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Forum Discussion
AX5400 RAX50 for Fidium Fiber
New member here. Recently switched from Consolidated Communications slow DSL, 9Mbps/1Mbps to Fidium Fiber 300Mbps/300Mbps at my camp. My camp is 20’ x 20’. Their router is connected to the ONT that t...
rjgvt wrote:New member here. Recently switched from Consolidated Communications slow DSL, 9Mbps/1Mbps to Fidium Fiber 300Mbps/300Mbps at my camp. My camp is 20’ x 20’. Their router is connected to the ONT that they installed.
When I has DSL, I was able to connect a Netgear N300 WNR2000 V3 2.4 GHz router to their router. I logged in with PPPOE and was able to use 3 IP cameras connected to the Netgear router and access at home on a camera program using port forwarding and a DynDNS host domain. I like Netgear routers as they usually play nice with DynDNS and are simple to setup port forwarding. At least the N300 and N600 series.
Fast forward to the Fidium Fiber router, a dual band WiFi6 Adtran 854-6 router. I changed my single band Netgear to DHCP as Fidium Fiber doesn’t use PPPOE anymore and uses DHCP. I connected my router to their router and had Wi-Fi from my router but was unable to access the three IP cameras through the Fidium router.
I had a dual band Netgear N600 WNDR3400 at home and took it to my camp. I set it up to mirror the other Netgear with port forwarding, etc. and connected to the Fidium router. Results were same as the other Netgear router. Had Wi-Fi, but no IP camera access.
Instead of attempting port forwarding on the Fidium router through the attune app, no wired access, I think my best option is to replace their router with my own. Fidium Fiber doesn’t have a problem with it. One of the routers they recommend is a Netgear Nighthawk AX6000. I think that router is a little much for a 400 square foot camp. We are not gamers, etc. We surf the web, stream some on the TV with a Firestick and now some Blink cameras since the upload speed is way more than 2Mbps. I was thinking of getting the Netgear AX5400 RAX50 as it is at a better price point than the AX6000. I read earlier today that Netgear has discontinued remote management. Probably not a deal breaker. I’ll do the setup with a laptop and an ethernet cable when not on the network.
I read various reviews on the RAX50, a lot of good ones and some that hated setting it up with the app. Any thoughts on this router for my application. Thanks, Bob
The first thing you have to pay attention to is your new Fidium Fiber optical network terminal (ONT). It is a combination device that also includes a router. Cascading a second router downstream results in a double NAT configuration. This causes lots of problems. See here: https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-double-NAT-and-why-is-it-bad
A lot depends on how much configuration control you have with your new ONT. Is there a reason you think you need to add a second router to your network?
Avoid using a mobile application to setup or configure your network. It generally leads to more problems than you started with. A computer direct connected to the network via Ethernet is your best option.
The ONT is separate from the router that Fidium Fiber provided. The ONT is a small powered box that has the fiber cable input and an ethernet cable that goes to the Adtran router. The only control for the Adtran router is through their mobile app, which is very little. Unable to connect a laptop to the router for setup.
My goal is to be able to see the 3 IP cameras from home and unable to do with the Adtran router. I will need to use my own router so that I can do port forwarding and add my host domain. Netgear makes it easy to do this. Also will save $10 per month if I use my own router. That's why I was looking at the Netgear AX5400 RAX50.
rjgvt wrote:
My goal is to be able to see the 3 IP cameras from home and unable to do with the Adtran router. I will need to use my own router so that I can do port forwarding and add my host domain. Netgear makes it easy to do this. Also will save $10 per month if I use my own router. That's why I was looking at the Netgear AX5400 RAX50.
Makes sense.
Check the product pages. Then check the review sites for honest assessments. Remember that what you read here is likely to come from people with problems. The majority of happy campers have no reason to turn up here.
Look around for refurbished kit. Could save a bit.
"Last year's" model can also be a bargain.
Just another user with time on their hands.
rjgvt wrote:The ONT is separate from the router that Fidium Fiber provided. The ONT is a small powered box that has the fiber cable input and an ethernet cable that goes to the Adtran router. The only control for the Adtran router is through their mobile app, which is very little. Unable to connect a laptop to the router for setup.
My goal is to be able to see the 3 IP cameras from home and unable to do with the Adtran router. I will need to use my own router so that I can do port forwarding and add my host domain. Netgear makes it easy to do this. Also will save $10 per month if I use my own router. That's why I was looking at the Netgear AX5400 RAX50.
What is the brand name and model number of the ONT with the Ethernet output? That is the device that is going to provide input to a new router. Specifically what the device is needs to be part of the decision on what router to purchase.
Kitsap wrote:What is the brand name and model number of the ONT with the Ethernet output? That is the device that is going to provide input to a new router. Specifically what the device is needs to be part of the decision on what router to purchase.
I don't know the brand name of the ONT, I'll have to wait until I'm at that location next time I go there. Considering the routers that Fidium Fiber recommends, I don't think it matters but I could be wrong. Thanks for the input.
UPDATE:
Purchased a Netgear AX5400 RAX50-V2 from Staples a few days ago, they had it in stock and let me use my GF's $10 off online coupon.
I set the router up at home with a laptop. I set the 2.4GHz WiFi name and password the same as the original Fidium router. I hoped that the Blink Sync Module and TempStick would connect without relearning. I set up the 5GHz WiFi name and password. The original Fidium Fiber router was not able to set up the separate frequencies. Also set up port forwarding for the three IP cameras and added my DYN host domain info.
Went to my camp yesterday and called Fidium Fiber tech support. It's always a crap shoot on a weekend as the support people on weekends/evenings are out of the US. Weekday support is in the US.
The Netgear router has a MAC address on the packaging box and on the router itself. The MAC address internal to the router is 1 digit higher for the last numbers. I read on another forum to use the higher MAC address. I gave the Fidium tech person the internal MAC address. She told me to wait 10 to 20 minutes. After 10 minutes the router was up and running.
The Blink Sync Module and TempStick connected with no issues. The IP cameras worked as they should after plugging in the power cords.
I'm getting 341 Mbps download/334 Mbps upload for 5GHz and 167 Mbps download/149 Mbps upload for 2.4GHz. Used Speedtest on my iPhone 13Pro. Paying for 300Mbps/300Mbps.
I registered the Netgear router on their website but did not download the app or enabled the Armor. Also did not update the firmware. Not sure if I should download the app. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks.
