instant Internet service via the RJ45 Ethernet connection on the modem with no configuration or installation to do at all?

I ask because I'd like to arrange for a relative abroad who does not own a computer to contract locally for ADSL Internet, then plug in an Ethernet-compatible Reciva type Internet radio receiver, and it needs to work without any computer ever having been connected to that modem. Tall order?

superscaper

Well the modem needs the account username and password put into it if it is a router/modem. If it is just a modem then it won't do anything at all unless connected to a pc and the pc must dial it up with the correct settings. Only a router/modem would work/stay connected without a pc but I'm not sure how you'd get the account settings set up without the use of a pc.

buglawton

I mean an ADSL modem, not a dial up one. What will happen is that the Reciva Radio will be connected to the modem via the Ethernet connection, it will immediately attempt to connect to the Reciva website to reach the radio stations directory... will it work? There would I admit be no way of configuring a MAC address or anything with no PC in sight.

With a cable modem no User Name or Password is asked for, so I was thinking an ADSL modem would be similar...

amcluesent

>will it work?<

Nope, even an ADSL MODEM will need the username/password set as supplied by the ISP. It'll maybe need DHCP switched on and port fowarding set, depending on how the Reciva Radio works.

albertross_2

Tall order, you need a router, and it needs to be configured

superscaper

buglawton wrote: »

I mean an ADSL modem, not a dial up one. What will happen is that the Reciva Radio will be connected to the modem via the Ethernet connection, it will immediately attempt to connect to the Reciva website to reach the radio stations directory... will it work? There would I admit be no way of configuring a MAC address or anything with no PC in sight.

With a cable modem no User Name or Password is asked for, so I was thinking an ADSL modem would be similar...

As albert says, you really need a router. I did realise you meant ADSL modem and I stand by my statement that just an ADSL modem usually needs to be connected to a pc and "dialled up" to connect each time you switch on the pc.

buglawton

Hmm... from http://www.robertsradio.co.uk/pages/wm201_faq.htm a radio manufacturer also says that it needs to be connected to a router (but that no computer needs to be connected to allow the radio to work). It says "You will also need a router, but modern ADSL and cable modems generally include a router to allow several devices to be connected. The WM-201 can connect to such a router using either a wired connection, or wirelessly if your router supports Wi-Fi". So if the computer is switched off or absent, how would the radio connnect? Does the Router supply the password each time a connection is made? In the case of cable Internet (with router), there is an always on connection available to any device that want to connect, no password needed,

albertross_2

with an adsl router (which is effectively a linux computer), you tell it the username and password once (by connecting any pc to set it up), and it maintains the connection for you, so whatever you plug into it, is on the net, without the need for a pc.

If the connection drops, or you turn the router off, then when you switch it back on, it will automatically dial with the username pwd you supplied.

buglawton

Thanx everyone. Since I started this thread I found https://www.reciva.com/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&Itemid=77&func=view&id=10048&catid=3 which discusses exactly this topic and even questions the cost-effectiveness of the idea of having broadband and no computer.

Well we did the maths and it would be £10 pm in Germany to add bb to the existing phone line which is still worth it if you like radio. Pity it would need a visit from a techie with a laptop to make it work though, this is the only part that makes the idea un-viable. something the radio manufacturers overlooked - a PC free household!