Originally Posted By: AndrewT
Not that I have any experience of this but with Zyxel routers you can configure them by issuing command lines over telnet. I suppose a clever person could script something to automate the switch over.


I actually used to use a script just like that to switch my Efficient Networks (BT supplied) router to the BT login and back at 6am every morning. In the early days of BT ADSL it was the only way to ensure a reliable line. Thankfully things have improved at lot since.

Unfortunately while my Dad's Zyxel router has telnet access it is telnet access into a menu system, making it pretty much non scriptable.

Originally Posted By: AndrewT

Alternatively, you could post him a cheap (2nd user?) router pre-configured with the BT test login.


Hmmm, good point. I have two old BT EN5861 routers sat here doing nothing. Though of course you play russian roulette every time you power cycle them, their fragile PSUs only last so long.

However I fear that having my Dad unplug one router and then plug another in could well end up with him not having everything plugged together correctly afterwards.
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