Whirlpool

Hi all

Since I've been tinkering with one of these routers now for quite a while, I figure I might as well post some info about my findings...and the solutions to them where there is one.

These routers are distributed by Bigpond now for all wireless ADSL customers. At first I thought they were an abortion with complications but now that I have spent the last few months playing around with a couple of them, plus trialled a beta firmware for Siemens themselves, and have even popped my one open to see what's inside, here's what I've come up with. Also, for those who whim me with questions about these beasts, I'll be referring you to this post as well so that you can read up and learn - especially if your question is answered here!

Alright. For those of you who are curious as to what's inside these things, take a look at pluto.mcservices.com.au/work/100_0725.JPG

You'll notice that the main chip is a Texas Instruments TNETD7300 chip, the wireless using the Texas Instruments TNETW1230 and the chip for the 4 port switch is a Marvell 88E6060 (which is infact a 6 port switch but only 4 are used for connections). Despite the entire units small size, it surprisingly has quite a bit of free memory available once it's up and going.

Okay, so, say the day is hot and your SpeedStream router just keeps on rebooting time and time again, once every couple of hours or so. Firstly, you'll probably notice it is a lot warmer than some modems out on the market today. It will most likely be rebooting because it is too hot inside the units casing. Solution: instead of sitting the unit as a desktop item, sit it on its end. It gets considerably better ventilation this way and I have found that where it is rebooting due to heat, having it setup on its end will most likely stop this problem. If it doesn't stop the modem rebooting totally i.e. it still reboots but less often, also ensure you have a fan going in the room. It just needs that bit of air circulating in order for it to be kept cool enough.

So what if it's quite cool in the room and you have a fan going, AND the router is already on its end? I've found that it can still occasionally reboot despite all of the above, if you have the maximum number of connections set too high on your favourite P2P program such as Azureus, or you have a couple of computers downloading via P2P at the same time for extended periods (i.e. hours). Solution: keep only one computer downloading via P2P. Or, if you only have one computer downloading via P2P and the modem reboots occasionally make sure you reduce the maximum allowed connections to say approximately 400 (the default for Azureus). This will generally stop your SpeedStream from rebooting too often.

Despite the 2 solutions above, the SpeedStream still seems to reboot itself once every week or 2. I suspect this is firmware related and we can only wait for Siemens to finish off the new firmware for these modems to confirm.

Some of you may notice that when FTP'ing large files from the Internet that take longer than approximately 10 - 15 minutes to download, that at the end of an FTP download the router stalls for about 5 minutes before continuing on. Solution: none! This issue appears to be firmware related. However the feedback I have given Siemens is that the router is dropping the NAT session after the FTP control stream is closed/timed out by the remote FTP server and so when the file download is complete things get confused somewhat. This can at times lead to file corruption.

DHCP is also a bit odd. For those of you who do not stick with the default value of an infinate lease on DHCP and instead assign say a 24 hour lease on an IP address, will notice that the SpeedStream will only lease out the IP address for 12 hours instead i.e. half the time you wanted. Yet the PC will report that it has a lease on the IP address for the whole day. This is firmware related and is another problem that will hopefully be fixed with the next firmware release.

SNTP is inaccurate - most users will not need this feature but for those of you who do, I recommend finding an alternative NTP solution for your network i.e. a UNIX based NTP server or a publically available and well known accurate NTP server on the Internet.

Wireless dropouts - I have only noticed these dropouts with an Intel 2200BG mini-pci wireless card. All other cards and Wireless adapters that I have trialed it with work fairly well on this router. If you find that wireless is a bit sluggish, make sure you ensure your computer settings are in line with what is recommended at www.speedguide.net/analyzer.php You may also want to get your hands on DrTCP which is a program used to change the settings referred to on that site. Doing this alone has resolved more wireless issues with this router than issues that just don't go away. The range on the SpeedStream is only approximately 30 - 40 metres, and Siemens clearly state that this is the maximum range you will get out of these routers. For me personally, as there is a large office building right next door pumping out 17 unique wi-fi networks, the reduced range on the speedstream is a blessing in disguise.

These are the major issues that I have seen and worked on with the SpeedStream 6520's. If anyone else has any other issues and/or fixes then please feel free to post them here. I will endeavour to try replicate anything people mention and I can report this back directly to Siemens if it's of concern early in the New Year.

Mods: Not sure if this should be moved to wiki or whatever, if so please move as appropriate and whim me so I know for the future, thanks!

*bounce*

In addition - these routers croak royally if you hammer them with P2P in excess of 600 connections at any given time. I just set mine to go in excess of this, it managed it for about 20 minutes and then rebooted...3 times in a row within the space of 5 minutes. The second and third reboots were because no sooner the ADSL link came back up it was getting hammered again (static IP so the peers were immediately trying to reconnect) and so it just rebooted again, and again....

Happy days for those of you with Siemens routers on Bigpond ADSL. New firmware is currently being designed and put together by Siemens, expect Telstra to be releasing this as soon as that's completed and tested - hopefully early in the New Year. This will fix many things including reducing the amount of the reboots seen. Will update via this thread when I know more.

