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RogersTony
There have been many questions in the Rogers Community Forums lately from users who have switched to Ignite TV and now wish to enable Bridge Mode on the Ignite modem/gateway and use Ignite TV with their own routers and Wi-Fi access points. The Ignite TV service is actually pretty flexible and works great with a wide range of 3rd-party networking equipment. That said, Rogers cannot troubleshoot problems or provide any level of support for these configurations so I'm creating this thread so that we, as a community, can support each other.
I recently posted some configuration tips for setting up your own router for use with the Ignite TV service and (time permitting) will post a more comprehensive step-by-step guide. However, I still don't recommend using Ignite TV in any unsupported configuration unless you have moderately-advanced networking skills and can troubleshoot problems on your own. Also, if any technical issues should arise, you need to be able to put your Ignite TV components back into their originally-installed supportable configuration before contacting Rogers for technical support.
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For a while now, I have been meaning to create a step-by-step guide on how to get Ignite TV working with a customer-owned firewall/router with the Rogers Ignite modem/gateway in Bridge Mode. I was hoping to have something more user-friendly, with pictures and diagrams. However, we are getting more and more people who would prefer to use Ignite TV with their own equipment so I've created this interim guide which consolidates information that, up to now, has been scattered across several posts in several threads. I also cannot document every possible configuration so, for now, I will post this text-only, general step-by-step guide.
This guide is also applicable to Rogers Ignite Internet customers as well who have the XB6 modem/gateway.
Disclaimer: Rogers DOES NOT provide any official support for ANYTHING that I am describing here, so I am assuming that anybody attempting these steps has moderate-to-advanced networking knowledge, has thorough knowledge of their own network gear and can self-support this configuration.
If you should also ever run into any technical problems with Ignite TV, you may need to revert your network back to an as-installed configuration before calling Rogers Technical Support.
When you enable Bridge Mode on the XB6 modem/gateway, Wi-Fi will be disabled. I am assuming that you are performing these steps using a wired Ethernet connection from your computer to your own router and that you have a plan in place to transition your Wi-Fi network clients to your own Wi-Fi router / Wi-Fi mesh network / Wi-Fi Access Point.
Step 1: Perform a basic configuration of your router.
By default, the Rogers Ignite gateway has an internal IPv4 address of 10.0.0.1 and assigns the 10.0.0.0/24 address space for the Internal LAN segment. It would be best to avoid using this address space on your router.
Suggestion: Use 192.168.1.1/24 (or 192.168.1.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0) on your router's internal LAN segment.
Your router must be able to support both IPv4 and IPv6.
Configure your IPv4 WAN connection as a DHCP client.
Configure your IPv6 WAN connection as a DHCPv6 client and request a /64 IPv6 Prefix Delegation.
A few years ago, a member of the Rogers Network Team posted steps on how to to configure IPv6 on several different routers from many common network vendors.
It is up to you as to whether or not you choose to configure or enable Wi-Fi at this point on your router. If you plan to replicate the WiFi settings on your XB6, then I would recommend configuring those settings now but leaving Wi-Fi disabled on your Router until you confirm connectivity with the XB6.
Step 2: Connect your router to the Rogers Ignite modem/gateway.
Connect your router’s WAN (Internet) port to LAN port #1 on the Rogers modem (labelled ETH 1 on the XB6) using an Ethernet patch cable. DO NOT connect any devices other than your router to the Ignite modem/gateway.
Verify that you are able to obtain IPv4 and IPv6 addresses on your WAN interface and that the computer (connected to your router) has basic Internet connectivity.
Step 3: Disable Wi-Fi on the Rogers Ignite modem/gateway
The XB6 gateway does not have a true "bridge mode". You cannot completely disable Wi-Fi on the XB6; Rogers still has some hidden networks active that cannot be turned off as they are required for other service that the XB6 supports.
Before you disable Wi-Fi on the XB6, perform a wireless survey and statically assign a channel to both the 2.4 and 5 Ghz Wi-Fi bands.
As of the time that I wrote this, Rogers does not offer any "Connected Home" services that require Wi-Fi connectivity so there should not be much (if any) traffic to/from the XB6 while it is in bridge mode. It is therefore okay to pick channels that duplicate the ones that you have statically assigned on your own equipment. However, if you have Wi-Fi equipment that uses Auto channel selection, you will want to avoid setting the "best" available channels on the XB6 that you would rather want your own equipment to use, and you should also avoid picking channels that your closest neighbours are using as well so that you do not disrupt their Wi-Fi networks either.
Once you have set and saved your desired Wi-Fi channels on the XB6, disable Wi-Fi. The XB6 will continue to use these channel assignments for its hidden Wi-Fi networks.
