Were you wired to one of the LAN ports on your ASUS RT-N56U with your PC/laptop when testing? Or were you connected to the lone ethernet port on your Surfboard cable modem?
Was there any change of status lights on the Arris?
Always test DSL/Cable modems straight on the modem using an ethernet wired connection. Get that working first, then and only then, plug in your router/wireless and continue with the second device.
She’s testing by looking for the MAC address of your cable modem, and it’s request of IP from them. She’s not looking at anything related to your ASUS at all. You might also check to see if the modem does work, that you have a cable between the two that is the right type. Though most gear these days does auto-MDIX (auto crossover) that might not have been the case, and you need a crossover cable between the two.
Thanks, guys. I’ll connect the PC directly to the modem next time I troubleshoot, probably over the weekend. The PC is a pretty long distance from the modem, so I’ll have to find a spare ethernet cable for that. (New laptop lacks ethernet, unfortunately.)
Last time I called Comcast to activate a new modem (close to 5 years ago now probably) I had to wait a couple of hours before I actually had access to the internet. I believe they said it had something to do with their system needing some time to let the new MAC address permissions propagate to wherever it needs to go. That or the customer service person on the phone was too lazy and/or ignorant to give me a better answer. In my case I went out for dinner and the internet connection just worked by the time I came back. I assume you’ve already given it some time or the person you talked to said it should already be working? Besides that I don’t have a suggestion off hand that hasn’t been suggested already.
Nope, I was impatient and suggested rolling back without waiting more than a few minutes. But that’s also good advice, will add a waiting period as a possible step this weekend.
It’s possible but doubtful. The Arris seems to be a standard cable modem and mentions the following:
[quote]The cable modem label is located on the bottom of your SB6141. It contains the cable modem
ID that you may need when contacting your service provider or ARRIS Technical Support.
To receive Internet service, contact your service provider for assistance. You may need to
provide the following information listed on the cable modem label:
Cable modem Model name (SB6141)
Cable modem MAC address (HFC MAC ID)
Cable modem Serial number (S/N)
…
Establish an Internet Connection
Although your computer may already be configured to automatically access the Internet, you
should still perform the following cable modem connectivity test to check that your devices
were connected properly:
Power ON the computer connected to the SB6141, if it is turned off, and then log in.
Contact your service provider to activate (provision) the SB6141. You may have to provide
the HFC MAC ID listed on the cable modem label.
Note: Your service provider may allow for automatic activation which will
automatically launch their special website when you open a web browser.
After the SB6141 is provisioned (or activated), open a web browser (such as Internet
Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari) on the computer.
Type a valid URL (such as www.surfboard.com) in the address bar and then press Enter.
The ARRIS website should open. If it fails to open, please contact your service provider for
assistance.
Check that the Power, Receive, Send, and Online front panel LEDs on the SB6141 light up
in sequential order. See Front Panel (page 12) for additional LED status information.
If all four LEDs did not light up Solid and you are not connected to the Internet, you
may have to contact your service provider to reactivate your SB6141 or check for
possible signal issues.
If you still cannot connect to the Internet, the SB6141 may be defective. Please call
ARRIS Technical Support at 1-877-466-8646 for assistance.
[/quote]