Could you recommend a signal booster for the 6520 - currently only getting coverage in about 30% of the house to brick walls etc? Thanks

At last reports, the Siemens SpeedStream 6520 has a range of approximately 30 metres and that is the absolute limit for it.

The antenna is not removable so you cannot undo it and attach a booster of sorts, not unless you crack the unit open (voiding your warranty) and tinker that way.

I need to know what piece of equipment to obtain to relay or increase the signal strength of the speedstream 6520. The modem is in my wife's office, three thick walls away. I can pick it up by moving to another closer room only.

You could maybe hook up something like a WRT54G onto the LAN/WAN port and set it into bridge mode.

The SpeedStream has a max range of 30m. It is not designed for the end user to be able to remove the antenna and place a larger antenna on it.

Does this mean that I would hook the WRT54G to my laptop LAN port?and this would help me pick up the distant Speedstream signal? I am about 30m away, but I have 2 thick adobe walls and one frame and wallboard wall that has been wired-up with stucco netting. I would invest if it has a good chance.
A thought! Would I have a better chance of success if I ditched the Speedstream and bought a WRT34G and added it directly to the remote computer? Would I then be able to add an antenna, if necessary, or put some sort of relay or signal booster along the path of the signal?

toubad writes...

Does this mean that I would hook the WRT54G to my laptop LAN port?and this would help me pick up the distant Speedstream signal?

No, it means you're using the WRT54G for your wireless instead of the Siemens. There is no way without cracking the SpeedStream open (voiding warranty) for you to extend the wireless range.

I am about 30m away, but I have 2 thick adobe walls and one frame and wallboard wall that has been wired-up with stucco netting. I would invest if it has a good chance.

Ouch.

A thought! Would I have a better chance of success if I ditched the Speedstream

A SpeedTouch 585 would have a chance -- purely because it has 2 antennas on it, the one that you see, and another inside the actual unit -- giving it a typical indoor range of 60 metres.

Adam,

I have been unable to get my 6520 working in bridge mode with my Netgear WGT624. I followed the instructions on the Siemens website to put it into Bridge mode but no luck. Can you tell me what you did?

Thanks

The SpeedStream will only work in Bridge mode if you have your Netgear plugged into port 4 on the modem - it's also marked as LAN/WAN. Then set it into bridge mode, and for me (at least) it worked.

Yeah I did that - I also set the Netgear to PPPoE mode but my Netgear doesn't pick up an IP or anything. Just says 0.0.0.0

Weird

FYI everyone, Siemens has finished it's firmware and put it through the regultary bodies to have it approved for use here in Australia etc.

So I called Telstra to ask about getting the firmware (my 6520 is still under warranty with them, despite me migrating the Bigpond account to Telstra Internet Direct) and after being placed on hold for quite sometime by the support tech, he came back to me saying that there was no firmware update nor was there one planned.

Now to wait on Telstra...I will be calling them every day I think to get this upgrade.

HI all

Can you connect a neworkable printer to this router as I have got a lexmark E332n which I would like to connect to it then my family could print to it from anywhere in the house or do I have to connect it to a switch then connet the switch to the router

BRAD

Any printer that has a network card in it can be plugged directly into a router of any sort, even a 6520. Setup the printer in windows by printing to the ip address.

Thanks for the reply

But I should mention that it is the siemens 6520 connected to telstra adsl
is this a problem

Brad

also if possible could you tell me how it is done

Brad

Again as far as the printer is concerned it is simply plugged into a switch, which is all the 4 ports of the 6520 represent to it.
There are doubtless different ways to do this but since a printer cannot move ip just set it to an ip outside the range your 6520 is handing out, or near the top end. The 6520 lives at 192.168.1.254 so make the printer 192.168.1.250. Now how to do that for your printer I haven't a clue. Look up the manual. You will probably have to install its disk and connect with usb or something to get access to the controls. If it has a top panel with some buttons and lcd you might be able to do it directly on the printer.

(An alternative is to get the 6520 to hand out the ip to the mac address of the printer but lets keep it simple to start with)

Once you have the printer with a fixed ip, open the printers dialogue in windows, go to add a local printer, uncheck plug and pray, on the next dialogue, select new port, tcpip, and just plug in the address of your printer. Then use the drivers from the cd or internet etc. The manual will have it all spelled out so when all else fails, yep!!! READ THE...nice manual.

Thanks for your response
Rev

I know that I should read the f#%king manual "RTFM" for short

And I do know how to setup networkable printers but I just seeing if there was anything different in using the 6520 that I got from Telstra

bjmjer writes...

just seeing if there was anything different in using the 6520 that I got from Telstra

Nope, no difference at all.

Just as an FYI for those with reboots happening on their SpeedStream 6520's - I've just had my SpeedStream up for almost 3 days straight before it rebooted - because I was not doing any P2P downloading through it. So it seems Azureus/BitComet and the likes make this router reboot.

Also, I've been told that the new firmware is very close - Telstra now have a copy of this (although their support desk do not know of it).

About the INTEL 2200BG Wireless Card and wireless dropouts. Did you ever find a solution to this problem? I have a Toshiba Satellite that has this wireless card in it and I am constantly getting "Page Not Found" errors and such when I connect through the wireless router (SpeedStream 6520). Any help here would be great!

