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Finally got bridge mode working with TP Link + R1 (but not sure how...)


RL317
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I've used a variety of setups with my R1 over the last few years. I've used ISP combos which usually don't have bridge mode or any ability to run as a pure modem, I've used a TP Link model which can run as a modem only, combo or router only, and I've used the Huawei HG612 in bridge mode only since it doesn't have WiFi and wouldn't be worth using in router mode. I've also been with Virgin Media whose Superhub let me use bridge mode with no other configuration - it was as close to "plug and play" as you could get. 

 

A few months ago I moved from BT to TalkTalk - an identical service except for the fact that BT uses PPPoE (1492 MTU and requires login info) and TalkTalk uses IPoE (1500 MTU and "plug and play"). The BT Hub didn't have bridge mode so I could use that as a combo behind the R1, or I could use a pure modem behind the R1 and enable PPPoE on the R1 to get online. When I first moved to TalkTalk I tried out all possible setups and since it's not PPPoE you should just be able to connect the R1 to a pure modem and be on your way, just like I could on Virgin Media cable with the Superhub in bridge mode. This was the case with the HG612 (set to IPoE_bridged or whatever it's called) where the R1 would now be the only device handling NAT etc, with its own public WAN IP. If I set up the TP Link in bridge mode, as I could easily do with the R1 before, I wouldn't get a connection on the R1 and I'd be stuck with either a local IP or none at all. TalkTalk doesn't use PPPoE but I tried enabling that on old firmware and DumaOS, with the fields left empty, but no bueno...

 

Today I decided to see if I could figure it out, since the TP Link is my favourite "modem" and it runs better when in bridge mode. I inadvertently found a fix when I came across a post on this forum from a guy trying to work out a different problem on TalkTalk, where he could already use bridge mode on the other combo TalkTalk provides (mine is the new WiFi Hub):

In the post he mentions a guide saying he should "disable DHCP in the LAN", which seemed weird to me because I'd have assumed DHCP would be disabled in bridge mode. I was extra confused because I didn't need to do this on the TP Link when running it in bridge mode. Anyway I decided to try it myself after enabling bridge mode on the TP Link and, lo and behold, I now have it working just fine with TalkTalk and the R1. As expected I don't need to do anything else on the R1 since TalkTalk is IPoE and not PPPoE. I just rebooted the R1 once and the old local WAN IP was replaced with a public one - something I could only achieve in bridge mode with the HG612. The only downside is I can no longer access my TP Link GUI; on BT I could simply disable PPPoE on the R1 and I'd be able to access it through an R1 WiFi connection. Not that big a deal really lol

 

Bit of an essay but I'm half thinking out loud, half wondering if any of you know why this only works if I disable DHCP on the TP Link when it's already in bridge mode. I wanted to write this as a kind of guide in case anyone else has any issues themselves with such a setup. Someone browsing the forum or even searching for answers on Google might get some use out of this if they stumble across it. 

 

Cheers and Happy New Year :)

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7 hours ago, lllRL said:

I've used a variety of setups with my R1 over the last few years. I've used ISP combos which usually don't have bridge mode or any ability to run as a pure modem, I've used a TP Link model which can run as a modem only, combo or router only, and I've used the Huawei HG612 in bridge mode only since it doesn't have WiFi and wouldn't be worth using in router mode. I've also been with Virgin Media whose Superhub let me use bridge mode with no other configuration - it was as close to "plug and play" as you could get. 

 

A few months ago I moved from BT to TalkTalk - an identical service except for the fact that BT uses PPPoE (1492 MTU and requires login info) and TalkTalk uses IPoE (1500 MTU and "plug and play"). The BT Hub didn't have bridge mode so I could use that as a combo behind the R1, or I could use a pure modem behind the R1 and enable PPPoE on the R1 to get online. When I first moved to TalkTalk I tried out all possible setups and since it's not PPPoE you should just be able to connect the R1 to a pure modem and be on your way, just like I could on Virgin Media cable with the Superhub in bridge mode. This was the case with the HG612 (set to IPoE_bridged or whatever it's called) where the R1 would now be the only device handling NAT etc, with its own public WAN IP. If I set up the TP Link in bridge mode, as I could easily do with the R1 before, I wouldn't get a connection on the R1 and I'd be stuck with either a local IP or none at all. TalkTalk doesn't use PPPoE but I tried enabling that on old firmware and DumaOS, with the fields left empty, but no bueno...

