Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
PeterGats
Enthusiast - Level 2

You can completely replace the Verizon supplied router with your own. Immediately after getting my 750/750  installation completed 2 days ago and while the tech was still here, and after teh ONT was activated i plugged in my laptop directly into the ONT ethernet port and did some surfing and extensive speedtests. Right after that, i started using my own router, a Netgear R7000 and i just replaced that with a Ubiquiti ER-8pro to get much closer to GigEthernet switching speeds off of the LAN port. altho the R7000 is highly rated itself by Tim Higgins at SmallNetBuilder as a very close to GigEthernet switchng  wired performance winner. In case you did want to use your own router with television Set Top Boxes there is an indepth and extensive guide over at DSL Reports in the Verizon FIOS Most FAQ section about that topic with 10 diffrent ways to do this, i favor methods 6,7 &8, altho method 6 described therein is the easiest and just involves relegating the Verizon Router as a second router behind  your own router. Ussing yourown router is best in most cases of power users where a lot of traffic will take place and you dont want NAT table problems and want to maintain top speeds and especially with VLANs and VPN performance, as long as your own router is able to handle that. Refer to SmallNetbuilder for appropriate top performing store bought routers, or use a Vyatta OS based Ubiquiti router which are incredible values, or a build your own with OPNsense or VyOS downloadable install CD's and some X550-T2 Intel cards which are rated with the new N-BAse standard so you can sync with present and future emerging speed tiers, the X550-T2 cards will sync at 100 or GigE or 2.5Gbps or 5 Gbps or 10GBE (10GE), so it gives you quite a bit of flexibility for future growth.

Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
JustinG1
Community Leader
Community Leader

@jonjones wrote:
I cannot stress this enough....http://kb.netgear.com/23977/Will-my-NETGEAR-router-work-with-Verizon-FiOS?cid=wmt_netgear_organic

netgear states their routers will not function in stand alone mode. My Nighthawk when connected directly would not get the full speeds. On calling Netgear they stated I had to use it only in AP mode. Which it did function after doing so.

the newest Nighthawk router I was told will function as a total stand alone. Of course I am not going to purchase a $600 after buying a $400 one. Just to find out.

i have read other routers have been proven to function with Fios without bridge or access point mode. But if only on internet only.


You are correct regarding users with Internet only setups. When setup like this, the network is no different from any other ISP out there. Netgear's knowledge base isn't updated, as it is completely possible and feasible to use their router as your primary with Verizon's newer setups.

Verizon used to run a coax cable to their older Actiontec routers, rather than ethernet. While it would be possible to use your own router with these setups, I doubt netgear wanted to deal with trying to walk users through running ethernet cables from their ONT, getting the ethernet port provisioned, etc etc. 

With the new method of installations that Verizon has been using, which is an ethernet cable direct to the ONT, its much easier to swap out your own router (as long as your internet only, and you don't rely on remote DVR). Its simply plug and play. But again, I assume Netgear says this isn't possible because they don't want to deal with support calls when it comes to more complex setups (such as FiOS TV). 

However, jonjones, I am very curious as to why you've seen degraded speeds when using your own router! After performing probably over 50 or more Verizon router swaps for clients, and I've personally used 3 Nighthawk routers before, I have never seen anything like this. If you were still trying to use your nighthawk, I could try and help figure out whats up with it. 

Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
jonjones1
Legend

Hi Justin:

the issue with my nighthawk was in my estimation a fluke. I had the fios installer here at my house and after we ran the Ethernet we took out a brand new netgear nighthawk R8500 x8 and I just put the cable in and it received dns and I could login and see the setup GUI however the speed was 15/5 I believe.

the installer said he was not computer savvy where I have worked on systems since the old Sperry Univacs. Mainframes, personal pc's and networking so I knew not to let it bother me.

the installer called Verizon and they kept releasing the dns and renewing and they kept insisting that we hook up the Quantum G1100 to see if it was a Netgear issue or an issue on their end. The quantum was up in running in 5 minutes. Full speed and no issues. I hooked multiple computers and devices to the quantum and all was well.

however I tinkered with the Nighthawk and I called Netgear and they insisted the R8500 x8 could not be used as a stand alone. They sent me a support link and I spoke to more than one person and they said the nighthawk was fully functional only when used in access point mode. 

I placed it in AP and it fired right up.

i tinkered with the routers settings and tried hooking again and the same low speeds. I reset the routers both of them to factory and the netgear will not connect at the 150/150 I am provisioned for.

i can live with the situation for now, but I was having a laugh when Netgear wanted me to buy their newest x10 Nighthawk which support on the phone said fully supports stand alone with fios.

when I have the time I will tinker some more. 

Thsnk you you your kind offer of assistance .

Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
Tobenits18
Enthusiast - Level 2

@JustinG wrote:

Hey Tobenits18!

Your correct. You can completely replace the G1100. The comments saying that it needs to be in bridge mode only applies to users with FiOS TV. 

