[Mark]

I wanted to change the generic username and password on my newly issued modem/router from my ISP. I followed the instructions for my device but my browser times out without loading the admin page which is accessed by typing in it's internal address in the search bar.

I verified what the address should be by typing ipconfig at the command prompt and using the address in that readout. Same error as before.

So then started the google search and saw by the amount of threads that its a very common problem. As usual, some fixes work for some but not everyone. I verified that all of the required Windows services were running that need to be. But still no access to the admin page. I wonder what step I am missing.

[Forge]

could be a firewall or security setting in your comp that prevents the connection.

[Mark]

I turned off Windows firewall and I don't run any virus protection stuff in the backround that I know of. If it is some security setting in windows or chrome I wouldn't know what it is.

[Forge]

network card settings? set to static instead of dynamic?
proxy settings?

does a ping of the default gateway i.p. timeout as well?

mundane checks:
if your ethernet cable is good
you power-cycled the router
factory reset the router

[Mark]

Not sure about network card. Whatever it is set to, I was able to connect to the admin page of my previous router.

No proxy. As always.

I can ping the default gateway properly.

Powered down the router.

Did not try pushing the "reset to factory" button for fear of possibly losing my connection or speed or some such thing if my ISP did something to the stock unit. Maybe a bit paranoid about this one but...thats just me.

[Paul B]

Mark., on 23 December 2017 - 05:20 PM, said:

Not sure about network card. Whatever it is set to, I was able to connect to the admin page of my previous router.

No proxy. As always.

I can ping the default gateway properly.

Powered down the router.

Did not try pushing the "reset to factory" button for fear of possibly losing my connection or speed or some such thing if my ISP did something to the stock unit. Maybe a bit paranoid about this one but...thats just me.

In your typical home setup your router page should be your default gateway ip. Some devices like asus try and re-direct the ip to a hostname. this can sometimes cause problems if you don't want to run the wizards. In the past I've been frustrated with these setups and i've used my lmhosts file to statically point the hostname to the internal ip address just to avoid using the DNS name which can lead to problems. Mark I can help you with this if you want. private message me when you have the time.

[Mark]

pm sent

[Paul B]

For anyone who is curious what the problem was on Mark's modem/router

His internal private router network is set for the same CLASS A network as the public WAN network, they overlap and as a result the router isn't routing as there is no NAT happening.

1) His internal private network should not overlap within the subnet as the public WAN network.
2) Need to make sure Modem is in (Router / NAT) mode and not bridge mode. (Bridge mode would disable access to the web interface & disable the modems WIFI capabilities.)

[Mark]

...and to make me look better, it was set up that way from day one by the ISP when they upgraded the home not long ago.

[Paul B]

Yea I'm not pointing any fingers at you Mark. From the sounds of things it was probably the dispatchers fault, as they are the ones who handle the provisioning. Which explains why the onsite tech was so hostile towards the dispatcher.

[Mark]

Paul, I just read another site that suggested 192.168.100.1

Entered it and I can now log in to my router/modem settings page.

I wonder how that one doesn't show up anywhere in our testing. According to the site I should be able to disable bridge mode and hopefully solve any other issues.

[Forge]

hindsite is 20/20, but a factory reset probably would have "fixed" it.

[Mark]

Out of desperation I did a reset. I had a choice of hold the button in for 5 seconds for a partial reset or 15 seconds for a full reset. Being a chicken I chose the 5 second. I still don't have the proper separation of addresses between wan and lan according to ipconfig. Paul PM'ed another thing I can try to fix that issue. I'll do that a little later this morning.

Another problem is I don't have another device to check if the router portion is actually working or not. The closest I have is my old Zune player which detects the wireless network from the router but after entering the password on the Zune to connect it tries but doesn't make the connection. I wish I had a second comp I could plug in for reliable router testing.

[Paul B]

Forge, on 23 December 2017 - 11:38 PM, said:

hindsite is 20/20, but a factory reset probably would have "fixed" it.

