Netopia 3347-02 ADSL2 Wireless Router (Bulk Packaged) Review

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(More customer reviews)Excellent gateway for a good price.
The item I purchased (marked "Bulk Packaged") came with a phone cable, network cable, power cable, and the router itself. No CDs or manuals of any type were included. However, the bottom of the device had a link to the support website, where manuals were available. The manual was not exactly the same as what I had, but close enough to be useful.
The following information might be helpful for people who are looking at it.
(1) The "router" is actually a "gateway". For all intents and purposes, it would replace several devices- an ADSL2/2+ modem, a wireless access point, a router, and 4 ethernet ports.
(2) Note on Wireless: the WIRELESS part might be disabled by default, depending on initial settings. You will need to connect via a WIRED connection in order to set up the wireless the first time. See below for more information.
(3) If you are concerned that there might be settings on the device from other users, or just want to be sure to start with a clear slate, power up the device, then take a paperclip or similar small object and use it to push and hold the reset button for 3-5 seconds. This will reset your device to factory settings.
(4) Connectivity: In order to connect to the device, after plugging your cable in, go to your web browser and connect to http://192.168.1.254 (this is the default IP address). Mine defaulted to not asking for a user name and password, I set those up myself for added security. Note that the default user names are "Admin" and "User", and that they ARE case sensitive. (I forgot the capital A at first). This will let you in to the configuration screen. While there ARE a ton of options, there is a on-board help file (clicking "help" on any page will get you help for that page).
(5) All of the Model # 3347-02-1006 gateways are designed to be sold directly to various ISPs for the use of their customers. They each have specially designed firmware that makes it easier for the intended customers to connect. So, depending on which model you receive, you may end up with an initial screen that is for some other ISP. Don't panic. Just either put in something random or else click the "home" button (if visible) to get to more advanced settings.
(6) I received model 3347-02-1006L. This turned out to be a model originally designed for BellSouth. I was trying to connect to CenturyLink. I was able to do so fairly easily, though I needed to contact customer support at both places. Motorola/Netopia offers limited complimentary support for 15 days from the first time you contact them by phone.
(7) For anyone else who might be trying to use this for a CenturyLink account (to avoid having to rent a unit!), be aware that CenturyLink will not provide support for other modems, however they will give you the basic connection information you need. Here is a quick guide to setting up CenturyLink (at least in Ohio, might be different in other areas): Log in to device, as described in #4 above. Click "Expert Mode" then "Configure" then "WAN" then "ATM" (this step might be called something slightly different, like "Set up ATM circuits"). On this page, set VPI to 8, VCI to 35, and Encapsulation to RFC-1483 Bridged Ethernet. Click the little exclamation mark icon that will appear above, choose "Save and Restart" . When it comes back up, presto! Done.
(8) To set up wireless, be sure to enable it, and then be sure to change the security settings so that you have the most secure login you can. For most people, this will be "WPA-PSK". If you don't know what you're doing at this point, read up on it so that you don't leave your system open and unsecure.I hope that helps someone out there.

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