MAC authentication on Verizon supplied Westell 7500 not configurable
itusedtowork
Enthusiast - Level 2

I live in a WiFi rich neighborhood. I've got MAC Authentication turned on and previously listed my other PC's wireless adapter as the only entry on that configuration page.  When I did so, everything worked exactly as I expected it to.  I just purchased a ROKU and went to add it to the router's list of enabled MAC addresses.  That page in the router's configuration opens in IE with a list of line errors.  After displaying all the errors, the page displays with the "enable" checkbox unchecked and the list of registered MAC addresses blank.  None of the control buttons work.  I can't "enable" MAC authentication and get it to stick and can't add any new MAC addresses.  However, the "Wireless Status" page shows that MAC authentication is enabled.

Tried to add the ROKU; carefully entered the router's SSID and the WPA2-PSK encryption key on the ROKU configuration screen, and it saw the router's signal but wouldn't connect to it.  I guess that MAC authentication IS enabled!  So, I'm locked out of editing the MAC configuration and can't use the ROKU (too far from the router to run an ethernet cable).  I could reset the modem and turn off MAC authentication but if the MAC confiuration page is still corrupted, I won't be able to turn it back on and that is not an acceptable option for me.

I've tried rebooting the PC and the router several times, added 192.168.1.1 to IE's "trusted sites" list, tried using Firefox.  I also tried from the PC that talks to the router via the wireless adapter.  Nothing changes the behavior of that configuration page.  In all other respects, and trying other configuration pages, the router seems to function normally.

I've got firmware ver 5.01.00.02.  Went to the firmware update page of the router and the URL window is blank.  Called VZ to ask if they had an updated version of the firmware that they could push to me and they said that no updated version was available.

I posted this issue on alt.online-service.verizon and someone replied that even though they do not use MAC authentication, they went to that page on their Westell 7500 and saw the identical behavior at their end.

Anyone else out there with similar behavior?  Any solutions found?  Any solutions suggested?

Re: MAC authentication on Verizon supplied Westell 7500 not configurable
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

Try a different browser on the PC first.  If you're using IE, try Firefox, etc.  See if that gets you a workable page.   It could be a problem with the version of the browser you are running on your PC or some plugin you have installed.

If that doesn't work, there is a "reset" process for the router (varies by router type),   The following appear to be instructions for your router:

http://www22.verizon.com/residentialhelp/highspeed/networking/setup/versalink7500/121833.htm

A reset will return the router to it's factory default setup and remove any MAC locking that may be enabled.

Note that from a security perspective, MAC locking is really an ineffective security control.  It adds as much security as hiding the broadcast of the SSID (which is to say -- extremely little).  Someone intent on hacking into your wireless network need only see a few packets go thru the air before they have the MAC address of a station which they can easily spoof to bypass the MAC locking control.   Choosing a strong password, changing it periodiclaly, and using WPA2 security is your best defense.

Re: MAC authentication on Verizon supplied Westell 7500 not configurable
itusedtowork
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks for your reply.  However, as I noted in my 3rd paragraph, I DID tried Firefox.  In fact I normally use Firefox and had never had problems with talking to the router using Firefox.  I also opened Firefox in safe mode, to disable all my add-ons, and that made no difference.

I acknowledge your statement that a sophisticated hacker can overcome SSID broadcasting and MAC authentication.  However, that's not my concern as much as allowing my system to give easy access to my non-sophisticated neighbors.  I do use WPA2 encryption with a randomly generated password that I change every few months. 

I'm less concerned with someone hacking my communications than I am with someone "borrowing" my bandwidth (1.2, but it's all I need) and at least degrading my throughput or at worse, implicating my account if they do something illegal while using my bandwidth.  Ignoring my malfunction by resetting the modem to disable MAC authentication is not the solution I'm seeking (unless I can be certain that it will fix the page corruption problem and allow me to re-enable MAC authentication.)  Since I suspect that the problem is corrupted firmware, and a reset does not affect the firmware as far as I understand, I do not anticipate that a reset would fix the page corruption problem.  I suspect that I need a firmware reload but it doesn't seem available to me.

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