Connecting a Speedtouch 516 DSL modem to a WRT54G

I’ve been having wireless network problems ever since I moved into the new condo with Jen. At first, I thought that it was because I had purchased a v5 WRT54GS (this uses a completely different operating system than the four prior linux ones). I saw a lot of frequent dropoffs while other networks in the area seemed to maintain their signal. Ironically, wired communication via Ethernet worked fine which implies that it was environmental in nature.

So I ended up buying WRT54G v3.1 (Linux based), to see if it was the router hardware. After installing the router, I now notice that the the same behaviour is still occurs…

Today I think I figured it out. I ran both routers side by side, and the one connected in the modem dropped off.

So I started poking through the Speedtouch settings and I find that it the Speedtouch DSL 516 modem has it’s own DHCP server built-in. Perhaps the two were conflicting? It’s suppose to have an auto-off if it detects another DHCP server (From the router), but I decided to turn it off to be safe.

To turn it off you need to go to > http://speedtouch.lan > Advanced > DHCP > Select DHCP Server Off > Save All.

Hopefully this will improve the situation here.

Tai