I understand that the firmware on the SpeedStream 6520 is very much concentrated on making the Netgear WG111 USB2 wireless adapter (that is supplied with the Bigpond SIK for wireless) work to the very best, however they've forgotten about the customers who already have a wireless adapter on their laptop.

Just the other week I had myself and a friend of mine both connecting to it with an Intel 2200BG wireless adapter in our laptops (i.e. 2 different laptops, 2 different cards of the same brand and model) and we both had nightmares with it to the stage where I gave my friend a cat5e cable to connect in, and I used the WG111 USB2 adapter supplied by Telstra. Not only was it dropping out heaps but the throughput was appauling too.

So for now, looks like we're waiting until the firmware is released by Telstra. It's ironic, people are having a lot of problems with these modems rebooting, having huge wireless problems, SNTP, DHCP are buggy, the stats reset after 4GB of downloads (i.e. if a counter reaches 4GB it starts back at 0 again) then there's heat problems too unless you stand it on its end...yet Telstra are holding off on an immediate release of a firmware which fixes most of these problems.

Hi al im guessing this is the place to bitch about the SPEEDSTREAM 6520!?
been conected to BP since january 06
Well i have had all sorts of problems with this particular modem,even got a new one from telstra!(after a month of complaining to them) !but now even the new one seems to be doing the same thing also now!!

running both an asus A6 as well as an ECS G556 laptops with wifi and desktop running a WG111T pci card and the speedstream is constantly dropping out! and i have ran out of ideas???(the desktop appears to be more stable than the laptops)

the laptops no matter which one i use are situated no more than 10mtrs away!
and the modem either hangs up when pinging a page or just drops out untill i tell the connection to repair.

the only thing i can find which keeps the connection alive is if i run a torrent program in the background on a minimum upload speed? does this make sence? is there away of setting a continuous handshake signal to the modem to keep the modem connected to the mobile laptops?

tonite i have tried playing with the RIP configuration with what i had looked up on the net but this has not seemed to do anything :(
LOL really clutching at straws here

have tried the RTS/cts and virtual atm modified settings bt no avail
actually i have set the RTS/CTS now to 2347 (which i have read is the setting to disable the RTS/CTS) this appears to have worked a bit better i have found,but the connections are still dodgy

im hoping there is a tech member of telstra/siemens out there whome is reading this and can give us all with these speed stream modems a little bit of closure!!

on paper the modem appears to have all goods but practically they just dont work

bring on the new firmware!!!!make them work as they are suposed to!!!!!!

outacontrol writes...

the laptops no matter which one i use are situated no more than 10mtrs away!
and the modem either hangs up when pinging a page or just drops out untill i tell the connection to repair.

The one thing that I DO know works and works WELL with these beasts via Wireless, is the Telstra supplied WG111 Netgear USB2 wireless adapter. But any wireless card with an Intel chip on it is a no-go zone with the SpeedStream 6520's. Some of the older ASUS laptops with the WL-120 802.11b card (which has a Broadcom chip on it) works very well with the SpeedStreams too - although only at 11Mbps.

The SpeedStreams are a good little cheap ADSL router/gateway but the firmware is really very unsatisfactory. You can pick up a SpeedStream 6520 on EBay now for about $60 - $90.

after a late night of reading and playing around last night
have got my wireless connection a work little better
though still at times dropping out but ot as much now
i found the ralink official web site and downloaed new drivers for the laptop wifi
the connections appear to be a little more stable and controlable
looking at the connection stats signal strenghts from out of this 6520 appear to be a little low

have turned RTS/CTS back on to 2346 and RIP disabled to see how every thing goes now
will now experiment again with channels to find best signal response

I've got a 6520 running in Bridge mode connected to my WGT624. I think I've still got DHCP enabled on the 6520 though. When I turned it off I couldn't connect at all and had to do a hard reset,

I now cannot access the 6520 using its IP address (192.168.254.254) through the Netgear - I need to plug my PC directly a port at the back of the 6520.

Is this normal? Anyone know how I get around this?

Cheers

the speed stream appears to have problems remebering its last setings at time i have found,i think it locks it self up when it gets a little warm when a good load of transfers has been through it.
I think what happens is if the unit has locked up and you go for a restart the unit forgets all/some of its previous settings,(i have had problems with the unit remembering which device i have set the DMZ ,ei my voip unit, to specially after a soft reboot)

i had a similar prob after i tryied the diagnostic option in the gateway it changed the DHCP settings in my laptop and i could not connect to unit after it (so i dont recommend doing this) to fix this i had to reset the modem by jamming a pen in its bum and go back one restore point in the laptop

como i think you should try another couple of reboots via pen in its hole and double check your settings with your pc directly pluged into the unit via ethernet with 10.0.0.138
let know how you went

as for my last wifi post im still getting lockups???grr
how can the unit show signal strenght of excellent and STILL lock up??
it establishes the connection then drops out and re-aquires!!
will keep playing

Any info or a link on where the new firmware for these modems can be found ?