Step 4: Enable Bridge Mode on the Rogers Ignite modem/gateway
On your own router, release and renew the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses that you obtained through DHCP and DHCPv6.
Verify that public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are assigned to your WAN interface.
Confirm that you still have Internet connectivity on the computer that is connected to your router.
Step 5: Enable Wi-Fi on your own router.
If you have reused the same Wi-Fi SSID and passphrase as the one on the XB6, your Wi-Fi devices should reconnect to your own router.
Step 6: Connect the Ignite TV set-top boxes to Wi-Fi
Even if you have kept the same Wi-Fi credentials, the Ignite TV set-top boxes probably will not immediately reconnect to Wi-Fi on their own. Power-cycle each box; it should then connect to Wi-Fi using its stored credentials when it restarts.
If you have changed your Wi-Fi credentials, you will need to reconnect your set-top box to Wi-Fi as follows: Press and hold the "Exit" button on your remote for three seconds, then key in: "Down" "Down" 9 4 3 4 (FYI, 9434 spells WiFi)
Step 7: Verify that Ignite TV is working properly
Channels should change immediately
Picture quality should be excellent, with no audio or video drop-outs.
Apps such as Netflix should load.
In "Settings / Device Settings / Network" the Ignite set-top box should report that "Your WiFi signal strength is excellent!". If WiFi connectivity to the set-top box is poor, you will likely experience frequent audio/video dropouts and the Wi-Fi performance in your home, in general, will be poor as well.
Closing comments:
You can still log into the XB6 by going to http://10.0.0.1 , even when the unit is in bridge mode. The XB6 will do the routing for this connection internally so you will not need to any add static routes to this destination or perform any other configuration steps. (That is one of the reasons that I recommend that you do NOT use this address space on your internal LAN.)
I need to say this one last time: Rogers DOES NOT officially support enabling "Bridge Mode" on your XB6 gateway or using Ignite TV with your own router in this configuration. If you should ever experience any technical problems with Ignite TV and require assistance from Rogers Tech Support, you will need to put your Ignite TV components back into their original default configuration: with Bridge Mode disabled on the XB6 and your set-top boxes connected to the XB6 directly. The Ignite TV components need to be in this configuration so that Rogers can run their tests and poll the set-top boxes for their status. Do this before calling Rogers through your Home Phone service. You cannot disable Bridge Mode while you are on the phone with them because doing so will reboot your XB6 and drop your call.
Good luck, if you should decide to embark on this journey!
This is a great idea @-G-! The Rogers Community Forums is a living, breathing database of knowledge and answers. It survives on the posts from users like you and seeds the answers that make the Community Forums a pleasant place to be.
Thank you as always for being such a great help!
RogersZia
I'd like to keep this thread strictly for technical discussions pertaining to network configurations with the Ignite TV Gateway in Bridge Mode. However, I will say a few things about challenges and surprises that you may run into.
For me, Ignite TV has been working amazingly well. I count on Rogers to keep the Ignite TV service up and running and my Internet link working to spec and as error-free as possible. Everything inside my house is my responsibility. I won't be calling Rogers for help if my Wi-Fi suddenly becomes slow. If something should break terribly, I have to be prepared to fully troubleshoot things on my side before I can call Rogers for support. That also requires fully understanding why I have my equipment configured the way that I have it configured. I also need to be prepared to put my Ignite TV equipment back into a supported configuration whenever required.
When running the XB6 with Bridge Mode enabled, you also have to be on the lookout for weird things happening because Rogers does not test Bridge Mode configurations as thoroughly as they would their supported configurations. For example, when Rogers rolled out the Ignite Wi-Fi Hub portal, their backend provisioning software enabled Wi-Fi on my XB6, and in a very strange configuration. When I called tech support, they didn't think that this could even be possible. Furthermore, all of their tools confirmed that Wi-Fi on my XB6 was disabled even though my Wi-Fi analyzers said otherwise. The tech that they dispatched couldn't believe it either.
Even when things are working normally, you may run into situations that will stump Tech Support. With Bridge Mode enabled and Wi-Fi disabled, you would expect that the Wi-Fi radios in the XB6 would be turned off. The "admin" Web UI shows that Wi-Fi is completely disabled. However, Wi-Fi is actually still up and running and the XB6 has several hidden Wi-Fi networks enabled and active. This was a total surprise to several Tech Support agents when I informed them of this.
