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When I lived in NJ I had FiOS with an Ethernet connection to the ONT and I was able to use any router I wanted to, and have a DMZ and do anything I wanted. I moved to NY and didn’t even think about it until it was too late, but the existing coax was used. This left me with only the ability to NAT my 13 public IPs to internal hosts. I couldn’t expose anything except a single host using the DMZ setting on the Actiontec. Also the Actiontec has a terribly small NAT table so it’s not great.

I use TiVOs, and if I was not living with my in-laws I’d simply follow any number of the instructions I found online to make a double bridge. My problem was that all the instructions I tried would break Video On Demand (VOD) and Guide info from working on the FiOS cable boxes. I searched high and low, but finally found instructions that were terribly simple, and everything works perfectly. I will paste them below. I believe the source of this information is this thread on DSL Reports.

Configuration of your wires and secondary firewall boxes:

This config is based upon using a secondary router. My router is configured for one of my Verizon static IPs and then provides DHCP and NAT for my desktops. I have some fancier stuff going on but at the core that’s what I’m doing.

Coax -> Actiontec -> Actiontec:Ethernet connection1:RJ45 -> 2ND Router Internet Port(WAN Connection)-> 2ND Router:Ethernet port 1:RJ45 -> Actiontec:WAN (Internet)ethernet port.(Sounds redundant but your second router is the new DHCP and the actiontec uses that dhcp to give itself an internal ip and provide internet for your STB’s

One computer plugged directly into your actiontect ethernet port 2

For me this worked best when I had my 3rd party router hand out a 10.1.x.x private address instead of the normal 192.168.x.x addresses. I had no end of trouble when trying to use 192.168.1.1 3rd party router. With that said I would think this would work with anything on the 3rd party router except for 192.168.1.x or 192.168.2.x as a range.

Steps:

  1. There are two different ways to do this.
    • login to your router user the admin/password1 provided. Select The Advanced icon on the top row.Select restore defaults on the left side. Select yes and apply.After it reboots you should be ready.
    • Press and hold the reset button on the back of your router for 15 seconds. After it reboots you should be ready.
  2. Connect to your router and put in your new password.
  3. Click on My Network on the top. Then click on Network connections on the left side.
  4. Click on Broadband Connection (Coax) -> Then click on Settings
  5. Under DHCP Lease, select RELEASE, Then immediately after select No IP Address under Internet protocol.
  6. Select Apply.
  7. click on My Network on the top. Then click on Network connections on the left side.
  8. Select Home Network -> The select Settings.
  9. Under Bridge Section, Check the Broadband Connection(Coax) box and Check the STP Box on the right as well.
  10. Uncheck the Coax and Wireless Connections and associated STP boxes.
  11. Disable the DHCP Server under IP Distribution.
  12. Click Apply and Click Apply again.
  13. click on My Network on the top. Then click on Network connections on the left side.
  14. Click Add at the bottom right.
  15. Select Network Bridge -> Next -> Select Add a New bridge -> Next -> Check Broadband Ethernet and Coax. Uncheck Wireless. -> Click Next.
  16. Check Edit the Newly Created Connection and click on Finish
  17. Change DNS Server to Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically
  18. Under IP Distribution select DHCP Relay
  19. click apply
  20. click on My Network on the top. Then click on Network connections on the left side.
  21. Click on Advanced button at the bottom.
  22. Click on the Edit button to the right of Broadband Connection (Ethernet)
  23. click on Enable
  24. click on apply
  25. click on Wireless icon at the top
  26. Select Basic Security Settings and turn Wireless OFF.
  27. click apply.
  28. Click on Firewall Settings -> Click Yes -> Select Minimal Settings -> Click apply -> select yes
  29. restart your 2ND router and then restart your STB’s and check your VOD’s and widgets!

Now the only problem would be how to get to the Actiontec when you want to make changes. Also if the Actiontec ever reboots you need to connect to it and under Network Connections find the Broadband Connection (Ethernet) and enable it. If you don’t enable it after the router reboots then Video On Demand and Widgets won’t work on your FiOS cable boxes but it won’t affect your internet connection otherwise. To connect to the Actiontec you can connect a computer to one of the Actiontec ethernet ports and manually assign an address to your computer of 192.168.1.2 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Now you can go to the Actiontec at http://192.168.1.1 just like usual.

Another solution to getting to the Actiontec from your LAN off your 3rd party router would be if you can add a static route to your 3rd party router like below. I haven’t yet tested this but in theory it works.

route add -net 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw 10.0.1.1

Actiontec double bridge with FiOS