I've got a Satellite as well and couldn't get the wireless setup to work at all, so I forked out for a Belkin card, plugged it in and away it went. No problems since (about 6 months) and the only times we have connection issues if (sometimes) if we let the battery go flat on the laptop.

I don't think it is the modem . I narrowed it down to problems with Centrino & ProSet drivers. Updating to the latest generic versions from the Intel website fixed my problems.

grosper
not sure what drivers you mean?
do you mean like the AGP INF updates?is that what you mean?
will give them a try
havent had much success yet
hope this works

AdamK, you mentioned on your post on the 6th of March that firmware for this modem is close. Do you expect a realease in the next few weeks or next few months ?

digizone writes...

AdamK, you mentioned on your post on the 6th of March that firmware for this modem is close

I now have the new firmware on my SpeedStream.

Here's the results:

* The reboots occur less frequently when doing P2P downloading, and do not happen at all if you are only running one torrent with approx 100 peers.
* The wireless problems are unchanged - there is still very poor performance with Intel Wireless/Pro/Centrino type cards, however it works extremely well with the Netgear WG111 USB2 adapter.
* FTP file corruption issues are fixed
* DHCP issues fixed
* SNTP issues and general timekeeping improved out of sight
* You can still cook breakfast on it in the mornings :)

Overall it's improved a lot. A new feature is that it can automatically update itself, firmware, warts and all, from a bigpond URL which is setup as a part of the modems firmware. So as soon as an update is released, you've got it on your SpeedStream. Not a bad idea.

One thing I have also noticed in comparison with the 4200, is that the 4200 barely gets warm compared to the 6520. The 6520 gets remarkably hotter than the 4200. That would explain why the 4200's are not having very many troubles, compared with the 6520's.

Hopefully Bigpond make this firmware available for download by customers on their website soon.

Hi Adam,

any chance of getting my hands on the firmware? Latest drivers for my centrino improved performance little bit with the old firmware, would be interesting to know what happens with new firmware. Tried to call BP and was given the usual answer - there is no new firmware...

Cheers

Vlasti

vlasti writes...

Tried to call BP and was given the usual answer - there is no new firmware...

I don't know what the hell Bigpond are playing at by just telling everybody there is no new firmware, when I've heard from Siemens themselves that there IS a new firmware. Why are they telling outright blatant lies to their customers?

The new firmware is available on the latest Bigpond CD. If you have no access to that whim me your e-mail address and I will send a copy over to you. Note you need to be a bigpond customer for the firmware.

This modem sucks, and all of the suggestions you offer are not fixes, they are band-aids to a bad modem. Get a real modem, 1 that works.

The only problems with it using the new firmware are:

* Azureus makes it reboot
* Heat issues (some causing it to reboot also)

The rest are resolved. You can stop Azureus rebooting it by switching to uTorrent or Bitcomet. You can fix most of the heat issues by standing the unit vertically, and keep it out of enclosed areas (i.e. cupboards etc)

It's not the best modem I've seen because the hardware in it is fairly cheap and nasty, but overall it's certainly got modems that are far worse than it too.

Anyone know how I can assign a permanent IP to my xbox360 (so that I can then stick it in a DMZ) using 6520? I just don't want a different IP assigned to the xbox each time the 6520 reboots...........over

Thanks

turn on Universal PLug and play (UPNP and it should work fine regardless of the ip address ....

And yeah i had to resort to adding a dlink DWL 2100AP access point( with high gain Antenna ) to get the coverage i needed

In the latest Bigpond/Telstra firmware there is a section in the DHCP/IP address configuration areas where you can assign an IP address to a certain MAC address i.e. the same device gets the same IP address each time regardless of the 6520 rebooting or the device being rebooted.

I picked up one these this week from eBay which I'm using with Exetel. Everything works fine except for mail. Cannot connect to my incoming mail server which I presume uses port 110. I've also got Gmail set up in Outlook and that works fine obviously with a different port.

Do I need to port forward to receive email ? That sounds a bit extreme to me.

No you don't need to port forward to collect your e-mail. I suspect there's a firewall enabled somewhere along the line? I would check your PC, the modem and also your ISP.

FYI for those wanting Bigpond firmwares for their Siemens SpeedStream 6520 and Siemens SpeedStream 4200 and cannot readily get the firmware from Telstra (due to their lack of being able to send out the latest 4.3WAS CD or otherwise) can download the latest firmwares made available to Telstra Bigpond on:

www.mcservices.com.au/downloads/siemens

Rebooted the pc and now mail connects fine. Very odd indeed.

Can someone confirm that the telstra firmware supports adsl2+?

www.mcservices.com.au/downloads/siemens

Sorry, but the link doesn't work.

Do you have an alternate?

Thanks

speed hax writes...

Can someone confirm that the telstra firmware supports adsl2+?

It certainly does, i've got sync at 22mbit at the moment. The new modems that come out with the new firmware also have a larger wireless antenna, not sure if there are any other changes.

