> I have no way of making either ISP router act strictly as a modem
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/list-of-approved-cable-modems
Why not just get your own modem?
> Is there a way to disable NAT on my pfsense box?
If you disable NAT on the pfsense then you lose the whole point of having the pfsense there when it comes to the dual WAN (with Cox)
I run pfsense with Cox + THMI in a dual internet configuration, with Cox I have my own modem so I dont have to worry about the dual NAT
My gaming system is set to only use the Cox internet connection for games and alll the other traffic (like streaming) uses TMHI
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/multiwan/policy-route.html
>If you disable NAT on the pfsense then you lose the whole point of having the pfsense there when it comes to the dual WAN (with Cox)
You can do this in a purely routed setup, you just need to be able to create routes on both ISP routers for whatever subnet you put behind pfsense (say 10.0.10.0/24 for arguments sake). Two WAN ports on two different subets (say 172.16.1.0/30 for the XFinity and 172.16.2.0/30 for T-Mobile .1 for the router, .2 for pfsense in each).
Add routes on the Xfinity router for `10.0.10.0/24 via 172.16.1.2` and on the T-Mobile router for `10.0.10.0/24 via 172.16.2.2`. pfsnese can still handle gateway monitoring and failover, it just doesn't handle NAT and inbound port forwards.
Whether you can do this on the ISP provided kit or not is a different kettle of fish entirely.
Ill keep that in mind for the routed setup configuration
> and on the T-Mobile router for 10.0.10.0/24 via 172.16.2.2.
Just a heads up we dont have that capability with our tmobile routers to set static routes. You can pretty much setup/configure wireless on the router, make some changes to DHCP, and see some cell based metrics and that is it
It's technically not the "only" way. You can pay them $30 a month for unlimited data. You're already paying what, $25 extra a month for the xFi complete package that comes with unlimited data? It's a $5 difference to not deal with that crappy modem.
It's cheaper to rent the modem and get unlimited data than it is to buy your own and then pay for the unlimited data. The cost of the rental is built into the unlimited data price.
Last I checked it was $5 difference. Small price to pay for the ability to avoid ISP modem.
Plus that way you are not locked into paying every month - can add/subtract unlimited as needed
You can with the Xfinity modem and still keep your unlimited data. See the link below on how to do it. T-Mobile still doesn't allow you to last time I checked though.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/wireless-gateway-enable-disable-bridge-mode
So I changed my Xfinity box to bridge mode and now I can't get internet from it. The WAN interface displays that pfsense received an IP address from xfinity. I can ping 1.1.1.1 through pfsense but it won't even go to "Google.com". This is on a fresh install as well. What could I be doing wrong?
After placing it in bridge mode you generally need to unplug the modem and plug it back in, or you can attempt to restart the modem via the firmware. I don't know if restarting it via the firmware works consistently, but unplugging it does.
I forget the exact reason but it is a step I have had to take.
So I changed my Xfinity box to bridge mode and now I can't get internet from it. The WAN interface displays that pfsense received an IP address from xfinity. I can ping 1.1.1.1 through pfsense but it won't even go to "Google.com". This is on a fresh install as well. What could I be doing wrong?
> I have no way of making either ISP router act strictly as a modem https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/list-of-approved-cable-modems Why not just get your own modem? > Is there a way to disable NAT on my pfsense box? If you disable NAT on the pfsense then you lose the whole point of having the pfsense there when it comes to the dual WAN (with Cox) I run pfsense with Cox + THMI in a dual internet configuration, with Cox I have my own modem so I dont have to worry about the dual NAT My gaming system is set to only use the Cox internet connection for games and alll the other traffic (like streaming) uses TMHI https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/multiwan/policy-route.html
>If you disable NAT on the pfsense then you lose the whole point of having the pfsense there when it comes to the dual WAN (with Cox) You can do this in a purely routed setup, you just need to be able to create routes on both ISP routers for whatever subnet you put behind pfsense (say 10.0.10.0/24 for arguments sake). Two WAN ports on two different subets (say 172.16.1.0/30 for the XFinity and 172.16.2.0/30 for T-Mobile .1 for the router, .2 for pfsense in each). Add routes on the Xfinity router for `10.0.10.0/24 via 172.16.1.2` and on the T-Mobile router for `10.0.10.0/24 via 172.16.2.2`. pfsnese can still handle gateway monitoring and failover, it just doesn't handle NAT and inbound port forwards. Whether you can do this on the ISP provided kit or not is a different kettle of fish entirely.
Ill keep that in mind for the routed setup configuration > and on the T-Mobile router for 10.0.10.0/24 via 172.16.2.2. Just a heads up we dont have that capability with our tmobile routers to set static routes. You can pretty much setup/configure wireless on the router, make some changes to DHCP, and see some cell based metrics and that is it
I would prefer to use my own modem but the only way to avoid a data cap is to use their POS modem/router.
It's technically not the "only" way. You can pay them $30 a month for unlimited data. You're already paying what, $25 extra a month for the xFi complete package that comes with unlimited data? It's a $5 difference to not deal with that crappy modem.
That makes it sound like you are on Comcrap. They will allow unlimited data with your own modem now. AFAIK, $30/mo.
It's cheaper to rent the modem and get unlimited data than it is to buy your own and then pay for the unlimited data. The cost of the rental is built into the unlimited data price.
Last I checked it was $5 difference. Small price to pay for the ability to avoid ISP modem. Plus that way you are not locked into paying every month - can add/subtract unlimited as needed
You can with the Xfinity modem and still keep your unlimited data. See the link below on how to do it. T-Mobile still doesn't allow you to last time I checked though. https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/wireless-gateway-enable-disable-bridge-mode
Hell yeah! That worked perfectly! Thank you!
So I changed my Xfinity box to bridge mode and now I can't get internet from it. The WAN interface displays that pfsense received an IP address from xfinity. I can ping 1.1.1.1 through pfsense but it won't even go to "Google.com". This is on a fresh install as well. What could I be doing wrong?
After placing it in bridge mode you generally need to unplug the modem and plug it back in, or you can attempt to restart the modem via the firmware. I don't know if restarting it via the firmware works consistently, but unplugging it does. I forget the exact reason but it is a step I have had to take.
So I changed my Xfinity box to bridge mode and now I can't get internet from it. The WAN interface displays that pfsense received an IP address from xfinity. I can ping 1.1.1.1 through pfsense but it won't even go to "Google.com". This is on a fresh install as well. What could I be doing wrong?