AT&T Fiber & EERO

@bacchus170, I reread your post again and just want to make sure what you meant by your reference to a Fiber router. Did you mean your own personal router or just connecting the AT&T provided router to your structured wiring?

If you meant that you would be using only the eero in addition to the AT&T router, then you would use passthrough mode on the AT&T Gateway to your eero and then you could use the eero to connect to your structured wiring via Ethernet directly or via a Gigabit Ethernet switch depending on the locations and existing wiring available.

In this type of configuration your eero would control all devices; Wi-Fi and Ethernet.

Dave

I have a BGW305 Fiber Router from AT&T.  I also have an 8 port gigabyte switch in my structure wiring panel.  The AT&T tech said all I had to do was run a line from the router to the switch and my wired lines would be active.  I have a three story home which is why I got the eero mesh router since my son in the attic had really poor wifi and there are no cat5 jacks up there.

So I would have one ethernet line to the eero and another to the switch.  When I sat the ATT Help post say "When configured for IP Passthrough (Passthrough Mode) the AT&T provided gateway shares its Dynamic WAN IP address with a single device on the LAN. "  I wasn't sure the mention of a single device would mean my setup would not work.  Thanks

OK with that information update, I would suggest you not try to use IP/Passthrough to the eeos as that will make for a split network between any of your wired devices and your Wi-Fi network.

I would start with your AT&T router and let it manage the network. This way you can run an Ethernet cable from one of the 4 Ethernet ports on your AT&T router to your switch. This covers all your Ethernet ports in the house.

For your eero I would consider putting it in a central location connected to an Ethernet jack so that it can provide good Wi-Fi coverage throughout your house.

In this configuration your would want to put your eero in "Bridge Mode". Yes you will lose some of the advanced eero management features but this will be the easiest way to setup.

Here is the eero link to setup it up in "Bridge Mode".

link: https://support.eero.com/hc/en-us/articles/208276903-How-do-I-bridge-my-eeros-

Once you have your eero system setup and working, I would suggest you disable the Wi-Fi radios on the AT&T router. Here is the link with instructions. Just do the first part.

link: https://support.eero.com/hc/en-us/articles/207988076-Setting-up-eero-with-AT-T-U-verse

If you want a more complex description of how use your eero in Passthrough mode and have it manage all of your devices just let me know.

Dave

dave006, I thought there was a reply from you with some more info on what I should try.  Did you delete it?  Thanks -JA

Yes @bacchus170 it was there and quite detailed about two ways to use the eero system. This forum software appears to have a persistence issue. I know that the mods can delete things that are not appropriate but nothing I posted was in the area.

Give me about 20 minutes and I will repost my suggestions again. In the mean time could you verify your Gateway since there is no BGW305? Might it be a BGW210 or BGW320?

Dave

Sorry BGW320.  Hoping my speed will get better as paying for gigabyte speed and getting 200-250 Mbps is expensive and that's on a good day.  Thanks for all the help.

Here is another try @bacchus170 first you need to decide how much of the eero function you want to use in your home.

If you just want a fast way to get a good Wi-Fi signal to your son's room.

1. To put your eeros into bridge mode, first set it up normally via the instructions through the eero app. Once setup is complete, do the following:

2. Open the eero app and tap Settings (bottom right corner)
3. Tap Advanced
4. Tap DHCP & NAT
5. Switch your selection from Automatic to Bridge 
6. Tap the Save button in the top right corner

In "Bridge" mode you to lose access to some of eero's advanced features. Specifically, you'll lose access to the following:

• Family Profiles
• eero Secure
• eero Labs
• Device bandwidth usage details
• Device blocking
• Advanced network settings management through the eero app

Once you have the eero system setup just move it as close to your son's room to a location that has an Ethernet port that is connected to your switch. This will provide the best Wi-Fi coverage / speed for him. It has 2 Ethernet ports so you can connect another Ethernet device in the location where you install the eero.

