The Verizon Actiontec GT704WG Wireless Gateway pictured below is an incredibly engineered piece of FAIL.
If Verizon attempts to send you this for your DSL service, run away from this piece of hardware as fast as you can. There are two major problems I have with this hardware:
- it uses Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) for securing the wireless network;
- the key used on a WEP-secured wireless network is hexadecimal string of the letters A-F and the numbers 0-9; and
- did I mention it uses WEP?
Resetting the router to its factory defaults is pretty easy, but I had the hardest problem getting devices connected to the gateway to connect to the Internet. The gateway would easily connect once it was configured with the correct Verizon account information, but the devices connected wirelessly were stuck in an endless loop of having to activate the DSL service. Essentially, the laptop I was connecting would continually be prompted to download software it neither needed nor could use. I also did not need to activate the service since it has been active for some time, and I had no need for account setup.
I was able to find a resource via Google that walked through how to avoid this problem with machines that ran neither Windows nor OS X. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Ben’s Drivel. Here are the directions on how to get out of this stupid loop.
- Ensure your laptop is connected to the gateway.
- Open an Internet browser, and enter the following address into the address bar:
http://192.168.1.1/verizon/redirect
- You should be prompted to enter the administrative username and password for your gateway. Enter those credentials.
- A new page should appear with a button that says ON. It should also have some verbiage concerning its redirection.
- Click on the ON button, and it should change to OFF. Save this setting.
- Using your Internet browser, surf to Google.com. It should now load without the annoying “Activate DSL” site appearing. Enjoy the Internets!
Hopefully, these instructions will come in handy for someone in the future.
Hm. Mocking my router, JJT? That’s NOT NICE.
Hm. Mocking my router, JJT? That’s NOT NICE.
It is situations like this that make me happy I chose Speakeasy over Verizon for my DSL needs.
It is situations like this that make me happy I chose Speakeasy over Verizon for my DSL needs.
Carol: Your router sucks. Complain to Verizon and have it replaced, as it is incredibly old and feeble.
Paul: Surprisingly, I have no quibbles with Comcast as my provider.
Carol: Your router sucks. Complain to Verizon and have it replaced, as it is incredibly old and feeble.
Paul: Surprisingly, I have no quibbles with Comcast as my provider.
I finally gave up on the actiontec. The wireless is what causes the actiontec to stroke out constantly. It’s a PoS.
I bought a D-link DSL-2320B modem & DIR-615 router. Connection was an ordeal due to Tech-Non-Support, but I got it running and works fine now.
I finally gave up on the actiontec. The wireless is what causes the actiontec to stroke out constantly. It’s a PoS.
I bought a D-link DSL-2320B modem & DIR-615 router. Connection was an ordeal due to Tech-Non-Support, but I got it running and works fine now.
I have a big problem with a gateway that is so dated it is still using WEP keys for security. That’s a big problem.
Granted, tech support is annoying with Verizon, but I am accustomed to that. Even as a sysadmin.
I have a big problem with a gateway that is so dated it is still using WEP keys for security. That’s a big problem.
Granted, tech support is annoying with Verizon, but I am accustomed to that. Even as a sysadmin.
ty dude, i spend an entire fuckin night dealing with this modem -_-’
ty dude, i spend an entire fuckin night dealing with this modem -_-’