US Telco Support > Verizon > Verizon Fiber Optics > [connectivity] FIOS CAT5 to Linksys router possible?

[connectivity] FIOS CAT5 to Linksys router possible?

What are the first two octets of the IP address you pull when directly connected to the wall?

reply to marctronixx
hi there,

170.60.xx.x. and its Verizon Internet Services. the whois site i am using puts the server right exactly in the area i am in and also the physical address of the contact is in VA.

does this help?

reply to marctronixx
some additional maybe useful info.

when i moved in, i did a speed test (data is included in my lease) and it was a measly 5 down and barely 1 up. the speed test site i used stated it was road runner (this makes sense because this is a TW area).

i HAD the router connected to the wall cat5 and it was seeing the internet and all of the wireless devices and my wired devices were using it.

So I asked management if they could boost the speed. but then the router was no longer working.

after rebooting the router, it still didnt work so i went direct to the wall and saw the internet. so i did the speed test and it showed verizon internet services. tried researching on the net and all roads usually lead back to this site so here i am.

so the router works and was working fine but after management upgraded me to apparently fios, the router does not like what it sees, but if i directly connect to the wall with my laptop it works.

so thus my confusion.

another note: in the closet in the bedroom here, there is a verizon box that has a fiber cable in it. its just bundled up and there is tape over what i think is the lightpipe connection to possibly the verizon fios modem. it has the fiber optic sticker on the outside of the box. this box looks like a smaller version of the POTS box that usually is on the side of the wall outside.

FiOS does not use modems. The the equipment in your closet that you think is a modem is most likely the VZ Actiontec wireless router. So..... It looks like you already have a router and there is no need to add another. Though I could be wrong since I'm only guessing based on what you are reporting.

HI,

this is marctronixx the OP. i am on a foreign computer and forgot my password.

i confused you. there is just a box with a bundle of wire in there. it is not even connected to anything in the house. perhaps i should not have mentioned it.

OK FIOS does not use a modem. this helps me. so what I am seeing is normal, i.e. cat5e at wall plate has internet coming from outside ONT.

I called up verizon and tried to get help but without a account number he could not help me. so back to ground zero.

so i guess what I need to know is how can i set up my cisco linksys e4200 router to work with the cet5 FIOS? should i leave it in DHCP? should i use PPPoE? etc.. Surely there are some FIOS users who have setup a 3rd party router to work with a cat5 FIOS connection? my searching has only returned people who have the Actiontec box and want to use the router. i JUST have the cat5 port and need to use that for a direct connection to the linksys.

Thank you any and all for any help. im a comcast user for many years and i have no idea how FIOS works. being in a MDW (apartment) makes it worse because i dont have access to things (even though the telephone closet is right near my door.. )

reply to marctronixx
Do you also have FIOS-TV?

VZ does use VDSL modems in some MDUs where it is not practical to run fiber to each unit. This does not seem to be the case in your situation.

Also, there are also MDU ONTs that provide cat5 to each unit. These are unusual, but may be the case in your situation. It's hard to tell what your max speeds might be without knowing the type of ONT. Perhaps your apartment manager knows.

If plugging your laptop into the wall results in an internet connect, you should be able to configure your router for WAN DHCP (not PPPoE) and it should pull a DHCP lease.

VZ's DHCP servers are touchy about releasing an existing DHCP lease before issuing another one, so it's important to release a DHCP lease before requesting a new one. Since your laptop was able to acquire a DHCP lease, try that again, after it connects issue an IPCONFIG /RELEASE and disconnect the laptop. Plug in the Linksys and it should then be able to pull a DHCP lease.
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There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.

i was hoping you would chime in more fiber...

I am not at home at the moment so i will first try your scenario before i go back and ask the manager questions. its a husband and wife team and the hubby knows the guts but is currently at another property they manage out of state.

so should i disable dhcp on the linksys or just keep it with typical settings? do i need to mess with the subnet? NAT? or do i not need to fool with that since i don't have the action tec boxs?

i do not have fios tv. they do supply directv.

thank you for being so kind to me and posting helpful information.

You should set the Linksys WAN port for DHCP and to obtain it's gateway automatically. These should be the E4200's default values. You might try a hard reset on the Linksys to put it back to factory defaults.
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There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.

thank you. there is a firmware update ready for this model router so now is the perfect time to factory reboot, update the firmware and reset. i will followup later on this evening (PST) on the results.

Mr. Fiber if you are still around, should i keep the MTU set to AUTO?

i appreciate your help.

many thanks. i think i have the tools for now to tackle. ill follow up with the results later tonight.

reply to More Fiber
unfortunately no dice.

did the router reset and updated to latest firmware. in the admin tab on the router, it still shows 127.0.0.1. subnet is the 255.x.x.x string.

im able to get inernet because thats how i am typing here. im using the wired cat 5 cable from the fios wall jack to the laptop cat5 port.

did the ipconfig /release in cmd. it released the ip but the router still could not get anything.

any more help out there?

reply to marctronixx
maybe try cloning the laptop's mac address in the router?

reply to marctronixx
Or stay disconnected long enough for the lease to expire. I'd suggest overnight, although it may be as short as 2 hours.

left the router unplugged overnight after i did the release.

plugged it in just now and nothing still.

so this bit of information may help.

when i go to the internet and and go to whatsmyip it lists 173.60.x.x.x.

BUT when i go to the network connections tab in the system tray, pull up the card in the laptop that is the cat5 card, i go to support-details and it lists for IP address: 192.168.1.17 and for default gateway and dhcp server, it lists 192.168.1.1 subnet mask is the 255.255...

so shouldn't it show the 173.60.xx.xx IP in this list?

again this is the laptop directly connected to the wall plate cat5.

the linksys router is setup by default as 192.168.1.1 too, so should i change it to something else? maybe 192.168.5.1 or somesuch?

thank you all!!

thank you all for your help.

@lijacobs,

i am new to the FIOS world and how things are set up. i did not see any router in the home, just the wall plate. after i paid attention to the small details i realized now there is some router/switch in place.

i have 4 computers plus a lot of wireless devices, IP cameras, that need to be on the network so i need wireless in the home. if it was just one laptop then yeah i could have stopped at the wall plate..

but what i did was change the routers IP to 192.168.y.x where Y is something other than 1 since the wall plate had 192.168.1.1 already.

so BOOM NOW the router is working. im wireless from the laptop as i type this. did a fios speed test and it says (after 3 tests, this is the lower of the tests) 33.359 Mbps. down and 14.168 Mbps. UP.

verified on my android tablet and android handset that they both are connected via wireless (both on 11n).

Thank you to lijacobs, birdfeedr, xirian, Smith6612, and More Fiber for you guys taking time out of your day to devote to my questions and support. I really really appreciate it.