If you are in need of extra wired ports for your devices and have an XFINITY XB7 router lying around, here is what you need to do to set it up.
I have an Asus wireless router setup with my fiber internet and needed a wired router for my devices in the living room. Here is where XB7 came in and saved me from making an additional purchase for a Gigabit wired router. Before I outline the setup, here are five things to know about setting up XB7 as a wired gateway:
- No wifi capability. The router under bridge mode would function as a wired-only router
- IP addresses via DHCP will be distributed by your main wireless router to devices connected to XB7
- The XB7 will have its own IP address that can be used to login into the router
My ASUS wireless router IP address is 192.168.50.1, and the DHCP assigns IP addresses in the range of 192.168.50.2 to 192.168.50.254. The XB7 is using its default IP address of 10.0.0.1.
The Setup Process
- Connect your computer directly to XB7 via a wired connection. Doesn't matter which port, but to avoid any issues, use Port 1
- Assign your computer a static IP address of 10.0.0.2 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0
- Open a browser and go to http://10.0.0.1
- Login into XB7 with your username and password
- Under Connection→WAN Network make sure DOCSIS is selected from drop-down
- Under Hardware→LAN make sure ‘Associate Ethernet Port 2 to XFINITY HOME network’ is unchecked
- Under Gateway→At a Glance enable bridge mode
- Connect your wireless router network cable to any port on the XB7. I use port 4 since it's 2.5GB port and feel a connection between two routers can only benefit from the extra bandwidth in port 4
That should do it. If the settings don't stick, try restarting the router. You can now setup your computer back to receiving IP address from DHCP. Your computer should be assigned an IP address from your wireless router. If you ever need to log back into the XB7 repeat setup process steps 1 to 4. Hope this helps you out as it did for me.