After 10 years DSL suddenly stopped working, Verizon tech support worthless?

[Chris74656]

I really need some help, one of my friends who has DSL because neither FIOS or cable has been available in their area for the last 10 years has had their internet stop working. I helped him set it up originally with the Verizon modem / router set to bridge mode and he has a static IP address; I set him up with an Asus router which we swapped out a year or two ago with an Asus RT-AX86S. Everything has been working fine since then and as of the end of the day on 08/26 everything was working then the morning of the 27th he noticed the internet light on the router was red and he had no internet. Repeated calls to Verizon did nothing as they said "the line tests good and the modem tests fine the problem must be with your equipment"; they finally sent a repair person with a new modem / router who knew next to nothing and he didn't even know that he had to set the modem to bridge mode and he left with the modem / router misconfigured which I found out when I went to look at it. I got the modem / router properly configured with the help of a Verizon support person but the internet is still not working and the router still has a red light.
This is a complete list of the Asus router options when Wan Connection type is PPoE can anyone tell me if these are correct or if there's an incorrect setting:

WAN Connection Type: PPPoE
Enable Wan: Yes
Enable NAT: Yes
Nat Type: Symetric
Enable UPnP: Yes
Get the WAN IP automatically: No
IP Address: <Static entered>
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: <Entered>
Forward local domain queries to upstream DNS: Yes
Enable DNS Rebind protection: No
Enable DNSSEC support: No
Prevent client auto DoH: Auto
DNS Privacy Protocol: None
Username: <Random Name>
Password: <Random Password> Verizon claims that anything in these fields will work
PPP Authentication: Auto
Disconnect after time of inactivity: 0
MTU: 1492
MRU: 1492
Service Name: Blank
Access Concentrator Name: Blank
Host-Uniq (Hexadecimal): Blank
Internet Detection: PPP Echo
PPP Echo Interval: 6
Additional pppd options: Blank
Enable VPN + DHCP Connection: No
Host Name: Blank
MAC Address: Blank
Extend the TTL value: No
Spoof LAN TTL value: No

Does anyone have any ideas what the problem is or what happened overnight between the 26th and 27th that would cause the current internet setup to stop working?

Thanks!

 

[ColinTaylor]

"Forward local domain queries to upstream DNS" should normally be set to No, unless there's something about Verizon's service that requires it be changed. But that wouldn't be the cause of your problem.

Personally, I would start by removing the Asus and going back to a "standard setup" with the ISP supplied device working as a router. Once that has been confirmed to be working only then would I attempt bridge mode with the Asus.

 

[Chris74656]

"Forward local domain queries to upstream DNS" should normally be set to No, unless there's something about Verizon's service that requires it be changed. But that wouldn't be the cause of your problem.

Personally, I would start by removing the Asus and going back to a "standard setup" with the ISP supplied device working as a router. Once that has been confirmed to be working only then would I attempt bridge mode with the Asus.

When the DSL Modem / Router was not set to bridge mode yes it worked but he has services that require port forwarding that doesn't work properly on the junky no name brand modem / router so he has to have it set to bridge so that the Asus router can do the port forwarding rather than the Verizon router.

 

[degrub]

Is his ASUS set to auto update firmware ?

If this is wireline DSL ( over old pots lines), i have had techs at the DSLAM box in the neighborhood mistakenly either take one of my pair wires or misconfigure someone elses wires. Don't know if this will work with the ASUS box as the router (it shouldn't matter as the Verizon modem is terminating), but have Verizon do a line test for continuity and bit rate to make sure everything is physically ok on their end. You should be able to see the same thing in their modem/router logs and diagnostic reports. Then if all ok, put the Verizon router back in router mode and test. And go from there.

Have the Verizon tech support make a note of the date/time of the start of the issue. Sometimes they can track down what changed. You may have to escalate. Ask if a tech was working in that box the day before/day of the outage start.

 

[Chris74656]

Is his ASUS set to auto update firmware ?