Hello everyone
I have been reading this forum, and in particular this thread for a few months now trying to fing a solution to my problems with my Speedstream 6520, on Bigpond.
As I couldnt find a firmware upgrade anywhere, i rang telstra (for the 76th time) and demanded a new install Cd with the new Firmware on it.
It was here within a couple of days, and installed fine, and it has been fairly painless for the last 19 hours or so.
Anyway, i cant post up exe files, so if somebody wants me to email the new firmware to them, to be uploaded onto this site, i will be glad to do so>
BTW this firmware is version 004-E752-AC4 for bigpond.
Thanks
Dave

Thanks for the information so far, but I was wondering if anyone knows how to get this monster to port forward, as I use a P2P program called "Echolink" which needs TCP 5200 and UDP 5198-5199?

Sorry if I've missed it, but how do you save config changes?

bluezarf writes...

Sorry, but the link doesn't work.

Confirmed it as working. It's there! :)

finallyamux writes...

Sorry if I've missed it, but how do you save config changes?

The unit does that for you automatically. If you really want to be certain, be logged in as admin and press the reboot icon on your screen. It saves the config then.

siharf writes...

It certainly does, i've got sync at 22mbit at the moment. The new modems that come out with the new firmware also have a larger wireless antenna, not sure if there are any other changes

Internally I don't believe there are any changes from the earlier hardware releases. I could be wrong. At any rate, I now have my hands on one of the new 6520's with the larger antenna. That and the latest firmware, in conjunction with standing it vertically and turning the SSID broadcast on, all put together and it's pretty rock solid now. Also I changed from Azureus to uTorrent as Azureus makes the 6520 reboot at least a few times per day when you're downloading. I'm now getting uptimes of up to a month before it reboots, or I reboot it. Not bad.

Someone else was asking about portforwarding so I thought I'd post this here as well

www.portforward.com/engl...eam6520index.htm

It seems Bell rebadge the Speedstream6520

Sorry, I should have been clearer.
I want to backup my config externally to the unit, so that when making configuration changes etc. I can restore the previous settings if I get problems with the changes.
Also as a DRP measure...

finallyamux writes...

Sorry, I should have been clearer

I know what you meant. I'm afraid there's no backup way that I know of. Also, FTP is disabled in the firmware (although you can enable it with a bit of know-how) so by default, there simply is no way to save the config file externally to your PC.

Sorry

Hi there

Im new to all this rly. have been with bigpond now since january and have had the speedstream 6520 modem/router. have only had it hooked up directly no - no wireless stuff. well until now. ive just got an xbox 360 so i wanted to hook that up, so i moved the modem into the lounge and connected it to the 360 and connected to the computers wirelessly (took bout 3 days to finally get it set up!!), but now the signal disapears after like 5min/15min. im guessing its due to the signal (only like 55% - 70% signal). however i also have a Thompson speedtouch 530 modem (also from bigpond from like 18months ago) and also a D-Link DI-614+ wireless router. i have 2 phone plugs for my phone, one near the lounge and one near the computers. can i hook both modems up to the phone lines? so that i can have a modem next to both my computers and xbox?, or the other thing i was thinking was having the speedstream 6520 or speedtouch 530 in the lounge, hooked up to the D-Link router, if it has a stonger signal??

rly stuck atm, been frustrated for days now!!!! have moved the modem back in the computer room, so i cant use the 360. cant afford the wireless adaptor for the 360 either (and not sure it would pick it up anyway), and dont wanna run ethernet cords throughout the house...

oh also im using a Belkin wireless G network card on the PC and the telstra supplied WG111v2 for the laptop. the Belkin seems to work better (gets a better signal).

Unfortunately the quality control for 6250 seems to be fairly bad. Telstra will pretty readily replace them. I sent you a small file of all the things possible to do to help. But in the end some just never work.

AdamK writes...

siharf writes... It certainly does, i've got sync at 22mbit at the moment. The new modems that come out with the new firmware also have a larger wireless antenna, not sure if there are any other changes

Internally I don't believe there are any changes from the earlier hardware releases. I could be wrong. At any rate, I now have my hands on one of the new 6520's with the larger antenna. That and the latest firmware, in conjunction with standing it vertically and turning the SSID broadcast on, all put together and it's pretty rock solid now. Also I changed from Azureus to uTorrent as Azureus makes the 6520 reboot at least a few times per day when you're downloading. I'm now getting uptimes of up to a month before it reboots, or I reboot it. Not bad.

Hi all,
when I got the modem, I did not have any problems using WiFi, since my laptop was using BigPond supplied WiFi card. Then I got new laptop with Centrino and 2200BG card. Since then it was nightmare. I did firmware exercise and it did not help. I could not use my laptop with Intel card.
After reading this post, I realised that being security conscious guy, perhaps even bit paranoid, since I am researcher in forensic computing, I have switched off SSID broadcast as one of the first things. So, just to try, I switched the SSID broadcast on and voila, I can again use my laptop anywhere n my house - right now in bed in master bedroom, about 18 metres from the modem and through several walls...
Cheers

Vlasti

I keep getting timeouts too.

Is there any other way to get the firmware?

hi, i'm on telstra and i have the 6520, i was wondering where i can download the drivers for the 6520 because i lost my bigpond cd. i have done a little searching on the web but am yet to find any leads, i also looked on the bigpond website and couldn't find anything there. i need the to add another computer to my network so i can get some lan gaming. Can someone please help?

