How to use your own router with AT&T fiber? The process is not that complicated, as seen in the steps listed below.
How did I do it?
First, before connecting my AT&T fiber to my router, I had to modify my AT&T compatible router’s settings.
To do this, I went through these steps:
Step 1
For the first step, I opened the browser on my computer and keyed in my default AT&T router’s IP address, which redirected me to the router’s setup page. The default IP address for most AT&T routers is either 192.168.0.1. or 192.168.1.254
Step 2
I then logged in to the router page by keying in the user ID and password. One can find these default credentials on your router’s label; however, if the logins are changed, they’ll be required to use the new details to access the router’s set up page.
Step 3
Once the AT&T homepage opened up, I navigated to the settings menu on the homepage.
Step 4
I then clicked on the LAN tab and selected DHCP.
Step 5
I then enabled the 172.16.0.0/255.255.0.0 range by clicking on the radio button next to it. I did this because there can’t be two asters assigning IP addresses.
Changing my AT&T router’s IP address to 255.255.0.0 resigned it to a servant role whereby my router, now the primary router, was able to assign IP addresses.
Doing this dropped my network connectivity and restarted the router. I had to restart my computer to force it to get a new IP address. However, changing my AT&T router’s IP address helped avoid conflicts that may have otherwise brought up a whole lot of weird network problems, such as jammed signals and confusion as to which data packets are supposed to go where.
Step 6
I then went ahead and saved these settings by clicking on the save button. Next, I proceeded to the steps that involved connecting and using my router with AT&T fiber.
Configuring AT&T Fiber Router To a Third-Party Router?
Step 1
Now that the entire configuration was lost, I proceeded and connected the LAN ports to the AT&T router using an Ethernet cable.
The chain of connection should be something like this:
AT&T FIBER> ROUTER> COMPUTER
Be sure to note that the router is set to get an IP address dynamically from the ISP and that it’s also set to get a DNS from the Internet Service Provider Automatically.
Be sure not to pinch this cable since they are pretty fragile and may lead to a shoddy connection. The AT&T router already has an internet connection since the internet modem is already connected to its WAN port.
Step 2
Next, I disconnected my computer from the AT&T router and then reconnected it.
Step 3
Then, I opened my newly connected router’s configuration page, went to the IP address’ status page, and verified that the public IP address was 192.168.1.1. If you find out that the public IP address isn’t 192.168.1.1, then you’ll have to go back and check the AT&T router’s settings.
Step 4
Next, I went to the AT&T router setup and page and checked for wired connections in the wired interface menu below the LAN panel.
Step 5
After completing these steps on how to use a router with AT&T fiber, I ensured that I had disabled the firewall in my new router to prevent it from slowing down my connections. I did this by accessing the AT&T router through the IP address 255.255.0.0
I then went to the settings, firewall, applications, pinholes, and DMZ. Once I got there, I found a list of active devices on my network and chose my router from the list.
I scrolled down and clicked on ‘edit firewall settings for this computer, and at the very bottom, I clicked on ‘allow all applications (DMZ plus mode). I then rebooted my router and all other devices after it had saved those settings.
Why is this important?
Various devices and connections have various checkpoints, firewalls. Data coming queues up in these checkpoints, and every single packet is inspected and authorized. Having two firewalls, the AT&T fiber and your router, which are doing the same task, leads to a double inspection, and this could slow down your connection by half.
Verdict: Can I Use My Own Router With AT&T Fiber
Of course , you can.
Because,
Following these steps helped me use the router with AT&T fiber. After doing this, I had access and complete control of my local network, and I could port forward, share network drives, and host VPNs.