If this is wireline DSL ( over old pots lines), i have had techs at the DSLAM box in the neighborhood mistakenly either take one of my pair wires or misconfigure someone elses wires. Don't know if this will work with the ASUS box as the router (it shouldn't matter as the Verizon modem is terminating), but have Verizon do a line test for continuity and bit rate to make sure everything is physically ok on their end. You should be able to see the same thing in their modem/router logs and diagnostic reports. Then if all ok, put the Verizon router back in router mode and test. And go from there.

Have the Verizon tech support make a note of the date/time of the start of the issue. Sometimes they can track down what changed. You may have to escalate. Ask if a tech was working in that box the day before/day of the outage start.

It is not set to auto update firmware but just in case this was being caused by a problem with the firmware not being updated I did download the firmware to a flash drive and then manually update the firmware while I was there and that didn't help at all. The latest firmware for this router is 3.0.0.4.388_24243 if that's any help, as I said it didn't work before or after the update just to be clear.

Just FYI as I mentioned in my original post, the Verizon tech that came out totally misconfigured the Verizon modem / router and did not set it up in bridge mode; when it was set like that and a notebook attached it got an IP address from the router and did have internet but my friend has a server at the location that needs reliable port forwarding in order to work and the junky Verizon no name brand DSL modem / router has limited port forwarding that either doesn't work right or does not offer enough ports to forward for his needs and the wirless is like Wireless G so substandard to what the Asus has.

 

[degrub]

i wonder if Verizon changed the setup on their end to a dynamic rather than static address ?

 

[Chris74656]

i wonder if Verizon changed the setup on their end to a dynamic rather than static address ?

When I was able to login to the Verizon modem / routers configuration when it was misconfigured the tech had in fact properly configured it with his static address; the ip address I got on the laptop was from the modem / routers internal DHCP server. But it worked where as now it does not work at all and the main network map page on the Asus router says "disconnected" on the WAN side, I gotta say this is driving me absolutely crazy.

 

[degrub]

Is the bridged router/modem running dual stack IPv4/v6 ?
What about the ASUS ?
Can they run IPv4 only ?

Can you get a different router to test with (replace ASUS) ?
It is possible the WAN port has an issue.
Did you replace the WAN cable with a known good cable ? CAT5e or 6 should be fine. Higher may be an issue.


Escalate to Verizon's level 2 or maybe 3 tech support. Verify the protocol required. Verizon has reasonable setup self help web pages from what i recall. And settings in bridge mode (probably not much to do) . Possible they changed something in their settings globally in their networking office. The reference to the specific day of the issue may give them a clue. Ask them was some change rolled out around that time.

 

[Chris74656]

No the Verizon bridged modem / router is not running dual stack and we only have a static IPV 4 address, the Asus has it's DHCP server set to off as a Windows server is on the network and provides IPV 4 address to the local network only no IPV6 at all.

I did replace the WAN cable, no joy. I didn't have a handy router to try and swap in but he has the old Asus an RT-AX55 (that he replaced with the RT-AX86S) and we can try swapping that in sometime this week. I'm not even sure how to go about testing the WAN port on the Asus to see if it works?

I'll have to get back with Verizon but they are so difficult to talk to, I'm a reasonable competent guy but they talk to me like I don't know what I'm doing and often say ridiculous things that make no sense it's incredibly frustrating.

 

[degrub]

If the Verizon modem/router has another port, try those too. Unless bridge mode restrict you to one port only. Try at both ends of the row of lan ports in case the numbering is reversed and they restrict you to one port.

Sometimes, the wall wart AC/DC power block starts failing. Can lead to weird issues.

If he had a power blip or a lightning strike nearby in recent past, that can confuse the hardware or in the latter case, damage the power supply and/or the motherboard. i recently had to replace my CISCO RV325 due to a voltage surge on an antenna from a nearby strike. It killed a tv tuner, a power brick, and the router ( after a month). All were on the same powerstrip plugged into the UPS.

They have to follow a script. Just ask them to pass you to level 2 support after you eliminate the ASUS as the issue.

 

[Chris74656]

If the Verizon modem/router has another port, try those too. Unless bridge mode restrict you to one port only. Try at both ends of the row of lan ports in case the numbering is reversed and they restrict you to one port.

Sometimes, the wall wart AC/DC power block starts failing. Can lead to weird issues.

