My cable Modem is Dynamic, but my Router makes it Static?

[Pillpher]

Okay so, here is my problem.

I was playing some games online and due to some illegal botting issues on a particular game (Diablo II) they have defined limitations on the amount of games you can join per minute/hour/day/etc.

Well sometimes I would log out of characters to quickly, or when looking for a game to join i would join too many too quickly.

Regardless, the game enforces these measures by temporarily banning your ip address.

Now, this wouldn't be a problem if i was hardwired in directly from my Suddenlink Cable Modem. However i am using a Netgear WND3400 router.

Well, if i connect directly from my Modem to my Computer (Win 7) and check my ip address on whatismyip.com then it shows up as dynamic.

If i power cycle my modem for 3-5 minutes then i can get a new ip from my ISP. This works great and removes the issues i have by giving me a new ip address.

However i am not the only user in the house and hardwiring the modem to the computer simply doesn't work, especially when someone wants to jump on the laptop or tablet or ipod or whatever because i have no wireless at that point.

Now if i check my ip with my router setup, it is a completely different ip address that shows up as static on whatismyip.com.


So my question, or questions would be:

How can i setup the router to either run Dynamically all the time or allow me to change the static ip? Or is there a simple solution to go from router to direct connect on windows 7 to switch the ip address and get around the temp ip ban from the game server?


Thanks in advance

-Pillpher

[AboveTheLogic]

Is your router configured to get an IP automatically on its WAN port, or does it have an IP entered in there?

Have you tried the 3-5 minute trick with the router?

It is very possible to grab the same IP if your DHCP lease hasn't expired, but from what you describe- it sounds like your router has a longer DHCP lease than your PC, which doesn't make any sense. They should be grabbing IPs from the same DHCP service, and the lease time would likely be the same for any host requesting an IP from it.

[Pillpher]

Originally Posted by AboveTheLogic

Is your router configured to get an IP automatically on its WAN port, or does it have an IP entered in there?

Have you tried the 3-5 minute trick with the router?

It is very possible to grab the same IP if your DHCP lease hasn't expired, but from what you describe- it sounds like your router has a longer DHCP lease than your PC, which doesn't make any sense. They should be grabbing IPs from the same DHCP service, and the lease time would likely be the same for any host requesting an IP from it.

My Router is configured to both obtain an ip address dynamically from the ISP as well as to automatically obtain the DNS from the ISP. There is no password required and my modem is separate from my router.

The one thing i did notice was that my router has checked "Use Router as DHCP Server" and i have tried unchecking and re applying settings (with and without power cycling the modem) but i haven't tried power cycling the router.

I figured if power cycling the modem changed the IP when directly connected (Every time i cycled it) but the router ip shows static on every ip site i check it on, even with a different ip everytime i directly connect, then cycling the router wouldn't help. But i'll give it a shot.

any other suggestions?

[Pillpher]

Another thing i just noticed is that under my "Internet Setup" options, it shows this:

Internet IP Address
(.)Get Dynamically from ISP
()Use Static IP Address
IP Address ... (****)
IP Subnet Mask ...
Gateway IP Address ...

The () is a bubble choice in the router config.

The Dynamically from ISP option is selected, but the (****) under Use Static IP is the one im seeing when i check the ip on any site with the router connected. like it's ignoring that choice and making it static anyway....

don't know if that helps any more, any help is appretiated.

[Shnerdly]

Welcome to the forum Pillpher.

You said when you are connected to the modem WIMI shows your IP as Dynamic and when you are connected through the router is shows Static. Where are you seeing that it's Static or Dynamic. I don't think our site shows that or is even able to determine that.

The DHCP server in the router is for your internal IP address. It would be required for the other computers in the house to connect or you would have to assign each of them a static internal IP.

The Ip Address you see below where it says Get Dynamically from ISP is your dynamic IP Address. It will change each time you change the first device connected to the Modem.

As for changing your external IP, if your router supports it you can clone the MAC address of the WAN or Internet port, restart thr Modem and Router and get a new IP address. When cloning the MAC, I would recommend using the MAC address of devices on your local network. If you randomly pick something, it may not be a good MAC or it may already be something in use by someone else.

[AboveTheLogic]

Originally Posted by Shnerdly

The Ip Address you see below where it says Get Dynamically from ISP is your dynamic IP Address. It will change each time you change the first device connected to the router.

I'm not sure about that last sentence- perhaps you've used a router that spoofs the mac address of the first device connected?

