OT: New Router is faster!

[paredown]

I had a fairly recent generation router fall into my hands--it was the TMobile rebranded Asus RT-AC68U, that if you fiddle with a bit, you can turn it back into an Asus...

To make it work, I had to turn the stock FIOS router into a transparent bridge, and then use the Asus to connect to the interwebs, as well as provide wireless etc in the house. (FIOS router just acts as a dumb passthrough with a COAX connection).

The Asus is not even the latest gen, and it provides a noticeable improvement in speed and response.

Plus I got to revisit my past, using hex editors, hash checkers and telnet to hack the Tmobile firmware.:cool:

[Tickdoc]

I had a fairly recent generation router fall into my hands--it was the TMobile rebranded Asus RT-AC68U, that if you fiddle with a bit, you can turn it back into an Asus...

To make it work, I had to turn the stock FIOS router into a transparent bridge, and then use the Asus to connect to the interwebs, as well as provide wireless etc in the house. (FIOS router just acts as a dumb passthrough with a COAX connection).

The Asus is not even the latest gen, and it provides a noticeable improvement in speed and response.

Plus I got to revisit my past, using hex editors, hash checkers and telnet to hack the Tmobile firmware.:cool:

It's funny, you said router and my brain pictured this:

https://pull3-thetoolnut.netdna-ssl.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1200x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/r/triton-tra001-1.jpg

so as I was reading, nothing was making sense.

Damn I'm getting old.

[batman1425]

I replaced our ancient netgear (cira 2007) last year with a latest and greatest night hawk. Incredible difference across the board - range, reliability, speed, multi device handling and streaming. Don't know what took me so long...

[rustychisel]

Damn, you shame me. I've got a new router in the box and really should put it into service (but I'm afraid over our archaic delivery system it will be no better; oh, and I also didn't understand a word you wrote).

Sigh

[charliedid]

What?

[gasman]

Huh ? I only understood 3 words in your post.:)

[weisan]

Let me re-phrase it for the non-technical folks...

Get a new router from Costco every 2-3 years and you will be fine. :p

[charliedid]

Let me re-phrase it for the non-technical folks...

Get a new router from Costco every 2-3 years and you will be fine. :p

Thanks! :-)

[zmudshark]

Let me re-phrase it for the non-technical folks...

Get a new router from Costco every 2-3 years and you will be fine. :p

I love Costco, but Amazon was cheaper.

[eddief]

for bullnose on pine shelving?

[MattTuck]

I was briefly looking at a new router a few weeks ago, and stumbled across a site (can't remember it now) that was focused all on the security aspects of routers.

Jeeze, let's just say the number of vulnerabilities that some of these devices have is scary. Without a doubt, new devices are faster, but one plus to older devices is that (if they are patched with latest firmware) they're hopefully less likely to be a security threat.

Edit: Here's the site. https://routersecurity.org/

[cribbit]

Those tmobile routers were like $30 or something stupid, they were dumping stock. Excellent pickup.

Gotta hardwire everything you can though.

[wc1934]

I had a fairly recent generation router fall into my hands--it was the TMobile rebranded Asus RT-AC68U, that if you fiddle with a bit, you can turn it back into an Asus...

To make it work, I had to turn the stock FIOS router into a transparent bridge, and then use the Asus to connect to the interwebs, as well as provide wireless etc in the house. (FIOS router just acts as a dumb passthrough with a COAX connection).

The Asus is not even the latest gen, and it provides a noticeable improvement in speed and response.

Plus I got to revisit my past, using hex editors, hash checkers and telnet to hack the Tmobile firmware.:cool:

Dumb question - are routers specific to the system or can you get any generic router. I have fios and noticed one of the lights on the cable board was orange - all the rest are green. Verizon state that i needed a new router - over 100 bucks but that i had to purchase a specific one that was only sold by them, that I could not go to best buy/walmart etc and purchase one.
I have not done anything - light is still orange yet my computer doesnt seem to be effected - any thoughts?

