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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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RogersMoin
@markb11 to use the orbi to support Ignite TV, the modem could be set to Bridge mode, or if the orbi has an acceptable Bridge mode, then the modem can run in Gateway mode.
Points to consider:
1. The modem will broadcast hidden networks no matter what mode its it.
2. The modem has two ethernet ports and two telephone ports.
3. If your home has an alarm system, that alarm has to be the first device that is connected any telephone system that connects the internet system with the outside network. That presents problems due to todays typical home cabling, where the cabling for telephone, cable and alarm systems converge in the structured wiring cabinet which is usually located in the basement of a house, or in a utility room for a condo / apartment. Locating the modem in the basement or in a utility room is probably the worst location you can think of, but, its the simplest in terms of its installation, which is probably why customers who use the modems Home Telephone capability, and who have an alarm system, end up with the modem in the basement. Now, if you are able to run the modem in Bridge modem with a follow on router or mesh network, that is a way out of the modem location problem.
4. If you use the telephone cabling in the home for telephone purposes, but don't use / have an alarm system, then the modem could in theory go anywhere in the home where there is a cable and telephone port co-located. In terms of the telephone system, thats not ideal, as the telephone signal has to run downstairs to the 66 block and then outwards to all of the telephone jacks. Typically the telephone modem would be connected to the 66 block with a very short cable and then the telephone signal fans out from the 66 block to the telephone jacks in the home. In theory, you shouldn't see much degradation if the modem is located somewhere upstairs and simply connected to a telephone jack, just be aware that isn't how homes are wired these days. Only way to find out is to try it. Without any other telephone modem connected in the basement or utility closet, the phone system should be available to connect to a telephone modem at any location in the home.
5. Keep in mind that running the modem in Bridge mode is not supported by Rogers, so, you would have to be able to switch the modem back into Gateway mode for any troubleshooting by Rogers staff.
6. With cable ports throughout the house, the modem could be located anywhere where a cable port is present. In this case the tech would have to cross connect the incoming cable from the nearby local tap to the cable that runs to the selected location. Your decision at this point is where to locate the modem, given the presence of an alarm system and the availability of telephone ports throughout the home.
7. It is possible to park the modem upstairs even if you have an alarm system but, that requires a tech, not a Rogers tech to reconnect and rewire the telephone cabling that runs from a selected upstairs location to the 66 block in the basement. In this case the selected cable would be disconnected from the 66 block and connected to the input of the alarm system. The output would be connected to the 66 block, which is most likely how its presently connected. This configuration would result in the loss of use of that particular upstairs telephone port, if this is done correctly, as that telephone port would be connected directly to the alarm system. Most likely you would have to call in an alarm system tech, or a home cabling tech to switch the cabling. Its not hard to do, and it should only take a few minutes. The kicker will be the cost of having the tech to show up at your door, which these days it pretty high, no matter what type of service you're talking about.
Hope this helps.
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RogersMoin
@markb11 wrote:
Sorry for jumping on this thread but can you use an orbi router when you use ignite tv? Would the Rogers modem be set to bridge mode?
Hi, no problem. Depending on where this discussion ends up going, the Mods might move this to the Alternate WiFi or to the Ignite TV Gateway Bridge Mode thread but I will do my best to answer your questions.
First off, Rogers typically provides a turnkey solution for Ignite TV customers consisting of the XB6 gateway, set-top boxes, and Ignite Pods to extend the Wi-Fi coverage in your home so that the Ignite STBs have sufficiently good Wi-Fi connectivity. This is the hardware that Rogers has tested and that they support, and this is the configuration that you might need to revert back if you should ever need to call Rogers for tech support.
That said, Ignite TV should work with the Netgear Orbi but there are no guarantees. A semi-supported configuration (from a Rogers perspective) would be to leave the XB6 in gateway mode and to put the Orbi mesh into bridge/AP mode. The original poster of this thread, @rookie8155 , is apparently using Ignite TV with an Orbi mesh in gateway mode with the XB6 in bridge mode.
Where do they typically place the modem when they do the install. Could I have it on the second floor as I do now using my regular internet?
