No Internet Via Router

KevTech said:

Xfinity only allows one MAC address attached to the modem.

It gets this MAC address from the first device it sees when it boots up.

When you change a router you need to reboot the modem so it will release the MAC address of the prior device and attach to the MAC of the new device.

What I normally do on Xfinity is leave the router off with the Ethernet cable from the cable modem attached to the router then reboot modem.

After modem is fully up then turn on the router.

This way the first MAC the modem sees is the new router MAC.

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The modem has always been rebooted before turning on the router. I am not certain if I have left the modem attached to the router, so shall do so tomorrow.

Not Myself said:

The modem has always been rebooted before turning on the router. I am not certain if I have left the modem attached to the router, so shall do so tomorrow.

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What I am trying to say is anytime you change the device the modem is hooked up to you must reboot the modem.

Router or direct to PC does not matter as they all have a MAC address and Xfinity allows a maximum of one MAC address attached to the modem at a time.

Only way to release this MAC is to reboot the modem.

Not Myself said:

I have forgotten what happened next; what I do know now is that the ONLY way I can connect is to bypass the router and connect the modem directly to the computer.

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This tells me right now the modem is attached to the PC Ethernet adapter MAC.

Only way to get any other device to work when hooked up to the modem would be to reboot the modem.

KevTech said:

What I am trying to say is anytime you change the device the modem is hooked up to you must reboot the modem.

Router or direct to PC does not matter as they all have a MAC address and Xfinity allows a maximum of one MAC address attached to the modem at a time.

Only way to release this MAC is to reboot the modem

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What happens when you plug a local switch in between your PC and the Xfinity modem? Doesn't the modem see the switch's MAC?

garlin said:

What happens when you plug a local switch in between your PC and the Xfinity modem? Doesn't the modem see the switch's MAC?

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Connecting a switch directly to a cable modem will not work because the modem only provides a single public WAN IP address.

Xfinity allows just one WAN IP address so to use a switch you need to hook it up to one of the router LAN ports.

Modem sees and authorizes the first device MAC it sees during sync then assigns the WAN IP based on that MAC.

You can change your WAN IP by just changing the device MAC the modem is hooked up to.

Only way to get it to release that MAC is to reboot the modem.

Routers usually have an IP address of 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.2.1 or 192.168.1.254 etc. It should be printed on the sticker or on the manual. From there you type admin as the user name and then the device password, also printed on the sticker. Then look carefully every menu. WAN is to configure internet access, LAN for ethernet, Wi-Fi for wireless access, Voice for telephone over IP. The rest are advanced. BUT, since you connect your router to the modem, the above address should give you access to the modem, not the router. The router will get one IP address like any other device connected to the modem, so you need to find out which one that is and access it from that IP address. There are utilities to scan the network and tell you which device is on every available IP address:

Based on the above it’s difficult to understand what’s going on or what you did, especially since you admit “I will openly state have NO comprehension as to what all of this means, nor do I have a recollection of every thing that has taken place”. More on this later.

(1) Anyway, first thing is that it appears you cannot get access to your router’s admin webpage – that’s the webpage built into the router’s firmware and accessed via a browser by putting in a IP address, such as 192.168. x.y. Typically, the primary reason you cannot get access to the router’s web page is because your computer (device) and the router are on different IP address subnets. For this router the default admin access IP is supposed to be 192.168. 1.1 (but don’t assume that just because some post here told you so – look at YOUR router’s manual or tag). Very likely your computer was set up as 192.168.0.x. Note the third number in each case is different (0 versus 1). These will never connect, so you’ll never get to the router’s admin page, nor any internet or wifi.

To fix this, disconnect all the wires, make sure your router is reset to factory defaults, change your computer’s LAN IP address to a static IP of 192.168.1.20 (See below for details *), connect your computer to one of the router’s LAN ports, on the computer open a browser and type in the router’s default IP address (192.168.1.1). Make sure the browser does NOT put “https” in front of the IP address you typed. If the browser throws up some warning, accept the "risk" and keep going (or use a different browser). Wait a while and the router web page admin login screen should come up. Look in the router’s user manual for the default login credentials. After you get into the router’s admin pages and configure the router, you can change the IP address to your local subnet 192.168.0.x and then go back and change the computer’s address to be automatic (i.e. DHCP).