 

Today I decided to see if I could figure it out, since the TP Link is my favourite "modem" and it runs better when in bridge mode. I inadvertently found a fix when I came across a post on this forum from a guy trying to work out a different problem on TalkTalk, where he could already use bridge mode on the other combo TalkTalk provides (mine is the new WiFi Hub):

In the post he mentions a guide saying he should "disable DHCP in the LAN", which seemed weird to me because I'd have assumed DHCP would be disabled in bridge mode. I was extra confused because I didn't need to do this on the TP Link when running it in bridge mode. Anyway I decided to try it myself after enabling bridge mode on the TP Link and, lo and behold, I now have it working just fine with TalkTalk and the R1. As expected I don't need to do anything else on the R1 since TalkTalk is IPoE and not PPPoE. I just rebooted the R1 once and the old local WAN IP was replaced with a public one - something I could only achieve in bridge mode with the HG612. The only downside is I can no longer access my TP Link GUI; on BT I could simply disable PPPoE on the R1 and I'd be able to access it through an R1 WiFi connection. Not that big a deal really lol

 

Bit of an essay but I'm half thinking out loud, half wondering if any of you know why this only works if I disable DHCP on the TP Link when it's already in bridge mode. I wanted to write this as a kind of guide in case anyone else has any issues themselves with such a setup. Someone browsing the forum or even searching for answers on Google might get some use out of this if they stumble across it. 

 

Cheers and Happy New Year :)

Hi bud.

BT and talktalk are not the same. Talktalk may use your existing phone line but in your exchange they have their own backbone infrastructure which is different than BT, that is why no pppoe login is needed with talktalk. Zennon is the guy on here for talktalk technical quieries so hopefully he will see this and shed some light for you. 

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39 minutes ago, BIG__DOG said:

Hi bud.

BT and talktalk are not the same. Talktalk may use your existing phone line but in your exchange they have their own backbone infrastructure which is different than BT, that is why no pppoe login is needed with talktalk. Zennon is the guy on here for talktalk technical quieries so hopefully he will see this and shed some light for you. 

Hey. I know they're different to an extent (IPoE vs PPPoE) but my confusion lies in what I had to do to get it working; the differences between the two ISPs should be irrelevant in this case. The VM Superhub in bridge mode was plug and play with the R1, and while I had to enter PPPoE info on the R1 with BT I didn't have to disable DHCP. I mean, if it's in bridge mode it's not handling DHCP anyway right? How very brain bending 😂

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23 minutes ago, Zennon said:

Factory reset the HG612

It is now plug and play.

I'm not using a HG612 lol. I have no issues with that. It's the TP Link I couldn't bridge before. 

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1 hour ago, Zennon said:

Ah right, you write so much I tend to gloss over it 😂

Copying the settings from a reset HG612 to the TP link doesn’t work then.

Thanks... lol

 

There are different settings between the two that don't translate. With the HG I think you can use ipoe_bridged (or is it just ip_bridged?) which sets it all up fine with no other tweaks required. That's why factory resetting gets you straight online. None of those other settings (like 802.1p/q) are on the TP Link, other than VLAN which is obviously 101. There's even a drop down menu on the TP which asks for your ISP (there's an option for TalkTalk_VDSL) before you enter bridge mode. 

 

The VM Superhub definitely didn't require my turning off DHCP on it to get it working in bridge mode with the R1 - you just enabled it and away you go 🤨

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Just sat down lol.

It should work with nothing altered on the TP Link

Type: ADSL/VDSL over PTM

Encapsulation: IPoE

NO username or password required

VLAN

802.1p:  0

802.1q:  101

MTU Size:  1500

If it explicitly asks for logging  : your telephone [email protected]

Password : 123456

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