What started out as nothing more than a rant at my having the misfortune of needing to configure a Technicolor TG582n ADSL modem has now evolved in an attempt to get together all the resources I can to try and ease the pain of fellow victims of the TG582n. If you are looking for an alternative to the TG582n, check out my list of six modems suitable for networks of various sizes and levels of complexity.
Contents
Configuring The TG582n & Hot To Do Stuff
How To Telnet in to the Modem
How to Update the DNS Servers
How to Disable DHCP
Change the Modem Password
How to Reboot the Modem
TG582n Downloads
User Guide
Command Line Interface (CLI) Reference
My Grudge
Note: My discussion and instructions below are based on firmware version: 8.4.4.J.
I was first stricken with the Technicolor TG582n ailment when our UK office was provided with one of these festering fecal-esque abominations of a modem by our ADSL provider.
So why do I hate it so much? Well . . . where to begin:
Web Interface / GUI
The web interface is baffling in its layout, flow and general navigation set. There’s a main menu down the left hand side that shows you various sections of the modem, giving prominence to “Broadband Connection” and “Technicolor Gateway” options – the two options you are least likely to change (if ever). After that comes an option called ‘Toolbox’ – great I thought, a place where I can actually edit settings. Alas it seems the developers of the GUI like a touch of irony as Toolbox is a collection of useless features that barely seem to work and the ones that show the info you want are read only.
Half the stuff you want to do, you have to do via the CLI (a la Cisco) or you have to know mysterious non-listed URLs (see below).
Port Forwarding Problems
I was implementing Small Business Server 2011 behind the modems firewall. To facilitate access to its webmail and remote email services, this requires both port 80 and port 443 to be open and forwarded to it. Unfortunately if – as in my case – your ISP is using port 80 and port 443 for remote access to the modem, any attempts to use those ports give a message saying it’s already in use (but no details). Worse still if you create your own ‘Application’, with all the ports listed in it that you want open including port 80 or port 443, the modem simply accepts this giving no errors but it just doesn’t activate the port forwarding. In the end I had to contact my ISP and they had to relinquish remote access to the modem for me to get use of port 80 and 443.
Additionally, here the bloody awful GUI strikes again, making editing the port forwarding a nightmare.
Configuring The TG582n & Hot To Do Stuff
How To Telnet in to the Modem
Many updates and changes to the TG582n cannot be made via the GUI so need to be done via the CLI (Command Line Interface) and to do this you need to connect to the modem via Telnet. To do this on a Windows machine, you need to open a Command Prompt (type cmd at the run/search programs box if you can’t find it).
Important Note to Windows 7 / 8 Users: As of Windows 7 & 8 Microsoft have telnet disabled by default. To enable it you need to go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs & Features > Turn Windows features on or off and check the box that says Telnet Client. Windows will install the Telnet client in a few seconds.
A black box will appear (see image right), type the following to connect, replacing the IP address with the one of your own router:
telnet 192.168.254.254 (hit enter)
Next you will be prompted for a username and a password, type in each hitting enter after each response. You will now be shown a wonderful graphic image made up of slashes which illustrates what the programmers spent their time doing when they should have been working on the GUI:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
______ Technicolor TG582n
___/_____/
/ /\ 8.4.4.J.AM
_____/__ / \
_/ /_____/___ Copyright (c) 1999-2011, Technicolor
// / /
_______//_______/ / _/______
/ / / / / /
__/ / / / / / ___
/ / / _______/ / / / / /
/_/______/___________________/ /________/ /___/
___________ /
_ / / ___/
/ / /
_____/ / ________/
/__________/ /
_____ /_____/
/ / /___/
/____/ /
/___/
____/
------------------------------------------------------------------------You are now logged in to the modem via telnet and can begin using the other commands below.
How to Update the DNS Servers
If you wish to change the DNS servers of the modem to use (for example) Google DNS or Open DNS, you can’t simply update these via the web interface as you can with any normal modem. You have to telnet in to the modem and miraculously know the arcane commands to update the servers. For those whose psychic powers are off today, here’s a sample using Google DNS:
dns server route list dns server route flush dns server route add dns=8.8.8.8 metric=10 intf=Internet dns server route add dns=8.8.4.4 metric=10 intf=Internet dns server route list saveall
How to Disable DHCP
In theory once you are logged in to your modem, you should be able to access the LAN options page by going to the address below, replacing 192.168.254.254 with the IP of your own modem:
http://192.168.254.254/cgi/b/intf
Change the Modem Password
The change the modem password, simple enter the one line command below replacing administrator and mypassword with your own details, you must remember to run the saveall command too or your changes will be lost on the next modem reboot.
user config name=administrator password=mypassword
saveall
How to Reboot the Modem
Sometimes you might not have physically access to the modem so this can be a useful way of restarting it remotely:
system reboot
TG582n Downloads
User Guide
While the user guide only covers what is available in the travesty of a web-interface, it might be useful to some users so it’s here for the sake of completeness.
