Anyone here use O2 UK Broadband? Airport Extreme question...

[johneaston]

I've recently moved house and signed-up to O2 Broadband. They've supplied an O2-branded wireless router that plugs straight into the phone line. This means my AirPort Extreme is now useless, but I'd like to use it.

Do I have to use the O2 router, or could I go and buy a cheap wired router to plug in to my AirPort?

I don't really understand why I can't just use my AirPort and bypass O2's router altogether.

Any advice/explanation would be great!

 

[anim8or]

Yes, you can use your own wired modem/router with the Airport attached.

http://service.o2.co.uk/IQ/SRVS/CGI...ter,question=ref(User):str(Broadband),cmd=new,

This page is a guide as to which settings you need to use for your own modem/router.

I personally use a Belkin N1 Vision wireless modem/router but in the past have used a netgear wired modem/router with the Airport attached.

Hope this helps.

 

[logana]

You are a bit confused about routers and combined modem/routers....

Your Airport is a wireless router but still needs an ADSL modem to connect to your phone line.

Use the O2 supplied modem/router to setup the broadband then use a Cat5 cable from the O2 router to the Airport. Once everything is working you can turn off the wireless on the O2 box - or leave it on - up to you.

 

[johneaston]

You are a bit confused about routers and combined modem/routers....

Your Airport is a wireless router but still needs an ADSL modem to connect to your phone line.

Use the O2 supplied modem/router to setup the broadband then use a Cat5 cable from the O2 router to the Airport. Once everything is working you can turn off the wireless on the O2 box - or leave it on - up to you.

You're right, I am confused! What does an ADSL modem actually do that my AirPort is incapable of doing?

And I tried to do the Cat5 cable thing but was unable to actually turn off the O2 box's wireless. The internet comes in on the third floor of my house, so that's where I put the O2 box and Airport, but only the signal from the O2 box reaches to the ground floor - I'm wondering if that's cos the O2 box was interfering with the AirPort (or is the range of AirPorts a bit crap?).

 

[logana]

Is it an Airport Extreme (the size of an Apple laptop charger) or an Airport Extreme Base Station (about the size of a Mac Mini with an external power supply) ?

There is nothing wrong with the range on the Base Station model - the other one I don't know.....

You will probably have to connect to the O2 router with an ethernet cable to turn off the wireless side of the router...

The Apple Airport models do not have an adsl modem and that is the bit you need to connect to the big bad world through your telephone cable. So you cannot ditch the O2 router. Previous advice was to get a Netgear adsl modem/router and I would second that.

Can you actually see the Apple wireless network on the 3rd floor ? Have you connected to the Airport with Apple Airport Utility ?