If he had a power blip or a lightning strike nearby in recent past, that can confuse the hardware or in the latter case, damage the power supply and/or the motherboard. i recently had to replace my CISCO RV325 due to a voltage surge on an antenna from a nearby strike. It killed a tv tuner, a power brick, and the router ( after a month). All were on the same powerstrip plugged into the UPS.

They have to follow a script. Just ask them to pass you to level 2 support after you eliminate the ASUS as the issue.

Just an update because I'm still working on this: We haven't been able to get in touch with Verizon tier 2 tech support. I reset and reprogrammed both the Asus RT-AX55 and RT-AX86S and neither of them work as both have the red internet light lite; we also had a even older Cisco Linksys router which the guy swapped in and guess what it now seems to be working with this router but this router was replaced because it has vulnerabilities that there are no firmware updates so it's basically EOL. I have to get down there again and see if I can figure out what's wrong with these Asus routers, any advice?

 

[degrub]

Did either of the ASUS work with just the reset base config and WAN protocol ?

Have you tried a MERLIN firmware ?

i assume this is PPPOE
Since the old cisco works, it sounds like bridge mode is passing something or not passing something the ASUS is not/is expecting. Are there different flavors of the PPPOE ?
Are the PPPOE credentials correct ? no extra spaces, hidden characters, tabs etc. ? Is there a mismatch in a security protocol ? MTU or Frame size ?
i don't remember PPPOE very well.

You could also try a SMB box similar to the cisco - a TP-Link Omada router for example.

@Tech9
@sfx2000

any ideas ?

 

[Tech9]

I'm not familiar with Verizon equipment and network.

 

[degrub]

I'm not familiar with Verizon equipment and network.

thinking asus/merlin setup for pppoe and Omada setup.

 

[Tech9]

I don't know what the issue is. About Omada setup - it doesn't need Asus router.

 

[Chris74656]

Did either of the ASUS work with just the reset base config and WAN protocol ?

Have you tried a MERLIN firmware ?

i assume this is PPPOE
Since the old cisco works, it sounds like bridge mode is passing something or not passing something the ASUS is not/is expecting. Are there different flavors of the PPPOE ?
Are the PPPOE credentials correct ? no extra spaces, hidden characters, tabs etc. ? Is there a mismatch in a security protocol ? MTU or Frame size ?
i don't remember PPPOE very well.

You could also try a SMB box similar to the cisco - a TP-Link Omada router for example.

@Tech9
@sfx2000

any ideas ?

When the Asus is reset the main two things that have to be done is that the WAN Connection type be set to PPPoE and because he has a static address the IP address has to be manually entered; the the port forwarding is entered. That's essentially it, I posted all the available settings in my first post there is no option to manually set the MTU or Frame Size as I believe that's all automatically set by the routers software.

No I haven't tried the Merlin firmware, I've read a little about it but otherwise have no experience with it.

The other thing I can try is going down there and hooking up my laptop to the Verizon modem, I believe that Windows 10/11 and prior versions have a PPPoE protocol option to be able to directly connect to a Verizon modem, I'll see if I can do that.

 

[degrub]

The only other thing i can think of is MAC address cloning. Did he have to do that when the cisco router was replaced by the asus ?

 

[Chris74656]

The only other thing i can think of is MAC address cloning. Did he have to do that when the cisco router was replaced by the asus ?

No, we're not even sure what the username and password is for the old Cisco / Linksys and I'd rather not reset it to the defaults just so that I can login to it.

 

[sfx2000]

Best advice I can give...

Go back to the carrier provided prem equipment, and take the third party gear out of the loop...

Customer Care and Outside Plant Techs are limited in what they can do as they're union workers, so even if they might be able to help outside of the guides they have, they are prohibited - trust me, it's a complex labor structure there...

But they will at least debug/troubleshoot their gear up to and including their residential gateway.

Basic troubleshooting - if things worked, then they didn't, and it's on the WAN side, well, nothing on the third party gear made that happen - it could be a firmware push, a config push from the management platform, etc...

 

[McKey]

Copy the verizon routers MAC and set it as WAN MAC on the Asus. Worth a try.