Download Technicolor TG582n User Guide (PDF)
Command Line Interface (CLI) Reference
Download TG582n Command Line Interfance (CLI) Reference Guide
Cool…
Slight correction; you seem to have listed the same Google DNS server (8.8.8.8) twice. I presume one of those lines should be
8.8.4.4 ?
Thanks Jess! Yep in my laziness I copy/pasted the line and in my forgetfulness, I forgot to change it!
I assume from your reading of this blog that you are cursed with one of these modems – you have my commiserations 😀
Many thanks for the spot and for taking the time to let me know about it, much appreciated as there are those that will just copy the examples line for line.
thanks, I had a remote site hung, reboot command in gui had no effect, but the telnet command did the job, saved a site visit!
Hey Mick,
Glad it helped!
great article but you forgot to mention it runs at about 100 degrees unless you turn it upside down which reduces it to 90 degrees
Hey Clive,
LOL – yep I did forget that! It could actually be used as a novelty cup warmer to keep your beverage of choice from getting cold. 🙂
Thanks for the post!
Hi Bob,
My name is Sander Smith and I run a project called RouterCheck which allows ordinary people to run a security check on their home routers and networks.
We\’ve just enabled support to detect the Wifatch malware (the one the infects your router and then turns off telnet access). One of our users in Brazil has been infected and I\’m trying to get more information.
Unfortunately, we don\’t have contact info for our users and limited info on their routers. I know that he\’s running some Technicolor box and telnet is enable on the WAN side.
I checked on the internet and found your page about the TG582n. I see that you mention using telnet to configure some features. I started looking and found a real manual for this device. It doesn\’t mention telnet, but there appears to be some setup disk that I\’m assuming somehow uses telnet.
What I\’m interested in knowing is how does one of these devices expose a telnet interfact to the internet? Is it always on? I notice that there\’s some remote admin option. Normally this would just mean web GUI, but does it also mean it turns on telnet without your knowledge?
Any help you can give to figure out this mystery is appreciated.
Thanks,
Sander
Hi Sander,
Sounds like a great project – is it ok if I post the URL on here? Regarding your query, I’m afraid I don’t have the unit anymore but from memory I seem to remember there was an advanced option to enable/disable telnet and the web-based admin for remote (WAN-side) access. The single best advice I can give about this unit is to get rid of it ASAP!
Bob
It’s not all that terrible. Most complaints I see are more down to the wireless quality, but I’m mostly wired in my LAN and wireless connections are close to the router so I’m not fussed.
I was using a Draytek router which are regarded as excellent, but I found the Technicolor oddly more configurable via the CLI and also a neat thing is the Technicolor will allow you to address an external qualified address that is pointing to your public IP address and have it port forward correctly on a NATed LAN.
Most routers (Draytek included) I found can’t do that. i.e. the public address will only resolve from outside your own LAN. Which means you struggle with configs on mobile phones for a mail server (for example) running on your LAN. The phone would connect with the public address from outside the LAN but not inside, so you have to keep changing the mail server config on the phone, or have two configs. The Technicolor however allows this to work.
The web UI however is a bit clunky and oddly designed.
Great article and thanks for the links to the PDF docs.
We use the Technicolor TG582n router in work which is a LAN of about 10 PCs with internet connection over DSL and filesharing in Workgroup rather than domain – we have no Windows servers that do DNS, Active Directory or WINS. Most of the computers are fixed static IP addresses with some using dynamic IP from the DHCP pool on the Technicolor router.
I noticed something while setting a new PC up. When using a dymamic IP address the computer could not access shared folders on the network. I checked using ping to that computer, pinging its NETBIOS name and it failed. It was trying to ping a competely different IP address. Ping would work if I specified the remote PC’s correct IP address but if I specified NETBIOS name ping would attempt to ping an IP address that was not even existing on the network. Did a Wireshark packet trace and Technicolor router is answering a DNS query that is generated by the local PC (the one sending ping). From reading up on NETBIOS it is normal for trying DNS first and if a Windows server existed on network that would answer correctly matching NETBIOS to correct IP address. Without a DNS server or WINS server it should then default to broadcast and get an answer that way.
Does anyone know what on earth is happening here? Why is that router attempting to answer NETBIOS lookups (from DNS query). Would be fine if gave correct answer but it is just giving wrong answers. Replicated the issue on another PC, doing same thing answering DNS query for NETBIOS name but giving incorrect IP address in answer. By the way have tried it with DNS servers specified in local machine as Google public DNS servers or leaving blank to allow use of Plusnet DNS servers and has no effect so does not seem to be corrupt DNS servers but buggy router.
Have also verified issue by Telnetting into router directly and performing the DNS lookup:
{admin}=>:dns client nslookup host=C194.lan
Name: C194.lan
Address: 192.168.0.136
Aliases: none
{admin}=>:dns client nslookup host=C240.lan
Name: C240.lan
Address: 192.168.0.135
These are both incorrect answers it is giving!
