Modem Mode to Router Mode....No Internet Connection

[Superblade7]

All,

Just wondered if anyone can offer any advice as I may be missing something really simple but it's baffling me at present.

Got a new SH just after Xmas as my previous one was faulty. Set this one up and it's been working fine but I've generally had it in modem mode as I only occasionally need wireless and my laptop is connected via Ethernet.

Wireless has worked fine on the last couple of occasions I have used it but tonight I switched from modem mode to router mode and although my laptop and other devices can detect and connect to the wireless network, it's coming up with an error message saying no internet connection available. Even if I disconnect my laptop from the wireless network, it still says no internet connection available via the Ethernet connection whilst in router mode.

I haven't changed any settings or anything just literally disabled modem mode and gone back to full router mode. I've now switched it back to modem mode and the connection is back and working fine. I've tried it a couple of times now just in case there was a temporary loss of service but it's the same both times. I even tried rebooting the SH in router mode but to no avail.

I've checked all the power levels etc and everything seems fine, just doesn't seem to accept there is an internet connection in router mode.

Grateful for any advice as I'm sure it must be something really obvious, just can't quite put my finger on it.

Cheers

Superblade7

[thenry]

did you try the pin hole reset, holding down for at least 20 seconds ?

http://help.virginmedia.com/system/selfservice.controller?CONFIGURATION=1002&PARTITION_ID=1&TIMEZONE_OFFSET=&USERTYPE=&VM_CUSTOMER_TYPE=Cable&CMD=VIEW_ARTICLE&ARTICLE_ID=345041

[Superblade7]

Not yet thenry, wanted to try and avoid losing all my personalised settings if possible. If that's the only way though I'll have to do it.

[thenry]

do it

[Superblade7]

Tried and failed. Full reset and still the same issue, think the router mode has had it!

Better get onto VM!

[thenry]

why do you switch between both modes so often?

[Superblade7]

More secure - rarely use the wireless so don't see the point of having it broadcasting all the time. Just got a couple of devices that need connecting to Internet occasionally but are way too far away from the SH for a wired connection.

[fryster2005]

More secure - rarely use the wireless so don't see the point of having it broadcasting all the time. Just got a couple of devices that need connecting to Internet occasionally but are way too far away from the SH for a wired connection.


Pretty sure you fan just hide ssid broadcast?

[Superblade7]

Pretty sure you fan just hide ssid broadcast?

Hi fryster, you can hide the SSID but any wireless device can still detect your network, just not it's name.

[thenry]

Disable both wireless and radio. Or create a solid long password. What your doing isn't needed but each to their own.

[Superblade7]

Tried turning the SH off from around 9pm last night to around 5pm tonight. Switched back on and did another pin hole reset and no improvement

So basically, in modem mode it works perfectly but in router mode in claims there is no Internet connection either wired or wireless. Seems really strange that one mode works and the other doesn't.

Gonna ring VM in a bit as the only thing I can put this down to is a faulty SH.

Just wondered if anyone else had ever experienced this same problem?

[thenry]

Whats that switching modes constantly until you brake it?

[AndyCalling]

It is very insecure to connect directly through modem mode to PC with no router, as you will not have any NAT going on. Do not do this. Either set up a properly secure wireless key or turn off the wireless radio on the router. Both options are way more secure than running NAT free which is just foolish.

I guess you should switch to router mode, then turn the Shub off, then on again after 30 Secs. Possibly it will then detect things properly. If not, get another Shub, but DON'T run it without a NAT in place.

[Superblade7]

Andy, didn't realise it was insecure connecting the pc directly to the SH in modem mode so thanks for the advice. I've been in touch with VM and they've said it's a faulty SH so another on the way. Once I've got the new one, I'll stick with router mode and disable the SSID broadcast and set up an access list so this should be more secure.

Cheers Superblade7

[Sephiroth]

BTW, it's not insecure if you have a firewall running in the attached PC.

Ask AndyCalling to explain his somewhat blanket view.

[AndyCalling]

BTW, it's not insecure if you have a firewall running in the attached PC.

Ask AndyCalling to explain his somewhat blanket view.

Theoretically no, if you know what you are doing and set your firewalls on every device accordingly, continiously aware of how it's set up and of every change you make. I would never recommend your approach though. If someone is going to conciously use that approach then they don't need me to tell them whether they should or not. They already know exactly what they're doing and feel very comfortable with their security. If you're comfortable with it then fine, you obviously know all your holes and have the locks all manually controlled.

