Getting a TP-Link wifi router to work with Orange Broadband

Some time back my broadband wifi router packed up, and I had to buy another.  I bought a TP-Link ADSL2 and wireless modem, model TD-W8960N.  Since my PC is always next to my router, I connected using the wire, and never worried about wireless.  I entered the connection details for Orange broadband, and it all worked fine.

But earlier this week the heat-wave arrived.  When I tried to use my PC downstairs, it could not connect to the internet.  It connected to the router by wifi alright.  I could tell, because I could enter http://192.161.1.1 in my browser, and get the login page for the router, and login using the default admin/admin user and password.  The router connected to the internet fine as well, as I could tell because I could connect to Google fine so long as I was plugged in.  But the two would not work together.

I could tell that I was getting out onto the web OK — I could ping sites by IP address, such as Yahoo at 98.137.149.56.  But any attempt to use a domain name failed. 

Orange supply DNS servers automatically.  This was working — I could see the server addresses appearing in the router login page.  But it didn’t help.

In desperation I used the details on the TP-Link contact page and wrote to them.  To my astonishment I got useful, helpful emails back.

This evening I got this one:

If you are using windows 7, please go to Start> Control panel> Network and Internet> Network and sharing center> Change adapter settings (Left Side Menu)> Right click Wireless network connection> Properties>double click Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4)> please make sure “Obtain an IP address automatically” ” Obtain an DNS server address automatically ” have been selected. And then, please click OK, click again.

If you have done this already, but you still cannot successfully connected to the wireless network, please Start> Control panel> Network and Internet> Network and sharing center> Change adapter settings (Left Side Menu)> Right click Wireless network connection> Properties>double click Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4)> this time, please selected “Obtain an IP address automatically” and “Use the following IP address”, the primary DNS server address, please type 8.8.8.8, the secondary DNS server address, please leave it blank. And then, please click OK, click again.

And … when I went into the properties, I found that “Obtain a DNS server address automatically” was unselected, and some IP address was in there.  Why it was there I know not.  But once I selected that, everything worked.

I don’t write many technical posts, but since I couldn’t find the answer online, I thought that I had better post something myself.

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