* On the computer to change the IP address go to Network Sharing Center > change adapters > right-click Local Area Connection > Properties > select Internet Protocol version 4 > Properties > select Use the following IP address > put in something like 192.168.1.20, and 255.255.255.0 for the Subnet mask.

(2) When you said things went from bad to worse it’s probably you reset the modem, in which case you’ll never be able to access the internet because you wiped out your ISP’s settings. So, call your ISP and set up the modem again.

(3) Back to my first point about your admission. A lesson in debugging is to first understand what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, how to reverse it, and then write all that down on paper (yes, actually use paper and pencil). This suggestion also applies to your router setup.

SumpterX said:

* On the computer to change the IP address go to Network Sharing Center > change adapters > right-click Local Area Connection > Properties > select Internet Protocol version 4 > Properties > select Use the following IP address > put in something like 192.168.1.20, and 255.255.255.0 for the Subnet mask.

(2) When you said things went from bad to worse it’s probably you reset the modem, in which case you’ll never be able to access the internet because you wiped out your ISP’s settings. So, call your ISP and set up the modem again.

(3) Back to my first point about your admission. A lesson in debugging is to first understand what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, how to reverse it, and then write all that down on paper (yes, actually use paper and pencil). This suggestion also applies to your router setup.

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I have shortened your excellent reply to let you know where I had to stop. First, however, yesterday I found three WiFi error. I ran the first two, no change; the third, reinstall driver did nothing. I realized that I had to be connected via ethernet for Dell to download the driver. That was quick, and told me that I was connected to Netgear04. Switched back to connecting router to modem; no luck, light three still not on.

Now, I found the Network Sharing Center in Control Panel, only ", but not an entry for :change adapters, only one for c"change adapters." What do I do now?

My ISP is Xfinity; ought I call them for help in setting up the router before proceeding?

I am officially tired.

1. Xfinity only resets some of its own hardware

2. Advice from Netgear sates that to do a factory reset only hold the reset button down for seven seconds. That was done, to no effect.

3. A second similar statement said to hold the button down for ten seconds; the result was the same.

4. I now see no indication that I am even connected to Netgear04 when the router is connected to the modem. I have no idea as to when and how I got it connected yesterday, but as I wrote this, I realized that when I was connected from the modem to the router, I failed to open Windows and do some checking there. This is one of the many times over many years that the simple act of my typing something I will remember some other thing I need to do. That typing is not limited to my being on-line, either. I shall log off here, switch cables, etc. in hope of finding that, for example, I need to reinstall the WiFi driver.

5. Quick add-on: Lights two and three are both off; two was on after I,managed to have Netgear04 show on the computer. That is the first time that has occurred, indicating that until now the router has always been connected, even when the WiFi (light 3) showed that there was no data connection.

From what I remember by other modems light one is power. Light two is internet connection to the line. This blinks while trying to connect and becomes solid if successful or red if fails. If that fails it means it either doesn't receive any data from ISP or it cannot login due to missing or wrong login credentials. Ask your ISP if you need to provide a username and password to login. After a successful connection with the ISP the second light should be solid and the third light blinking which reflects data traffic. Other lights indicate if the Wi-Fi is enabled, if there is a voice connection (telephone over IP). Each LAN port should have its own light and switched on if a computer is successfully connected via this port. Confirm all these with the user manual.

Sorry, but you are all over the place and cryptic, which makes it difficult to determine what’s going on. For example you say “ found three WiFi error. I ran the first two”. I have no idea what that means (and I’m not asking for an explanation for fear that it’ll get more confusing).

As for finding where you set a static IP in Windows: Windows interface is a mess and you can’t just stop and give up if you don’t find one step in a set of instructions. Look around for similar menus or links. Ask Google for how to set static IP on your version of Windows.

It seems that you’re trying to do too many things all at once. Your first step should be communicating with your router and getting into the router admin pages and set up the router. Without that you don’t know what you have. You’ll worry about Xfinity after you’re sure about the router.