[jwd]

https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/08/researchers-discover-aluminum-foil-actually-does-improve-your-wireless-speed/?ncid=mobilerecirc_recent

[paredown]

Dumb question - are routers specific to the system or can you get any generic router. I have fios and noticed one of the lights on the cable board was orange - all the rest are green. Verizon state that i needed a new router - over 100 bucks but that i had to purchase a specific one that was only sold by them, that I could not go to best buy/walmart etc and purchase one.
I have not done anything - light is still orange yet my computer doesnt seem to be effected - any thoughts?

With some provisos, routers other than those provided by FIOS can be used with their service. I have my old one still connected, since the main FIOS connection for most people is coax, and I needed it to convert coax to ethernet for the rest of what I'm doing (it does nothing else now, just pass through). Once I get ethernet pulled from their outside connection to inside the house, I will stop using their device altogether.

One problem is that FIOS help desk will not provide any information on how to set up an alternate router, so you need to rely on people a lot smarter about this stuff--my go-to for years has been the forums at DSL Reports:
http://www.dslreports.com/forums/all

If you have already have ethernet/RJ45 into the house, swapping is trivial. If you need to do what I did, here's the script that I used to convert the FIOS Actiontec into a dumb pass-through:
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/SimplifyingYourNetworkWithABridgeMakingAnFIOsActio nTecMI424WRANetworkBridge.aspx
When done, you plug a network cable into the Actiontec, plug that into the WAN port on the new router, and it will connect to the FIOS network. (Critical: You have to make sure that you release the FIOS IP on the old router before firing up the new one).

Connecting to the outside world (getting the IP from FIOS) seems fairly uncomplicated (no special authentication) so long as you get the connections right. And AFAIK, their newer ONTs (box on outside where they terminate the fiber) have both a coax and an rj45/ethernet jack, and you can request an ethernet connection rather than the coax--but of course you would be responsible (I think) for providing any internal wiring.

One complication though--and for this you need to read the forums--some of the FIOS features for the set top boxes require the use of their router/coax connections, so by putting your own router in place may kill those features (Video on demand, guide updates etc) but I am not an expert on this part, nor do I care, since we are Internet only, having scrapped the 'Triple Play'.

[MattTuck]

Dumb question - are routers specific to the system or can you get any generic router. I have fios and noticed one of the lights on the cable board was orange - all the rest are green. Verizon state that i needed a new router - over 100 bucks but that i had to purchase a specific one that was only sold by them, that I could not go to best buy/walmart etc and purchase one.
I have not done anything - light is still orange yet my computer doesnt seem to be effected - any thoughts?

That sounds suspicious.

You may need a special modem for fiber, but I believe any router should work once you get the signal into the house.

[wc1934]

With some provisos, routers other than those provided by FIOS can be used with their service. I have my old one still connected, since the main FIOS connection for most people is coax, and I needed it to convert coax to ethernet for the rest of what I'm doing (it does nothing else now, just pass through). Once I get ethernet pulled from their outside connection to inside the house, I will stop using their device altogether.

One problem is that FIOS help desk will not provide any information on how to set up an alternate router, so you need to rely on people a lot smarter about this stuff--my go-to for years has been the forums at DSL Reports:
http://www.dslreports.com/forums/all

If you have already have ethernet/RJ45 into the house, swapping is trivial. If you need to do what I did, here's the script that I used to convert the FIOS Actiontec into a dumb pass-through:
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/SimplifyingYourNetworkWithABridgeMakingAnFIOsActio nTecMI424WRANetworkBridge.aspx
When done, you plug a network cable into the Actiontec, plug that into the WAN port on the new router, and it will connect to the FIOS network. (Critical: You have to make sure that you release the FIOS IP on the old router before firing up the new one).

Connecting to the outside world (getting the IP from FIOS) seems fairly uncomplicated (no special authentication) so long as you get the connections right. And AFAIK, their newer ONTs (box on outside where they terminate the fiber) have both a coax and an rj45/ethernet jack, and you can request an ethernet connection rather than the coax--but of course you would be responsible (I think) for providing any internal wiring.

One complication though--and for this you need to read the forums--some of the FIOS features for the set top boxes require the use of their router/coax connections, so by putting your own router in place may kill those features (Video on demand, guide updates etc) but I am not an expert on this part, nor do I care, since we are Internet only, having scrapped the 'Triple Play'.
Thanks - wow!! definitely not something I understand. And as you stated the verizon help desk is useless. I will just leave well enough alone!