With Wi-Fi still active and the XB6 configured to use Auto channel selection, it also tends to pick the "best" Wi-Fi channels. This will mess up your Wi-Fi equipment if you have auto channel selection enabled, and your neighbours' as well. Now everybody's Wi-Fi gear is in a perpetually unstable state as their routers constantly look for better/less crowded channels, especially in the 2.4 GHz range. (So, scan your Wi-Fi environment and manually assign Wi-Fi channels on all the equipment that you control in such a way that you keep your in-home Wi-Fi as optimal and stable as possible and also minimize the impact on your neighbours' Wi-Fi as well.)
Ignite TV is a fantastic service but it has a lot of "moving parts" that need to work well together. In a standard supported configuration, all of the hardware that Rogers provides is well-tested and was actually designed to work together. If you should run into any issues with the service, all that you need to do is pick up the phone for technical assistance. Over the last several months, Rogers has rolled out even more tools that enable you, their customers, to manage your home network environment with convenient tools and mobile apps. This is just the beginning.
With a non-standard setup, you will need to be totally self-sufficient and will miss out on many conveniences. That's why I continue to urge everyone to exercise caution and think twice before embarking on this journey. I also hope that this discussion thread will be helpful to those who do venture off the beaten path and be informative to those who choose to remain with a fully-supported configuration as well.
@amor_gamao wrote:
Will switching the Ignite WiFi Gateway (XB6) to bridge mode affect the device's modem functionality?
I have a TP-Link AC5400 which I prefer to use as the router. I'm worried that if I switch the Ignite gateway to bridge mode, it would affect its function as a router. Will that be the case?
By enabling Bridge Mode on the XB6, you'll be disabling most of its internal functions and any devices connected to the XB6's LAN ports will get public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. On the XB6, the telephone service will continue to function but wireless will be unavailable, your Pods (if you have any) will lose connectivity, and pretty much every configuration setting will be "greyed out" and unavailable except for the option to disable Bridge Mode.
That means that your router will have a direct connection to the Internet and its security features will be the only thing protecting your internal in-home network from the outside world. You router will also have to provide network connectivity for your Ignite TV set-top boxes. You'll need to ensure that IPv4 and IPv6 is working and configured properly and that there are no interoperability problems with your router and the Ignite TV service. You will also need to ensure that your router provides sufficient wireless coverage throughout your home.
@Bplayer wrote:
@-G- I do not have any Pods or need them, but out of general interest, can they be used with your own router or are they limited to the XB6?
I don't know. Maybe? I think I can say with certainty that the official answer is "No" but I don't know if it is actually technically possible. It all depends on the firmware. I can't say for sure because I don't have any Pods either, so I can't even try to test them in a standalone configuration.
The Pods are made by Plume and are sold as a standalone product, much like the eero. However, much of their marketshare comes from partners, such as Comcast and Rogers, who licence and resell their technology with their own branding and integrate it into other hardware that they provide. Some routers, such as the Samsung SmartThings WiFi can integrate with Plume Pods directly, which you then manage through the Plume App. However, I don't know if you can hardwire a Rogers Pod or set it up as a standalone gateway pod. Even if the hardware allows it, you would need a Plume account to be able to configure and manage them.
@rjmaxim wrote:
@-G- By Pods...do you mean WiFi pods (ie. Mesh pods...Eero or other?). Just trying to understand the hardware variables with an XB6 modem. The way I understand it (and I don't have Ignite TV)......each TV requires an Xi6 box. For WiFi you can use the XB6 or extend coverage by adding Mesh pods (Rogers Eero or your own?....but only if you use your own router?). However, if you use the XB6 in bridge mode and use your own router as the gateway, the Phone line will still work on the XB6 modem....but you'll need to configure your router to connect to each Xi6's for IPTV...either via Ethernet or WiFi. To extend WiFi reach, you can use either wired WAP or Mesh AP's. There are likely many options and perhaps a hardware topology would help clarify some of the possibilities. Great forum...keep up the good work.
In a typical Rogers Ignite TV installation, the XB6 is in gateway mode. (i.e. Bridge Mode is disabled.) Each TV requires its own Xi6 set-top box and in a typical installation, they connect to the network via Wi-Fi. If required, Pods are provided to expand Wi-Fi coverage in your home so that your set-top boxes get a strong connection. The XB6 has software in it that integrates with the Pods and the Pods will only work when the XB6 is in gateway mode and has wireless enabled. The Pods are configured and managed using an app on an Android or iOS mobile device.
Optionally, Rogers can also rent you eero Wi-Fi mesh hardware. Again, the XB6 is in gateway mode, the private Wi-Fi network gets disabled, and the eero mesh is configured in bridge mode and the eero Hub is connected to the XB6. The Xi6 set-top boxes are then connected via Wi-Fi to the eero mesh. The eero hardware also needs to be installed using an app on an Android or iOS mobile device.
