NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Question on 'Use Computer MAC address'
I just signed up fo xfinity service (cable company here in the US). the connection (cable modem=>ethernet cable=> pc) works just great. However, when I put netgear router in between cable modem...
The "Use computer MAC" is for those silly ISP which take and keep the previously connected computer MAC address on the cable modem so the Cable Modem does not have to be rebooted after used/tested with that very same computer [direct connected], and you don't have to call the cable TV operator.
If you don't have a problem, do not enable this feature: Because it will kill your Internet connections because the (again very same silly ISPs) allow just one MAC address - and when changing the MAC address of your router (this is what happens, the computer MAC will be copied to the router WAN/Internet port!) your router will not be able to get a public IP address.
For some ISP, rebooting the cable modem (and wait five minutes till it's provisioned again) and then bring up the router will most likely fix things - and no need for stories or wasting the ISPs support resources.
No, I am not sure that what you said is a complete picture of an issue. for the same cable modem, for the same ethernet cable I can literally have dozens of dirrent computers that I can plug in interchangeably to that one cable and every time the connection will deliver internet.
I think there are other reasons why MAC address a pc needs to be spoofed by a router...
My hunch it has has to do with the headers on how PC/router send and receive information.
> [...] I can literally have dozens of dirrent computers that I can plug
> in interchangeably [...]
Did you "literally" try "dozens of dirrent computers", or are you
getting your "facts" from the White House press office?
> My hunch [...]
If I really wanted to know, and I were a Comcast customer, then I'd
try asking Comcast before I started inventing fanciful stories. But
that's just my own attitude.
I tried on 4 computers. 1 desktop and 3 laptops. All worked just fine.
I 4 work, then a dozen is expected to work as well and so is 1000 as well. In statistics, there are these concepts of sample and population...
but you make a good point: I should ask xfinity how MAC addressing works instead of posting here.
> [...] I 4 work, then a dozen is expected to work as well and so is
> 1000 as well. [...]"expected" by you, perhaps. What if there's a limit somewhere, of
which you know nothing. I can hold four eggs in one hand. Does that
prove that I can hold a dozen eggs, or 1000 eggs?> [...] In statistics, [...]
Not all problems involving numbers are statistics problems.
The "Use computer MAC" is for those silly ISP which take and keep the previously connected computer MAC address on the cable modem so the Cable Modem does not have to be rebooted after used/tested with that very same computer [direct connected], and you don't have to call the cable TV operator.
If you don't have a problem, do not enable this feature: Because it will kill your Internet connections because the (again very same silly ISPs) allow just one MAC address - and when changing the MAC address of your router (this is what happens, the computer MAC will be copied to the router WAN/Internet port!) your router will not be able to get a public IP address.
For some ISP, rebooting the cable modem (and wait five minutes till it's provisioned again) and then bring up the router will most likely fix things - and no need for stories or wasting the ISPs support resources.