UPC Cisco EPC3925: Enabling True Bridge Mode - A Simple How-to Guide

h57xiucj2z946q

demanufactured wrote: »

Just keep telling them the thomson is dropping connection and its crap , they will swap it.

lol not far from the truth, but its the wifi connections that keep dropping, no the cable connection itself.

rebeve

demanufactured wrote: »

Just keep telling them the thomson is dropping connection and its crap , they will swap it.

Ya ,but what if they give you the Cisco 3925 .Frying pan to the fire.

DECEiFER

Markus Cuddly Busboy wrote: »

lol not far from the truth, but its the wifi connections that keep dropping, no the cable connection itself.

That should be a good enough reason for them to swap it out for you. Keep the pressure on!

h57xiucj2z946q

rebeve wrote: »

Ya ,but what if they give you the Cisco 3925 .Frying pan to the fire.

Yeah but you can bridge to a proper router.

Adam

Any suggestions on routers lads? I've just gone up to the 50 meg package and got the 3925, have a wrt54gs with ddwrt but that doesn't support the 50 meg connection, getting about 25 out of it wired. Without spending a fortune, and recommendations on a router that will see me through and potentially up to 100 meg if I decide to upgrade further?

DECEiFER

Adam wrote: »

Any suggestions on routers lads? I've just gone up to the 50 meg package and got the 3925, have a wrt54gs with ddwrt but that doesn't support the 50 meg connection, getting about 25 out of it wired. Without spending a fortune, and recommendations on a router that will see me through and potentially up to 100 meg if I decide to upgrade further?

What's your budget? That router is very old with 100Mb/s Ethernet and over WiFi you'd only get about 25Mb/s also.

Adam

DECEiFER wrote: »

What's your budget? That router is very old with 100Mb/s Ethernet and over WiFi you'd only get about 25Mb/s also.

Not a lot, I don't need anything too flashy, once it does it's job and doesn't give me any grief. Most devices are wired with powerline adapters so I don't need dual band or anything!

DECEiFER

It's very difficult to find a Gigabit Ethernet wireless router for less than €80, much less one without dual-band and all that stuff you said you didn't need. I've been looking at the Linksys EA2700 and the Netgear WNDR3700v1 (which I own - bought it refurbished from eBay on the cheap for about £50 from a UK seller back in January - and would happily recommend). Both routers can be expensive from ordinary retailers (over €100), but on eBay you'll find reasonable prices (or maybe elsewhere if you shop around).

I've looked on both Linksys' and Netgear's websites and there's not much (or nothing else) there in the low- to medium-end wireless router range with Gigabit Ethernet.

Results for the EA2700 only from the EU sorted by price ascending:
http://www.ebay.ie/sch/i.html?LH_Price=50..%40c&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=3&LH_BIN=1&_nkw=EA2700&_fln=1&_mPrRngCbx=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m283

Results for the WNDR3700 also only from the EU sorted by price ascending:
http://www.ebay.ie/sch/i.html?LH_Price=50..%40c&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=3&LH_BIN=1&_nkw=WNDR3700&_fln=1&_mPrRngCbx=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m283


Both of these choices should be perfect for your needs today and in the future. They key is not to spend too much dosh on either. In the low- to mid-end market, I'm not personally a fan of any other manufacturers (or none are racing to mind right now). I've had ZyXEL devices in the past and hated them all and I've had a D-Link device...they were all cheap and not-so-cheerful (and by cheap I mean less than €100 but still over €50).


EDIT:

Also, here's a list filtered to wireless cable routers with 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, so you can have a look to see what's available for roughly what price:
http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopSearch.asp?CategoryID=389&t=49,2#T

sunday21

i have 2 questions,first: is it possible to buy a different router/modem to replace the cisco supplied by upc . ideally one with usb port as the usb port is disable

my second question is i have a netgear modem/router with a usb port but sadly it doesnt have a caoxial input how can i get it to work on it's own , is there some sort of coaxial to rj45 adapter or converter ?

thank you

DECEiFER

Modem no, router yes. The modem must be provided by UPC. Finding a cable modem for purchase isn't that straightforward but it can be done. However, it'd be a waste of your money since it wouldn't be able to authenticate with UPC.

