I was called into a friends home to get his router up and running having
decided to sensibly to ditch his USB ADSL modem.
Not sure of the precise settings to use in the router for AOL, a call to their
help desk proved particularly frustrating with virtually no advice being given
for the generic settings to use. A typical response being that routers were
not supported and that the manufacturer should be consulted on the matter; as
if the manufacturer would actually know the answer to that question!
I therefore had to resort to trail and error to get the connection going
although my friend who is an avid AOLer has decided to ditch them in favour of
a decent ISP - I have steered him away from those I personally dislike.
Subscequently I have received the 'official' AOL help on this matter I am
happy to reproduce the information here to avoid others suffering the same
pain that we endured with the AOL help desk. However, my advice would always
be to AOL users to switch to another ISP.
David Bradley
--------------------------------------------
Dear Member,
Thank you for contacting AOL. Did you know that you could find answers to many
AOL questions at AOL Keyword: Help? To access any AOL Keyword, just type it
into the browser address bar at the top of your AOL desktop. Advice on using
the Internet, email, technical and security issues, and billing information -
including changing your account details online - are all available 24 hours a
day.
Following our telephone conversation, I am sending you AOL essential
information for your Unsupported Broadband Router that will be using your AOL
Broadband Connection,
Generic Router Settings
AOL now supports the use of ADSL router on your Broadband connection, which
allows the sharing of a single DSL line simultaneously between multiple
computers.
AOL can provide no further assistance or support while you are setting up or
troubleshooting any issues you may have with your broadband router, apart from
the settings listed below.
When setting up a router, you will be prompted to enter certain details that
govern the type of connection you establish. Depending on the hardware setup
you have, the method for entering these details will differ. However it is
likely you will be prompted to enter them during the installation of your
router.
Some router installation guides will automatically enter some of these details
for you, so it is possible that you will not be prompted for them at all. In
other cases the naming of the options will be different so it is advised that
if you have problems, please refer to the documentation included with your DSL
router. Below are all the essential settings that AOL use to setup Broadband
Routers.
Depending on your router some of these settings may be named differently,
please consult your routers documentation if your require assistance when
setting it up.
Settings:
Connection Protocol: PPPoA (VCMUX or VCBASED)
VPI: 0
VCI: 38
(VPI/VCI): 0,38
Authentication: CHAP
The Following settings are set to automatic or get automatically from ISP,
On some routers you may have to leave these fields blank:
IP Address
Subnet Mask
Default Gateway
Domain Name Server (DNS) Addresses
MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit): 1400
MRU (Maximum Receive Unit): 1400
Username: your
(E-Mail Removed)
Password: your password
Important Information about your username/password settings:
Screen Name Information:
We recommend that you create a new Screen Name which your router can use to
connect to AOL - because if you use an existing Screen Name from another
location, your router will lose its connection to AOL.
When entering your screen name/username on your router it must follow the four
rules below:
1. You must enter your Screen Name in lowercase letters
2. Your Screen Name must be in the format of your AOL e-mail address, i.e.:
your
(E-Mail Removed)
3. Your Screen Name must not contain any spaces
4. The Screen Name must have General (18+) Parental Controls access (not
Mature Teen, Young Teen or Kids Only)
Please note that the new Screen Name you create should use a password that
follows the three rules in the next section.
Password Information:
When entering your password on your router it must follow the three rules
below:
1. The password must be between Six to Eight characters long (i.e.: if it has
nine characters you will need to change it)
2. The password must consist of letters and numbers only (i.e. no special
characters, such as ! £ ? % and spaces).
3. The password must be all lower case (no CAPITALS allowed).
Wireless Setup:
If you require assistance setting up wireless on your router please consult
the documentation that came with your router otherwise contact the
manufacturer.
Kind Regards,
AOL Tech Support
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