How to bridge CR-1000A gateway to work with Eero Pro 6e Mesh 3 Pack System (with Internet/Phone/TV service)

[OutKast4Life]

Hello all...

I recently picked up a set of Eero 3-Pack Mesh routers to improve internet connectivity throughout the house and wanted to set it up with my existing Fios 1G connection.  I would like to use my new Eero routers as my main system for WiFi (all 3 of them are going to be hardwired) and for other features.  I was advised to install the Eero devices behind my existing Verizon CR-1000A gateway and create a double NAT, before putting the devices into Bridge Mode.  I currently have TV (with 1 set top box) and Internet, and Phone service with Verizon .  I was told that with the new CR-1000A gateway, all that I would need to do would be to DISABLE the 2.4Ghz/5Ghz/6Ghz WiFi radios and that should be good enough to get the gateway into "bridge mode".  Is that really all that needs to be done or do I need to change the IP Address Distribution from "DHCP" to "Disabled" and give the CR-1000A another IP such as 192.168.1.250 as well?  Anyone else have this similar setup up (especially with the CR-1000A) and running and if so, how did you do it?  Thanks in advance!

[KingBobo]

I have a very similar situation and essentially the same question. I also have Internet/Phone/TV.

As part of their push to replace end-of-life ONTs in my area, Verizon recently left me with the "new" CR1000A router and also replaced my old STB with an ARRIS VMS 4100 Model Z216.

Prior to receiving this equipment, I had already stopped using the old Verizon-provided router in favor of running my own NetGear Orbi mesh network, with the WAN connection coming in via Ethernet from their ONT.  Although this setup offered the desired improvement in WiFi coverage on our property, it caused us to lose the program guide  on our STB. In an effort to restore the program guide, I had investigated the use of a MOCA adapter, but all of the advice that I found online suggested that this simple solution probably wouldn't work due to some technical mysteries  which only the Verizon router and it's built-in MOCA interface were uniquely equipped to handle.  

Now that I've received the new Verizon router, I'm again digging for information on this topic in the hope of finding a way to restore my program guide while still allowing me to operate my mesh network. Before anyone suggests it, the Orbi's mesh functionality *requires* that the Orbi router be configured as a Gateway (not an Access Point). I suspect the same is true of other mesh networks such as the Eero Pro.

Just yesterday I stumbled across the interactive guide below which provides instruction on how to bridge Verizon's G1100 router. For those still using a G1100 router, am I correct in thinking that this solution offer the possibility of restoring the program guide (and presumably other functionality such as programming the DVR , etc)?

https://community.verizon.com/t5/Interactive-Guides/bd-p/InteractiveGuides

This interactive guide includes the following interesting statement:

Our Super Users are making strides to create a similar guide for the newer Fios Router (G3100) and Verizon Router (CR1000A/B).

Unfortunately, I've found nothing further on the subject.

[Capricorn1]

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@KingBobo wrote:

Before anyone suggests it, the Orbi's mesh functionality *requires* that the Orbi router be configured as a Gateway (not an Access Point).

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Maybe there's something about newer Orbi systems, but I've had a pair of RBR50s with one hardwired and in Access Point mode and the satellite wirelessly connected. I've not had an issue with them working as a mesh network. It's the only wireless network I have and the app shows devices connected to both. I needed it to get wireless connectivity out on my deck.

[KingBobo]

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@Capricorn1 wrote:

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@KingBobo wrote:

Before anyone suggests it, the Orbi's mesh functionality *requires* that the Orbi router be configured as a Gateway (not an Access Point).

---

Maybe there's something about newer Orbi systems, but I've had a pair of RBR50s with one hardwired and in Access Point mode and the satellite wirelessly connected. I've not had an issue with them working as a mesh network. It's the only wireless network I have and the app shows devices connected to both. I needed it to get wireless connectivity out on my deck.

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Many thanks for sharing your experience and offering advice. I had mis-remembered the reason that I did not want to configure my Orbi router as an Access Point. You are correct in saying that the mesh functionality is not lost when it is configured in AP mode. According to Netgear, a bunch of other stuff is lost (Guest Network, Setup Wizard, Port Forwarding/Port Triggering, Remote Management, UPnP, IPv6, Traffic Meter, Parental Controls, Circle, Netgear Armor, Block Sites, Block Services, VPN Service, VLAN/IPTV Setup, Internet Setup, WAN Setup, LAN Setup, Access Control, QoS). However, other routers (including the CR-1000A) are capable of providing most of these "lost" features, so I am going to give your "first and easiest" solution a try. If that goes well, it will have at least restored peace in the household (certain family members continue to watch Fios TV).

There's been quite a bit of whining online about problems with the CR-1000A (I personally encountered the near-zero upload speed issue which was fortunately resolved by simply disabling IPv6). My dream configuration would be to lose the CR-1000A completely and find a way to configure my Orbi to supply the program guide to the STB via MoCA adapter (I have an Actiontec ECB6200 gathering dust). You say that you were a Fios for Business customer several years ago and that Verizon actually supplied you with a MoCA adapter which connected to your own router and successfully delivered program guide info to their STB? That is reallyvery encouraging; I have found no similar success stories on these forums. There are a number of threads here and on DSLReports concerning the frustration faced by users attempting to get their STBs to receive the program guide in situations where no Verizon router is present. Although MoCA adapters are always suggested as a solution, there are many other reports to suggest that Verizon has not been forthcoming about other things which must be tweaked (talk of certain ports needing to be opened, talk of the STB needing to receive a particular IP address, etc).

