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Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Do I really have to power down my modem?

BillGuis
Aspirant

Do I really have to power down my modem?

The installation instructions want me to power off my modem before hooking up the router.

 

Do I really have to do this?  I have a single modem from Time Warner that supplies Internet acccess, TV and telephone service.  It is hooked up to a large UPS.  I really don't want to turn it off.  Can I skip this step?

 

Thanks.

 

Bill Guis

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TheEther
Guru

Re: Do I really have to power down my modem?

Yes, you can usually skip this step.  The instructions are probably very conservative to insure the highest probability of setting things up on the first try.  The reason they recommend to power off the modem is that some ISPs will bind the Internet service to the MAC address of a single device connected to the modem, like a PC.  If you were to connect the router in place of the PC, then Internet service might stop working.  Power cycling the modem will force it reinitialize and rebind to the router's MAC address.  

 

If your Internet service doesn't work after connecting your router, then go ahead and reboot the modem.  Instead of pulling the AC power, most modems can be rebooted by logging into them and selecting the option to reboot or restart it.

 

In rare instances, you may have to call your ISP to register your router's MAC address with them.  Hopefully, you don't have an ISP as backwards as this.

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Message 2 of 3

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TheEther
Guru

Re: Do I really have to power down my modem?

Yes, you can usually skip this step.  The instructions are probably very conservative to insure the highest probability of setting things up on the first try.  The reason they recommend to power off the modem is that some ISPs will bind the Internet service to the MAC address of a single device connected to the modem, like a PC.  If you were to connect the router in place of the PC, then Internet service might stop working.  Power cycling the modem will force it reinitialize and rebind to the router's MAC address.  

 

If your Internet service doesn't work after connecting your router, then go ahead and reboot the modem.  Instead of pulling the AC power, most modems can be rebooted by logging into them and selecting the option to reboot or restart it.

 

In rare instances, you may have to call your ISP to register your router's MAC address with them.  Hopefully, you don't have an ISP as backwards as this.

Message 2 of 3
BillGuis
Aspirant

Re: Do I really have to power down my modem?

Thanks much.  I will proceed accordingly.

 

Bill

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