I need a router with a WPS button

[ErnieLane]

I just bought a Chamberlain MyQ  Garage and the instructions say to pressthe WPS button on the router.  The Verizon router I have (MI424WR) has one, but it's not activated.  The two possible Verizon upgrades  are the Advanced Wi-Fi Router and the Quantum Gateway.  Does either have a working WPS button?  Since they sell the MyQ, you'd think they'd have to have one that does.  But on a chat with a Verizon agent, I was told they don't. 

Of course, this begs the question of why Verizon "detweaks" stuff.  My router has a WPS  button, but it's not activated.  My cable box/DVR has a USB port, but it doesn't work by design.  Why does Verizon deliberately make some of the equipment thwy sell less capable than the manufacturer's standard item?

And if I buy a third-party router, what capabilities might I give up?

[tns2]

WPS is listed in the quantum router manual (don't have one so can't try).  Its not active on any other FIOS router.

If you leave a FIOS router in play but add another router to your config, there are a few things that don't work but most you can probably live with. 

see http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077  note in particular a couple configs say Media share doesn't work, but since they dropped media share softare this is not an issue.

[gs0b]

The Quantum router has a WPS button and it works (I've used it).  That said, WPS is somewhat insecure.  You might want to double check the garage door instructions or manufacture's web site to see if there is a way to set it up without WPS.

You can use a non-Verizon router if you want.  If you have TV service a Verizon router must be installed somewhere in the network in order for Verizon set-top-boxes to work.  The following FAQ discusses various ways to setup a home network.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077

Good Luck.

[Hubrisnxs]

You can Enable WPS on the Actiontec Gen 3

First log into the GUI using the correct password.

Then edit the URL at the top and plug in 6016 after "active_page=" and chop off the rest of the URL.

That results in »192.168.1.1/index.cgi?active_page=6016

Then you just check off the 'Enabled' box and click Apply

[tns2]

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@Hubrisnxs wrote:

You can Enable WPS on the Actiontec Gen 3

First log into the GUI using the correct password.

Then edit the URL at the top and plug in 6016 after "active_page=" and chop off the rest of the URL.

That results in »192.168.1.1/index.cgi?active_page=6016

Then you just check off the 'Enabled' box and click Apply

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Hadn't heard that one before.  I am surprised to hear about it.  Good to know.  My passphrases are always generated randomly and hard to enter into many devices.  I change it every few months, so have to make the rounds to all my devices.

As long as you don't leave it active all the time (e.g. turn off PIN METHOD) WPS is not that dangerous.  Someone would have to catch it during that limited time (120 seconds) that you have it active.  Some devices such as the one the original poster mentioned have not left users with any other obvious method to set up a secure connection.

[ErnieLane]

There are some terms in that FAQ I'm not familiar with.  Can you help?

cat5

ONT

NAT

CPE management interface

Thanks.

{edited for privacy}

[tns2 · Accepted solution]

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@ErnieLane wrote:

There are some terms in that FAQ I'm not familiar with.  Can you help?

cat5

ONT

NAT

CPE management interface

Thanks.

{edited for privacy}

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• Cat5 -- Category 5 cable.  A standard for the Ethernet cables.  Cat 5e or later are recommended for gigabit Ethernet as cat 5 cables are only rated to 100mbps, however many older cables exceed that and are adequate for many users.  If your devices don't support Gigabit and  if you are using speeds less than 100 mbps from Verizon, and don't need higher speed intranet speeds at your home Cat5 is usually more than adequate.
• ONT -- Optical Network Terminal.  These are the boxes that are installed to change the optical (fibre) connections from/to COAX (TV), Ethernet, and standard Phone electrical signals
• NAT -- network address translation.  Technique widely used so that one external IP connection can talk to many internal IP addresses.  For FIOS it typically does this for the external IP address to devices in private network IPs 192.1.1.xxx where xxx is 1 to 254. 
• CPE management interface.  CPE is Customer Premises Equipment or Customer Provided Equipment.  As far as the FAQ is concerned it means that if its not supported in that configuration, some features do not work such as remote web access.

[viafax999]

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@tns_2 wrote:

• Cat5 -- Catagory 5 cable.  A standard for the ethernet cables.  Cat 5e or later are recommended for gigabit ethernet as cat 5 cables are only rated to 100mbps, however many older cables exceed that and are adequate for many users.

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Cat 5 is rated for 1000Base-T

Category 5 cable (cat 5) is a twisted pair cable for carrying signals. This type of cable is used in structured cabling for computer networks such asEthernet. The cable standard provides performance of up to 100 MHz and is suitable for 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX (Fast Ethernet), and 1000BASE-T(Gigabit Ethernet). Cat 5 is also used to carry other signals such as telephony and video.

I've been running Gigabit ethernet for years on cat5 max length run (100 metres) for years

[tns2]

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@viafax999 wrote:

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@tns_2 wrote:

• Cat5 -- category 5 cable.  A standard for the Ethernet cables.  Cat 5e or later are recommended for gigabit Ethernet as cat 5 cables are only rated to 100mbps, however many older cables exceed that and are adequate for many users.

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Cat 5 is rated for 1000Base-T

Category 5 cable (cat 5) is a twisted pair cable for carrying signals. This type of cable is used in structured cabling for computer networks such asEthernet. The cable standard provides performance of up to 100 MHz and is suitable for 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX (Fast Ethernet), and 1000BASE-T(Gigabit Ethernet). Cat 5 is also used to carry other signals such as telephony and video.

I've been running Gigabit ethernet for years on cat5 max length run (100 metres) for years

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True,  but they are not officially rated for over 100mbps.  They added the definition of Cat 5e for enhanced category 5 to guarantee gigabit support.  But lots of category 5 actually meets cat 5e specifications or at least is close.