On the other hand, since you seem to have problems resetting router, maybe you do need someone to walk you through step-by-step so you don’t go off on tangents. If Xfinity will spend the time to set up your router, then why not, call them.

Finally, don’t ever jump the gun and change drivers just because you don’t know what else to do. You should not need any drivers to set up a router. Changing network drivers can really brick your system. In general, if you have a computer problem and someone advises you to update drivers, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Good luck.

P.S. Stop looking at the lights. They mean nothing if you don't know what you're doing.

See my previous replies. Disconnect everything and connect the computer directly to the modem. Do you have internet? If not you might have to type your ISP username and password. It should be on the contract or adk them by phone. After you successfully connect to the internet directly, then try to connect your router to the modem and the computer to the router. One step at a time.

SumpterX said:

Sorry, but you are all over the place and cryptic, which makes it difficult to determine what’s going on. For example you say “ found three WiFi error. I ran the first two”. I have no idea what that means (and I’m not asking for an explanation for fear that it’ll get more confusing).

As for finding where you set a static IP in Windows: Windows interface is a mess and you can’t just stop and give up if you don’t find one step in a set of instructions. Look around for similar menus or links. Ask Google for how to set static IP on your version of Windows.

It seems that you’re trying to do too many things all at once. Your first step should be communicating with your router and getting into the router admin pages and set up the router. Without that you don’t know what you have. You’ll worry about Xfinity after you’re sure about the router.

On the other hand, since you seem to have problems resetting router, maybe you do need someone to walk you through step-by-step so you don’t go off on tangents. If Xfinity will spend the time to set up your router, then why not, call them.

Finally, don’t ever jump the gun and change drivers just because you don’t know what else to do. You should not need any drivers to set up a router. Changing network drivers can really brick your system. In general, if you have a computer problem and someone advises you to update drivers, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Good luck.

P.S. Stop looking at the lights. They mean nothing if you don't know what you're doing.

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I know that you are trying very hard to assist me. That said I disagree that I am jumping around, I have essayed to follow your fine instructions one by one; when they do not work, I have to try to find out and, if possible, apply what i have found to see if that works, and so on.

I am painfully reminded of a problem I had while writing the very first training manual for what was then a new technology for structural fires, a barely-known subject at the time. (A few year previous, I wrote the fist book on this.} The first seven chapters wee relatively easy to create, delineating the technology and how to use it, given the minimal knowledge at that time. Chapter Eight was to show the instructors of the course how to teach it. I started many times to write something, only to delete it and start over. After many tries, I turned my computer chair around, pulled a book off of a shelf, turned the chair back to the computer desk and skimmed one chapter.

The book was a management text, and our fire service training organization had the author give us a short version. As soon as I had leafed through the book, I called our CEO and asked that he contact the author of the book and ask hm for permission for me to use the sub-titles of one chapter for the subtitles of my chapter eight. The author agreed on one simple requirement, that he receive one copy of the book once it was published; this was quickly agreed to.

My academic background is as a medieval historian, and that was a major enabler for my fire service publications and still guides me here. That you may not realize that does not in any way whatsoever; I can only hope that you will understand and continue until somehow my router will finally provide a WiFi connection to the Internet.

With a new router or after a factory reset you need to setup the wifi SSID and password/passkey in the router.

Or did you already do this?

May even need to "forget network" on your device then search for and connect to the new SSID and new password/passkey.

You disagree that you jump around, yet you're giving a disertation about your academic background in history!
I'll try one more time. You'll note that spapakons also said "One step at a time", so try his one step first and let's see if you killed you modem or not. Connect the modem directly to the computer and see if you can access the internet. If not, call Xfinity and fix your modem. If and when your modem works, then we'll move to the router.

SumpterX said:

If not, call Xfinity and fix your modem.

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If it is customer owned equipment they will not help other than making sure it is activated.

Simpler solution, add a wireless USB dongle to your computer. This is a wireless USB adapter. Similarly to a laptop, click on the network icon to see available networks. Connect to your Wi-Fi, that's it. In worst case you can always make your mobile hotspot and connect to that.

Just kidding of course...

Plan B: Stop wasting time and effort and call a professional to help you diagnose your issue and connect. That's what professionals are for, to do the job we cannot do ourselves.