Sure. Rogers will typically install the XB6 in a central location on the main floor and then install Pods to extend Wi-Fi coverage throughout the home.
If you plan to ever get the Ignite Home Phone service enabled, that might require that the XB6 be placed elsewhere, typically the basement, especially if you have a monitored home alarm system that need to be able to seize the telephone line in order to call the central monitoring centre when the alarm triggers.
You can also install the XB6 gateway in the same location where you currently have your existing cable modem installed.
Looking at options before jumping in.
The good news is that Ignite TV is pretty flexible. Rogers will provide you with a solution that works. If you already have existing equipment that works well in your home, you should still continue to be able to use it.
Do you currently have a Home Phone service from Rogers, Bell or some other provider? If you currently have the Rogers legacy Home Phone service, it (apparently) is not compatible with Ignite TV and may even prevent you from ordering the service.
Since you posted your question to this particular thread, do you have a monitored home alarm system that you will, at some point, connect to the Ignite Home Phone service?
@Sila wrote:
@-G- , Hi, I apologize. I meant to reply to someone's post, but for some reason came is a new post and I could figure out how to delete is. Anyhow, my issue is with Bridge Mode.
Please read below:
At this point I really do not care about the TVs, I would like to figure out the Internet first.
Facts:
1. Changed the ip of the modem from 10.0.0.0.1 to 10.10.10.1
2. Rogers modem set on bridge mode
3. Connected my Soho 250 firewall's WAN to port 1 of Rogers modem
4. My computer connected to the LAN port of the firewall.
5. WAN settings: Static ip of: 10.10.10.2, Default gateway: 10.10.10.1, subnet mask: 250.250.250.0, DNS servers 1 and: exactly what I have on the Rogers modem
5. LAN settings: Static ip of: 10.0.0.1, default gateway: 10.10.10.1, subnet mask: 250.250.250.0
6. With the above settings: I am able to ping 8.8.8.8, but not able to ping google.com
7. Through the Regers modem GUI, able to ping 8.8.8.8 and google.comKeep in mind that once I am able to establish the connection properly, a managed switch will be added between the computers, Rogers cable boxes and the firewall.
Do you have a requirement to use the 10.0.0.0/24 address space on your internal LAN segment?
As far as I know, even if you change the addressing for the internal LAN segment on the XB6 in gateway mode, once you switch it to bridge mode, it will still intercept and route connections to 10.0.0.1 internally. This is what allows you to continue to access the XB6's admin UI, even after you enable bridge mode and use private address spaces such as 192.168.x.0/24 internally.
@Sila wrote:
Thank you for your reply. Well, yes. I have two Ubiquity APs and they have 10.0 static IPs and I am not trying to go through the process of setting them up again, but if push comes to shove I will set them up again.
I do not believe changing the IP on the modem to 10.10 should prevent the firewall accessing the DNS servers.
Also, I still can access the Admin UI while the modem is on 10.10 (on Bridge mode) through the firewall. Because the WAN of the firewall is on 10.10 and its LAN on 10.0 and my computer is on 10.0.
I just had another look at the configuration details in your earlier post...
5. WAN settings: Static ip of: 10.10.10.2, Default gateway: 10.10.10.1, subnet mask: 250.250.250.0, DNS servers 1 and: exactly what I have on the Rogers modem
You need to change the WAN settings on your router/firewall to obtain its IPv4 and IPv6 network configuration using DHCP and DHCPv6. The static private IP addresses and routes should be okay while the XB6 is in gateway mode but you will need to request and obtain public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses if you want to have Internet connectivity when you enable bridge mode on your XB6. You will also need to do this so that you can obtain an IPv6 Prefix Delegation for your internal LAN.
Also, I still can access the Admin UI while the modem is on 10.10 (on Bridge mode) through the firewall. Because the WAN of the firewall is on 10.10 and its LAN on 10.0 and my computer is on 10.0.
Okay, I thought that the 10.0.0.1 address for accessing the admin UI was fixed/unchangeable while the XB6 was in bridge mode.
@Sila wrote:
I tried what you suggested last night and it did not work, however, I had connected the firewall to a different port on the modem. I have read that when you put that modem on bridge mode, only one port works. Maybe I was connected to the port that does not work while on bridge mode. So I will try again tonight and will update you. Thank you for your help.