However, you do need to release the DHCP lease from the G1100 router before plugging in your own router or else your own router will not get an IP. Follow these instructions. This only has to be done once.

To release DHCP lease via the router GUI, follow the below steps on the Actiontec or FiOS Quantum Gateway.

First, connect your computer to either the ethernet port on the G1100 or its wifi network. Then go to http://192.168.1.1/ in any web browser. Login to the page (login info is on the side of the router on a sticker.) Now follow these steps:

   

1Click on the My Network icon at the top.
2Click Network Connections from the menu on the left.
3Click Broadband Connection
4Click Settings
5Scroll down and click Release under DHCP Lease
6Click Apply
7Disconnect the router immediately to prevent it from re-requesting a DHCP lease.

Once the G1100 router is disconnected, simply plug in your nighthawk, and you should have internet! If you have any issues, post back here.

Best of luck, and enjoy using your own router on FiOS! 🙂


I tried to do this and see if the Nighthawk would work on its own. I released the DHCP Lease and disconnected it immediately. Upon connecting the Nighthawk, everything seemed fine. All the lights were on, making it look like the router is online. When I tried to scan for the wi-fi, I couldn't locate it. I used multiple devices and all the same. When I connected a device via ethernet, it was able to connect to the internet. My daughters were able to watch on the apple tv. I decied to connect a laptop via the ethernet and see if I could access the router that way. Thinking that maybe the wifi just had to be activated or something. When I connected the laptop, I got some sort of message about another device using the IP, and to try to connect later. As the apple tv was the only one connected, I took it off. I was then able to get online using the laptop. But when I tried to access the router via http://192.168.1.1 or http://www.routerlogin.com or http://www.routerlogin.net, I get a message that I am not connected to the router's wifi. I know I am not connected to the wifi, but I am connected wried to it, so how come I can't access it? Did I do something wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
JustinG1
Community Leader
Community Leader

The ethernet cable that was unplugged from the FiOS router, where did you plug it in?

Please make sure that you plugged it into the yellow WAN port of the Nighthawk router, and not any of the 4 white LAN ports, otherwise the router will not work.

If it is already setup in this configuration, factory reset the Nighthawk router, as something is up with its configuration. 

Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
Tobenits18
Enthusiast - Level 2

It is in the yellow Internet port for the Router. The laptop I am using to reply to thread is the one I connected to the router via ethernet, so it is able to get online. But cant seem to "connect" to the router via the addresses I mentioned earlier. I also tried to Reset to Factory Settings by inserting a paper clip into the hole at the back. But somehow the thing won't "reboot". I am used to devices restarting when you insert paper clips into these holes. But for this one, I have had the button in the hole pressed for a good minute, but it wont reset. Does it mean something is wong with the device?

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Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
JustinG1
Community Leader
Community Leader

On the laptop you are currently using to test, would you mind running a few commands for me to get a better idea of whats happening here? 

If you running a windows laptop, please open the start menu, and type "cmd". Open the application (it will look like a black window). Now, in the command prompt, type ipconfig

Please post the output / screenshot of this command. What we are looking for is the IPv4 Address. It should be 192.168.1.X, but if its not that could be a hint as to whats up. 

The output will look like this: image

And if your on MacOS, please follow this tutorial to find your IP address.

https://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=6526

If you are getting a 192.168.1.x IP address on your wired device, but still can't access http://192.168.1.1, and reset won't work either, then the only problem I can think of wouuld be with the Nighthawk itself. 

According to what I can find on the internet, holding in the reset button for 10 seconds should have initiated a reset. Its somewhat concerning that your device is not responding to this input, you may want to reach out to netgear support to see if they could give some insight. 

Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
Tobenits18
Enthusiast - Level 2

Sorry. Everytime I tried to upload, it was taking forever. But this is what was on screen.

Configure IPv4: Using HCP

IP Address 96.225.66.80

Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0

Router 96.225.66.1

Search Domain: verizon.net

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Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
JustinG1
Community Leader
Community Leader

Ahhhh okay. 

The problem here is your router is not actually routing. Your laptop is requesting DHCP, but instead of getting a 192.168.1.x address, its getting an actual internet address from Verizon. 

Please unplug the ethernet cable from Verizon going into the Netgear router. With this cable unplugged, try unplugging then pluggin your laptop's cable back into the router. Run that command again. 

If you still don't have an IP address of 192.168.1.x, the router is broken. Try once more with no devices in it to hold in the reset button. Otherwise you'll have to take it back to Netgear Smiley Sad

Wish I could be of more assistance remotely.

Re: I want to use my own router and keep tv guide
Tobenits18
Enthusiast - Level 2

When I unplug cable coming from ONT, the IP becomes 169.254.55.153. Subnet remains the same. Everything else becomes blank. When I plug the ethernet again, it goes back to the values as from previous post. I tried to Factory Reset with nothing plugged in, and still the same. So does this mean it is a broken router?

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