But one hurdle at a time. I'll start with your suggested "first and easiest" solution, and if the CR-1000A seems to behave well, I'll likely find very little incentive for getting rid of it.

[Capricorn1 · Accepted solution]

I don't have a CR1000A to try this out with, but I'm looking at the User Guide. I have to say that it's not great. Then I tried to find a User Manual for the eero Pro 6e, which seems non-existent. I found one short setup guide that didn't help. There are a few ways to add the eero Pro 6e into your network. 

The first and easiest would be to leave the CR1000A as the primary router but have the eero system take over the wireless network. The short version of the steps would be :

1. Shut off wireless services on the CR1000A router
2. Put the eero system in bridge mode or use double NATing

Page 47 of the CR1000A User Guide shows a Wi-Fi Enabled button that should shut off all Wi-Fi services on the Verizon router. The eero website has a link for keeping your existing router that has different links to follow for using the eero system in bridge mode or using double NATing.

Choosing bridge mode turns the eero system into a wireless mesh network. You do lose eero features when it is in bridge mode. 

Going the double NAT-ing route creates a separate internal network for your wireless devices that operates behind the CR1000A. That means your wireless devices will be on a different network with a different set of IP addresses than what the CR1000A is issuing. That means that the eero nodes will get addresses in the 192.168.1.* range from the CR1000A. Your wireless devices, however, will get IP addresses from the eero system, and they will be some other IP range (like 10.0.0.* or 192.168.2.*.)

The second way would be to put the CR1000A into bridge mode and have the eero system take over all duties. I couldn't find out precisely what the CR1000A disables and what it leaves enabled when put into bridge mode. I could not find instructions for enabling bridge mode in the CR1000A, but here is an interactive guide for setting bridge mode in the G1100 that should be helpful. The TL;DR version is that you change the CR1000A router's connection mode to Bridge, set the router's IP address to a high number in the range, and disable DHCP on the router. (It's unclear if bridge mode turns off the Wi-Fi network, so you may need to do that, too.)

A third way would be to make the first eero router the primary router - effectively replacing the CR1000A. (You only need the CR1000A in the mix for its Ethernet to MoCA conversion to keep the guides for the set-top boxes.)

1. Log into the CR1000A (using an Ethernet connection)
2. Disable the DHCP server (by setting IP Address Distribution to Disabled) 
   1. If you need to reboot the router at any point after this, you will need to manually set the IP address of the (Ethernet-connected) device you are using to log into the CR1000A to something like 192.168.1.3
3. Disable the wireless services (pages 47-48 of the User Guide) (which is why you need to be connected via ethernet)
4. Change the starting LAN IP address to something like 192.168.1.254 (see the bridge mode in the G1100 link above or page 113  of the CR1000A User Guide)
   • If you need to reboot the router at any point after this, you will browse to 192.168.1.254 (or whatever  to get into the CR1000A's built-in website.)
5. You will want to disconnect the router and turn it off. There may be multiple reboots along the way.
   • If you manually set an IP address on the device you were logging into the router, reset it to obtain an IP address at this point automatically.) 
6. Plug the ethernet cable from the ONT (going into the WAN port on your CR1000A) into one of the ports on the Eero mesh router. (It apparently doesn't matter which port you use.)
7. Go through the setup for the eero routers via the phone app.
8. Plug an Ethernet cable from a LAN port on your eero router to a LAN port on the CR1000A and turn it on.
9. If necessary, adjust the DHCP range served by the eero routers to exclude the IP address used by the CR1000A (192.168.1.254 in the example).
10. Verify it all works.

We don't put the CR1000A into bridge mode in this last approach. We reduce it down to just another device on the network. It converts Ethernet to MoCA for your STBs. You should be able to just use a MoCA 2.5 adapter to replace the CR1000A completely.  I did that using an older version of that MoCA adapter with an older version of the Verizon STB for years. (I just use streaming TV now.) 

[OutKast4Life]

Capricorn1,

Very detailed instructions provided!  👌 Anyhow, I am going to go with the 3rd method you mentioned (make the first Eero router the primary router - effectively replacing the CR1000A)  as this is what Eero Support recently suggested to me as well.  Hopefully, I will get a chance this weekend to try this out and I will report back here with the outcome.

Also, I think the set top box may or may not need to be rebooted after connecting and turning on the CR-1000A (towards the final step in your instruction list) unless it holds the same IP from before and connected fine or it might have to be whitelisted.

Thanks for the help!

[Capricorn1]

You are welcome, and good luck 😀.

I meant to mention that I have never used a Verizon-supplied router with Fios. I started with Verizon Business Fios (when I was working from home and had servers colocated in my basement). With Fios for Business, it is expected that the business will want to supply a router. My router is a computer running Linux and firewall software, as well as DNS and DHCP services. (At first, the router PC also ran email and web services, which are hosted remotely now.) I'm probably on my fourth iteration of the router. The software and hardware have been updated, of course.

Initially, I also had Fios TV and landline phone service coming in over fiber. To support those services while leaving my business service alone, Verizon installed a MoCA adapter so that the set-top boxes could fetch the guide and video-on-demand programs. When I switched to the residential version of Fios, I kept my router and the MoCA adapter. I later dropped both the landline and Fios TV. Now, I have just the residential Internet service.

If you get it all working, post back here. Especially if you run into any issues. You could save the next person a lot of headaches.