Purchasing Eero vs. Wall-to-Wall

[Orbsitron]

Hello, Rogers Community!

My parents have an old, obsolete Rogers modem/router combo. Rogers customer service has upgraded them to Rogers 75 Unlimited and we have to go swap their modem at a Rogers store. That's all fine.

The house my parents live in has many dead spots including entire floors (ie: the basement) and so I was looking at the Rogers Wall-to-Wall solution. Unfortunately, Rogers doesn't sell the Wall-to-Wall outright, they want to permanently add a monthly charge to my bill, which I'm not willing to do to my parents.

So, I'm considering buying an Eero package on my own and configuring it for my parents when I next visit. The challenge is that the Eero website states that the Eero pro (seemingly the device which Rogers calls, "the hub") replaces the routing functions of the modem.

I'm very familiar with admin interfaces and disabling the routing capabilities of a modem/router, but before I spend a bunch of money and precious time on a short visit, I'd like to have some degree of confidence that the modem which Rogers will give my family when we swap the obsolete one for the Rogers 75 Unlimited one, will have a user-facing interface for disabling the routing.

Does anyone here know if Rogers locks down or prevents the ability for end-user customers to control how their modem/router devices function? Has anyone configured their Rogers 75 Unlimited modem to work with a 3rd party mesh solution or 3rd party router (and if so, which make and model modem/router do you have for Rogers 75 Unlimited, so I can request the same one)?

Thank you!
Jared

***Added Labels***

[Datalink]

@Orbsitron all of the currently supplied modems can be switched into Bridge mode.  I suspect that your parents will receive one of the following modems:  Hitron CGNM3552, CGN3ACSMR, CGN3ACR or CGN3.  When you or your parents go to swap the modem, find out what modem your parents are eligible for.  I suspect that it will either be a CGN3xxxx model which is a Docsis 3.0 modem, or possibly the newer Hitron CODA-4582 which is a Docsis 3.1 modem.

If your parents are only eligible for one of the CGN3 series modems, ask for a CGN3ACSMR.  The CGN3 modems are all close, in terms of their onboard hardware components and firmware, but, their not exactly the same.  Historically, the CGN3ACSMR sees the first update of the CGN3 series modems.  That's also an 802.11ac wifi modem from what I remember, but, don't quote me on that one.  

The newer Hitron modem is the CODA-4582 which is a DOCSIS 3.1 modem.  That uses an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex channel on the downstream side instead of discrete 6 Mhz channels which are used in traditional Docsis 3.0 modems.  Think of the upcoming Wifi 6, or 802.11ax, which is the same idea, using thousands of subcarriers instead of channels with assigned frequency blocks to operate in.  The 4582 will use DOCSIS 3.0 channels if required for any reason.  The upstream DOCSIS 3.1 capability is currently being tested by Rogers, so, at the present time this modem uses DOCSIS 3.0 on the upstream side, as does every other modem on the Rogers network. 

Lastly, the new Ignite TV service runs two new modems, commonly known as the XB6.  There are two models, an Arris TG3482ER3 and Technicolor CGM-4140 modem.  I'd ask for the Technicolor CGM-4140 modem if this is what your parents are receiving.  

Ok, to the matter at hand.  With all modems, yes, you can switch them into Bridge mode, and back out to Gateway modem.  With the Hitron modems, both directions are controlled thru the user interface.  The same should apply to the Arris and Technicolor modems, but, I can't confirm that as I don't run either of those modems.  

Here's the support link with the references for switching the modems into Bridge mode:

https://www.rogers.com/customer/support/article/bridgemodem

With the modem running in Bridge mode, you would simply reboot the connected router, or, connect a router during or after the modem's reboot into Bridge mode and power up the router.  The router should then pick up its assigned WAN address, and use 192.168.0.1 as its internal LAN address unless of course the router has its own strange default LAN address, which some routers do have. 

The Hitron modems can be accessed thru the modem by using 192.168.100.1 (only), which enables the user to check on signal levels or switch the modem back into Gateway mode with its previous settings intact. 

The Arris and Technicolor modems use 10.0.0.1 as an internal address in Gateway mode, not sure how to access them in Bridge mode in terms of the access IP address.  It might be in the help pages somewhere.  Note, that Bridge mode is not a supported mode for the Ignite TV service with these two modems.  It can be done and apparently it works very well, but, if you have any issues to resolve, you would have to revert the modem back to Gateway mode prior to contacting Tech Support for any assistance.  

Edit:  There is a new requirement that has come out recently, that customers have to have work orders generated by tech support or Customer Service (?) in order to swap a modem at a nearby Rogers store.  Some stores apparently need a work order, some don't, don't know what differentiates one from the other.  I'd call Customer Service and find out what models match up with your parents internet plan and have Customer Service generate the work order.  Then call the nearest store and ask if they have those models on hand.  Calling the store might save a little running around, searching for the correct modem. 

[Orbsitron]

Wow, Datalink, thank you for the super specific and very detailed response!

Confirmation that all can be put into bridge mode alleviates my concern.

I'll also definitely take your advice and call ahead to both confirm the work order is visible by the local store and to make sure the local store has the modem you recommend given the serviceY parents have (I don't believe they have ignite but I'll confirm that with them prior to calling the store). I spent time on the phone with customer service and generated an order for the modem swap prior to posting on this forum.

Thank you again!

[Orbsitron]

Thank you again, Datalink!

Just to close the loop on this, they gave us a Hitron CGN3 modem despite my request for the faster model you suggested. Since my parents have Unlimited 75 service, the faster modem is not likely to make much of a difference so I didn't protest.

Once I got the modem through setup, I put it in Bridge mode (which wasn't so intuitive in the UI. The EERO system couldn't get an IP though so I called Rogers tech support.

At first the agent was not very helpful and blamed the EERO hub despite having no real evidence to support his theory. He confirmed the modem was working properly and was in Bridge mode. When I finally thought to ask how he configures this modem to work with the Rogers supplied EERO, he told me he does not put it in Bridge mode as disabling the wifi also terminates the routing capabilities on this modem. So I had him remotely configure the modem to match the settings he specifies for the Rogers mesh wifi configuration and the EERO system started working!

My parents are getting 100 megabits down and have no additional monthly payment for wifi throughout the house. The dead zones are gone as we had hoped as well.

So in the end, it all worked out. It was counterintuitive on several levels but the end result is excellent for my parents.

Thank you again!
Jared

[X-Nemesis]

What Mesh system works well with the Coda modem and is easy to setup up for a 3 story house?

[Orbsitron]

I can't speak to compatibility with the Coda modem but the Eero works beautifully for my parents in their house which is three stories (and has stone tile floors, metal in some walls, etc).