The only drivers are the usb. Everything else just setup via the web interface.
www.siemens.com/index.js..._sid=17570839308&
Look on the lefthand side for 6520.

Expect no other help from Telstra or Siemens. That way you will be satisfied!

Revs Per Min writes...

The only drivers are the usb. Everything else just setup via the web interface.

ok thanks so i only need to look in the manual to see how to add more computers to my router. thanks for the help, i might post later again if i get any problems trying to add my other computer to the modem

orion13 writes...

add my other computer to the modem

It should be just a matter of plugging in the computer if you are using ethernet or putting in whatever security setting you have for wireless. The only issue is if you have mac address filtering which will stop you adding another wireless card. Otherwise just set it up same as the last one. As long as you are using WPA wireless security there is no need to use mac address so IMHO just turn it off.

I have an ex-Telstra Speedstream6520 which I am trying to configure for Nodephone.I have been unsuccessful so far and have read the user manual.I have hooked up the Sipura SPA-3000 which I received from Nodephone.Is the Speedstream 6520 compatible with Voip?How do I configure this modem for Voip?

Did you forward the sip port, 5060 plus the necessary range of RDP ports that Nodephone requires to the Sipura?

If you plug voip and 6520 into google, I think you will find these modems do not lend themselves to easily running voip. It is against Telstra's best interest so the firmware may have issues. Try another firmware if you don't have success.

Same trouble with HP with 2200 BG. Pinging Speedstream resulted in 1 minute of connection, 1 minute of disconnection repeating. Updating firmware on Speedstream did not fix this, but having done this and using Device manager to set Mixed Mode Protection to RTS/CTS, Preferred band to 802-11b, and Wireless mode to 802-11b and disabling throughput enhancement on the 2200BG seems to have stabilised the connection. Running version 9.0.1.9 of the 2200 BG Driver. Have not looked for a later update at Intel site yet. Hopefully this won't be needed. Just incredible that Telstra can market a gateway that won't work with most wireless laptops.

MISTRO writes...

Running version 9.0.1.9 of the 2200 BG Driver.

Get your hands on 9.0.4.17 as this definitely stabalizes things. Mine is actually tolerable with the very latest Intel driver, and the latest firmware on the modem.

Does that modem have both USB And Ethernet on it? well just plug your computer into Ethernet and the second computer into Usb and download the usb drivers to yur second computer thats it, thats what i done and it works perfect.

lucas777 writes...

Does that modem have both USB And Ethernet on it?

Yes but it has 4 ethernet ports as well.

well just plug your computer into Ethernet and the second computer into Usb and download the usb drivers to yur second computer thats it

THe logic of this escapes me.
Statement of issue. The usb driver is needed on the second computer.
solution plug the second computer into the usb port and download the usb drivers.
Could it be that the usb doesn't work because it doesn't have the drivers.

well you cant go wrong then if the thing has 4 ethernet ports. plug both pc's in to ethernet confige tci/ip connection manually, so say yur ip is 10.0.0.1 make the other computer 10.0.0.2 and on a restart that shuld pic up both computers, theres thats easy no need for usb anymore. Youll be LANing in no time. even if u cant see the computers on the network, make sure both pcs can access internet just to make sure its working, then go create a lan game hit refresh it shuld pick yur game up.

THe logic of this escapes me.
Statement of issue. The usb driver is needed on the second computer.
solution plug the second computer into the usb port and download the usb drivers.
Could it be that the usb doesn't work because it doesn't have the drivers.
Insert Quote with byline Show quoted "

HOW? DOWNLOAD THE USB DRIVERS ON YUR FIRST COMPUTER BURN THEM TO CD, THEN INSTALL ON SECOND COMPUTER? NOT THAT HARD.

Surely you would just plug in the ethernet and download it directly to the pc that needs the drivers. But sorry, I am being pedantic.

Revs Per Min writes...

Surely you would just plug in the ethernet and download it directly to the pc that needs the drivers. But sorry, I am being pedantic.

Why would you require USB for a second computer in the first place since the thing has 4 Ethernet ports?

The logic of using USB on a 4 Ethernet port modem escapes me.

AdamK writes...

Why would you require USB for a second computer in the first place since the thing has 4 Ethernet ports?

The logic of using USB on a 4 Ethernet port modem escapes me

Escapes me to, 4 ethernet ports more stable than usb, i only heard today that it had 4 ethernet ports, thats why i said use ethernet on both pc's.

lucas777 writes...

Escapes me to, 4 ethernet ports more stable than usb, i only heard today that it had 4 ethernet ports, thats why i said use ethernet on both pc's.

Really?

I quote -->

Does that modem have both USB And Ethernet on it? well just plug your computer into Ethernet and the second computer into Usb

Hmmmmm!!!

Yes the modem has a USB port, and yes, the modem has 4 Ethernet ports. Ethernet is the preferred connection method where possible. Wireless is there as a luxury.

AdamK writes...

Get your hands on 9.0.4.17 as this definitely stabalizes things. Mine is actually tolerable with the very latest Intel driver, and the latest firmware on the modem.

