Hub Two Bridge Mode

[#1]

Hi all, brand new PlusNet customer here. I joined recently after PlusNet themselves confirmed to me their routers support a bridge mode (I have a google wifi Mesh system so this is essential for me).

Today was my switch on day, router was set up fine and everything connected without an issue. I log into the router admin screen and turn on bridge mode.... and it disconnects itself from the broadband. Clicking the 'connect' button fails to connect. Eventually I have to do a factory reset as the router became unresponsive.

Once this was done everything can back up and the router connected back to the broadband without issue, once again I go back in to the router admin page and switch on bridge mode and once again it disconnects from the broadband. I manage to turn off bridge mode this time without a factory reset and the router immediately reconnects to the broadband.

Anyone else have similar issue? At this point it feels there are additional steps required in order to properly enable bridge mode but I'm unsure as to what they might be.

[#2]

I log into the router admin screen and turn on bridge mode.... and it disconnects itself from the broadband. Clicking the 'connect' button fails to connect.

@preacher2041  that is what it should do. In bridge mode it is just a modem. Your Mesh system should be configured with your username & password to make the PPPoE connection.

[#3]

Google wifi is just a router, it doesn't have any PPOE stuff set up

Unless I'm missing something a modem is supposed to be the thing that connects to the internet, so you would think in 'modem mode' it does just that, handing off the wireless / DCHP capabilities to the connected router (in this case Google Wifi). That's what PlusNet specifically told me their routers were capable of doing.

It's what the virgin hubs do as well.

[#4 · Accepted solution]

Google wifi is just a router, it doesn't have any PPOE stuff set up

It does support PPPoE , see here https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/6246630?hl=en-GB

Unless I'm missing something a modem is supposed to be the thing that connects to the internet, so you would think in 'modem mode' it does just that, handing off the wireless / DCHP capabilities to the connected router

A VDSL modem translates the PTM to an Ethernet connection, it does not make a PPPoE connection. When in bridge mode, a modem/router does just that , it hands over all the router functions to the connected router.

If you configure your Google wifi for PPPoE with your PlsuNet username & password it will work fine.

[#5]

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@preacher2041 wrote:

... Eventually I have to do a factory reset as the router became unresponsive.

---

Again, completely expected as you disabled all routing functionality by enabling bridge mode. The only way to communicate with the router beyond this point would be to assign static IP/gateway addresses to a client connected to one of its LAN ports.

There is no PPPoE (read: username/password) functionality offered by a Hub Two in bridge mode - and this is entirely by design. You would need something else to do that.

[#6]

I have the Google WiFi mesh system too, but rather than a Plusnet hub, still had the standalone Openreach modem.

I'm no router expert but the PPPoE / Username and password stuff was done on the Google home setup app - (it wouldn't be done on the router admin login as it's acting purely as a modem).

If I remember correctly this was a pretty quick and easy process to set up on the Google app.

[#7]

@mrmitch85 thanks for confirming that. I would have thought that PPPoE would have been the default for the Google Wifi.

For info, when in bridge mode, the Hub 2 will be operating in exactly the same way as the standalone Openreach modem

[#8]

Thanks for all of the responses, I have it set up and working now. I, mistakenly, assumed that it would operate in the same way as a previous Virgin Media Hub did, which is when switched to 'Modem Mode' it still connected to the internet but offloaded all routing / DHCP etc to the Google WiFi.

Thinking about it though that was when I had Virgin FIbre so I assume the connection protocols are very different to a broadband connection...

Anyway, thanks again for everyones help.

[#9]

@preacher2041  You have probably realised by now that assuming things will operate the same way as a Virgin service is not a good idea, the delivery system and protocols couldn't be more different. Good to hear you have have the Google Wi-Fi working now, I seem to recall they are not very user friendly when attempting to set one up.😀

[#10]

@bobpullen wrote: Again, completely expected as you disabled all routing functionality by enabling bridge mode. The only way to communicate with the router beyond this point would be to assign static IP/gateway addresses to a client connected to one of its LAN ports.

Bob, if I understand this correctly, this is a way of accessing the Hub 2 setup screens when it is in bridge mode?  If so, how do you go about allocating the static IP/gateway addresses?  I'm using a Plusnet Hub 2 as a bridge with an Asus Mesh, which is all working fine.  I want to access the Hub 2 settings though, to dim the hub lights and switch it out of bridge mode from time to time.  I'm hoping there is a more elegant way than performing a factory reset of the Hub.  I don't know enough about these things to understand how the Mesh is communicating with the Hub but it doesn't seem to have allocated an IP address for this.  Thanks.

[#11]

I don't know enough about these things to understand how the Mesh is communicating with the Hub but it doesn't seem to have allocated an IP address for this.

@RogerRoger  when the Hub is in bridge mode, the Mesh isnt communicating WITH the Hub its communicating THROUGH the Hub. The Mesh is establishing the PPPoE connection directly with the PlusNet servers and getting the public IP. All the Hub is doing (in simple terms) is converting from an ethernet connection to a VDSL connection. In order to communicate WITH the Hub in this mode, you need to connect a device directly to one of its LAN ports and, since its DHCP server is disabled, you would need to give that device a fixed IP ( presumably in the 192.168.1.x subnet as I guess the Hub is still allocated 192.168.1.254 )  

[#12]

Thanks @MisterW.  Having sorted out the communication with the Hub, it now seems that the light control function doesn't work in bridge mode.  Although the functionality isn't disabled in the control panel and you can change the setting, the light still stays on.  It looks like I will have to learn to live with the pink light in the corner.