N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

I just got Verizon fios (fiber to the premises) installed (5 meg down! 2 meg up! woot!) and I'm very pleased so far with the performance.

Problem is, the N800 can't log into the router console. I enter user ID and password, the screen flashes and then says there was a login error.

I deleted all personal settings, verified that everything else was set right, and tried again-- same problem. I can log in fine via PC (on lan).

Any other FIOS subscribers here get it to work?

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Hmm...you sure the web interface isn't "recognizing" a "valid" browser?
In other words, have the router programmers locked down the interface to IE/Mozilla only?

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

This is the time I wish we had Konqueror...

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

not sure. I'm hoping another fios user wil know...

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

would running it via privoxy help? can privoxy mask opera and pretend to be a valid browser?

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Something to try, luke, but I'm not sure. I *could* use rdesktop but that defeats the purpose, ie, not having to do anything with my PC at all.

I'm probably gonna pester the Verizon folks about this one.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Have you tried to log into the router from a PC using the WiFi interface? Does it work?

I'm asking because router (at least my Linksys) could be configured so that it does not allow entry to its admin page from WiFi side... only from wired ethernet side. There should be a setting somewhere in the router settings where this can be either disabled or enabled.

EDIT:
Forgot to mention I can access my Linksys router admin page from N800 fine... so it should work for you too. What brand is your FIOS router?

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

You also might try installing MiniMo (the mobile mozilla/firefox browser) it may help with your issue. Sorry I don't have link but googling minimo n800 should get you what ya need.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

The router's a POS, but the service is nice.

The admin portal does some sort of cyphering as you type, which of course has issues on the N800. I've had no luck logging in most of the time without IE.

Seriously debating disabling its wireless and DMZing through to a working router...

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

1) Not sure of the router brand; just that I didn't recognize the name at all when I saw it

2) I've never gotten minimo to work on any tablet; gave up long ago and haven't tried again in a while.

I do need to test admin access over wifi with my laptop. I'll report back what happens.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

You can easily dump the FIOS router... I did that the first day I received my FIOS service.

You just get "any good" WiFi router, set it up as PPPoE and put in the user name and password you used to set up for the original router... That's how I'm using my Linksys and the Verizon provided Dlink router (not WiFi, just a wired router) is collecting dust in my storage box... :D

Or has their service now changed so that you can not put standard PPPoE router into their network any more?

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

I'm not sure. I do have my sweet Netgear that I'd rather use, but the Verizon tech said I *had* to have theirs as the main router (and mine as secondary if I wanted). I have no verified this but I will. They connected my TV coax into the router, so it *could* be that the fact I got the cable TV service also necessitates using their router. We'll see.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

That sounds different router that I had. Verizon provided me just a regular off the shelf 4-port D-Link router. This was some 2+ years ago... and I do not have TV service from them. They told me too that I can not use the Linksys router that I already have, other than connecting it after their router... :eek: But the reality proved otherwise... ;)

Just to make sure... you are NOT talking about that big gray fiber to ethernet "converter box" that sits outside your house (or could be in your garage?)? If I'm not mistaken that box has couple Cable TV output connectors but those are not used in my setup (because I do not have their TV service.)

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Oh, I know the difference between all the boxes. ;) Heck I even helped the guy install stuff.

This router is a beast though-- biggest one I've ever used. It has ports for RJ45 and coax both. I'm thinking the coax connection enables multi-room video routing but I'm not sure. What I need to do is get home, get the router model info and start googling...

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Okay: couldn't log in with 770 either, nor laptop. At least the tablets pull up a screen-- the laptop said it couldn't even find the router admin page! I'll look into it further maybe tomorrow.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Can you log in with Firefox from your PC? If so, then you could install that firefox extension called Live HTTP Headers, it'll log all http traffic and you can see what it expects.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Well, here's what I've done TA:

-enabled remote admin on router (o duh) as well as allowing certain input traffic.

-managed to login using IE7 from laptop over wifi afterward!

-managed to login using Firefox from laptop over wifi!

-figured out surface cause why I can't do so using N800: after enabling the admin log on the router, I see that the password is getting garbled after sent from Opera.

Something funky going on here, and I don't see what I can do to fix it. For some reason, the password gets corrupted, probably before it leaves the N800. To my knowledge, this hasn't happened with any other web interfaces.

???