There were some serious security issues with few Intel drivers and card managers releases in the past few months. The latest available on Intel's website worked like a breeze anywhere I went in the past two weeks (since downloading it) as well as here at home on speedstream. Allowing SSID broadcast fixed ALL problems that I had with that modem and centrinos...

I have recently churned to Comcen form Telstra, and am trying to share a connection wirelessly (via speedstream 6520) with a guy in the next, next flat (1 flat in between, masonary walls), any ideas on how to increase the range/signal strength? At the moment he can just pick up the signal if both antennae are backed up against both walls.

spc_75 writes...

any ideas on how to increase the range/signal strength?

I viewed the thread: DSL Hardware > Inside a Siemens SpeedStream 6520 & 4200 forum-replies.cfm?t=518055.

I opened it up (was really easy, peel back sticker, 1 screw, then just squeeze in sides and the cover pops off) and confirmed the antenna was a mc card connector (the antenna cable was glued, but due to how hot the 6520 gets it came loose), so I am ordering a 7dBi high gain antenna with a 5 feet cable + MC Card. Hopefully this will resolve the issue. Thanks to AdamK.

Checked the rules, don't think this post is illegal, if so, sorry and please remove it

spc_75 writes...

confirmed the antenna was a mc card connector

Error, the connector is actually a u.fl connector. Now i need a mc card to u.fl, extremely hard to find...

OK, read the post... so at the end of the day is there or is there not new f/w available ?

Firstly I'm a newbie so apologies if this has been asked before.
I am trying to help a friend set up his SpeedStream 6520 adsl modem with home wi fi but my problem is that his usb port is unserviceable.he has the Netgear WG 111 adapter but was wondering if he can connect the modem using the supplied ethernet cable(he has ethernet port which works ok) and at some later stage get a new usb card and start using the adapter then.
We have both tried running the Bigpond install cd but of course if you choose the 6520 as the modem to use it wants to set up the wireless adapter and I can't figure out how to configure the modem for normal wired ethernet based internet.
Can anyone help?
Any ideas most appreciated.

Connect by ethernet. Much better way to do it anyway.
Then simply type the 6520 address into the browser and set it up directly. There is a wizard at the start to help you through it. 10.0.0.138 in the browser should do it.

If you have trouble open a command window and type ipconfig /all and locate the gateway address and type that into the browser.

McHenry writes...

OK, read the post... so at the end of the day is there or is there not new f/w available ?

bigpond.custhelp.com/cgi...nt&p_faqid=12190

Adam... a ray of hope!

My current setup is:
Config Part #: 003-a056-G05
Firmware Part #: 004-E752-AC4

I need a Windows PC to upg the firmware and will require some organising etc

To avoid wqsating my time etc can you advise if this upg will allow my modem to use VOIP as currently it does not work with sip very well, suspect a 5060 prob or similar ?

Thanks

Did you happen to try the ATA in the DMZ?
Or did you port forward 5060 and the RDP ports to the ATA ip address?

SOrry if you explained this elsewhere and I haven't followed all your info.

I am connecting to an Asterisk server at the office from a remote sip extension at home.

The office is behind the speedstream.

IAX softphones connect however sip softphones don't. I have read a number of posts indicating the Telstra hobble the Speedsteam firmware so as to stop it being used for VOIP.

Last ditch effort will be to upg the firmware and if this doesn't work then new modem.

McHenry writes...

To avoid wqsating my time etc can you advise if this upg will allow my modem to use VOIP as currently it does not work with sip very well, suspect a 5060 prob or similar ?

No this will not resolve that issue, however as I'm aware this upgrades the modem to full ADSL2+
Congratulations to Telstra, who this morning removed my speed codes off the line...but it takes them 3 - 4 days to put the new codes in. Otherwise, I would have been able to test this all out for you and see how good this sucker actually performs under ADSL2+ speeds/pressure.

I have a Very New *cough* Telstra supplied 6520 with firmware 004-E752-AAX.
I am wondering whether the latest 6520 2+ modems have reduced some options like not being able to set the modulation and no firmware change possible. The built-in help window seems to list a bunch more options than what is on the router. Any comments?

The latest firmware update as per the Bigpond website preserves your settings. It upgrades the wireless and DSL drivers. The modulation cannot be changed.

Here's something of interest.

I would have thought that a nice new SpeedTouch 585v6 would have kicked the pants off the 6520 when it came to sync speeds and general performance when put on an ADSL2+ DSLAM. I was surprised.

6520: 18641/1023
585v6: 18510/1023

Both were syncing at similar speeds repeatedly.
Now considering the AR7 chipset has a reputation for being rather....dodgy at the higher speeds I am curious as to how Siemens actually managed to get the better performance out of it. It does run a bit hotter when synced at ADSL2+ speeds; it's very important that you keep it standing on it's side (vertically) and kept very well ventilated.

I bought mine from Amnet and now I've bought a house in an area amnet don't support (with DSL2 at least), I've decided to swap to TPG.
If I update the router with the bigpond update that shouldn't cause me issues should it?

-senectus- writes...

If I update the router with the bigpond update that shouldn't cause me issues should it?

