Hi. I need help setting up my Asus AC86U modem

[Haz]

Hi. I have recently signed up with NowTV broadband and I have an Asus AC86U modem. I installed merlin firmware on it but cannot seem to get it to work! 

I put the mac address in followed by @Nowtv|mypassword

into the Option61 dhcp box. 

Anyone know where I am going wrong here?

[Jayach]

Is that a RT-AC86U, if so, that is just a router, you can't use it on Now without a modem. (The Now router doesn't have a modem mode)

You could use it in AP mode (if it has one) but that would be a waste of the router.

Otherwise, you will have to double NAT.

[Haz]

hi.  what is double nat?  can you please tell me how to set that up pls?

[RoyB]

@Haz 

You don’t set it up, it’s just what happens when you put your own router behind the ISP router.

If you want to know more about it, Dr Google awaits, with 300 million hits on the search term ‘double NAT’. Read a handful only; you’ll get the idea; which is that it mostly doesn’t matter, but if it matters, it matters dreadfully.

And don’t forget to turn off DHCP on one of the routers. (If you don’t know what that is either, time either for some serious Googling or to ask yourself if you should be attempting this setup 😛)

[Haz]

lol okay makes sense. i got it working tbh but is there no way to get it working without the nowtv router directly? i was reading online that if you put the modem into merlin mode, got the id61 in there it will work without the nowtv modem.  

[Jayach]

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@Haz wrote:

lol okay makes sense. i got it working tbh but is there no way to get it working without the nowtv router directly? i was reading online that if you put the modem into merlin mode, got the id61 in there it will work without the nowtv modem.  

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I don't know where you read (or thought you read) that, but it is wrong.

Only ASUS router with a DSL model name prefix will work on now without an external modem. RT prefix models are routers only.

Hence my earlier question.

[RoyB]

@Jayach @Haz 

I’m sure he read it somewhere, and it is true of the device being described wherever that was, but that device was a modem/router, and Haz’ device isn’t.

However, the MER 61 is configured on the router, not on the modem, when a separate modem from the router is being used.

[Jayach]

@RoyB 

Yes, but @Haz doesn't have a separate modem. I wonder where they were connecting the DSL cable when they were trying to set it up?

[RoyB]

@Jayach 

Yes, I knew that?

[Jayach]

@RoyB 

I think we got our lines crossed.😕

[RoyB]

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@Jayach wrote:

@RoyB 

I think we got our lines crossed.😕

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@Jayach 

Couldn’t happen on FTTP 😛

[chilli2]

A quick look at the basic specs shows that that ASUS model does not have a modem inside, the give away will be that it lacks an RJ11 socket on the back to connect it directly to a phone line,  only power in, ethernet and USB.

 A lot of the devices that are referred to as routers are all in one devices modem/router/firewall/wifi access point and so on .

 As the device lacks a modem you will need a modem to connect between the phone line and the router.

 you could look for a cheap or a used modem - most will be all in one units, however you should eb able to put some of them in modem only mode, but as it is you will need another box to act as a modem