Cannot Access Admin Page

Hello everyone:

Having trouble connecting to the internet via the router. Usually I can power cycle the router or reset it but this time nothing seems to work. Internet service is OK via direct connection to the modem. 

Trying to go to 198.162.1.1 doesn't seem to work even after power cycling or hard reset. I also tried the "loopback" test, where the ethernet cable is connected to the internet port and port 1. The light for the internet did not light up at all, but the port light lit up white. 

Don't know if this means anything but I can ping google.com and also 198.162.1.1. I've also tried using a static IPv4 address. 

Not really a computer expert so any help is greatly appreciated. Tech support says that the issue that the internet port is faulty, since the loopback test failed to registed a light on the internet LED. Is this true? I find it difficult to believe I have to replace this thing only after <2 years worth of use.