Shouldn't cause much grief at all. All should be well :)

Hmmm, I've recently noticed an issue with the 6520's that's of concern.

If you're on an ADSL2+ 20000/1024 plan and download at that plans speed via the wireless interface, the modem's cpu is maxxed out.

Tested on 2 different units and confirmed that the CPU maxxes out during downloading via a wireless connection, and slows the download up to about 1.4MB/sec whereas I am getting 1.9MB/sec via a wired connection - that chews up about 50 - 60% CPU on the unit.

Using the supplied Bigpond USB 2.0 wireless adapater, when downloading large files at approx 1.45MB/sec from the bigpond website, the wireless drops out every few minutes completely and resets your wireless connection. CPU usage on the Siemens 6520 is at 97 - 99% during this time.

Here's the averages

xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 96%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 93%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 99%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 98%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 99%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 98%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 97%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 96%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 100%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 100%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 100%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 100%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 98%
xsh> show sys cpu
CPU Usage: 100%

heya,

just got the 6520 installed in my office and wanting to allow port forwarding on the router so i can pcanywhere from home to an office machine. I have looked over and over again on the web config and nothing is there to allow me to do so. I looked at the help file and it mentions port forwarding, but it seems not to be there. Has the router got a BP firmware which blocks this? Can i download the latest from Siemens and start from scratch without BP stuff?
Also when i try to access this router from the internet to configure it i cannot get access to it for it constantly asks for the username and password even though i enter the right details. Another BP thing?
I do have a static IP address active through BP and has been running for 1 week now.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Andrew

Yup click on "Gateway" then click on Security (on the left) and then Address Translation. Make sure there's a dot next to Port By-Pass (NAPT) and click on Configure next to that.
You either select from the list, or add a custom entry. That's your port forwarding on the modem.

With regards to the gaining access to the modem via the Internet, I do not believe there is a way to do this - at least I hope not, because if there is, the reboot option shows up without logging into the modem officially. Could be a very ugly firmware bug if you can get in via externally.

Thanks.

So if i add the address say 192.168.0.51 and TCP port 5631, i can then go home and type in 60.229.175.158 (being the static ip address) in pcanywhere and the router will forward to the 192.168.0.51 machine?

thanks
Andrew

www.portforward.com is THE database for portforwarding. More specifically, www.portforward.com/engl...0/pcAnywhere.htm

hi .. i have the speedstream 6520 and can not for the life of me gt it to communicate with my computer wirelessly.. dont really have much idea of what i am doing so is it possible to post or send some step by step instructions of what to do .. i have done everything as described in the use guide but then cant connect.. what should i do at the other end ie.. my computer as havent put any setings into it (if i ave to) as there are no instructions i have Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG in the comp

cheers

anth25 writes...

speedstream 6520 and can not for the life of me gt it to communicate with my computer wirelessly

Try the latest firmware for starters, and re-configure your modem from scratch as well, go into IE or FireFox and go to the URL 10.0.0.138 -- the default login/pass is admin/admin

Ensure that your modem also has the SSID set to be broadcast, as the supplied netgear adapters have a firmware bug in that they cannot connect to a wireless network where the SSID is hidden.

Use at a bare minimum WEP encryption, WPA is the preferred, despite what Bigpond tell you (they only care about keeping noobs out, not the pros). If you would like a WPA/WEP key generated for you, there's software available that can do that, or whim me and I can use a Linux server to do up one for you.

Good luck.

I am using the Siemens 6520 router, latest firmware release and my laptop is using a good built in wireless adaptor with the latest firmware too. My problem is the frequent drop out of comms between my laptop any the router from a distance as short as 7 meters (no drop out at all from a distance of 2 meters). Having read that the distance can be up to 30 meters, I feel very frustrated. I do not have too many thick walls between the laptop and the router and I do not have any other device in the same frequency range.

Can someone help with suggestions to improve the coverage or software to debug what is the problem?

What type of wireless (brand- model etc) adapter is in the laptop ?

It is Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

There have been power management issues with the Intel gear - not sure about this one in particular. Try going into the detailed or Advanced settings in Windows device manager. You will see one related to power management - set it to "full on" all the time (or disable the power management). The Intel default is to turn the power up and down as necessary and some modems don't like this. Then restart and see how it goes.

Thanks for your reply Gosper, I disabled the power save option as you stated, but I still have the same problem. I am not sure why the coverage is that short. It is very frustrating. Do you know of any tools that can help debug this problem?

Set your power to High/Maximum and get the latest drivers for the Intel card. These have solved pretty much all issues for me with my 3945 Pro A/B/G card and have fixed up the 2200BG card to a tolerable level.

Also get the latest firmware for the Siemens 6520 modem from Bigpond or your ISP.

firmware here -
bigpond.custhelp.com/cgi...hp?p_faqid=12492

I did upgrade the firmware for my router as well as the device driver for my network adapter a couple of weeks ago. They are still the up-to-date ones.

I checked all the advanced settings for my network adapter and now they are all set for highest power.

I think it may have to do with the interference. I am not sure why as I do not use any other devides using the same 2.4 GHz frequency.