All the routers I've worked with have their own mac address, which is what the WAN IP is assigned to. Most of them have the ability to manually change it, though.

[Shnerdly]

Cable Modems in general use their own MAC and Serial Number for ISP subscription authentication. In the United States at least, they almost always use the MAC Address of the first device connected to the Cable Modem to get your external IP Address. If you have a Router connected you will have a given IP address. If you change that first device by connecting the computer directly to the Cable Modem AND reboot the Modem you will almost always get a new IP Address. If you change the first device connected to the Cable Modem and don't reboot the Modem you will, in most cases, loose Internet connectivity. If, after successfully changing the first device, you go back to the Router being connected to the Modem within a few hours of removing it and reboot the Modem again, you will, in most cases, get the same IP you previously had with the Router connected.

I have worked with Cable Modems from Various ISP's such as Cox, Comcast, Charter, Time Warner and RoadRunner when they were their own ISP and I have always found what I stated above to be the case.

I have found DSL Carriers to follow a whole different set of protocols.

Using a router that allows you to clone the WAN MAC simply allows you to get a new IP without changing you configuration when you are using a Cable ISP.

[Pillpher]

Originally Posted by Shnerdly

Welcome to the forum Pillpher.

You said when you are connected to the modem WIMI shows your IP as Dynamic and when you are connected through the router is shows Static. Where are you seeing that it's Static or Dynamic. I don't think our site shows that or is even able to determine that.

The DHCP server in the router is for your internal IP address. It would be required for the other computers in the house to connect or you would have to assign each of them a static internal IP.

The Ip Address you see below where it says Get Dynamically from ISP is your dynamic IP Address. It will change each time you change the first device connected to the router.

As for changing your external IP, if your router supports it you can clone the MAC address of the WAN or Internet port, restart thr Modem and Router and get a new IP address. When cloning the MAC, I would recommend using the MAC address of devices on your local network. If you randomly pick something, it may not be a good MAC or it may already be something in use by someone else.

You are in fact correct about it being a different website.

The site i was on was whatismyipaddress.com, they were so similiar i got them confused.

However if i go to that website then click on advanced, it will show me if it is static or dynamic.

My router says that the DHCP lease is 1 day, though how true that is i couldn't say. It does have a 24 hour countdown timer though.

Yesterday, when i was posting, my countdown timer said 23 hours and XX minutes after releasing and renewing the DHCP lease through the router (though that did NOT result in an IP change), and today it seems that the timer has reset, it now shows me 22 hours and XX minutes though the IP hasn't changed. I understand that it doesn't always have too, but my cable IP has changed several times and continues to do so each time i power cycle the cable modem.

As for MAC spoofing or cloning, i haven't seen any options for it, though i doubt Netgear is going to call it MAC spoofing lol.

This is part of my options under Setup>Internet:

Router MAC Address
()Use Default Address
()Use Computer MAC Address
()Use This MAC Address

and if this would be where i could spoof/clone the MAC then i have tried changing from the currently selected Use Default Address to computer AND to using the MAC address provided in the third options field. I did not power cycle the modem OR router after changing the options here, though the internet connection dropped and auto reconnected. This did not change the static ip the router has been putting out.

Is there a free/one time fee software that can spoof a mac address to change the ip? or a way to force the cable ip instead of the router one without disconnecting the router and losing the wireless for everyone else?

Side Note, this is a new router, i've only had it three days, however the ip hasn't changed since then and i haven't tried power cycling the router.

Now that im home from work i will try power cycling the router, any additional help would be greatly appretiated.

thanks

-Pillpher

PS thanks for the welcome!

[AboveTheLogic]

Originally Posted by Shnerdly

Cable Modems in general use their own MAC and Serial Number for ISP subscription authentication. In the United States at least, they almost always use the MAC Address of the first device connected to the Cable Modem to get your external IP Address. If you have a Router connected you will have a given IP address. If you change that first device by connecting the computer directly to the Cable Modem AND reboot the Modem you will almost always get a new IP Address. If you change the first device connected to the Cable Modem and don't reboot the Modem you will, in most cases, loose Internet connectivity. If, after successfully changing the first device, you go back to the Router being connected to the Modem within a few hours of removing it and reboot the Modem again, you will, in most cases, get the same IP you previously had with the Router connected.

I have worked with Cable Modems from Various ISP's such as Cox, Comcast, Charter, Time Warner and RoadRunner when they were their own ISP and I have always found what I stated above to be the case.