DNS config info obtained from Telnet session:
{admin}=>dns server config
domain : lan
timeout : 15s
suppress : 0
state : enabled
trace : disabled
syslog : disabled
spoofing : enabled
spoof ip : 198.18.1.0
filter response : disabled
UPDATE: I have found a workaround by issuing “dns server flush” command. But why did this incorrect info get into router in first place. Why does it not keep correct NETBIOS info?
Hello Bob,
thank you very much for the super useful info you have posted. Helped me a lot.
Technicolor gear is probably the best make you can get from your ISP. Personally, I’m quite willing to see past its rudimentary web interface and configure it to do practically anything I want through its CLI rather than put up with the dumbed down, sloppily coded – and worded – interfaces you find on the true pieces of junk that ISPs like to give out (e.g. ZTE).
Hi Bob,
I have a Technicolor TG582n supplied by PlusNet my ISP provider here in the UK. Recently it has developed the nasty habit of reducing my download speeds from an acceptable +20mbps to a very unacceptable 0.20-0.35mbps … the system is left running but idle & when discovered the slow speed is only increased by rebooting the TG582n remotely/manually. Do you know of any setting or parameter I can check using CLI or user interface to get rid of this problem, since it’s becoming very tiresome having to wait 10-15 minutes before I get a usable speed.
i have the same issue!!! 0.05 mbps and im rebooting the modem for 3-5 hours to get it fixed
Hi guys. Found this useful site, but my TG582n does not seem to support the dns server route list command. Which makes changing the DNS to something else quite hard! The device identifies itself as TG582n FTTC, and 10.2.5.2.FO if that helps. And the splash screen ASCII art is less complex that you show. It was supplied by Plusnet. Is it running a different CLI?
Same here, Bob! EVERYWHERE online says to use the “list” command. It DOES NOT WORK!!! Unknown Command, it says.
try the menu command at the {admin}=> prompt. It almost user friendly.
I can’t get to either interface without an ADSL connection. I don’t have an ADSL connection and want to set up a bridge mode or link it to another router which only has one ethernet port. Can’t see how to do it! So if your ADSL is down perhaps you can’t use the LAN aspect?
Thanks for the summary of docs & examples – always useful.
This is an awful router, but still a useful appliance: My TG582n now serves adequately as an auxilliary wireless access point: DHCP disabled, and connected via a really long LAN cable to an actual working (Netgear) router.
Point of note: The lack of access to DNS server settings is not an oversight: these routers are commonly supplied by ISPs locked in to their own DNS servers – a minor moneyspinner via advertising and search engine redirects (You’ve no doubt mistyped a URL at some point, and been redirected to your ISP’s crappy 404 page offering results/advertising using some crappy search engine as Ask or Jeeves that you normally wouldn’t touch with someone else’s…).
Also one extra bit about the TG582n:
The USB interface:
If you have the courage to connect a drive via the supplied USB interface, the router scans all files on the entire drive (presumably building an index of media files). If your drive is close to death this may be enough to kill it.
Whilst described as a CIFS server in the documents, it is accessible using an SMB client.
Mine demonstrated the nasty habit of iterating the SMB share name (disk1, disk2 iirc) every now and again (ymmv).
Rich, awesome additions to the page, thanks very much! Yep I agree with your take on the DNS lock down too, BT have also started using a basic DNS blacklist blocking access to some resources such as torrent indexes, etc.
list command does not work, it is an unknown command!
This is a really great router, but as with everything great, you have to learn how to use it.
Hi Bob,
I need create an PPPoA connection, is correct this CLI commands to:
atm phonebook add name=pvc_Internet addr=8.35
atm ifadd intf=BrPPPoA_atm
atm ifconfig intf=BrPPPoA_atm dest=pvc_Internet encaps=llc ulp=mac
atm ifattach intf=BrPPPoA_atm
eth bridge ifadd intf=BrPPPoA_br
eth bridge ifconfig intf=BrPPPoA_br dest=BrPPPoA_atm
eth bridge ifattach intf=BrPPPoA_br
Thanks 😉
I’m a lover of this modem. It is far more configurable than the usual crap isp’s give away. Admittedly the web UI is totally rubbish and you can hardly do anything with it, but the telnet cli is spot on, there is nothing you can’t do after a bit of time to learn how to drive it.
Hey Billy,
Thanks for commenting and good to get some other perspectives on it. I was fine with CLI too (as you say, its more much powerful than the GUI) but the lack of documentation out there drove me nuts (if you’ve got any pointer let me know as I’ll add them here for people that find this page).
Hi,
I have a Technicolor TG589vn which works fine, but when I disconnect the ADSL lead and connect it to a TG582n then the Broadband light blinks green and I cannot see the router homepage, I just get a message saying that the ADSL connection is down, but it works fine on the TG589vn. What do I need to do to the TG582n to get it to work please? Thank you.