You can bridge the Cisco EPC3925 with your own router. Your current Netgear I presume is a ADSL modem/router combo, so I wouldn't be too optimistic about that working. You'd still use the EPC3925 to connect to the Internet (as a modem) but you'd wire one of the Ethernet ports from the EPC to a suitable cable router's WAN port and then you should be set. If you read through this thread you'll find mine and others' recommendations as far as what devices are good purchases and there have been posts assisting people who needed help bridging. There's also the option of using your Netgear as an Access Point (AP), but that will depend on your Netgear having such a feature. More help is available if you need it, but first you need to try your Netgear and if that fails, post again with as much specifics pertaining to your problem and your needs.

sunday21

thanx a lot for the quick reply, i have tried to use upc old modem but it didn't work , i asked them why and they said they discontinued them . i guess my only option now is bridging, why did they disable the usb port in the cisco is really surprising . don't they want the best for their customers ?
thank you very much for the excellent advice

DECEiFER

If you switched out your old modem for a new one, they probably unauthorized it and authorized your EPC in its place.

I had no idea that the USB port wasn't working until you mentioned it as I have never once used it. My Netgear WNDR3700 (the router I bridge with the EPC) has a USB port and I do use that from time to time. Maybe someone else could shed some light on the USB issue, or perhaps ask the UPC representatives in the UPC board?

frankled

I have just gotten the Cisco EPC3925 as I upgraded to the 50mbps package. Like others, I'm getting results like 15-20 download/5mbps upload. I still have a Belkin G router, and I would imagine none of my devices are capable of frequency improvements like 5ghz etc.

I was thinking of using the Belkin as an access point, would I be better to use it to facilitate bridge mode for the EPC3925 or as access point?

Thanks

cgarvey

sunday21 wrote: »

is it possible to buy a different router/modem to replace the cisco supplied by upc

Technically yes, but UPC won't let you connect using it, so "no".

sunday21 wrote: »

is there some sort of coaxial to rj45 adapter or converter ?

No.

Most of the talk on this thread is about using your own wiireless router behind the UPC-supplied modem/router.

Marcin_diy

I have bridged epc3925, everything but phone works fine.

Looking at the settings that DECEiFER has on his router ( DECEiFER's picture attacehed) settings looks different on my box.

Every option is disabled. Line status 1 and 2 is down.

how do I change these settings?

DECEiFER

Marcin_diy wrote: »

I have bridged epc3925, everything but phone works fine.

Looking at the settings that DECEiFER has on his router ( DECEiFER's picture attacehed) settings looks different on my box.

Every option is disabled. Line status 1 and 2 is down.

how do I change these settings?

You can't change them. In addition, the status' as seen in my image is regardless of whether a phone is connected to the device or not.

What does your page look like when you're in Router mode?

h57xiucj2z946q

UPC agreed to swap out my Thomson TWG870U for the Cisco EPC3925.

Gonna bridge to this bad boy: http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product/routers/20107280/asus_wireless_n_router_rt_n66u/details.aspx
After installing this firmware of course! http://tomato.groov.pl

gdon

Hi

I am using the EPC3925 modem in bridge mode with the Asus
RT N66U. My UPC package is 150mbit. I noticed slow ping times
to both devices anywhere from 7 to 20 ms. All settings such as upnp
DNS wireless etc have been disabled on the Cisco. I haven't been able to test with hardwire as my laptop is broke. I use a galaxy nexus tablet on 2.4ghz wireless or Samsung S3 on 5ghz wireless. I have spent time optimizing the wireless config in the Asus. I have tested the speed multiple times using a USB hard drive connected to the Asus router. Using the the S3 with wireless n and 5ghz most I ever transfer is 80megs. Although theoretically speed can be up to 600megs. Is there something I am missing here?

Thanks
Ger

Marcin_diy

DECEiFER wrote: »

You can't change them. In addition, the status' as seen in my image is regardless of whether a phone is connected to the device or not.

What does your page look like when you're in Router mode?

apologies for the late reply. it looks exactly the same all disabled, both lines down.
should I contact upc?

