sbernie2's profile

Frequent Visitor

 • 

18 Messages

Thursday, December 19th, 2019 8:00 PM

Closed

Bridge Xfinity Arris gateway to Synology RT2600ac router

Hi, as part of a saga to solve a problem where my DNS suffix was "hacked" (see here: https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Your-Home-Network/quot-Utopia-net-quot-DNS-suffix-coming-from-router/m-p/3282840#M311088), I am trying to bridge my gateway from Xfinity to another router. This was advised by an Xfinity repair tech as the only other thing left to try.

I have a third part router from Synology. I have followed the steps in the Xfinity help page about putting my gateway into bridge mode (here: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/wireless-gateway-enable-disable-bridge-mode). I have also done the basic Synology setup of creating an admin account for the router, wifi name, password, etc. The bridged gateway is connect via an Ethernet cable in Port 1 to the WAN port of the Synology router. My PC is connected via Port 1 of Synology.

However, I'm not getting any internet. Help forums for Synology seems to imply it would be mostly plug-and-go, so I'm confused. It is possible that I need to fill in a section labelled "ISP settings" because the new router has been unable to do this itself. Unfortunately, I don't know what it's looking for in "DHCP client", "hostname", "MAC address", etc. Which MAC, router or modem? How do I determine DHCP client? Is there something else going on?

Any suggestions? Thanks.

This conversation is no longer open for comments or replies and is no longer visible to community members.

Accepted Solution

Frequent Visitor

 • 

18 Messages

6 years ago

Never mind, it appears that the router just didn't like Port 4. Will test if port is broken later, but it appears that the problem is solved.

Solution: Use the computer's MAC address in the ISP settings, and probably reboot things a few times.

Thanks, All!

Expert

 • 

2.1K Messages

6 years ago

Unplug both devices. Plug the gateway back in and let it boot up all the way. Then plug the Synology back in. Any changes?

Frequent Visitor

 • 

18 Messages

6 years ago

Nope, tried that already with no changes.

Expert

 • 

111.5K Messages

6 years ago


@sbernie2 wrote:
Nope, tried that already with no changes.

Is the WAN interface in the router getting assigned a public IP address from the modem ?

Expert

 • 

2.1K Messages

6 years ago

Are you able to try to reset the Synology to factory defaults and go through setup again?

Also, is the firmware on the Synology up to date?

Frequent Visitor

 • 

18 Messages

6 years ago

It does not appear to be, no. When I log into the router's interface, under Network Center is says Internet Connection - Disconnected with the IP Address field blank. It's using the Comcast DNS server I specified for it.

Gold Problem Solver

 • 

2K Messages

6 years ago

Try connecting your PC directly into the Bridged gateway and see if you get an IP address (make sure to reboot both devices first before connecting). 

Frequent Visitor

 • 

18 Messages

6 years ago

I get an IP when my PC is connected directly to the gateway that's in bridge mode. Weird?

Frequent Visitor

 • 

18 Messages

6 years ago

Also, @jweaver0312, I tried cycling both devices through factory resets, with no luck. The router is up-to-date. I did find some info in the gateway's admin controls and it seems able to connect to the Xfinity network fine, but it doesn't "see" the Synology. Also found various MAC addresses but I'm pretty sure they are for the gateway and do not apply to the missing info in the router settings.

2 Attachments

Expert

 • 

111.5K Messages

6 years ago


@RobertWy wrote:

@sbernie2 wrote:
I get an IP when my PC is connected directly to the gateway that's in bridge mode. Weird?

Not weird; Bridge Mode disables the gateway wifi.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/wireless-gateway-enable-disable-bridge-mode


For clarity. It also disables the gateway's NAT / DHCP / routing functions. It then acts as a plain vanilla cable modem / layer 2 bridge that bridges the public IP address that Comcast's DHCP server provides to the connected client device.

Expert

 • 

2.1K Messages

6 years ago


@sbernie2 wrote:
Also, @jweaver0312, I tried cycling both devices through factory resets, with no luck. The router is up-to-date. I did find some info in the gateway's admin controls and it seems able to connect to the Xfinity network fine, but it doesn't "see" the Synology. Also found various MAC addresses but I'm pretty sure they are for the gateway and do not apply to the missing info in the router settings.

As a test, try setting it up behind the gateway while leaving the gateway in router mode to see if it picks anything up.

 

Also, try plugging the computer in again while the gateway is in bridge mode and open the connection information. It should give you the IP, Subnet Mask, etc. Take a screenshot of that screen and copy all of that information into the Synology including the MAC Address.

Frequent Visitor

 • 

18 Messages

6 years ago

I do have that info from my earlier experiments. Which MAC though?

Expert

 • 

2.1K Messages

6 years ago

I would plug in the MAC Address of the computer you used to attempt. See what it does.

Frequent Visitor

 • 

18 Messages

6 years ago

Ok, so I hit "clone" in the MAC address field of the Auto ISP Settings for Synology. This auto types in the MAC address of my PC's Ethernet port. I swear I tried this before, but for whatever reason it worked this time. After applying the change, I now have internet - but only wireless. Ethernet isn't working.

Any suggestions as to how I can get Ethernet? Going to wander around Synology's settings to verify there isn't an on/off button for it and try different ports on the router.

Thanks for help by the way.

Expert

 • 

2.1K Messages

6 years ago

Yeah. When the gateway is in bridge mode, you need to use Port 1 to connect to the WAN port on Synology.
forum icon

New to the Community?

Start Here