I would tend to agree with you 99% of the time Forge. However, he can factory default his router just fine and it accepts the default reset. But as soon as he connects his Modem to his ISP the ISP re provisions his modem (config) into a bridge mode losing its settings/WIFI and routing capabilities. The problems are coming from the ISP and the ISP will be the only one to be able to correct this problem as it has to do with his ISP account. It's not often I see problems like this but I guess they do happen. I think the ISP assumed he would be using his own WIFI router and not the one provided by the ISP.

[Mark]

FYI Forge. Paul remotely messed with things here. After disconnecting from the ISP he defaulted all comp networking settings. I did a full reset on the modem/router. The numbers were starting to align and make sense. After connecting once again to the ISP all settings went to hell and got over ridden by the ISP. So they are the ones screwing things up by changing my internal settings. I'm going to have to deal with them next.

Thanks again Paul.

its time to walk away from the comp for a while

[Forge]

no way to disable the remote management / UPnP?

if you can access that, just plug the modem into your comp with the ethernet cable, but not to the network, disable that toggle, disable the bridging, shut it off, reconnect the network cable, turn it on, cross-fingers.

Chances are you're going to have to call your ISP & tell them to knock it off with the remote settings or fix their commands.

[Mark]

2 issues have popped up again. For fun I logged into my router/modem to activate wi-fi for the first time. I accessed the router with my chosen username and password. Activated wi-fi and was fine for a few weeks.

A few days ago wi-fi stopped working. Devices could see it in their discovery list but could not connect. I decided to do a factory reset on the modem. Same problem after reboot. Next try was to remove the cable from the ISP and reset the modem. Did that, booted up the computer and there was my wi-fi working again. But, within seconds of connecting the ISP cable the wi-fi disappeared. So it seems they are disabling it remotely for some dumb reason. A google search revealed posts from a year or 2 ago saying that Spectrum/TWC was charging $5 per month to activate wi-fi on your account. I haven't seen or heard anything recently that would show they are still doing it. Besides, it was working for a couple of weeks before this glitching.

2nd issue is after I figured this out I wanted to log in to the modem and reset the username and password from the default to my previously chosen ones. The default login words no longer work. WTF?? Even disconnecting the ISP connection and trying after a reset, I can't log in using the default login info.

[Forge]

they detected your activity and locked you out.

scrub it with Ajax and turn it into a Tomato.

[Mark]

It was most likely a scam but what a coincidence. This morning, after going through all that crap last night, I got a phone call with a caller ID of Spectrum. The recorded message said something like " We detected a lot of unusual activity on your end. If you are having difficulties please call us at this number 800 - whatever it was."

If it was legit I'm thinking there would have been more info given in the recording.

[Forge]

call your isp directly and have them reset your modem to the default remotely & give you your password access back.

then piss them off by changing the firmware

https://www.flashrou.../what-is-tomato

[Paul B]

I can attest that Mark's ISP is screwing with the settings of his Router / Modem as I've seen it first hand. For some reason they push what are like router policies to the device which seem to trump any settings you try to make on your own after it connects to the ISP. Personally I'd consider switching internet service providers. That or bridge the modem/router or enable a WAN port pass through and use your own WIFI router something that's a bit newer than say a Linksys BEFSR41. LOL But honestly no ISP should be enforcing Router settings on your LAN they are doing some shady stuff.

[Forge]

they're metering his bandwidth

it costs them money to have a full signal port (w/wifi) open to a user 24/7, even though that's what they pay for, so they're messing with his modem and attempting to limit his bandwidth and connection capabilities

[Mark]

Thats possible. Now that I think about it, wifi needed to be rest every now and then. Looking back I'm thinking it was after a period of non use for at least 24 hours.

I'll call and offer them a deal. I'll click on fewer Youtube vids if you leave my router alone.

[Mark]

I did an online support session tonight. As expected it went painstakingly slow as the agent had their steps to follow. It concerned why my wifi connection disappears as soon as I connect the cable from the ISP, Spectrum. After about 15 minutes of trying to explain the issue and dealing with the non-helpful questions and answers from the agent she finally comes up with the solution. My account is not set up for wifi. Why didn't they see that right away instead of after the tedious back and forth of technical questions. It was interesting that earlier the agent claimed they have no ability to control a wifi connection. I asked why it was working for about 2 weeks before it stopped and she had no answer.

