Having 2WIRE 2701Hg-b connection drops? Read this tutorial!Hello everyone, since I've never seen this answered on the Internet I decided to post my findings myself.

I�ve been able to configure the 2WIRE 2701HG-B Modem/Wireless Router to have a higher connection retention rate. I reduced the frequent connection drops in all my household Internet electronics up to 95%. I hope this will do the same for you all.I�ve heard and I have experienced as well that Macbook Pro�s cause connection drops as well with this modem. I own a 13 inch Macbook Pro and it was giving problems until I did this.

I also use a VoIP service, I have a cordless phone (not sure frequency) and I have a television and an Xbox 360 and Wii. Please be sure to separate the router/modem at least 10 feet from such devices that could cause interference.

Please note, do this at your own risk.

Go to »gateway.2wire.net

Log In with your system password.

At the top click �Broadband Link�

Proceed to the �Advanced Settings� Tab

Check out the �DSL Line Selection� make sure it�s not on �Automatic�

If it�s on �Automatic� switch it to �Line 2 (Outer Pair)� and observe the DSL Modems lights. If they don�t become green again after a short amount of time switch it to �Line 1 (Inner Pair)�; you must click �Save� for each time you switch the line for it to take effect. If it remains green on �Line 1 (Inner Pair)� it was probably the connection problem. �Automatic� mode I believe has a tendency to switch from Line 1 to Line 2 resulting in a drop of your connection.

Remember to save your configuration.

Next after having done the above, proceed to the �Firewall� section and go into the �Advanced Settings� Tab as well.

I found that having �NetBIOS� and �Remote Management� off yields better results.

Save the settings, a window will ask you to confirm your settings.

I found that there is no need to have static IP addresses in the common household. So DHCP works fine with this configuration.

Now for the Wireless Settings:

Make sure your SSID Broadcast is enabled.

My Wireless Channel is set to Channel "1 (2412MHz)" you may need to play around with the wireless channel if you experience wifi drops but your DSL remains connected to the ISP.Set Wireless Network Security to either "WPA-PSK" or "WPA2-PSK" and assign an encryption key.

Keep in mind no MAC filtering is required.

On the �Additional Settings� make sure your Wireless Mode is set to �802.11b/g�

DTIM Period (Seconds): Remains at �1�.Maximum Connection Rate: �54Mbps�Power Setting: Unless your house or area is huge you can set this to a low number like 4. The higher the number the farther your DSL Router broadcasts its signal.

Now for the advanced portion of this (recommended), if you want to see your 2Wire�s statistics and refresh your connection, continue on reading:

Go to: »gateway.2wire.net/mdc

Sign in with your system password.

Observe the left panel with the bold �Broadband Link� section.Click on �Summary� the �Summary� page opens displaying information about your DSL connection. Note the �Reset� buttons next to �Broadband Link� and �ISP Connection�. Clicking on �ISP Connection� Reset will give you a DHCP Release on your modem but it shouldn�t turn off any lights on your modem. The connection will re-adjust itself automatically. It�s a good idea to �recycle/reset� the modem once in a while.

The �Broadband Link� resets the entire modems connection along with the �ISP Connection� and makes all your devices connected to the network lose connectivity to the Internet. Your connection will be re-established automatically after less than 3 - 5 minutes.

In order to assure a healthy connection, I reset both of these and waited for them to re-establish and then unplugged my router/modem for 5 minutes. Plugged it back in and it hasn�t lost its connection. When the 2WIRE Modem loses its connection in the statistics page it�ll show up as a �DSL Link Retrain�. You want to get 0�s on that section of the statistics since it means that your connection is 100% Healthy.

To check the Statistics under �Broadband Link� click �Detailed Statistics�. A page riddled with numbers appears. If you experience frequent connection drops, they will be logged under the �Link Retrains� section, observe how many you�ve had since your last reset. Now that your newly established connection was set, we can go ahead and �Reset� the Statistics. Reset the statistics and observe how you will now get a bunch of 0�s. The more 0�s you have the better.

Close and re-open your web browser and surf the web. You are done! Enjoy your Internet connection!