[batman1425]

Gotta hardwire everything you can though.

The house we are in now has a at least 2 Cat-6 lines, 1 coax, and 1 phone line run to EVERY ROOM in the house except the garage and bathrooms. The living room has 4 cat 6, the kitchen has 4 cat 6, and 2 coax in different places - one of which is in one of the overhead cabinets. It's an older place - built in the 50's and had a down-to-stud remodel several years ago. The owners at the time were tech savy and wanted fully future proof options.

There's a "communications" cabinet in the basement with a 30-port rack mount ethernet panel that you can use to activate whatever jacks you want, main coax from the road which is split 10 or 12 times, and same for phone. Bundled trunks disseminate to the various corners of the house where they branch from there to the individual rooms. They also put lutron switches in the whole place. I counted them up and there's at least $3k of light switches in here. Based on the location and pricepoint, you'd never guess it would have this kind of tech built in.

[paredown]

The house we are in now has a at least 2 Cat-6 lines, 1 coax, and 1 phone line run to EVERY ROOM in the house except the garage and bathrooms. The living room has 4 cat 6, the kitchen has 4 cat 6, and 2 coax in different places - one of which is in one of the overhead cabinets. It's an older place - built in the 50's and had a down-to-stud remodel several years ago. The owners at the time were tech savy and wanted fully future proof options.

There's a "communications" cabinet in the basement with a 30-port rack mount ethernet panel that you can use to activate whatever jacks you want, main coax from the road which is split 10 or 12 times, and same for phone. Bundled trunks disseminate to the various corners of the house where they branch from there to the individual rooms. They also put lutron switches in the whole place. I counted them up and there's at least $3k of light switches in here. Based on the location and pricepoint, you'd never guess it would have this kind of tech built in.
For the house that we remodeled in AR that we thought (mistakenly) we would be retiring to, we were down to the studs, and I did a similar (smaller) wiring job--2 coax and 2 cat6 to all the rooms, terminating in one of those Leviton in-stud wiring cabinets...

I stayed away from the fancy light switches though--we lived in a place in London with some sort of whiz-bang light switches that made us crazy. Give me simple on-off (and maybe dimmers for some).

I've got the panel in place in this house, and have the FIOS run coming in to it, but it I have not got back to it. When I had the walls apart, I put in pull conduits for future work. At some point, I will pull at least one Cat6 in to each room. I will also leave the coax in place and terminate it properly in a box and all in the living room--the next person may well want to hook up cable again.

One thing that has slowed me down is this house sprawls--and the wiring runs would be very long and hard to do well (and there is no attic, just a crawl space). And in the interim our habits have changed--no more TV, and only a few wired devices. My wife is totally wireless/tablet/smart phone for example, so the need is less pressing. I still like wired connections though--cause I'm old school (or maybe just old).

I've thought a little about more home automation using Alexa to control it, but I don't think my heart is in it--I'd rather be working on an old Porsche.

[oldpotatoe]

I had a fairly recent generation router fall into my hands--it was the TMobile rebranded Asus RT-AC68U, that if you fiddle with a bit, you can turn it back into an Asus...

To make it work, I had to turn the stock FIOS router into a transparent bridge, and then use the Asus to connect to the interwebs, as well as provide wireless etc in the house. (FIOS router just acts as a dumb passthrough with a COAX connection).

The Asus is not even the latest gen, and it provides a noticeable improvement in speed and response.

Plus I got to revisit my past, using hex editors, hash checkers and telnet to hack the Tmobile firmware.:cool:

I was wondering if this is what you did....HUH? Kidding:eek::eek:..it was this to me..

Για να λειτουργήσει, έπρεπε να μετατρέψω το rouser FIOS αποθεμάτων σε μια διαφανή γέφυρα και στη συνέχεια να χρησιμοποιήσω το Asus για να συνδεθώ με τις interwebs

[paredown]

I was wondering if this is what you did....HUH? Kidding:eek::eek:..it was this to me..

