Fios One Mini Impossible to setup without Verizon Router??!!
Matty7717
Newbie

So, I'll start with that I ditched the Verizon Gateway router for my own 2 years ago and have not had any problems since.  I now decided to upgrade my set top boxes to the Fios One system.  The main STB (connected via Coax through Moca converter at router) started up and configured no problem within minutes.  However, I am not able to get the Mini box connected and running.  I read all about how initially the Mini is looking to connect wirelessly to a hidden channel on the Verizon gateway router (which I don't have) in order to configure and connect to the main STB.  I went into config of the Mini (Power -> Ok -Ok) menu from remote and tried to change configuration to connect to my router via Wifi which also did not work.  So, went with connecting hardwire via Coax like the main box.  This is where is gets interesting.  The Mini does in fact connect to the router as I can see that it obtained an IP address and when I log into my router it also confirms that the device is connected on the network, however the Mini still claims that it cannot detect the "router" and will not configure and start up. It seems that there is something imbedded in the firmware of the Mini that looks specifically for something specific from a Verizon router in order to configure.  I also found another post on this forum that mentioned the same.  If that is true, this seems like some **bleep** from Verizon to force you to use their router.  It's especially frustrating since as mentioned, the main STB does not seem to care and is able to connect, but only the Mini boxes behave this way.  It also **bleep** because the old "Mini" boxes were able to connect with my third party router with no problems.  Anyway, long story short is if this does not work, I'm going to send back the Mini box since I won't be forced to use Verizon's router.  The secondary TV this is used for is mostly used for watching movies and streaming content anyway so probably better with a Fire Stick or Roku then spending the 12 bucks a month for the Mini box, but wanted to make one last check on this forum if anyway had any suggestions before I box up the Mini and send it back?? Thanks!

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Re: Fios One Mini Impossible to setup without Verizon Router??!!
clem21
Community Leader
Community Leader

@Matty7717 wrote:

Thanks for the reply, but I also found that post and tried this and still no luck.  I think the issue is that the Mini has not been "activated".  Once you get past the activation state, I think it can work, but it appears the activation is not possible without the Fios Router.  Again, the Mini is clearly on my network and able to talk to my router, but it is looking for something specific.  If I can figure out what it is looking for, I can probably get my router have the Mini think it is talking to a Fios router, but the more I look into it, it's probably not worth the trouble ....


As far as I know, you are correct the boxes need to see a Fios router to activate. I know the minis look for a hidden 5Ghz SSID the Fios router supplies, but that can be spoofed. So, get the router and return it after you activate it. Only other problem I have seen is you can't get updates without a Fios router.

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Re: Fios One Mini Impossible to setup without Verizon Router??!!
clem21
Community Leader
Community Leader

Look here, looks like someone figured it out:

You can replace the Verizon router completely by using a 3rd party router and a MOCA-Ethernet device. You need to do some port forwarding in order for Guide, OnDemand, DVR and remote FiOS app to work. 

  1. I changed/cloned my new router's MAC address to match the MAC address of the original FiOS router but am not sure if this is necessary or not. 
  2. I set my new router DHCP up to assign the same address range as my FiOS router (192.168.1.10 - 192.168.1.200).
  3. I added two DHCP reservations for my Set-Top-Boxes [STB] (192.168.1.100 and 192.168.1.101).
  4. I added an ActionTek MOCA adapter to an "internal" port of my router and plugged the coax cable into my primary STB.
  5. I created a port-forward from the router's external IP to the IP of my primary STB (192.168.1.100) for source UDP port 63145 UDP -> destination UDP port 63145.
  6. I created a port-forward from the router's external IP to the IP of my primary STB (192.168.1.100) for source TCP port 35000 -> destination TCP port 7547.
  7. I created a port-forward from the router's external IP to the IP of my second STB (Mini) (192.168.1.101) for source TCP port 35001 -> destination TCP port 7547.
  8. I created a port-forward from the router's external IP to IP 127.0.0.1 for source TCP port 4567 -> TCP port 4567.
  9. Rebooted all equipment.

With these changes, everything works just as if the Verizon router was in place.  Of course I can't promise this will work for everyone but it may be worth a shot.  I got the port numbers to forward from the original FiOS router, so you may want to check your router, if you have one, to see if your port numbers might be different.

Good luck.

This was taken from this thread:

https://forums.verizon.com/t5/Fios-TV-Technical-Assistance/Using-your-own-router-with-Verizon-FiOS-F...

Re: Fios One Mini Impossible to setup without Verizon Router??!!
Matty7717
Newbie

Thanks for the reply, but I also found that post and tried this and still no luck.  I think the issue is that the Mini has not been "activated".  Once you get past the activation state, I think it can work, but it appears the activation is not possible without the Fios Router.  Again, the Mini is clearly on my network and able to talk to my router, but it is looking for something specific.  If I can figure out what it is looking for, I can probably get my router have the Mini think it is talking to a Fios router, but the more I look into it, it's probably not worth the trouble ....

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Re: Fios One Mini Impossible to setup without Verizon Router??!!
clem21
Community Leader
Community Leader

@Matty7717 wrote:

Thanks for the reply, but I also found that post and tried this and still no luck.  I think the issue is that the Mini has not been "activated".  Once you get past the activation state, I think it can work, but it appears the activation is not possible without the Fios Router.  Again, the Mini is clearly on my network and able to talk to my router, but it is looking for something specific.  If I can figure out what it is looking for, I can probably get my router have the Mini think it is talking to a Fios router, but the more I look into it, it's probably not worth the trouble ....


As far as I know, you are correct the boxes need to see a Fios router to activate. I know the minis look for a hidden 5Ghz SSID the Fios router supplies, but that can be spoofed. So, get the router and return it after you activate it. Only other problem I have seen is you can't get updates without a Fios router.

Re: Fios One Mini Impossible to setup without Verizon Router??!!
nlampton1
Newbie

I'm in the exact same situation.  Did you end up getting your Mini activated or did you end up sending it back?

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Re: Fios One Mini Impossible to setup without Verizon Router??!!
clem21
Community Leader
Community Leader

@nlampton1 wrote:

I'm in the exact same situation.  Did you end up getting your Mini activated or did you end up sending it back?


You could always buy a used Verizon router and remove it after activation. just make sure it isn't a Frontier labeled one as they won't work.

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Re: Fios One Mini Impossible to setup without Verizon Router??!!
nlampton1
Newbie

Yeah, was trying to avoid that. It is ridiculous the tactics Verizon uses to try to force you to rent their equipment. I was hoping someone figured out a way around doing that.

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