For most, using a NAT is a no-brainer. It is the only responsible recommendation.

---------- Post added at 23:42 ---------- Previous post was at 23:31 ----------

Andy, didn't realise it was insecure connecting the pc directly to the SH in modem mode so thanks for the advice. I've been in touch with VM and they've said it's a faulty SH so another on the way. Once I've got the new one, I'll stick with router mode and disable the SSID broadcast and set up an access list so this should be more secure.

Cheers Superblade7

Almost. But not quite.

1) Get new Shub.
2) Run in router mode.
3) In the Shub 'Advanced' wireless settings, uncheck the 'Enable Super Hub Wireless Radio' check box.
4) For good measure, under the 'Services' settings menu on the Shub, untick 'Firewall Features', 'Port Scan Detection' and 'IP Flood Detection'. These do no good and will only cause you grief.

Turning off SSID does nothing except make your life harder. Any hacker will have no trouble with that. Same goes for an access list. Don't bother with them. If you want to turn wireless back on in the future, just choose WPA2-PSK[AES] as your encryption method and follow this link to generate your key:

www.grc.com/passwords.htm (http://www.grc.com/passwords.htm)

Anyone who can get through that will have no trouble with your other methods, and anyone phased by your other methods won't stand a chance against AES with a full length pass key.

[LenMackin]

I have had pretty much the same experience with one of my computers that is wired to the SH. I thought I would see how it runs in router mode as there are currently serveral users in my house at the moment. So far using the SH as a router has been fine. I connect with my pc via ethernet, my phone connects wifi, my daughters laptop = wifi and her iphone is wifi. Her boyfriend also connects his iphone via wifi. All working very well and signal strength in a large Edwardian house is acceptable. However tonight - 24hours into the test - my partner turns on her wired computer and although it is connected to our network there is no internet! A bit of playing with ipconfig and it eventually found the connection. the router appears to have issues a correct IP address as it is in the range of all the other connected appliances?

[AndyCalling]

Hmm, if ipconfig fixed it it sounds like an issue at your PC end. I'm having no such issues. Could there be a lan card driver update available for your partner's PC?

[LenMackin]

Tried to update driver but said that I was up to date. I agree however, I think it is an issue on the computer not the hub - everything else is working well. I'll test it for the rest of the week. I can always go back to modem mode if it proves a pain

[AndyCalling]

You could try giving that pc a fixed IP. That would dodge the whole DHCP problem it's having.

[Superblade7]

Hi Seph - yes my pc has a firewall and anti-virus so I always assumed that was ok. Obviously doubted that after Andy's initial message.

On another note, can you believe my current SH has only lasted a month before becoming faulty! Third SH lucky I hope!

Andy - cheers for the additional info, that is useful too. I know a little about setting up basic wireless networks but half the advance settings may as well be in a foreign language. That's why it's great on CF as there are plenty of knowledgeable people such as yourself and Seph.

Cheers Superblade7

[Sephiroth]

Hi Superblade7

Yeah - that's what happens when a blanket statement is made without justification. With a proper protection system such as Mcafee, (dare I say now) Symantec and Kaspersky - there are others obviously - the firewall defaults are more than sufficient.

And wireless is a doddle too (except the SH is rubbish with wireless so use Modem Mode and your own router). The sertup wizard will do the trick and WPA2 protection offered in the wizard makes the wireless safe.

Hope that helps.

[kwikbreaks]

On another note, can you believe my current SH has only lasted a month before becoming faulty! Third SH lucky I hope!Yes I'd believe that no trouble at all. On install day the first two the installers tried both had faults. The third one got replaced by TS because they said the faults I reported were hardware issues and the fourth one was swapped out for a VMNG300 by the CEO office when it wouldn't work properly either (the swapouts were down to the duff firmware imo).

After all that I downgraded from 50Mbps to 10Mbps anyway as they let the area get oversubscribed with a fix date in the distant future.

[AndyCalling]

Hi Superblade7

Yeah - that's what happens when a blanket statement is made without justification. With a proper protection system such as Mcafee, (dare I say now) Symantec and Kaspersky - there are others obviously - the firewall defaults are more than sufficient.

Except I did justify it when asked. I still maintain that recommending people keep track of everything they and any other members of the household let through their software firewall is asking for trouble. So many people just click OK and forget about it. There is no good reason for the average user to run without a NAT and every reason to think twice before recommending such.