Internet Westell modem nightmare
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:01 am
So my day started off great yesterday I was enlisted to setup a wireless network and I thought it would be a piece of cake, I was so wrong.
I viewed many forums claiming many things about this specific combination of equipment that I was using. The equipment being a Westell 6100 (Verizon DSL modem) and a Linksys WRT54G. After viewing tons of information online about various conflicts I thought I had it solved, again sadly mistaken.
One of the first things I tried was setting the Westell unit to bridged mode since it is a router and DHCP server all in one, this didn't work. Next I set the DHCP client to the off, again not working. I Set the DHCP client back to on and then disabled the DHCP client within the Linksys, nope still no interweb.
I proceeded to view documentation by the fist full about this combination on Verzon's website, however this was all wrong as well, it did mention something that was not brought up before which was setting up the PPPoE account on the linksys and then log in through the westell this way, sorry no IP. I called Verizon to no avail.
I tried allocating different local IP's to both units..... nothing.
I cloned the Westell MAC address to the router and disabled the Westell's router properties......nothing.
I cloned the PC's MAC address to the Linksys and then disabled it's gateway properties and disabled it's DHCP client........nothing.
8+ hours later here is what Finally worked--
Go to linksys.com select your product, download the most recent firmware (note where you save it to), then upload the new firmware to the router. This in itself may not be necessary but it couldn't hurt either way. Next the Westell unit has an IP default of 192.168.1.1 which is fine, however this causes a conflict with the Linksys unit which uses the same local IP default. I had previously tried using 192.168.1.2 which in my mind should have been fine. Back on track with the new firmware loaded on your Linksys, do a hard reset on the westell by pressing the reset button on the rear until it powers down let it completely come back on (the power will cycle 2 times). Now the Westell is set to it's factory defaults from your internet provider, let is stand freely not connected to the Linksys yet. Now go into the linksys menu system which is at default 192.168.1.1 reset the local IP on the main setup page to 192.168.2.1, now log into it at the new local IP to verify it is set. After verification unplug the unit and let it sit for 30 seconds, then plug it back in. Once all the front lights are on connect your modem to the rear jack labeled "internet" you should get a front light indicating a connection, now connect your computer ethernet cable to the rear of the linksys to any port labeled "1-4" let the PC go through it's network configuration process (WinXP however other OS's may require a prompt from the user) once it shows a working network connection you should be good to go, however if it does not work after this try cycling power on all devices starting with powering on the modem first then the router and finally the PC.
Best of luck.
I viewed many forums claiming many things about this specific combination of equipment that I was using. The equipment being a Westell 6100 (Verizon DSL modem) and a Linksys WRT54G. After viewing tons of information online about various conflicts I thought I had it solved, again sadly mistaken.
One of the first things I tried was setting the Westell unit to bridged mode since it is a router and DHCP server all in one, this didn't work. Next I set the DHCP client to the off, again not working. I Set the DHCP client back to on and then disabled the DHCP client within the Linksys, nope still no interweb.
I proceeded to view documentation by the fist full about this combination on Verzon's website, however this was all wrong as well, it did mention something that was not brought up before which was setting up the PPPoE account on the linksys and then log in through the westell this way, sorry no IP. I called Verizon to no avail.
I tried allocating different local IP's to both units..... nothing.
I cloned the Westell MAC address to the router and disabled the Westell's router properties......nothing.
I cloned the PC's MAC address to the Linksys and then disabled it's gateway properties and disabled it's DHCP client........nothing.
8+ hours later here is what Finally worked--
Go to linksys.com select your product, download the most recent firmware (note where you save it to), then upload the new firmware to the router. This in itself may not be necessary but it couldn't hurt either way. Next the Westell unit has an IP default of 192.168.1.1 which is fine, however this causes a conflict with the Linksys unit which uses the same local IP default. I had previously tried using 192.168.1.2 which in my mind should have been fine. Back on track with the new firmware loaded on your Linksys, do a hard reset on the westell by pressing the reset button on the rear until it powers down let it completely come back on (the power will cycle 2 times). Now the Westell is set to it's factory defaults from your internet provider, let is stand freely not connected to the Linksys yet. Now go into the linksys menu system which is at default 192.168.1.1 reset the local IP on the main setup page to 192.168.2.1, now log into it at the new local IP to verify it is set. After verification unplug the unit and let it sit for 30 seconds, then plug it back in. Once all the front lights are on connect your modem to the rear jack labeled "internet" you should get a front light indicating a connection, now connect your computer ethernet cable to the rear of the linksys to any port labeled "1-4" let the PC go through it's network configuration process (WinXP however other OS's may require a prompt from the user) once it shows a working network connection you should be good to go, however if it does not work after this try cycling power on all devices starting with powering on the modem first then the router and finally the PC.
Best of luck.