Για να λειτουργήσει, έπρεπε να μετατρέψω το rouser FIOS αποθεμάτων σε μια διαφανή γέφυρα και στη συνέχεια να χρησιμοποιήσω το Asus για να συνδεθώ με τις interwebs
I know the feeling--I used to work with a lot of real wireheads and they would start talking, I'd see their lips moving and hear sounds, but would not have a clue...(I'm more of a self-taught tinkerer but did get to the point where I was a network admin)

Someone on one of the threads I was reading to figure out if I could do what I planned complained that the worse thing about tech breakthroughs is that your significant other would not listen to (or understand) why it was cool...

[Bob Ross]

I had to turn the stock FIOS router into a transparent bridge, and then use the Asus to connect to the interwebs, as well as provide wireless etc in the house. (FIOS router just acts as a dumb passthrough with a COAX connection).

As a FiOS user who would love to get faster internetz, you have my attention. So are you saying you left the FiOS router in place, which is getting a coax feed from the FiOS fiber demarc/converter, and then just daisy-chained the Asus router with a CAT5 jumper out of the FiOS unit?

[paredown]

As a FiOS user who would love to get faster internetz, you have my attention. So are you saying you left the FiOS router in place, which is getting a coax feed from the FiOS fiber demarc/converter, and then just daisy-chained the Asus router with a CAT5 jumper out of the FiOS unit?

Yes. The Fios Actiontec setup script that I used is in a post above. It is effectively a dumb device that does nothing but pass through the signal. (You can leave it more functional for a less efficient (but easier) setup.)

The only problem I can see is that once you have effectively killed the Actiontec, at least in my case, it lives 'outside' the network, so you no longer have the ability to change any settings on it, unless you do a reset and start over.

Longer version:
The new router I set up first--NOT connected to the network-- had a default IP range of 192.168.29.1- etc.

When you are getting ready, the script recommends a direct wired computer into one of the ports on the Actiontec--and they recommend changing the Actiontec ip from the default 19.168.1.1 to a different number (I did .9). Then set a fixed IP on the computer that is hardwired to it (I did 192.168.1.90) and then did the script. I'm running Windows 7 FWIW.

Then yes, then you connect a network cable from one of the 4 regular LAN ports on the Actiontec into to the WAN port of the Asus. It acquired the FIOS IP seamlessly. Then I connected my devices to the Asus to get new IPs.

The script is not clear if you are supposed to use the same address range on both routers. Because the IP address range on the Asus is .29.x-xxx I can no longer go to a browser page, and enter the 192.168.1.9 to see the Actiontec. I did try to change the address range on the Asus to match the Actiontec at that point, but things went a little crazy (how's that for a technical explanation?) so I switched the Asus back to its default address range, in part because my setup only needs to last as long as it takes me to get the Cat 5/6 wire pulled.

[batman1425]

I stayed away from the fancy light switches though--we lived in a place in London with some sort of whiz-bang light switches that made us crazy. Give me simple on-off (and maybe dimmers for some).

I can't stand them either, they are a total PITA. If we owned this place I would have replaced them all with standard switches the first week we were here. I'm especially annoyed that they are older generation ones that only work with standard incandescent blubs - not CFL or LED compatible. I can sometimes get a CFL to work in the recessed can lights but the rest don't tolerate them and LED's don't work at all. I can't fathom spending $30+/ea. for a programmable dimmer, especially one that can't even drive a CFL.

[tylercheung]

I am not entirely sure but I think the FiOS modem/router has an ethernet jack that allows a downstream router. I'm in favor of the newer "mesh"-type routers such as Eero or the new Google Wifi, there are a few others. Well designed hardware with relatively strong signal, but more importantly, better software and support w/ automated security updates...less chances of hackers getting in. I'm sure something similar can be done w/ the DIY Asus firmware hacks (OpenWRT, etc etc) but these products are better for people who'd rather not get into that.

[zlin]

let me re-phrase it for the non-technical folks...

Get a new router from costco every 2-3 years and you will be fine. :p

+100.

[TimD]

https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/routers/carrier-routing-system/data_sheet_c78-726136.doc/_jcr_content/renditions/data_sheet_c78-726136_0.jpg