Router/ISP

[dang92116]

Can an ISP keep a router from working?
My parents have Time Warner Cable(Spectrum?) The company recently updated their Cable Modem(I think their phone works from it too) My Dad hooked up the router that worked with the previous hardware. Now it doesn't work. I haven't worked on it yet but it could be the router itself, its probably at least 10yrs old.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Red Squirrel]

Some ISPs will lock on the first MAC address it sees. That means once you plug in a router, it won't let you plug a different one without a phone call to them. I would call them up and see what they see from their end, might be something simple that can be reset.

Sometimes it's also the result of an improper DHCP release (ex: if you simply unplug a router, then try to plug a different one), so it still registers that you have an IP and it won't give you a new one. Some ISPs don't let you pull more than one IP.

If the router is 10 years old and the ISP can't help I'd go ahead and replace it just to see if it fixes the issue, a new one will most likely perform better and have more options too.

 

[PliotronX]

The cable provider here (charter) has a 'soft' MAC lock where the modem has to be power cycled to accept a new device MAC. My particular cisco modem even has a battery that I have to remove to reset this soft lock. I would call them as a last resort simply because my experience with cable internet L1 techs has been less than stellar and depending on which one answers, you will get different information. Does a single computer hard wired to the modem work?

 

[Sean Kyle]

I agree, maybe it is the firmware of the router that is the problem, so trying a new one might be more feasible for you. Although you should give your ISP a call anyway to know what actually the issue is!

 

[boomerang]

Did they just add phone service? I ask because if they had Internet with no phone prior the new modem is going to be a combo unit with Internet/Phone/Router/Wireless functions built in.

No advice given is going to have any value unless we have more information. What would be best is to have the model number of the new device. Nothing wrong with the advice to call the ISP as long as they are good to deal with. Talking to them may be the shortest route to a solution.

 

[PliotronX]

Did they just add phone service? I ask because if they had Internet with no phone prior the new modem is going to be a combo unit with Internet/Phone/Router/Wireless functions built in.

No advice given is going to have any value unless we have more information. What would be best is to have the model number of the new device. Nothing wrong with the advice to call the ISP as long as they are good to deal with. Talking to them may be the shortest route to a solution.

The first thing that the phone tech is going to ask is whether another directly connected device can hit the internet. A lot of time can be saved potentially by eliminating the router as the issue. I have dealt with both commercial and residential ISPs close to a hundred times in the past three years so I am foreseeing the conversation before it even begins.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Did they just add phone service? I ask because if they had Internet with no phone prior the new modem is going to be a combo unit with Internet/Phone/Router/Wireless functions built in.

This is what I think, too, that the new cable "modem" is actually a Wireless Gateway (modem / router / phone in one).