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Hi there!

I've recently contracted t-mobile fiber + 1 extender. + tv service at home. They have installed a Zyxel DX5401 (wifi6) with a wifi extender Zyxel WAP6807 (wifi5) (instead of the DX5401 recommended by Zyxel).

I've contacted the support asking if tmobile was planning to replace the extender for a wifi6 capable anytime soon, and the answer was a plain no, which I believe it's a fraud... basically, because every device connected to that AP, is not taking any advantage of the gig connection.

For this reason, I've decided to manage my own network at home, and I'm planning to remove both Zyxel devices, and install a firewall/router running pfsense + an AP wifi6 ready, keeping only the Huawei ONT provided by them.

Since I have also the TV-Box, before moving into that direction, I'd like to ask to the community:

  1. t-mobile didn't provide me any user/pass. Would I need it to create pppoe connection on my new pfsense router, or it's not necessary?
  2. Which VLANs tag should I use for internet and for the TV box?
  3. After installing the new router, is it any way to use the Zyxel DX5401 only as AP?

If anyone on the community is already running pfsense along with tmobile fiber, I would really love to hear their opinions. 

 

Thanks for taking the time to ready my msg!

Have a great day!

FF'

 

There is no pppoe user/pass needed. On the new fiber connection it is enough to set VLAN300 for both internet and TV.  For more (technical) requirements you can look at this topic.

Hello @furfix 

Instead of PPPOE choose Dynamic IP as your connection type.

@eric If I use the 640 for the IPTV, would I encounter any issue? I would like to not have that little box running on the same vlan, and I also thought the ISP is using diff VLANS to avoid the TV consuming the internet  bandwidth, but idk about this point. Thanks for replying!!

 

@Waqqas I will need to do more research. If I use DHCP on my WAN port, it's not assigning the public ip when assigning the vlan300, but probably it's just my lack of knowledge. I'm just an enthusiast. Thanks!!

@furfix

VLAN 640 for IPTV will not work for you and as mentioned earlier VLAN 300 will work for internet and IPTV, the configuration will be much easier.

You just have to configure VLAN 300 on the WAN port of you own router with connecrion type Dynamic IP and it should work after you restart the Huawei mediaconverter by removing the power for a bit.

I would like to not have that little box running on the same vlan, and I also thought the ISP is using diff VLANS to avoid the TV consuming the internet  bandwidth, but idk about this point.

 

You are on the new TV Platform which already uses VLAN 300 for TV and thus is consuming bandwidth.

Thanks guys for replying! I really appreciate it. One last question.

If I plug my pfSense router into the Port1 of the Zyxel DX5401 (instead of the WAN port), do you think I will be able to use it as a WiFi AP?

I know almost all routers, act as a switch if you basically use the LAN ports, but not sure if the Zyxel will be able to bridge those ports and the WiFi.

Thanks again for all your help and recommendations!

Hi @furfix, really nice to see all the good help that is provided in this topic by @eric, @Waqqas en @Gerrit078! 😁 

I would love to help you with your last question. This is definitely possible, but only with port forwarding. You can check all the ins and outs about port forwarding in this topic:

Please let us know if this topic was helpful for you! 

If I plug my pfSense router into the Port1 of the Zyxel DX5401 (instead of the WAN port), do you think I will be able to use it as a WiFi AP?

I know almost all routers, act as a switch if you basically use the LAN ports, but not sure if the Zyxel will be able to bridge those ports and the WiFi.

Thanks again for all your help and recommendations!

 

No it wont act as a AP. There is no Bridge or AP mode in the T54

Despite of what ppl replied to this thread, in case you are looking for the same info I was, the t54 router or ANY router can work as Switch/AP (no matter if there is or not an specific option for that).

You just need to disable the DHCP and plug the Ethernet cable in the port1 of the router (not use the WAN port), and your firewall or whatever you are using to manage your network, will assign the internal IPs to whatever is connected via cable or wifi to the Zyxel!

Have a nice day!

 

 

I totally missed this topic, sure it works!

If you set-up your own modem/router, connect the LAN of your own modem/router with the LAN of the Zyxel and disable the DHCP on the Zyxel, and give it it's own static IP-Address, the Zyxel will act as a dumb switch/accesspoint. 

It's the cheapest way of extending Wi-Fi coverage and also works with other router brands. I've been using that method years ago with 5 Linksys WRT-54GL routers and in the end with TP-Link TL-1043ND's. So the Zyxel is no exception with this.

It would have been different when Wi-Fi and LAN would have been seperated (as in, isolated) but in that case you wouldn't be able to access a NAS via Wi-Fi which isn't the case (except for the Zyxel’ guest network).

 

Glad you got it to work yourself in the end!

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