OK before I went and tested on O2 I had to reset my very old DG834G Version 1 router !
There is a tiny hole at the back of the router next to the first Ethernet port on the rear panel, you need to use a uncurled paper clip and press and hold for about 10 seconds and release to reset to factory settings. Watch the Test LED light on the front panel, while you are pressing the reset button for 10 seconds this Test LED will come on and then it will switch off. You do not need to reboot the router while resetting it !.

This is the advanced precision tool I used to reach the RESET button

Now that the router was reset,
I used the default login details “admin” for username and “password” for the password [obviously without the "" marks]

Now I was back in the router admin panel and configured the following to access O2 ADSL line

ADSL Settings
Multiplexing Method : LLC Based
VPI : 0
VCI : 101

Basic Settings
No user or password required
Does Your Internet Connection Require A Login : No
IP Address : Get Dynamically
DNS Address : Get Automatically
NAT (Network Address Translation) : Enable
Router MAC Address : Use Default Address

Now it was Testing time !
I tested on the Ethernet LAN using a cable and got a maximum of 2888Kbps as you can see below

Then I tested using the Wireless LAN and got a maximum of 2888 Kbps as below.

Was I happy with these speeds ? NO !, the Thompson router (given by O2) gives about 4 times more bandwidth !
Anyway it was an interesting experiment and I have another ADSL router in case if I need backup.

If anyone needs help with setting up a router with O2 or any other provider leave a note below and I will try my best to help.

Having used the new ISP, I am fairly happy with the sync speed on the WAN, but there is a problem on the LAN side

Using the Thompson router, which comes free with O2 premium, I only get full bandwidth if I use the wired ethernet ports, but I want to use wireless !

OK the problem with using wireless is that it only gives half the bandwidth I am getting over the ethernet ! this should be able to do up to 54 Mbps but I only get up to 10 Mbps, ideally I should get at least 19 Mbps !

so I did a bit of research on google (slow O2 wireless box)
and the advice was to use a wireless channel between 11-13 and stay away from the default channel 1.
Before doing this I wanted to scan the neighbourhood to see what which channels my neighbours were broadcasting their SSIDs on …
So did a bit more research and AirRadar seems to be the best wireless scanner, so now I am scanning the wireless neighbourhood …
Good tool Air Radar, few problems like it costs $$, the Begin scan button is located on the bottom right hand corner and therefor difficult to locate if you don’t know where it is

Anyway most of my neighbours are broadcasting on channel 4, or 6, so I went ahead with 12, the improvement in speed was fairly significant ! for a little bit of work.

Am I happy with the router ? NO never !
I might go for a proper Cisco router with an ADSL card to get good sync speed on the WAN and reliable and extended range on the LAN, will keep you updated if I do this.

now off to my next project of setting up ethernet over power to connect the printer to the wireless router on the hardwired ports. Never used ethernet over power (but used power over ethernet on Cisco routers for powering up VoIP phones) and looking forward to this project.

One bit of advice I must follow is never to get monopolised and restricted. For example if you have a BT line then you are free to use most of the ISP, whereas if you have a Virgin cable connection then you are very limited in your choice of ISPs, and end up paying way over reasonable rates for not Internet access but for phone calls as well. So I am learning from the experience of the last 10 years.

As always leave your comments and suggestions below…