Recommended Modem and ISP

AlexW1998 · 2024-02-13T21:32:50.124Z

Hi everyone. I am brand new to this so forgive me if these are basic questions.

I am planing to use a Slate AX and Flint 2 for working remote. I plan to use the Slate as my on-the- go router and the Flint 2 as my home router. At home, I currently have a Motorola MT7711 Gateway with Xfinity wifi.

Based on what I have been reading online, this setup will not work with Xfinity wifi. The reason being, if I try to set the MT7711 to ‘bridge mode,’ then Xfinity will force it back to ‘route’ mode. See here for more details: ‎Motorola MT7711 and Bridge Mode | Xfinity Community Forum

My question is, what modems or gateways do you recommend that will work well with GL.Inet routers?

Also, what ISP would you recommend?

I am someone that has to take a lot of video calls and meetings. Is there a particular setup of dual routers, modem, and ISP you would recommend for this?

Thank you

doczenith1 · 2024-02-14T14:46:22.213Z

AlexW1998:

Also, what ISP would you recommend?

Hard to recommend an ISP without knowing your approximate location/available ISP’s. Ideally you’ll want an ISP that does not use CGNAT and that can offer a static IP address. Fiber is typically the best option if available.

You should be able to get a working setup with Xfinity. Purchase your own modem and connect your Flint2 to it. If you absolutely need a gateway there are options to purchase your own there as well. Xfinity hopefully shouldn’t be able to turn off passthrough mode on a customer purchased gateway. My father has Xfinity with our own Netgear gateway. I’ve had it in passthrough mode for over a year now without issue.

AlexW1998 · 2024-02-15T17:49:56.494Z

doczenith1:

Ideally you’ll want an ISP that does not use CGNAT and that can offer a static IP address. Fiber is typically the best option if available.

If you’re traveling and the IP address is not static, what happens? Do you have to manually update that somewhere in order for the connection to work?

My sense is, based on what I am reading, that I will run into roadblocks with my current setup. Even a quick search online shows that Xfinity uses dynamic IP addresses. I think AT&T fiber is the way to go. Plus I can get a faster upload speed.

admon · 2024-02-15T17:51:17.484Z

AlexW1998:

If you’re traveling and the IP address is not static, what happens? Do you have to manually update that somewhere in order for the connection to work?

If the IP is behind CGNAT, you can’t connect anyway. So all LTE/5G stuff is not useful for the main router.

In all other cases you have to take care of DDNS

doczenith1 · 2024-02-15T20:02:09.103Z

AlexW1998:

If you’re traveling and the IP address is not static, what happens?

As @admon mentioned, DDNS can solve the issue of the IP address changing. This would apply to any ISP that does not use CGNAT.

Before switching to AT&T fiber you should verify that they don’t use CGNAT. If they offer static IP’s that’s a bonus. One last thing while we’re talking AT&T fiber. I’ve read over at r/ATTFiber that the pass through method they use is not 100% pure pass through. I’m not sure if this would present any issues but read up on that as well.

AlexW1998 · 2024-02-16T05:20:55.773Z

doczenith1:

I’ve read over at r/ATTFiber that the pass through method they use is not 100% pure pass through.

What does this mean? What is the risk in it not being 100% pass through?

doczenith1 · 2024-02-16T14:36:43.610Z

There is no risk. I can’t remember exactly what is happening but it has something to do with the AT&T device still seeing more of the data than is typical with a true pass through. Might add an extra hop if I remember correctly.

I would recommend spending some time at r/ATTFiber before making the decision to switch away from Xfinity. That said, assuming your Xfinity service provides 10 or 20 Mbps upload speed (which is your download speed to the Slate AX) any minor annoyances with AT&T may be worth it for the much higher upload speeds.

AlexW1998 · 2024-02-26T01:36:36.091Z

I know it’s been 10 days since I last replied to this thread, but I contacted AT&T. I talked to a live chat agent. They said that their devices do use CGNAT. So does that mean it’s out of the question to use AT&T fiber?

Are there any workarounds to this?

Apparently you can rent a public static IP address from them? https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-fiber-equipment/static-ip-addresses-port-forwarding/647d67da60d6cf5c03fbe905

doczenith1 · 2024-02-27T17:30:18.137Z

There are work arounds for CGNAT but they are out of the scope of this thread and forum (you can search “how to use a vps to get around cgnat” to show one work around method, there are others though). In general, if you have the ability to get a static IP address that is the preferred method vs the other work arounds.

This is becoming more of an AT&T fiber discussion. You will have better success getting information regarding AT&T fiber in other forums dedicated to AT&T fiber. One such forum is https://www.reddit.com/r/ATTFiber/