[dba-Tech] Router issues figured out

[Tina N Fields]

Hi All,

Ultimately, there was probably nothing wrong with my NetGear Nighthawk 
router. Nor, is there anything wrong with the new ASUS RT-N66R. But, 
neither one was willing to connect to the Internet.

Finally, while I was speaking with tech support, I asked to check that 
the credentials I was using were still correct - my user name and 
password. The tech didn't know what I was talking about. "You know, the 
user name and password I have to use to connect to your server," I said. 
"Oh, no!" he said, "If it's asking you for a log-in then you  shouldn't 
be on a PPPoE setup." "Whoa!" I said, "The first step in the  router 
setup is to answer the question 'Does your Internet Service Provider 
require a user name and password?' and I answered 'Yes.'"

Well, that's the way my setup was first implemented, when their head 
tech came and put it in place, here. But, that was probably ten or 15 
years ago. There's been a change - the system now recognizes the MAC 
address of the router. When a new router is installed, they have to do 
something at their end to recognize it. But, using my credentials was 
actually preventing the connection. When I started over with the setup 
and answered "No" to the initial question, everything worked. It would 
have been nice of them to let me know about the change, but, I realize 
that I am one of very few of their customers who set up their own 
equipment, so it probably never occurred to anyone to advise me.

I thought you all would like to know how things worked out and what the 
teeny-tiny problem really was.

Regards,
T

-- 
Tina Norris Fields
231-322-2787
tinanfields-at-torchlake-dot-com