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

are you able to use a different password so that you can post the password and log here for dissection purposes? of course, change the password back thereafter. we just want to see what you mean.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Yeah I can try that later. But note that I'm drawing a conclusion based on very generic feedback from the admin event log. All it says is something along the lines of "login failed for user admin. Incorrect password.". However, the password entered into the N800 (and 770) was correct in all cases, being the same one I successfully originally used via the desktop and can now use on the laptop. Since I'm entering the correct password on the sending end, but the receiving end claims it's incorrect ONLY for the tablets, the reasonable assumption is that something is occurring to the password in process to render it unacceptable to the admin console. I suspect encryption.

I have cleared all personal settings several times and continue to experiment with the (limited) configuration options via the N800's UI. So far to no noticeable benefit.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Very strange indeed. This could be tricky to figure out, if the web interface is https (i.e. encrypted). Otherwise a network sniffer (e.g. etherreal/wireshark) could be used to dump the data.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

I'm going to try tacking the various ports onto the portal url and see if that helps. I've already tried port 80 with no effect. I should also try it with SSL unchecked on the N800 as well.

EDIT: stupid me, it's http, not https-- so what could be corrupting the password???

arg.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Ok, I never managed success with this... has anyone else? I don't see any reason why it can't work...

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Hi Tex

If my memory serves me correctly, I too had issues logging in to the admin on my FIOS router back home on my desktop using Opera, but Firefox and IE worked fine.

You could try using MicroB on your N800 to login?

I believe that in the latest firmware update for the router, the password is modified on screen to prevent someone from looking over your shoulder and seeing how long your password is. Meaning... for every letter you type, 3 extra characters show up. "cat" == ********* or something like that. Perhaps the way it is implemented fouls up Opera in some way?

I don't quite remember though if I tried to login from my N800 though.

Let mw know if this hepls.

Jon

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

MicroB didn't help. Firefox and IE on both my IBM laptop and homebuilt PC access the FIOS router easily.

Given what I've seen so far, I'm guessing your assumption about the cause is correct. Now, for a fix...

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Ok, I've verifid that Jon was on to something: when logging in as admin from a laptop or pc, whether via lan or wifi, the ActionTEC router's html interface adds extra unknown characters to the password, just as many other login screens do (Lotus Notes for example). But with the N800, those characters don't appear to be padded. This is true for both Opera and MicroB.

I have opened the router up as wide as I dare with no change on the N800, leading me to believe the fix has to occur on the tablet's side.

Any ideas there? Note that SSL2 is already enabled (I can't even get the login screen otherwise).

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

The Questions is what ARE those extra characters? are they mere duplicates? or random?


cat == cccaaattt?
cat == c111a111t111?
cat == ckf9a2jgt0k2?

My guess is that those extra letters are stripped out during authentication. So the n800 sends "cat", the router tries to strip out the extra.... nothing: ACCESS DENIED :D

I think the next step would be wireshark, though I don't think I would attempt it myself lol.

or... Where do those extra characters come from? My guess is that there is some Javascript that is doing the work. Try looking at the document source (<3 Crtl + u In firefox) and see if any JSs are included. Perhaps we can reverse engineer the file to figure it out? It would probably be simpler than trying to packet dump.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Good suggestions.

It became somewhat moot last night: the ActionTEC bit the dust after a storm (odd, because it appears to be well-protected), so I've fallen back on my old Netgear Mimo router which is MUCH faster anyway (web pages load almost instantly). Verizon was kind enough to reset their server link so that the Netgear's mac address was ok. They're sending another ActionTEC but if I use it at all it will be a secondary router.

The N800 can easily access the Netgear's much simpler interface ( even updated the router's firmware from the N800!) -- but now I'm thinking WEP may be the culprit. I left the Netgear unprotected because I was troubleshooting and if the N800 can't access the its admin panel after I engage WEP then I have the answer... unfortunately.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

Well it seems like you have a solution anyways. Good to know that you can access your router from your N800 :)

I don't understand why wep would be an issue though. Just set a wep key enter it, and try it out. One way to find out :)

I never liked the ActionTec either. I did some research, and in feneral it's a piece of crap. I've had to reset it countless times. It has a weak stomach for my taste. I work a lot with torrent traffic, and after so many Gigabytes it would just crap out and need to be reset (while my beautiful Netgear sat unconnected in a desk :( ). I'm fine now because I've moved and I'll get to use my Netgear once more :)


I'm also sitting on a fast enough connection so I'm happy :)

Let mw know how your router holds up after WEP.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

I don't think enabling WEP will make it break. I have WEP enabled with my Linksys router and I have no problems on logging into it from N800.

Re: N800 as admin portal to FIOS router
 

I had no trouble with a Linksys, either, but as reported I have had trouble logging onto the ActionTEC's admin panel, and Jon and I were kicking troubleshooting ideas around.