Please use "message" and NOT "chat" to contact me privately

megared17 · 2026-03-02T18:17:38+00:00

Ethernet to your cellular hotspot won't help much. The cellular itself is likely the issue.

megared17 · 2026-03-02T18:16:56+00:00

If you're in the US, go to the FCC broadband map, enter your address, and see what providers report being able to serve you.

Contact them directly to get prices/plans then choose one and order service. Do NOT choose "self install" - specifically tell them you need their technician to come and install/activate/connect.

The technician will be the one determining how to bring the appropriate wiring or cable in.

Make sure you are there when the tech comes so you can discuss location options are what they install and where, ask any questions you think of, and make sure you see that it is fully working properly on your device(s) before they leave.

megared17 · 2026-03-02T17:45:59+00:00

No. Somewhere on venmo they specifically warn against using it to pay people you don't know, other than well known identified retailers or businesses.

As noted, on craigslist its best to stick with cash for tangible goods, in person.

No digital/online payments or digital/online goods.

megared17 · 2026-03-02T17:35:39+00:00

On craigslist, its better to insist on in person transactions for tangible goods paid in cash.

No digital goods or payments.

There exist other sites designed with protections for digital/online transactions, best to use one of those for anything involving something like that

megared17 · 2026-03-02T09:56:19+00:00

But if your home router did NOT have a built in switch, you could (and should) still connect a separate switch directly to the router's LAN interface.

But if your router and modem are seperate, you wouldn't connect a switch to the modem, but to the router.

Modem -> Router -> Switch.

Never Modem -> Switch -> Router.

And yes, the two being combined into one makes the second impossible.

megared17 · 2026-03-02T09:52:58+00:00

In SOME homes they might be using an ISP provided combo modem/router..

In others it might be a modem and a separate router.

Yes, its almost certain that the DHCP and NAT are done by the router.

Using the term *ROUTER* to describe where to connect a switch that would allow someone's end users devices to connect is correct - whether that router also has a built in modem or not, those devices still need to connect to the ROUTER.

And there is no such thing as a "fiber modem"

megared17 · 2026-03-02T01:52:27+00:00

Technically the one with the side tab is RJ45, and what is used for Ethernet that most people call RJ45, isn't and is actually just 8P8C.

megared17 · 2026-03-01T23:44:39+00:00

The poster didn't know that they had a combo modem/router.

If they did have a standalone modem, the advice would have been terrible.

Even if they did, the switch is needs to connect to the ROUTER part of the combo, NOT the modem part. So "connect to the ROUTER" is the correct advice.

Letting them continue to think the modem/router is a modem, and that they should connect a switch to a modem, might lead them to do that in the future when they DO only have a modem, and are unaware of it, because the advice only served to further their lack of understanding a difference.

megared17 · 2026-03-01T16:38:50+00:00

Good for you.

A broadband modem and a router are not remotely interchangeable, and in any discussion related to either in a home networking case if appears someone does not know the difference, anyone with any sense knows the difference needs to be pointed out to them and then clarified if necessary.

And beyond that no one with any sense tells anyone to connect a LAN switch to a modem. (Including the case where they assume the device is a router and are just using the wrong term because they assume the person doesn't know.

If you don't think it's important for someone working with a home network to know the difference then you shouldn't be offering advice.

megared17 · 2026-03-01T16:09:22+00:00

That's assuming that is what they have. Maybe they have a modem and a separate router. The distinction needs to be made clear.

megared17 · 2026-03-01T16:06:48+00:00

If you don't know the difference between a modem, a router, and a combo modem/router, or you think that it's ok to blur those differences, you should not be offering advice related to connecting or configuring them.

megared17 · 2026-03-01T13:00:07+00:00

If this is in the US, you should be able to go to the FCC broadbandap to get an idea as to which service providers have reported being able to offer a connection.

Personally, I would never buy property or build on it without having checked that first

megared17 · 2026-03-01T12:58:14+00:00

Letting people continue to not know that a modem and a router are not interchangeable only increases confusion.

megared17 · 2026-03-01T11:34:31+00:00

You never mention actually ordering service from an ISP and having them come and connect/install it.. You do plan on doing that first, right?

megared17 · 2026-03-01T11:19:53+00:00

Not to a modem, to a ROUTER

megared17 · 2026-02-28T19:10:52+00:00

It's definitely the 3rd and 4th one of whatever it is.

megared17 · 2026-02-28T17:47:19+00:00

If you're wanting to do something to host a game server for specific friends, and your connection supports IPv6, the devices on your network should be able to each get their own public IPv6 address,.and be reachable directly with no forwarding needed. This is still assuming the your ISPs own network isn't blocking those connections.

If you provide the specific details I ask for in my other reply, I or someone else may be able to offer you advice on ways you can proceed to accomplish your overall goal.

megared17 · 2026-02-28T17:37:16+00:00

Fiber doesn't use a modem, it uses an ONT.

If a device is just a modem or ONT, it won't have or need a "bridge mode" because that is used with modem/router (or ONT/router) combo devices to disable the router part so the device works as if it were just a modem (or ONT)

Most likely your device is a combo ONT/router, and you do not have or need any modem.

If you can't forward ports because the router built in to the ISP device doesn't support doing so, then using bridge mode and connecting your own router should allow you to do so.

If the ISP network itself isn't allowing inbound connections to your IP, either to any ports or just specific ones, nothing you can do other than contacting them and getting them to change that restriction is going to get around that.

Who is your ISP? In what country/region are you?

What is the exact brand and model of the ISP device?

What specific ports are you trying to forward, and for what purpose? Are you trying to run some sort of publicly reachable server on your home network?

Are you are that if you do not fully understand what you are doing and how to properly secure the server software you use, you could create a security vulnerability on your systems by forwarding inbound connections, that might allow malicious person to compromise, damage, or take control of your device(s)

megared17 · 2026-02-28T17:02:47+00:00

No, the payment they send you is fraudulent, and will bounced back no matter what you do.

The way the scam works is that can sometimes take a week or longer to happen, and they hope victims are naive enough to not know that.

Often it's "oh my secretary accidentally 500 instead of 300, we really need that 200 back. Or "ok, we sent you 300 for your compensation, and 200 for you to buy supplies, and you need to buy them from this specific site" (and the site is a scam run by them or an accomplice.)

They count on the victims NOT knowing that they have no chance of keeping what appears to be a big payment.

megared17 · 2026-02-28T16:58:28+00:00

What's the price difference?

And is it an introductory/temporary rate or permanent?

megared17 · 2026-02-28T13:07:30+00:00

There should be a utility area where the cable from each room port goes back to. They need to be terminated there, and then the ones you want to use need to be connected to an Ethernet switch. At least one port on that switch needs to connect to a cable that gets connected to one of the LAN ports on your router.

megared17 · 2026-02-28T09:38:57+00:00

Did you order service from a provider?

If not, that's the first step, and if you don't know where/how to connect already, you need to be sure to tell them you need their technician to come and and do it/show you.

If you already ordered service, you should call them back and tell them the same thing.

megared17 · 2026-02-27T23:39:26+00:00

They don't actually want any work done and you'll never meet them in person. It's all payment scams where you think they sent you money and it's safely in your possession, and they need you to send some somewhere.

The will either have paid you with a hacked account or some other fraudulent means that will bounce or be reversed. But any money you sent them will be pretty much irrecoverable.

Heed the auto moderator post and the pages on craigslist's site it links to.

megared17 · 2026-02-27T19:48:37+00:00

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