I have found DSL Carriers to follow a whole different set of protocols.

Using a router that allows you to clone the WAN MAC simply allows you to get a new IP without changing you configuration when you are using a Cable ISP.

Ah ok, I'm with you 100%

You said router before, not modem

[Shnerdly]

Thanks AboveTheLogic.

I didn't notice that. I fixed it in my earlier post.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Shnerdly]

The site i was on was whatismyipaddress.com, they were so similiar i got them confused.

However if i go to that website then click on advanced, it will show me if it is static or dynamic.

I looked at their site and I can only assume that their assessment of being static or dynamic is an educated guess just as the location is.

As for MAC spoofing or cloning, i haven't seen any options for it, though i doubt Netgear is going to call it MAC spoofing lol.

This is part of my options under Setup>Internet:

Router MAC Address
()Use Default Address
()Use Computer MAC Address
()Use This MAC Address

The second and third options in your router are for MAC cloning. You can have it assign the MAC address of your computer in the second option or give it any MAC address you want in the third option. You should use MAC addresses that you know to be good and not in use. They could come from any computers you have in the house or any unused network controllers you have laying around.

i have tried changing from the currently selected Use Default Address to computer AND to using the MAC address provided in the third options field. I did not power cycle the modem OR router after changing the options here, though the internet connection dropped and auto reconnected. This did not change the static ip the router has been putting out.

The Cable Modem remembers the MAC address of what was connected to it and will not loose that MAC until you do a cold boot of the Modem meaning it must be poewered off , usually by removing the power cord, and removing the backup battery if it has one. If you do this after you change the MAC in the Router you should get a new IP. If you reboot the Modem without changing the MAC of the Router or changing the first device connected to the Modem (The Router)you should continue to get the same IP for a very long time (like Months).

There is actually a proper order for restarting the whole system to insure proper connectivity and some Cable Modems and Routers are more demanding then others of this order. To do it properly, you should turn off your computers, unplug the power to the Modem and the Router. Pause a minute. Then start ONLY the Cable Modem and allow it to boot. It usually takes about a minute. Then start the Router and allow it to boot. It is usually necessary to start the Router after the Modem boots because the Router is going to request an address from the Modem and if the Modem is not ready the Router may makeup it's own random IP causing there to be no connection at all. Give the Router about thirty seconds to boot, then restart your computers. Once your network is established, you can restart the Modem and Router only to get a new IP using the cloning feature of the Router.

[Pillpher]

Originally Posted by Shnerdly

I looked at their site and I can only assume that their assessment of being static or dynamic is an educated guess just as the location is.

Ok, i was hoping it was just an educated guess and that my router wasn't making the connection static.

Originally Posted by Shnerdly

The second and third options in your router are for MAC cloning. You can have it assign the MAC address of your computer in the second option or give it any MAC address you want in the third option. You should use MAC addresses that you know to be good and not in use. They could come from any computers you have in the house or any unused network controllers you have laying around.



The Cable Modem remembers the MAC address of what was connected to it and will not loose that MAC until you do a cold boot of the Modem meaning it must be powered off , usually by removing the power cord, and removing the backup battery if it has one. If you do this after you change the MAC in the Router you should get a new IP. If you reboot the Modem without changing the MAC of the Router or changing the first device connected to the Modem (The Router)you should continue to get the same IP for a very long time (like Months).

There is actually a proper order for restarting the whole system to insure proper connectivity and some Cable Modems and Routers are more demanding then others of this order. To do it properly, you should turn off your computers, unplug the power to the Modem and the Router. Pause a minute. Then start ONLY the Cable Modem and allow it to boot. It usually takes about a minute. Then start the Router and allow it to boot. It is usually necessary to start the Router after the Modem boots because the Router is going to request an address from the Modem and if the Modem is not ready the Router may makeup it's own random IP causing there to be no connection at all. Give the Router about thirty seconds to boot, then restart your computers. Once your network is established, you can restart the Modem and Router only to get a new IP using the cloning feature of the Router.

okay, thanks for all the help Shnerdly, and you as well AboveTheLogic, i will give it a go with the cloning again. I'll post any results i find just in case someone else has this problem and stumbles over the post.

Thanks!

-Pillpher

[Pillpher]

Okay, so after selecting a different MAC address and properly power-cycling (cold booting) the modem and router it changes!

thank you so much!

-Pillpher