Help using XR500 with AT&T Modem/Router

TastyKudzu · July 26, 2019

In the next couple of weeks I'll be moving from a place where the internet is maintained by someone else, into an apartment where I will be paying for and maintaining the internet. I'm going to be going with AT&T for the internet (Limited options). The place I'm currently living has AT&T internet as well and the router/modem combo it comes with is bad. Both the feature set and the hardware are lacking. I have purchased a Netgear RX500 for the new place after seeing the LTT video about it. My question is how best do I set it up along side the AT&T modem/router combo? I have to use the AT&T gateway for their service so just getting a modem to go along with my router isn't an option.

I've Googled and found results that say simply turn off the wifi on the AT&T unit and plug in my router, ones that talk about setting up an advanced DMZ zone for the new router, ones that talk about setting up bridge mode on the netgear device and more. There seems to be a lot of conflicting information.

I just want to make sure get all the benefits of DumaOS on the RX500, don't have any weird network address assignment issues, and don't lose any speed. Thanks in advance for the help.

2G_Tony · July 26, 2019

My advice is to stay clear of Netgear. I switched to Frontier Fiber a few months ago and upgrades my router from a Netgear AC1900 to an Asus RT-AC3100 and I am blown away by the features is has to offer, although since I'm on Fiber and have no restrictions whatsoever, I can actually utilize them. I can't recommend it if none of the features can be implemented effectively.

I can definitely say that I am certain disabling wireless on the AT&T combo and connecting a router will work as long as the router supports it.

Is AT&T the only option? If so, I wouldn't even bother attempting to get high speed internet. Even if they hold up their end, the equipment won't be able to handle anything over 20Mbps without constantly needing rebooted, and even sometimes factory reset. I can personally tell you that you'll be better off getting an unlimited data plan and hosting a hotspot than going through any company that has restrictions in place.