Its a $9.99 setup fee and another $5/month. I told them forget it. It will be cheaper for me ( I hope ) to buy my own wireless router. What a waste for the combo router/modem they provide. I have not seen anywhere on their website that wifi is an optional fee based feature. Because I was able to use it for 2 weeks I assumed it was included.

This was so much effort I decided not to pursue my other issue of not being able to log in and access my router's settings any more. I'm guessing its part of the same wifi lockdown. They probably discovered people were going in like I did and turning on wifi. Or the fact that they still have my deceased dad as the account holder in some areas and me in others. I can't access our email accounts because the site claims I am not the "master user" ( owner of the account, which I am. )

Even though I have no wifi service running, the router/modem still sends out an ID 24/7 letting the world know its there. I wish there was a way to shut that off. There is a slight chance of that signal interfering with my other signal if/when I buy a separate wireless router. Any suggestions on what is a good cheap 2.4 ghz router to consider? Ethernet cable and wireless. Since I will be running a router into the another router/modem what kind of performance loss can I expect on the ethernet side?

[Forge]

"good" and "cheap" aren't going to be in the same category.

you need to determine your coverage, and your budget.

since you mentioned cheap, the general brands will probably do what you want - netgear, tp-link, lynksys.
Some are decent, some are crap.

I'd also check to see if it has a DD-WRT bio so you can flash it and get the most out of it.
https://dd-wrt.com/s...outer-database/

[Mark]

Cheap because wireless will seldom be used but I want it. Good because I don't want a hit in throughput on the ethernet side. Range is just has to reach my basement from the 2nd floor bedroom. Even at 25 percent power setting on the Spectrum modem I was able to achieve that.

[Forge]

out of the three brands I mentioned
tp-link is the cheapest
netgear is middle-grade
lynksys is the better of the three

you could probably get away with a netgear, but I'd recommend a lynksys if it'll fit in your budget

[Mark]

I'm confused on specs. I have about a 230mbps speed from my ISP. Is a 10/100 port speed too slow. Do I need one that claims Gigabit speed? Also, what combo of letters after the 802.11 spec would I be looking for as a minimum? My "budget" would be $30 or less. There are a ton of Linksys choices locally on ebay new and used. But not all the ads mention which version of a specific router they are selling. One model in particular I have seen versions 2.2 and 6. I'm sure there are some in between.

[Forge]

the letters after the 802.11 are the range grades. N being the highest (unless you're an IT guy dealing with corporation level equipment). Considering the distance between the router and the room you want to use the device in, N is probably what you want.

10/100 ports are an industry standard for home computers and devices. The number you want to look at is if the router can put out 300 Mbps on the 2.4 band.


Considering your budget, and if you're not streaming movies or playing online games on a game console, you are just checking out the Duke4 forums on your phone, you can probably go as low as G and 150Mbps.

[Paul B]

Mark, on 07 June 2019 - 05:07 AM, said:

I'm confused on specs. I have about a 230mbps speed from my ISP. Is a 10/100 port speed too slow. Do I need one that claims Gigabit speed? Also, what combo of letters after the 802.11 spec would I be looking for as a minimum? My "budget" would be $30 or less. There are a ton of Linksys choices locally on ebay new and used. But not all the ads mention which version of a specific router they are selling. One model in particular I have seen versions 2.2 and 6. I'm sure there are some in between.

Mark I'll find one for ya. 100 mb WAN port is too slow for the internet connection you have. You need a Gigabit wan port. For WIFI connectivity I would recommend the WIFI Standard: 802.11 AC 5Ghz if you don't have long distances between your Router and Computer.

1) Asus RT-AC66U ( I recommend Asus over TP-link they tend to be more stable )

Or

2) TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 Dual Band Wireless Gigabit Router