DECEiFER

gdon wrote: »

Hi

I am using the EPC3925 modem in bridge mode with the Asus
RT N66U. My UPC package is 150mbit. I noticed slow ping times
to both devices anywhere from 7 to 20 ms. All settings such as upnp
DNS wireless etc have been disabled on the Cisco. I haven't been able to test with hardwire as my laptop is broke. I use a galaxy nexus tablet on 2.4ghz wireless or Samsung S3 on 5ghz wireless. I have spent time optimizing the wireless config in the Asus. I have tested the speed multiple times using a USB hard drive connected to the Asus router. Using the the S3 with wireless n and 5ghz most I ever transfer is 80megs. Although theoretically speed can be up to 600megs. Is there something I am missing here?

Thanks
Ger

Hopefully someone familar with ASUS routers can be of assistance to you. I've never once used one and I'm not sure how reliable the WiFi drivers on the Nexus 7 or Galaxy S III are for testing. A computer would be more ideal.

But I can tell you this. On Android (ICS and JB), if you go into Settings > Wi-Fi and tap on the connected SSID, it should show you the WLAN link speed your device is getting. If you could post the numbers back on those for both devices, it might be of help.

Marcin_diy wrote: »

apologies for the late reply. it looks exactly the same all disabled, both lines down.
should I contact upc?

Yeah, absolutely, I don't think there's anything we can do for you here. Let us know what they say? (if they say they'll replace the modem, don't let them give you the Thomson!)

gdon

DECEiFER wrote: »

But I can tell you this. On Android (ICS and JB), if you go into Settings > Wi-Fi and tap on the connected SSID, it should show you the WLAN link speed your device is getting. If you could post the numbers back on those for both devices, it might be of help.

I had a look 5G signal strength very strong the router is only a few feet away fro me. Reported Link speed is 135Mbps. Also I have used all the std trick for improving wireless ie checking channel is not crowded using 13, also using 40mhz band and WPA aes encryption. Finally all clients are n no mixed mode. For 2.4ghz 65Mps.

I had a look on the Asus router form. One thing is the speed testing I was doing on the LAN was through a USB 3.0 drive connected to the router. The forum says that the max you can expect is 100 to 150 Mbps. However I only ever max 80megs. Will get laptop and try wired when I have a chance. Note does it matter that my device IPs is 176 range and not 192 range. The router set this up automatically

DECEiFER

You have no chance at 65Mb/s of getting anywhere near your top speed, and at 135Mb/s, unlikely also. Internet at 150Mb/s over wireless is a tall order. You'd probably need to be right beside the router with link speeds nearing the 300Mb/s mark. So unless you're planning on wiring devices to the router, you're really paying extra for nothing - maybe the 100Mb pack may be better suited. That's just my opinion...

gdon

I also have a boxes box connected by wire to the router.
I used that for streaming. Testing speeds on that I get about 90megs from speed test.net. I probably need to do check with laptop that is cabled to the router. Your probably right with the wireless, although the new ac wireless devices would have better speeds.

h57xiucj2z946q

Can't wait for the Asus to arrive. This new epc3925 is constantly dropping wifi connections.

Marcin_diy

DECEiFER wrote: »

Yeah, absolutely, I don't think there's anything we can do for you here. Let us know what they say? (if they say they'll replace the modem, don't let them give you the Thomson!)

Sorted
Rang UPC, what happened, they changed my contract, gave me new router, but forgot to activate phone service, and forgot to change broadband speed from 30 to 50 Mb.
And I was too busy to contact them earlier during business hours.

All flying, phone working fine in bridged mode.

h57xiucj2z946q

The Asus RT-N66U arrived today.. will give it a whirl tonight!

h57xiucj2z946q

Internet experience is so much better now bridging to the Asus Rt-n66u . Wireless range extremely better and no connection drops. Take note UPC!

DECEiFER

Markus Cuddly Busboy wrote: »

Internet experience is so much better now bridging to the Asus Rt-n66u . Wireless range extremely better and no connection drops. Take note UPC!

Excellent! Glad you're all set now. At least UPC has stopped disabling Bridge mode on the Cisco EPC3925, that's one step in the right direction.

h57xiucj2z946q

This router is a beast of a thing.

DECEiFER

Markus Cuddly Busboy wrote: »

This router is a beast of a thing.

Yeah I heard ASUS were good but I've never had the pleasure of using any of their networking devices so far, but I always get ASUS motherboards when I build a custom PC (I'm currently using a P6T from the early Nehalem Core i7 days) or when I recommend specs to others.

What are you throwing at the router right now?