It's not that the two LAN ports on the XB6 do not work... they should, and THAT is the problem.
If your physical configuration looks something like this:
- LAN switch (with several devices connected) connected to LAN port 1 on the XB6
- Firewall connected to LAN port 2 on the XB6
That is fine while the XB6 is in gateway mode. However, when you enable bridge mode in that configuration, ALL of the devices connected via the LAN switch will now be exposed to the public Internet, unprotected by any firewall.
The SonicWall firewall on LAN port #2 on the XB6 will also have connectivity, BUT...
The Rogers network will (I think) only allow 2 MAC addresses to obtain public network addresses. The XB6 will still obtain one of those; even while it is in bridge mode, it still has services running that require connectivity to the Rogers network and to the Internet. All of your devices (now directly connected to the Internet, totally naked and unprotected) and your Firewall are now competing to obtain whatever remaining connectivity that the Rogers network will allow, so their connectivity will be unstable and intermittent at best.
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!
@KoN1 wrote:
Any ideas on what could be causing this issue?
Hi and welcome to the Community! No, I have no idea whatsoever why this would be happening. I don't have a 1 Gigabit/s connection so I am unable to test this.
Do you see this throughput drop when rebooting through the admin UI, when power-cycling the XB6 or both? Also, which variant of the XB6 do you have, Arris or Technicolor? Are you measuring your Internet speed using an online speed test side or with an actual data transfer?
@abba77 wrote:
oh and I have IPv6 diabled on my router network. do I really need it, or only need it if connecting the tvbox Xi6 through it? Seemed to be working before with IPv6 disabled.
Ignite TV uses IPv6. From time to time, Rogers' overnight maintenance breaks IPv6 connectivity and when that happens, I run into various glitches with Ignite TV in the morning. e.g. slow channel changes and other weird little issues.
For a few months, I had the XB6 in bridge mode, and my Ubiquiti router connected to ETH1. Since it was bridge mode expecting ETH2 to be disabled , I wired the TV Xi6 to the UI router. 2 times in the last week, the tv would think there is no connection. Both times, the only way to get tv back was unbridge the modem and connect the TV box directly to the modem. Rebooting modem and router was not sufficient. Almost seemed like it was not authorized, though the error was no connection found.
I then randomly tried something. Bridge mode, router connected to ETH1 and TV box connected to ETH2....TV works!?! In the modem settings HARDWARE > LAN, port 1 status shows "Active Docsis WAN" and port 2 shows Active. My network seems to be working fine, albeit the slower speeds, for which I will now try the recommended start up here. My network would also be protected and receives a public IP. The Xi6 however also gets a public IP as seen via EXIT (5 secs), Down, Down, 2, and is working fine.
1. Any risk leaving the TV box like that, security wise? Rogers said they couldn't answer as this should not even be possible! 😄
2. Initially I was going to try to get to the wifi settings via EXIT (5 secs), Down, Down, 9434, but I cannot get that to work. TV just thinks I am searching for tv programming matching "wifi". Was going to try wifi as opposed to ethernet on my router to see if that was more stable, but honestly dont mind using ETH2 if its not a risk so that its traffic doesnt mess with my routers lan traffic stats.
Any feedback, comments, suggestions on my setup?
Will try the startup method and the unbrdge, reboot, then bridge method another user mentioned to try and get better speeds.
To be honest, I was cringing when I read this. Regardless of what anybody else might tell you, I do not think that this is a good idea. I doubt that the Comcast developers have even tried to harden their set-top box code enough for this connectivity scenario.
I do not know why users with Ubiquiti routers are seeing speed drops. I only have a 150 Mb/s connection so I can't try to duplicate what you are seeing. I am running OpenWrt on my router and I get better-than-advertised speeds, typically in the 190 - 200 Mb/s range.
I have also been running Ignite TV on my own network gear (with the XB6 in Bridge Mode) for almost a year and have never run into any problems with my set-top boxes losing connectivity. Did you say that this only started happening last week? Do you know if this coincided with a firmware update on the set-top box?
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