Huawei HG521 Firmware Trial
TalkTalk Labs have received the latest beta firmware for the Huawei HG521 Single port wireless router and are looking for volunteers to try this new firmware.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A HUAWEI HG521 BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH YOUR APPLICATION FOR THIS TRIAL BY VERIFYING VIA THE STICKER ON THE BOTTOM OF YOUR ROUTER.
The firmware addresses several issues and prepares our customers for YouView TV.
The trial is open to applications from all TalkTalk customers who have an operational Huawei HG521 router.
Unfortunately, customers who have the AOL or ex-Tiscali TV service (not the new TalkTalk TV service) are not suitable for this trial and should not apply.
Application process
Although this is a firmware trial, we will be limiting the number of participants. This is to mitigate the risk associated with distributing the firmware to a large group and subsequently discovering a large-impact issue.
Participants will be spread evenly across those who:
• Have an existing issue it is thought the new firmware will resolve
• New applicants/trialists
• Existing, proven trialists
The trial consists of 5 very basic phases:
1) Delivery and Router Preparation
Successful applicants will be emailed with the link and short instructions on how to extract the files from a compressed folder.
Please note. Do not share this firmware with anyone else. The firmware is not considered production-ready, and agreement to this request forms part of the trials "Terms and Conditions".
In order to fully participate, you must be confident to follow tested, step-by-step instructions to reconfigure your router following a Factory Reset.
After the update, you will have no personal settings configured within your router, such as your Broadband Username and Broadband Password.
You will be expected to re-populate these details yourself, and other environment specific settings you may have applied to your current firmware, such as:
• Non Standard Wireless Access Point (SSID) name, security type and password
• Static IP Addresses for devices
• Allowed IP Addresses by Mac Addresses
• Port Forwarding for Application access
• Personal Firewall settings
• Multiple Wireless Access Points (SSID)
• DMZ
•Virtual server
•IP Filtering
•Custom DNS
Although there is a backup and restore feature on the device, this should not be used for this trial. All settings must be manually configured.
We strongly suggest you make a written note of ALL of your customised router settings prior to carrying out the upgrade. It is suggested that you "screenshot" (Vista/Windows 7 has a "Snipping Tool" which would be affective for this, Mac's also have a built-in screenshot utility) the pages where you have changed any settings.
WARNING
IF YOU FEEL YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RESTORE YOUR ROUTER TO ITS PRE-UPGRADE STATE VIA PROVIDED INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME TO CONSIDER IF YOU WANT TO APPLY.
TALKTALK LABS OR CUSTOMER SERVICES WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH ISSUES OR QUESTIONS REGARDING RECONFIGURING HOME NETWORKS.
The required feedback will cover the following.
1) Router Performance
You will be required to check your sync speeds before and after upgrade. We will also ask you to confirm if you have noticed any change to the performance via wired or wireless connections.
2) Operation of the Router post-upgrade
Naturally, we welcome feedback on how the device is performing compared to previous firmware.
You are also required to inform us via TalkTalk Labs of any issues you have noticed, whether new or old, after you have upgraded your router.
TalkTalk Labs also feeds into improvement groups, so also welcome your suggestions on how the firmware or router could be improved.
3) Confirming issue resolution
If you have had issues with your Huawei HG521 prior to installing the new firmware, has the update resolved the issues, or do they still exist? Please let us know via TalkTalk Labs and the survey
4) Leaving feedback
Leaving feedback for trials is quick and simple. Log into TalkTalk Labs with your Username and Password, and click on "My Profile". You will see that you are participating in the trial, and have a link to "Leave Feedback". We will also ask you to complete a short survey at the end.
You are now able to complete a feedback form which is classified in 3 ways:
Issue/Bug - Select this option if something isn't right, and offer as much detail as you can.
Suggestion for Improvement - How could this product be even better? Has it missed something we should be using? This is the option you need if you think we need to know about an enhancement or an improvement.
General Feedback - This is where you can tell us anything you like about the product, service, software or even the trial itself.
Schedule
The trial will run until midnight of the 30th August. On the 31st August we will collating your feedback.
Feedback will only be accepted using the TalkTalk Labs website via a dedicated feedback form associated with your Labs profile. TalkTalk Labs will also as you to complete a short survey.
Please take the time to read and print the FAQ's for this trial here : Huawei HG521 Firmware FAQ's
If you wish to apply, please complete the form via the link below: Huawei HG521 Trial Signup Form