If you want to take full advantage of the eero system for your entire home then you will need to use the IP/Passthrough mode on the BGWxxx AT&T Gateway.

Configuring IP Passthrough:

• Enter http://192.168.1.254 in the Location text box. 

• Click the IP Passthrough tab and configure your settings. 

Dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) address serving can automatically serve the WAN IP address to a LAN computer.

When DHCP is used for addressing the designated IP Passthrough computer, the acquired or configured WAN address is passed to DHCP, which will dynamically configure a single servable address subnet, and reserve the address for the configured PC's MAC address. This dynamic subnet configuration is based on the local and remote WAN address and subnet mask.

• The two DHCP modes assign the needed WAN IP information to the client automatically.

  • You can select the MAC address of the eero system you want to be the IP Passthrough client with fixed mode or with first-come-first-served dynamic. The first client to renew its address will be assigned the WAN IP.

  • DHCP Fixed and Dynamic are the easiest options to setup IP/Passthrough but you could also use "Manual" Mode if you are comfortable with configuring TCP/IP setting.
  • Manual mode is like statically configuring your connected computer. With Manual mode, you configure the TCP/IP Properties of the LAN client computer you want to be the IP Passthrough client. You then manually enter the WAN IP address, gateway address, and so on that matches the WAN IP address information of your AT&T device. This mode works the same as the DHCP modes. Unsolicited WAN traffic will get passed to this client. The client is still able to access the AT&T BGW210 device and other LAN clients on the 192.168.1.x network. 

• DHCP Lease: By default, the IP Passthrough host's DHCP leases will be shortened to two minutes. This allows for timely updates of the host's IP address, which will be a private IP address before the WAN connection is established. After the WAN connection is established and has an address, the IP Passthrough host can renew its DHCP address binding to acquire the WAN IP address. You may alter this setting. I normally would set it to 24 hours.

• Click Save. Changes take effect upon restart.

So now restart your AT&T BGWxxx Gateway.

Now you would connect your eero to one of the 4 Ethernet ports on the BGWxxx. Turn on your eero system and setup your eero using the eero app and then connect an Ethernet cable from the eero to your Gigabit switch in your structured wiring panel.

Finally take the following steps to disable the Wi-Fi on your AT&T BGWxxx to eliminate interference from all the Wi-Fi radios.

• Open a browser window
• Type 192.168.1.254 in the search bar and press Enter
• Log into your AT&T U-verse account
• From the Home tab, select Wireless
• Change Wireless Interface to Disabled
• Press Save

Dave

Thanks again.

Sorry BGW320.  Hoping my speed will get better as paying for gigabyte speed and getting 200-250 Mbps is expensive and that's on a good day.  Thanks for all the help.

Well @bacchus170 those speeds might not improve on a device by device basis but Fiber 1000 can support multiple concurrent users each getting those speeds or better.

It really comes down to what device, how it is connect: Wi-Fi or Ethernet and how / where you are measuring your speeds. Many individual devices just can't take full benefit from a Fiber 1000 connection but the number of concurrent devices that are support are much higher.

What speeds do you get when you use the internal speed test on the BGW320 as that will indicate what your speeds are within the AT&T network?

Since we now know you have a BGW320 do you have an indoor ONT or does the Fiber run directly to your BGW320?

Dave

No ONT, fiber runs directly into the BGW320.  I'm still not sold on the eeros.  Given you can't edit things like channels and such it's makes it problematic to configure to get better performance.  For example, my Firesticks want to run Channel 48 but they stay in Channel 36 and continually drop.  The eeros group says it may take a few days for them to find the right config but I'm not sold yet.  May send it all back and just try a wi-fi extender. We'll see.

As for your internal speed question.  Around 972 up and down.  I just cut the cord (sorry directv) so I really want the firesticks to be the fastest since that's where we are streaming all day.  I can't plug those into a wired connection so I'm reliant on wi-fi for that and it just hangs and disconnects.  I'll figure it out and appreciate all the advice.