If your home is already pre-wired with Ethernet jacks, you can use those as well to connect your set-top boxes. The Rogers installation tech can also provide you with a small 5-port LAN switch to provide you with additional network ports.
In all Rogers-supported configurations, the XB6 operates in gateway mode. The telephone service on the XB6 remains active in both gateway mode and in bridge mode.
If you already have your own mesh network hardware (e.g. a Linksys Velop or something similar from another vendor) you can still continue to use it. If you leave the XB6 in gateway mode and put your Wi-Fi mesh hardware into bridge mode, similar to how Rogers deploys their eero solution, the Rogers Tech Support teams will still be able to run their usual tests when you call in to report a problem.
There are some users who may have their own existing high-end network hardware, or who may have other reasons for wanting to use their own router. To do this, you can (and should) enable Bridge Mode on the XB6 and connect your own router. If Rogers provided you with Pods, they will lose connectivity and you won't be able to connect them to your own hardware. You will also need to provide network connectivity for your Xi6 set-top boxes. This configuration is officially unsupported by Rogers.
When using your network hardware, you should always have a fallback plan where you can put your Ignite TV hardware back into a fully-supported configuration.
@dougjp wrote:
Thank you for your post, and hopeful of further clarifications in layman's terms as much as possible. I'm in the same boat without Ignite TV yet, and trying to understand what is and isn't possible before deciding.
One added question having to do with an owned router. Anyone who cares about security and privacy probably bought one, with tons of router makes and models having been on sale everywhere for years. Most of these people are likely not techies and know the default basic router setup only.
Having Ignite TV is different than just being an Internet customer. Rogers is providing you with a turnkey service that includes TV, Internet and Home Phone. They try to make it as easy as possible for you to connect your own devices to Wi-Fi and to provide you with the ability to manage your home network using a friendly app on your mobile phone. All of the equipment that they provide was designed to work together. If you substitute their equipment with your own, Rogers will no longer be able to support you in any formal way. They are not familiar with your network setup, they have not tested their equipment with yours, and they will not be able to run their usual tests to diagnose problems when they arise.
A "bridge mode" configuration, where you use your own router, is not terribly complicated. Your current router configuration may even work as is, without any changes. However, what would you do when your picture starts freezing, you start getting audio drops outs, it takes 10 seconds for the stream to start after you change channels, your Wi-Fi becomes slow, or Ignite TV stops working altogether? With a standard, supported setup, help is just a phone call away.
So a Rogers installer arriving to hook up the complete Ignite package including TV will commonly see such a setup. What do they do? Does he/she simply tell the owner they can't get TV and possibly other Ignite features unless they throw out their router? Or, do they assist the owner with setting up their router as an access point wifi connection to the XB6? In that case wouldn't the owner's setup with ethernet connections to desktop computers and powerline still work without interfering with Ignite?
The Rogers install tech should not perform an Ignite TV installation that cannot be supported by Rogers. What they will probably will do is perform a standard Ignite TV installation, connect the set-top boxes in the usual way, and make sure that your new phone service works. If you want to continue using your existing router, they will probably point out the LAN port on the back of the XB6 and show you where you can connect your own equipment. The tech may be able to provide you with some additional assistance at their discretion.
If you decide to go with Ignite TV, one thing that I would do in advance is draw a map of your network on paper, get an inventory of every device connected to your home network, document your IP address plan and identify any devices with static IP addresses. Will anything break if your internal IP addressing changes? Do you have any other unique requirements or anything unique about your setup? Do you use your existing Internet service for anything other than web browsing, online banking, online shopping, streaming video, etc? Do you use a VPN client to access systems at work?
If you would like to discuss any network configuration options that you are considering or share any concerns before switching to Ignite TV, feel free to create a separate thread so that the Community can assist you as best as they can.
In some cases when you switch modems, you need to run a factory reset on the router in order for the router to connect to the modem. That will usually resolve the situation. At the very least, try a router restart to see if it picks up the change in IP address as indicated below.
One point to keep in mind, the older Hitron modem used 192.168.0.1 as its base IP address in Gateway mode. In Bridge mode that IP address is assigned to the follow on router unless the router has some unusual default LAN IP address of its own. In bridge modem the modem then uses 192.168.100.1 as its IP address.
The Ignite TV XB6 modems use 10.0.0.1 I believe in Gateway mode. In Bridge mode that address should be assigned to the router. Not sure what address the modem then requires. So, you should also be looking for that shift in LAN IP addresses on the router side.
@lavalamps The same settings should work.
