# [SOLVED] Need help with Siemens SpeedStream 4100 DSL Modem...



## Drake1132 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hello everyone,

I recently changed internet service providers to AT&T for my DSL connection at home. When I ordered the new service they told me that my Siemens SpeedStream 4100 would work perfectly fine and I did not need to purchase a new modem. I have since discovered that AT&T used to (and possibly still does) send those modems to new customers who do need a modem, so there is little reason to believe that the modem would be problematic. Unfortunately, however, I have been utterly unable to access the configuration page for the modem to make the necessary changes to make it work.

I have searched around and found a few different IP Addresses to try as the access address for the configuration page, but none of them have worked. I have also reset the modem (several times) and still cannot get access. Additionally, the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway that I get when I allow my connection to obtain those settings automatically from the modem (reported via ipconfig) are different from what the user manual says they should be, and they have come up as three different settings; two different ones on my XP laptop, and a third on my girlfriend's vista laptop. Furthermore, attempting to use ipconfig /release followed by ipconfig /renew on either system will return an error from ipconfig /renew that says that the DHCP server could not be contacted.

Now I have borrowed a different DSL modem to allow me to use the internet and do some research into the problem, and that works great, but if possible I really need to get the SpeedStream to work.

I can see a couple of possible problems that could cause this apparent communication difficulty between my computer and my modem. First, it could be that the modem is shot. That would annoy me greatly because it was working perfectly with two prior service providers (though I never had to reconfigure it, so I never tried to access the internal configuration page), then it stopped working only when we made the ISP switch, but since I apparently can't contact the DHCP server on the modem, I think this is most likely. Resetting the modem should have returned it to factory defaults, but the typical IP addresses used for factory defaults don't seem to work, and it makes me wonder if my previous provider forced an invalid firmware update to prevent people from using their modem after switching to another provider. And second, the modem's default settings are unusual compared to other modems of the same model, though I can't think of why that would be the case.

And, of course, I'm no expert, so there could be a number of other possibilities that I'm simply not thinking of.

What I would like from people here is any/all of the following:

1. A USA technical support number for Siemens DSL modems, or at least an email address. I tried looking up that information on the usa.siemens.com website but couldn't find anything other than a general/directory number and a similarly general email address. I could use those, but I would prefer a number specific for tech support.

2. Some suggestions about how to find out what IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway settings are most likely to work to allow me to access the modem's configuration page.

3. Some means to force a firmware update/change on the modem.

4. A great place to buy an inexpensive replacement modem that will work (something easily configurable to PPPoE and/or Bridge mode).

Thanks for any help you can give,
Drake


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

*Re: Need help with Siemens SpeedStream 4100 DSL Modem...*

Did you try resetting the modem to factory defaults?


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## Drake1132 (Jul 15, 2010)

*Re: Need help with Siemens SpeedStream 4100 DSL Modem...*



johnwill said:


> Did you try resetting the modem to factory defaults?


Well, if you had actually *read* my original post, you would have seen the following...



Drake1132 said:


> ... I have also reset the modem (several times) and still cannot get access.


And two paragraphs later I mention it again.

If you aren't going to read the original post, please don't waste my time by posting a reply.

Anyone have any *useful* comments, information, suggestions, etc.?

Thanks,
Drake


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## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

*Re: Need help with Siemens SpeedStream 4100 DSL Modem...*

Not with that attitude . .


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

*Re: Need help with Siemens SpeedStream 4100 DSL Modem...*

I don't know if the 4100 series have a firmware as I've worked mostly with the 4200's and newer. Use IPCONFIG in the Command Prompt to get the default gateway and use that IP to try for FW access.


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## Drake1132 (Jul 15, 2010)

*Re: Need help with Siemens SpeedStream 4100 DSL Modem...*

Thank you, ebackhus, for the suggestion. Unfortunately, if I have my computer set up for dynamic IP and DNS retrieval, then ipconfig reports the default gateway as completely blank. This is why I have been trying to force it with static IP addresses, and this is also why I believe the modem may be entirely shot.

@simpswr, what exactly is wrong with my attitude? I asked for help. I was clear in what I had already done (without writing a detailed book). I was clear that I had already reset the modem multiple times. Should I have thanked johnwill for his neglect and complacency? Should I have thanked him for posting a reply that was utterly useless and pointless? I appreciate that forum mods don't necessarily have a lot of time to post replies, and I also appreciate that a lot of help requests do not provide details. But that justifies skimming posts, not skipping them. There is a decided difference between the two. The reply I received from johnwill was a waste of time... not only mine, but his as well. My response to him was not disrespectful (despite the fact that he had been disrespectful to me by virtue of his complacency), but was instead clear and polite. I was firm and assertive, rather than sycophantic, and I do not believe that such a response is in any way out of line given the circumstances.

Thanks,
Drake


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

*Re: Need help with Siemens SpeedStream 4100 DSL Modem...*



Drake1132 said:


> Well, if you had actually *read* my original post, you would have seen the following...


All I see is a reset, which is not the same as a reset to factory defaults. However, since you seem to have an attitude issue, I'll let you sort this one out for yourself.


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## Drake1132 (Jul 15, 2010)

*Re: Need help with Siemens SpeedStream 4100 DSL Modem...*



johnwill said:


> All I see is a reset, which is not the same as a reset to factory defaults. However, since you seem to have an attitude issue, I'll let you sort this one out for yourself.


Once again you show your inability and/or unwillingness to read... The following is from my original post.



Drake1132 said:


> Resetting the modem should have returned it to factory defaults...


I did not just say I had reset the modem, I also said that doing so should have returned it to factory defaults. And I said *reset* not *power cycle*, which in and of itself means a reset to factory defaults, not a simple reboot of the firmware.

I'm not the one with the attitude issue here. At every point you have refused to do me the simple courtesy reading in full what I have already said. And then when I politely but firmly point out that simple fact and ask you not waste my time, you and simpswr both act like *I'm* the one who's being an ***. I'm sorry, but you're the ones with the attitude problems.

Thanks for nothing,
Drake


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