Can't get 3rd-party modem and Sonic to see each other, I think

[notagain]

I've been a Sonic subscriber for roughly 10 years and a complete network noob that entire time. I recently bought an open-box SR516ac modem and attempted to install it as my gateway to Sonic. Every time I connect the DSL/phone line I get a steady green DSL light, but nothing at all from the Internet light, and Smart/RG's interface says "Network: OK" and "WAN connection established - Control Panel Address not configured" (see following).

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I reset the modem the moment I got it by holding the Reset button down 12 seconds, so everything should have been fine. I also updated the firmware provided by Adtran--though their last update was 2021. When I finally gave in and called your help line, the tech there said my modem was not providing Sonic an IP address (or something like that; sorry, I forgot exactly). I've tried it again several times since, and I just get "Connecting" and the pinging status bar showing again on the RG interface for a long time, followed by the aforementioned message.

I've read everything I could find on your community boards about it, plus numerous google searches and even Reddit, and I'm still at a loss. So I've put together a list of things I can still try:

-Hard reset the modem all the way back to CFE level, which I've hesitated to do because I'm in over my head and your SR516ac equipment page recommends against it.

-Configure the modem using Sonic's settings, which I can find nowhere.

-Configure the modem using RG/Adtran's manual (see https://supportcommunity.adtran.com/jma ... .6.2.5.pdf).

-Change my IP from DHCP/Dynamic to Static. Virtually everything I could find online about this thus far seems to assume my connection is static, when it's not.

-Get my "DHCP lease properly released," whatever that means, per your Routers FAQ page (see following).

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Or all or any combination of the above.

Believe it or not, I'm actually enjoying doing all this, because I'm learning quite a bit and it's interesting. But I hope to go back to work full time again soon, and won't have time to DIY my home network or pretty much anything else. Please help. Thank you for reading.

Regards,

Joshua

[gu]

Make sure your networking protocol is set to DHCP. It might be set to PPPoE by default.

[brandonc]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble setting up your new router. Even though it's a SmartRG 516AC unit, and that's also what Sonic provides as a rental, the ones we provide are pre-configured with all the correct settings to allow it to be plug-and-play. With 3rd party 515/516AC's, they will require some manual configuration on your end to allow it to receive an IP address from Sonic. This can be very simple in some cases, but in other cases in can be a lot more complicated.

I would try double-checking all the settings and ensuring they are correct. Like mentioned in the reply above, checking it's not set for PPPoE, set for dynamic/DHCP/auto, etc.

Regarding the DHCP release, I did check your account from our end and can confirm that your Sonic DHCP address isn't being held/leased by another router, so that's not the issue at play here.

The call notes from our tech support representative do mention that the SmartRG you're currently using was issued by another ISP in another state. The previous ISP may have loaded custom firmware onto it, preventing the connection from being established with Sonic. In that case, you'd need to find a generic firmware version and load/replace the firmware version it's currently using. Unfortunately, this is unsupported by Sonic support, so we can't help in that regard.

There was a similar thread on here in 2021 in a similar situation, but they were able to get it resolved by using generic SmartRG/Adtran firmware : viewtopic.php?f=10&t=16938

Kind regards,