How to run Pace 5268AC in simple bridge mode?

Dear jcagpn,

Did you ever come up with a solution to this problem?? I am in the same situation and would really like to get my ATT Pace 5268AC into true bridge mode.

Thanks, DS

Hello DJS2018,

To answer your question, I did get my Pace 5268AC to work as I wanted it too and am happy to say my router (ASUS RT66U) controls everything on my network.  I am providing some commentary below to kind of grease the skids.  The exact instructions are listed at the bottom step by step.  Use them exactly as stated.

To be really specific, JefferMC's (with his oversized/multi colored lettering) statement is correct; there is no official bridge mode. The term that ATT uses for this device is DMZ Plus.

Call it what you want but in the end you get every port opened and transferred to your router.  Additionally, and in an unexpectedly way, your router's WAN will share the Paces WAN static IP address. This makes your router accessible from outside should you want it to.

The fact of the matter is that the IP from the Pace will be Dynamically assigned as your router's WAN IP and is done so through the step by step process below.   Its a funky way of using the DMZ function but it works. 

Another neat thing is that the Pace will continue to assign DHCP address to things you want to attach to the ports on the back of it.  This last part may sound a little confusing but after you go through this setup process it will all become clear. 

The step by step directions below  are a reprint from the author identified at the top.  I added some clarifying detail to resolve some minor confusion. 

I am confident you will be successful after applying this.  Mine has been working just fine.

~john~

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Detfree23

Tutor

Dec 29, 2016 1:32 PM

Re: Is Pace 5268ac capable of bridge or IP passthrough mode?

The answer is YES!  I just did it (with ATT support). All steps are done through Ethernet.

Step one: Connect the ATT router..(say ethernet port 1), connected to your WAN Ethernet port  on your personal Router. 

Step two: Connect an Ethernet cable from your computer to the LAN connection to your router. 

Step three: Find the "DHCP IP address" from your WAN interport on your personal router (will likely be 192.168.1.x or the typically the DHCP Gateway Address)- Make note that the ATT Pace 5268AC's default is 192.168.1.254).

Step three .a: Log in, or while logged into your personal router, set the WAN Connection type to Automatic IP or what ever setting the router has that will automatically acquire an IP from the PACE 5268AC modem. 

Step four: Go to the PACE FIREWALL page - "Applications/Pinholes and DMZ, and look for section "1".  In that area there will be a Cell window where you can type in the known WAN address of your personal router (192.168.1.x). 

Step five: Put that IP address in the window and click the button to the right called CHOOSE. 

Step six: Scroll down to Options "2" area and at the bottom there is a radio button to ‘forward ALL traffic to your (it says computer, but we know it's your router)’. Enable that button and click on the save button. 

Step seven: If you look at the STATUS tab on the ATT FIREWALL Status tab now, you'll see ALL/ALL inbound traffic to be directed to your ROUTER. 

Step eight: Turn off your router now. 

Step nine: Reboot the ATT PACE 5268AC router and wait until you see the "Service" light come on blinking actively.  This will take oh....2 minutes? Once the Service light is on....turn your personal router on

Step ten: After your personal router boots, log into it and you should see the WAN interface with the PUBLIC IP on it.

Note: all ports will be forwarded and open.  Make sure your router has only ports open that you want open. 

Why in the world does AT&T not offer a modem for single-service customers, particularly for their fiber users?! And TWC had both single-service and multi-service modems (although they did not output coax like these do) and they all had a true bridge mode.

While I see a lot of claims that the dmz+ mode is just as good as a true bridge mode, the reality is that it causes a lot of issues and conflicts when you try to do anything other than just web browsing. It's not just "overhead", it causes lots of strange issues with services disconnecting randomly or being blocked altogether because the att modem is still filtering traffic that it should not be.

This is all likely just a software issue and should be turned off, especially when a customer is paying for gigabit service (my service just went up another $10 as well).

We need a better explanation than "we use these modems for other things as well so we need to have control over that whether you use them or not".

Yes, but the funny thing is that the Airport Extreme's bridge mode is a different animal than the bridge mode on a modem.  The AE's bridge mode actually makes it an Access Point. Normally a Wireless Bridge is a device that becomes a client, not an access point, so that wired-only devices can access a wireless network.

