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ORBI disables wired connection
WIRED LAN CONNECTION DOESN'T WORK WHEN ORBI IS ACTIVATED -- PLEASE HELP!!
My new Xfinity modem worked great, and in order to provide excellent WiFi throughout home, I purchased ORBI AC3000 Router w/ 2xORBI AC3000 Satellites.
Setup ORBI following all wizard installation guidelines, and WiFi is WONDERFUL.
BUT -- the wired Ethernet is DISABLED whenever ORBI is plugged in.
IF disconnect the ORBI CAT5 connection from XB6 Modem, wired connections throughout home are SUCCESSFULLY re-enabled!
(Note, whether I plug LAN from Orbi, or 2nd LAN jack from XB6 modem, the WIRED connections STILL become disabled.)
ORBI helpdesk told me the Orbi system is TOO SMART to allow wired connections to flow, since my PC likely has viruses ... but the WiFi is protected and therefore functions while hijacking the wired connection my modem is feeding. ORBI Helpdesk tried to charge me $400 to purchase a plan that would "clean" PC and magically fix wired connection.
SOMEBODY please tell me I simply am missing a simple setup feature / toggle that will enable me to very simply connect BOTH ORBI Router (and Satelittes) AND my wired LAN switch to enable the rest of my household wired connections to function ... I find it hard to believe that a WiFi Router would purposfully disable WIRED connections from functioning.
And please note his is not a case of POOR wired connection (ie "throttled")... my network is actually showing ZERO conections as if the LAN CAT5 wire is disconnected.
MY SETUP: Xfinity XB6 1GB modem
Bridge Mode: ON (but note, ORBI also disabled LAN connections before Bridge mode was enabled)
The original setup, with Orbi connected to the modem and the switch connected to one of the Orbi LAN ports should have worked. The only "issues" are (1) that the Orbi is going to issue entirely different IP addresses to every device than the modem did, and (2) that because of having two routers back-to-back, things like VPN and hosting web servers will fail. Since this did not work...
An alternative is to leave the original setup in place, i.e. modem connected to switch. Connect the Orbi to the switch and place the Orbi in Access Point (AP) mode. This means (1) the modem continues to provide IP addresses to everything, including the Orbi and anything connected over WiFi, and (2) router services like port forwarding and VPN will be done on the modem, not the Orbi.
6 Replies
Perhaps I am not understanding. The Xfinity XB6 gateway is a combination modem/router/telephone/WiFi device, with two ethernet ports.
When it is put into bridge mode (sometimes called "passthrough" mode), it is no longer a "router" or a WiFi host. Therefore anything connected to the other ethernet port is not going to do anything.
Since "wired connections throughout the home" is mentioned, does that indicate there is an ethernet switch connected to the XB6 on one port and the Orbi on another port?
If this is the case, then the simple solution is to move the ethernet switch from the XB6 to one of the Orbi LAN ports. The WAN (Yellow) Orbi port goes to the XB6 and the switch connects to an Orbi LAN port.
I neglected to mention that having two routers and two WiFi networks is not recommended. Either the XB6 or the Orbi needs to be "not a router". If you simply LOVE the routing capability of the Xfinity, then the Orbi should be put in AP mode. (The Xfinity WiFi still needs to be turned off.) If you do not care about the Xfinity routing functions, then it goes into bridge mode and the Orbi becomes the only router.
- Thanks for reply!My Xfinity ISP requires use of their MODEM, so this must send the signal to either Wifi (when no ORBI), or I use ORBI to create WiFi (voluntary add-on to improve home WiFi).Whether I use LAN (not yellow one) from ORBI or if I use the 2nd LAN port from MODEM, when ORBI is connected to my network, the WIRED SIGNAL from Xfinity MODEM disappears! And that's true for BRIDGE mode ON or OFF! Bridge Mode ON when NO ORBI is connected DOES provide WIRED CONNECTION, so I know Xfinity MODEM is NOT the culprit ... HARDWIRE signal works absent the ORBI being introduced to network!!See my setup details below-----------------------------------------------**ORIG SETUP **|ISP| >>>(COAX)>>>|XFINITY MODEM+ROUTER - LANport1| >>>(CAT5)>>>|SWITCH| >>>(multi CAT5 lines)>>>|multiple TV, PC, etc HARDWIRE CONNECTIONS|(plus)|XFINITY MODEM+ROUTER - LANport2| >>>(CAT5)>>> UNUSEDORIG SETUP FACTS:
- Xfinity is providing WiFi signal (albeit, not very strong by time reaches extremities of home; 900MB at 5', tapering to 5MB by 50' on second floor)
- LANport1 goes to SWITCH feeding all HARDWIRED devices, and ALL devices receiving STRONG bandwidth (900MB) from my 1GB service at each endpoint
- LANport2 remains unused
-----------------------------------------------** ORBI SETUP A-1 **|ISP| >>>(COAX)>>>|XFINITY MODEM+XXX - LANport1| >>>(CAT5)>>>|ORBI| >>>(LANportORBI CAT5)>>>|SWITCH| >>>(multi CAT5 lines)>>> |multi TV, PC, etc HARDWIRE CONNECTIONS|(plus)|XFINITY MODEM+ROUTER - LANport2| >>>(CAT5)>>> UNUSEDIn SETUP A:- ORBI is inserted in-between MODEM and SWITCH intended to provide service to devices
- Xfinity MODEM is in BRIDGE MODE, disabling the Xfinity router capabilities and sending NO Wifi signal (as intended)
- ORBI WiFi is FANATASTIC, with strong 500MB signal throughout house
- ZERO HARDWIRE SERVICE IS PASSED FROM ORBI to SWITCH; NO DEVICES CAN CONNECT - EVERYTHING MUST USE WiFi .... BAD!!
-----------------------------------------------** ORBI SETUP B-1 **|ISP| >>>(COAX)>>>|XFINITY MODEM+XXX - LANport1| >>>(CAT5)>>>|ORBI|
(plus)|XFINITY MODEM+XXX- LANport2| >>>(CAT5)>>>|SWITCH| >>>(multi CAT5 lines)>>> |multi TV, PC, etc HARDWIRE CONNECTIONS|UNUSEDIn SETUP B:- The ONLY DIFF is that output to SWITCH from LANport2 on the MODEM in order to get direct HARDWIRE to rest of house and not through ORBI LAN output
- SAME RESULT: OBRI WiFi works great ... GOOD!
- SAME RESULT: NO HARDWIRE CONNECT AVAILABLE AT ANY POINT IN HOUSE ... BAD!
-----------------------------------------------** ORBI SETUP A-2 and B-2 **Same wiring as ORBI A-1 and B-1 , but DISABLE bridge mode (which is not recommended since why produce WiFI from Xfinity AND the ORBI that I bought for the sole purpose of pumping high-bandwidth WiFi through my home) ....SAME RESULT: No HARDWIRE CONNECTION FLOWING out from either the ORBI LANport (A-2) or from the MODEM LANport (B-2)The original setup, with Orbi connected to the modem and the switch connected to one of the Orbi LAN ports should have worked. The only "issues" are (1) that the Orbi is going to issue entirely different IP addresses to every device than the modem did, and (2) that because of having two routers back-to-back, things like VPN and hosting web servers will fail. Since this did not work...
An alternative is to leave the original setup in place, i.e. modem connected to switch. Connect the Orbi to the switch and place the Orbi in Access Point (AP) mode. This means (1) the modem continues to provide IP addresses to everything, including the Orbi and anything connected over WiFi, and (2) router services like port forwarding and VPN will be done on the modem, not the Orbi.