First verify that your router has obtained public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses on its WAN interface. If it has, you might simply have to disconnect your PC from the network and reconnect just to make sure that you are obtaining a new IPv6 address from the prefix delegation that your router received.
@-20 wrote:
One surprising thing is all three of my TV boxes are only registering as 100BaseT, these are the slowest connections of anything on my network. Are these devices not Gigabit capable?
No, they are not Gigabit-capable because they do not need to be. The bitrate for HD streams averages only 10Mb/s ...and 25 Mb/s for 4K streams, so a 100Mb/s network interface on the set-top box is more than sufficient.
And port1 on the modem was constantly going up & down, until I switched to port2.
I have no idea why it would be doing that. Do you still see the same behaviour if you connect a different/simpler device, such as a LAN switch? ... or connect a computer directly rather than your router?
EDIT: I think I misread your post. Are you seeing this with a Rogers-supplied LAN switch that you are using to connect your Xi6 set-top boxes?
So are there any network optimizations needed, when their modem is in bridge mode?
No, you shouldn't need to do anything special. If you implement any schemes for network prioritization or rate limiters to control buffer bloat, it will most likely have a detrimental effect because you will either decrease the number of packet buffers that are available (by splitting the total number available across multiple queues) or (un?)intentionally cause packet loss.
Unlike Fibe TV, which multicasts streams at a constant and relatively low bitrate, Ignite TV sends unicast streams. The streams are buffered and traffic arrives in bursts, so it should be tolerant of minor packet loss over DOCSIS. If your modem shows relatively few uncorrectable codeword errors in the connection stats and your home network (LAN and Wi-Fi) are well-engineered and working properly, Ignite TV should work well.
I only have a 150Mb/s service and don't try to do anything fancy to "optimize" my network, and my Ignite TV service has been glitch-free since the day I signed up.
@-G- wrote:
A "bridge mode" configuration, where you use your own router, is not terribly complicated. Your current router configuration may even work as is, without any changes. However, what would you do when your picture starts freezing, you start getting audio drops outs, it takes 10 seconds for the stream to start after you change channels, your Wi-Fi becomes slow, or Ignite TV stops working altogether? With a standard, supported setup, help is just a phone call away.
I was dead serious when I said this. Looks like @-20 may have experienced all of these issues.
@-20 wrote:
I'm also thinking Wow, I'm getting a lot of buffering issues which drops audio or goes black (nothing) for 2-to-5 seconds. Lots of pop-up messages apologizing for the technical issues and suggesting to reboot my wifi device (which I'm not using with Rogers at all). Internet reliability was great for the first 5 days of our new service. But for the last two days, it's been down about 10 times! [...] And PVR cloud recording is extremely frustrating, just cause the issues are consistently frequent. Actually watching CraveTV or NetFlix randomly stops, goes black for 5 seconds (or so) and then puts on a channel that we didn't even have selected! It's like a ghost in the box. And this is very frustrating, almost "ever 2 minutes" of streaming anything, it's consistently dropping or going crazy! Btw, I'm not using any wireless, all hardwired, and the TV boxes are only registering as 100BaseT connections (the slowest connections of anything on my switch!!!). What to do?
When things get this bad in a "Bridge Mode" situation, you'll need to go back to the original installed configuration. If the problems persist, you can then call Rogers for assistance.
If you are experiencing these problems, enabling Bridge Mode on the XB6 and using your own equipment likely will not make the situation any better. You should only consider switching to a non-standard / unsupported configuration once you are certain that your Ignite TV installation is stable and trouble-free.
@-20 wrote:
If anyone can help with details for optimizing my private network (when the Rogers modem is in bridge mode), well I'm more than willing to give this a try! Thank you
My apologies. When I first read your post, it sounded like you had enabled Bridge Mode on the XB6 and were experiencing issues running Ignite TV using your own network equipment and were looking for ways to optimize your home network.
If this is not the case, and you are running into these issues in a standard, supported, as-installed configuration, then this is definitely not good. Ignite TV should not only "just work" but it should work well. You need to call Rogers Tech Support and have them investigate. However, before you call Rogers, perform a reset of all of your Ignite TV equipment. Start by power-cycling your XB6 gateway. Wait for the status LED to turn solid white. Next, power-cycle each set-top box. Hopefully, this reset procedure will get everything back into a good state again. If not, it's still the first thing that you should do before calling tech support.
(For anybody running Ignite TV over their own infrastructure, the reset procedure (if it should ever be required) and order is similar: Start by resetting your XB6, followed by your router, followed by your Wi-Fi mesh (if necessary), followed by your set-top boxes.)
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