How-To Geek

John, I'm confused here?

I have BrightHouse (was Time Warner at one point) which gives me TM's RR Service. I have Lightning (40Mbps down), and they supply a modem with that that is a combo, modem and router. Router is N speed, and the model of the router is a Motorola Surfboard SBG6580.

Although I am able to use that combo modem/router, the N speed was 1/2 of what it should be. BH controls that unit, I can set very little. The techs that install it have a P/W that allows them to set it up, but the P/W given me doesn't allow full configuration. Some settings I can change will be reset by BH I found out, like SSID.

To get full N Speed, the 40 Mhz upper channel has to be enabled, and they kept resetting that. All complaints about that got me was that was the way they wanted it. They only guarantee the Internet speed, not computer to computer speed. The result was they told me to get my own router and they'd set the Surfboard to bridged mode and I can do whatever I wish.

From your description, it appears that is what has been done? In that case, the Surfboard is just a modem. You can't set anything on it. It provides a WAN address to your router, and you can do what you please with your router. The Surfboard doesn't put out a wireless signal at all.

It sounds like your Surfboard isn't in Bridge mode? It is still giving you a LAN address vs. a WAN address, no?

The confusion I have is you said the Surfboard didn't do wireless, and I assume that is the $7.50 charge to enable that? Without that enabled you've made the LinkSys into an Access Point I take it and you CAN get wireless? If this is the case, what is your problem? Leave the IP Address of the gateway as is.

Maybe I don't understand the problem?

Irv S.

@Sarris, not sure where your BHN originates, they have a few locations. To reach the 300Mbps speed the the 40Mhz side channel has to be turned on. The tech turned it on, but a few nights later it wasn't on, even though InSSIDer showed it off, but the router setting said it was one. Called and was told I didn't have control over that. It was thought that the router went bad, so it was replaced, with a Ubee. First Ubee worked fine, but lasted only a few days. Replacement Ubee didn't put out the 40Mhz band signal. Tech then claimed the wireless card went bad. No problem, I had a spare. Installed it and it didn't see the band either. As a last resort while the tech was here I put back my old LinkSys I was using. Poof, 40Mhz was there... OK assumed another bad modem... and they returned a few days later with the Surfboard I now have. Again, no 40Mhz side band. However the tech called and set the modem to bridged and the LinkSys was used and the wireless speed is OK (LinkSys only does 14x, 270Mbps max).

The fact that I had full N-Speed at one point only leads me to believe that that setting can't be controlled by me, but by BHN. Like I said, last conversation was basically that I wasn't their target audience/user, and all they guarantee is a connection wirelessly that supports the Internet speed. Want more, bridge and use my own router.

Moved up to an ASUS RT-N56U from the LinkSys. Better performance and range with a lot more control and options.

Irv S.

@Sarris, I'm on CLF, not TAMPABAY. So you hit the same problem I had... 270Mbps and then a day or two later dropped to 150Mbps... and that is due to BHN changing a setting on their server, not the modem/router. Even when they swapped out the Surfboard for a Ubee I had 270Mbps for a few days. It went to 150Mbps too, and then they replaced the Ubee with another one, but the 150Mbps remained. Bottom line I was told it can't be changed, turning on the 40Mhz channel (upper N band) at the server, if set on the modem it will be overridden. 'We' settled on what was best for me, bridging their modem/router and using it solely as a modem and using my own router. That fixed it... I hope you are not looking at the same 'problem'. Some wireless devices have even 3 antenna's, like the desktop LinkSys WMP300N we're using. But to get over 150Mbps you do need at least 2 antenna's. I'm told my iPad's only have one, and even though it is N capable, throughput doesn't exceed 20Mbps on Lightning. Good enough for what I use if for though.

Irv S.

Irv, the problem is not the connection the problem is it's either or or, the connection is fine but my linksys gateway is 192.168.1.1 the problem is that i can't see the laptop on the network because the motorola is setup for 192.168.0.1 and when i asked TW if i could change it from 0 to 1 they flat out said NO.

I believe the solution to that problem is to turn off the DHCP in the router and link the router through a LAN port not the WAN port that lets all IPs be provided by the modem. Then your wireless device and all devices connected to that router will get a 192.168.0.x IP and be in your local network. I do this all the time with a series of three routers on my network.

John, is the modem/router a SurfBoard SBG6580? I can't even reach mine once it was set to bridged more, but you can? Somewhere there IS a setting to make it bridge, one of the Admin pages I think?

If it IS an SBG6580, here is how you put it into BRIDGED MODE --> http://ecstasyrealty.com/motorola-sbg685.html

http://www.motorola.com/static.....rGuide.pdf is the COMPLETE USERS guide for the modem.

NOTE: Once you put it into BRIDGED MODE you can NO LONGER ACCESS IT!!!

Irv S.

John, if it isn't bridged you are dealing with 2 different networks. You need to turn the SBG6580 (this is what mine says on the front of the unit on the bottom, but the label on the bottom has an SSID of SBG658088, maybe that is what you think is the model?) into a 'modem', no DNS, no wireless, and the WAN IP Address is fed out and connected to your router's WAN link. That should fix you up.

Now the link I gave to do this should work, unless you ISP has locked down those settings and/or access to them... and then if so, they might charge to do that.

Irv S.