You should be able to get pretty much any mesh system or internal router to play nicely behind a Gateway put in DMZplus / IP Passthrough mode.  I've done it successfully with 3 different U-verse Gateways now.  Sometimes it takes more reset/reboots than I think it should, but you can get there.

Update: AT&T also sells an extender that works with a limited number of their Gateways to form a mesh network.

Thanks for the response JefferMC, however, the Airport Extreme, in Bridge Mode, is working flawlessly with the Pace (for 2 years now)...but that was after nearly a week of intermittent problems when the AE was not in Bridge Mode, so I had the opposite experience as what you describe.

 AT&T also sells an extender that works with a limited number of their Gateways to form a mesh network.

What are the model number of the AT&T extenders?

The extenders (which work with the 5268ac and the BGW 210) are the AirTies Model Air 4920.

Thanks JefferMC. The specs on the AirTies 4920 look good and it looks like you can buy them direct from AT&T. Any idea what the main difference is between the 5268+4920s and something like the Orbi or Velop? 

Hi there....I just ordered the AirTies 4920 about two weeks ago and tried it out and here is my experience.  I do own the Orbi RBK50 kit ( with one satellite) and I also own the google wifi kit........having used all three of these setups I can tell you that the AirTies is perfectly integrated with the Pace 5268AC ( that is what I have).....it was definitely the easiest to set up of  the three and it works great with the AT&T app to monitor your network (Smart Home Manager)..........

However, if you subscribe to or lucky enough to have gigabit speeds as I do you may be disappointed in the speed of the AT&T AirTies device.....it gets around 100 to 120Mbps download speed placed about 25 to 30 feet from the gateway which is definitely fast enough for streaming and most things.  The Orbi is the fastest whole home wifi system I have used and it is about 4 times faster than the AirTies device... I normally get around 500 Mbps connected to the Orbi satellite downstairs placed in the same place as I had the AirTies device....

The drawback to using the Orbi is that unless you use the Orbi in access point mode you will have to configure the Pace 5268 in DMZ plus mode which isn't hard to do but I have found by trial and error over the last year that for some reason my network tends to not be as stable and will require reboots, etc because of losing internet connectivity after a few weeks of use in the DMZ plus mode.....I'm not really sure what causes the instability but it sure does happen............

The google wifi is very easy to setup but speed wise its not much faster than the AirTies and to my knowledge you can't even use the google wifi system in access point mode so I've had them sitting in my closet for over a year without using them and will probably sell them on eBay.......I have no experience using the Velop system but I will say if you go to Netgear's community forum and read through the threads you'll find lots and lots of unhappy customers and complaints about the unreliability of the Orbi system because of crappy firmware that Netgear has been pushing out that has basically ruined them.......they just pushed out a new firmware for the Oribi about a week ago and I am currently using my Orbi system with the one satellite and happy to report its been up for almost a week without any issues.....

What I've came to learn the hard way is that if you have gigabit or really fast internet speed you have to decide whats most important to you reliability or speed? if you want reliability then I definitely suggest you go with using the supplied AT&T gateway and purchasing the Airties device but if its all about speed the Orbi system or using one of the high end Netgear nighthawks along with one of their newer extenders (EX7500 or EX8000) yes I own those too will get you the most speed but will not be as reliable as sticking with AT&T equipment......I hope that information helps you ......by the way yes you can order the AirTies device online from the AT&T store and for just $35 you can't hardly beat it and it does work as a true mesh.  I will leave you a link below that will take you to the AirTies website if you'd like to order one; I ordered mine on a Monday and had it in two days........

https://www.att.com/accessories/specialty-items/att-smart-wifi-extender.html#sku=sku8150271

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@stevegon wrote:

Thanks JefferMC. The specs on the AirTies 4920 look good and it looks like you can buy them direct from AT&T. Any idea what the main difference is between the 5268+4920s and something like the Orbi or Velop? 

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ukwildcat4life gave a great run down.  I would add that the AirTies are trivial to setup: You plug one in near your Gateway and press the WPS button on both boxes.  Once it finishes syncing up, you relocate the AirTies to the edge of your Gateway's range and plug it back in.

I don't have a gigabit connection, so I cannot comment on the top end speed